Sony has refreshed its Xperia lineup with three new phones in 2019 – the flagship Xperia 1 as well as the mid-range Xperia 10, 10 Plus. What’s unique is that all three phones come with a screen aspect ratio of 21:9 with the standard being either 18:9 or 19:5 on most smartphones these days. This means the phones have a taller display compared to the competition.
We spent some time with the Xperia 10 and 10 Plus at the show floor. What stands out the most on the Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus – the extra tall display. Yes, it felt a bit awkward the first time I held the devices in my hands. The phones are not designed for one-hand usage, but the company has introduced a new 21:9 multi-window mode that lets users two apps simultaneously on the screen.
But it does not take away the fact that the screen looks unusually taller and then you ask yourself whether you really need a screen this tall?
The resolution is Full HD, so in the limited time that I spent with the device, it looked decent. But a lot depends on how the phones are priced. There are thin bezels on the sides and almost none at the bottom, but there’s thick band on top that also holds the front camera. There’s no notch, which some might find pleasing, but the top bezel is prominent.
We also tried a few apps on the phone using the multi-window feature like Netflix and Gmail. While these apps were supported well and covered almost the entire space, it is unclear if there is a large number of apps that support this 21:9 aspect ratio screen, so that could be a problem.
Other specifications of the two phones are mid-level such as Snapdragon 630 processor, 13MP+5MP rear camera on the Xperia 10, while 12MP+8MP back cameras coupled with Snapdragon 636 processor on the Xperia 10 Plus. Both the variants comes with an 8MP selfie camera. The Xperia 10 has a 2,870mAh battery, while the Xperia 10 Plus gets a slightly larger 3,000mAh battery.