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Shining a limelight on the Sony Xperia X Performance

Sony's highest-powered Xperia phone, the Performance, punches up the hardware. We show it off here in its unusual limey shade.

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Jessica Dolcourt
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1 of 14 Josh Miller/CNET

Not every Sony Xperia X Performance comes in this unusual shade of lime-gold, but one of ours did! It's a colorful alternative to grey and black.

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2 of 14 Juan Garzón / CNET

But we also did see the phone in a more sober grey shade, too.

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3 of 14 Juan Garzón / CNET

The X Performance takes photos through its 23-megapixel camera.

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4 of 14 Josh Miller/CNET

A dedicated camera button launches the app from its locked position, and takes the photo, too.

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5 of 14 Juan Garzón / CNET

You'll find a 13-megapixel camera up front for selfies.

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6 of 14 Juan Garzón / CNET

The power button can read your fingerprint to unlock the phone in a flash -- if you have the global version.

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7 of 14 Josh Miller/CNET

But it isn't available on Performance phones sold in the US; there, the power/lock button snubs your thumbprint.

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8 of 14 Josh Miller/CNET

On the global version, this fingerprint reader is very speedy.

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9 of 14 Josh Miller/CNET

The phone runs Android 6.0.

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10 of 14 Josh Miller

Overall, the phone's 5-inch screen makes it easy to operate one-handed, a nice change of pace from supersize phones.

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11 of 14 Juan Garzón / CNET

The slim sides make for a nice grip.

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12 of 14 Josh Miller/CNET

If you want to expand the phone's storage, the microSD card snugly fits next to the SIM card.

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13 of 14 Juan Garzón / CNET

The Performance definitely runs circles around other phones in the Xperia X family, but it'll cost you.

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14 of 14 Josh Miller/CNET

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