Sony Xperia 10 II

At a glance

• 6 Inch OLED Screen
• Android 10
• Triple Camera, 12MP wide lens and 8MP ultrawide and telephoto. 4K Video
• 3600 mAh battery, 18w fast charging
• £319 (Sony) £30 pcm (Vodafone)

Highlights

• Cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio makes media viewing a pleasure on the 6-inch screen.
• Durable, Corning gorilla glass and IP65/68 water resistance mean the Xperia 10 II is fairly hardy for a mid-range smartphone
• Lightweight and slim, at 151g the Xperia 10 II is a featherweight in its division.

Design and appearance

As with the earlier Xperia models, the Xperia 10 II is designed around its 21:9 aspect ratio screen. This widescreen size is great for film and TV playback. Slightly smaller than the Xperia 5, it can be comfortably held and operated in one hand, which is a positive. Unlike its more premium cousins the Xperia 10 II has a plastic body, which is tactile and very lightweight.

Camera

The Xperia 10 II offers a triple camera array, with the main wide lens being 12MP and the other two, an ultrawide and telephoto respectively, being 8MP each. The picture quality is solid for its price range, and Sony have introduced a dedicated Night Mode for low-light situations.

The Xperia 10 II does excel a little more in the video stakes, capturing 4k video in up to 30fps.

Display

The Xperia 10 II's screen is specifically designed to give you an at home cinema experience. The display is Full HD, and the 21:9 aspect ratio means films from apps such as Netflix and Amazon prime are presented beautifully, without black bands above and below the screen.

While the image is in the size it was intended to be viewed, the Xperia 10 II's display isn't as crisp as it's more premium cousins, which feature HDR+ technology to beef up the lights, darks and colours in your favourite movies and TV shows. If you're a cinephile, check out our guides on the Xperia 1 and Xperia 5.

Software and Features

The Xperia 10 II comes with Android 10 as standard, and therefore has a streamlined and clean app layout. The Xperia 10 II also has a side mounted fingerprint sensor which is a point of difference from most of its competitors which have touchscreen sensors.

The Xperia 10 II features a neat multi window feature which allows users to keep one application running in either half of the long screen. This feature is quite unusual in smartphones at this price point!

Performance

The Xperia 10 II runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 655 processing chip, which is a significant downgrade from the more premium Xperia models. It will run most applications smoothly, but it's not advisable to purchase this phone if you're looking for a seamless gaming experience.