Sony Xperia 10 IV: Not Quite There Yet

We’ve reached a point in time where buying a “cheap” smartphone doesn’t necessarily mean a significant compromise in terms of specs and performance. Manufacturers like Xiaomi and Oppo for example have shown that you don’t necessarily have to spend a ton in order to get a competent Android phone, and this has resulted in other manufacturers following suit with their own wallet-friendly handsets.

With that said, the Xperia 10 IV is currently the most affordable smartphone in Sony’s 2022 line-up, poised to take on other budget competitors and offering a somewhat cheaper option in contrast to the Japanese brand’s more premium flagship devices. And while it does have some nice hardware to go along with the price tag, there are of course some factors to take into consideration, especially for folks looking to score an affordable device. Should you go for this one? Let’s find out.

Display & Design

One of the first things that you’ll notice about the Xperia 10 IV is the display. On the front of the phone is a 6-inch OLED screen with a 1080×2520 pixel resolution, protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. As with the rest of Sony’s smartphones, it takes a different approach to design, with minimal bezels on the top and bottom in lieu of a hole-punch camera cut-out, which admittedly makes for a very clean look. 

Thanks to the OLED display, the screen has vibrant colors, as well as good viewing angles. One downside though is that it lacks a high refresh rate, which is somewhat disappointing given its midrange price. On the other hand, you do get some protection with the Gorilla Glass Victus panel, a feature not usually found on sub-£500 handsets.

The screen is surrounded by a matte plastic body that comes with an IP68 rating, and offers a very compact in-hand feel. In a market dominated by devices with massive displays, the Xperia 10 IV’s easily manageable size is a breath of fresh air. The sides of the device feature your usual array of ports and buttons, and the phone does feature a built-in fingerprint scanner on the power button. It also comes with Sony’s signature SIM tray design, which can be easily opened without the need for a SIM ejector pin.

Internals & Performance

Inside the phone is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G  chipset, combined with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The phone runs on Android 12, which thankfully is a clean and bloat-free affair for the most part, aside from a handful of additional Sony apps. If you’re after a clean version of Android a la Google Pixel (or Android One), then there’s a lot to love here. In general, going through the user interface is mostly smooth with minimal lag – note that we say “minimal,” which brings us to the chipset.

The Snapdragon 695 isn’t a particularly fast chip, designated to occupying the innards of budget smartphones for the better half of its existence. And while it should be more than enough to get through moderate usage like web browsing, communication features, and a bit of gaming, it doesn’t exactly shy away from reminding you that the Xperia 10 IV is first and foremost an affordable device.

Surprisingly though, the phone was able to handle most of my games from the Play Store, which ran decently without crashes. On the other hand, I’d steer clear of more graphics-intensive titles like Genshin Impact, which are pretty demanding when it comes to hardware resources. Again, we have to keep in mind the price tag, but at this point it seems like you lose out on performance, especially since phones like the Pixel 6a come with the more powerful Tensor chipset.

Camera

On the back you’ll find a triple-camera set-up consisting of a 12-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel telephoto lens, and an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens, accompanied by an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. 

For a mid-range phone, you’ll have to be very particular about your lighting conditions when taking photos. It’s not anything to write home about, and users looking for a phone that they can use as a main camera for social media posts and freuqent photography might think twice about this one, as you’ll find better camera performance on other mid-range phones out there. Image quality left me wanting a bit more, and elements like dynamic range and contrast are unimpressive. On the other hand, you do get manual camera settings to tidy things up a bit, but bear in mind that this is no Xperia 1 IV.

Video quality isn’t any better though, and the phone maxes out at 1080p resolution at 30fps. Video stabilization isn’t something that Sony deemed a priority on the 10 IV, so don’t expect any shake-free videos here.

Battery

One saving grace of the Xperia 10 IV is its battery. It comes with a large 5,000 mAh unit built onboard, which should easily last a day with casual use like media streaming, web browsing, and other every-day tasks. Given the budget chipset and 60Hz display, the battery should last long for most basic users.

On the other hand, there’s no official fast-charging rating for this phone, so don’t expect insane charging speeds when refilling your battery. It should also be mentioned that the phone doesn’t come with a charger or even a USB-C cable, so make sure to have one beforehand.

Price & Final Thoughts

One thing to keep in mind about the Xperia 10 IV is its cost – it goes for around £399, although you can find it priced a bit lower depending on where you’re getting it from. While it’s generally safe to say that affordable smartphones today offer better value than their predecessors, the Xperia 10 IV doesn’t quite hit that spot.

At this price, you can get better performance from phones like the Nothing Phone (1) or Pixel 6a. Both of these come with better overall performance and camera quality, with extra emphasis on the latter.

On the other hand, if you’re after a basic smartphone that comes with access to modern communication apps, the Xperia 10 IV is undeniably a durable device with a solid design, a clean Android interface, as well as a large battery. If you really must have it, then we’d suggest waiting for a price drop before grabbing one.