Alongside the debut of Sony’s flagship XZ1 and XZ1 Compact, the company also shows off its new mid-range addition to the XA1 line, the Xperia XA1 Plus.
Although the device is mid-range in performance, it doesn't outwardly seem so considering its large 5.5-inch Full HD display, large “all-day” 3,430 mAh battery, and impressive 23-megapixel, f/2.0 rear-facing camera. These features serve as decent trade-offs for the power-efficient octa-core MediaTek MT6757 Helio P20 processor and 3GB of RAM (a 4GB RAM variant will be available in some regions, but not the U.S.). It features 32GB of internal storage, which is expandable up to 256GB via microSD. It’s dual-SIM, charges via USB-C, and features NFC, Bluetooth 4.2, aptX support, VoLTE, Cat.4, and Cat.6 LTE.
The Xperia XA1 Plus also features an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens front-facing camera, Qnovo adaptive charging, and Pump Express+ 2.0 quick charge. And while the XA1 Plus features a side-mounted fingerprint sensor in some models, it would appear that the U.S. misses out on this feature as well, unfortunately.
Its design follows closely with other XA1 devices, with aluminum sides and plastic housing with a matte finish. It will come in Black, Blue, Gold, and Pink, and is expected to be available starting this fall. Pricing has not yet been announced.
The Xperia XA1 seems like a sufficient mid-range option. Large batteries and good cameras are desirable in smartphones of all types, and for some people are really all that matter. Although the Xperia XA1 doesn't have the most powerful specs, Sony appears confident that its specs are powerful enough for multitaskers to enjoy the device - with all day battery life to boot. Unfortunately, with the U.S. receiving a model that doesn't appear to feature a fingerprint sensor and has one less GB of RAM, I have a feeling that the device probably won't gain much traction here.
