Sony Xperia XA1 with Helio P20 SoC & 23MP Camera Launched at Rs. 19,990

Earlier this month, Sony launched the Xperia XZs smartphone in India for Rs. 49,990. It was first showcased at the MWC 2016 alongside the Xperia XZ Premium, the world’s first smartphone to feature Snapdragon 835 SoC. The Xperia XZs features a 19MP camera on the rear that can record slo-mo videos at 960fps. At the MWC 2017, the company also unveiled the Xperia XA1 and Xperia XA1 Ultra mid-range smartphone. These devices are the successors to the last year’s Xperia XA and Xperia XA Ultra. Today, the company has launched the Xperia XA1 in India for Rs. 19,990. However, the company hasn’t mentioned anything about its elder sibling, Xperia XA1 Ultra.

The device comes in White, Black, Gold, and Pink color options and will be sold across India via online and offline stores. It features a 5-inch HD (1280 x 720 pixels) display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection. Though there are very thin bezels on the sides, we can see the big chunk of an empty area on the top and bottom bezels. The Xperia XA1 packs 64-bit MediaTek Helio P20 octa-core processor coupled with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. It even has a dedicated MicroSD card slot for storage expansion upto 256GB. At this price range, the device skips the fingerprint sensor.

The USP of the device is its camera sensors. It features a 23MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, PAD, hybrid autofocus, and flash. On the front is an 8MP selfie camera with wide-angle lens and the same f/2.0 aperture as seen on the primary camera. The volume rocker and power button along with dedicated shutter button are placed on the right edge of the device. It measures 145 x 67 x 8 mm and weighs 143 grams. The Xperia XA1 in India comes with dual SIM dual standby support with  Cat.4/Cat.6 LTE connectivity. It is backed by a 2,300mAh battery and supports fast charging using the MediaTek PumpExpress 2.0 technology.

Connectivity options include 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, GLONASS, NFC, 3.5mm Audio port, and USB Type-C port. The device runs on Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box and packs a lot of bloatware apps. Soon we might also see the Xperia XA1 Ultra launch in India. It comes with a larger 6-inch display and sports better selfie camera than the Xperia XA1. The Xperia XA1 Ultra comes with the same processor and also same rear camera, but the front camera is upgraded to a 16MP sensor with autofocus and Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). If you are looking for a good selfie camera, there are already few selfie focused smartphones available in the market.