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Sony's Xperia XA1 Plus leads with a beefy battery

The midrange Android phone has an attractive metal body and a 23-megapixel camera.

Andrew Lanxon Editor At Large, Lead Photographer, Europe
Andrew is CNET's go-to guy for product coverage and lead photographer for Europe. When not testing the latest phones, he can normally be found with his camera in hand, behind his drums or eating his stash of home-cooked food. Sometimes all at once.
Expertise Smartphones, Photography, iOS, Android, gaming, outdoor pursuits Credentials
  • Shortlisted for British Photography Awards 2022, Commended in Landscape Photographer of the Year 2022
Andrew Lanxon

Sony's midrange XA1 Plus is full of big numbers, from its large 5.5-inch display to its 23-megapixel camera. Inside is a capacious 3,430mAh battery that should easily keep this going for a full day of use. 

The screen is full HD (1,920x1080 pixels) which should help eke out the juice too -- that 4K display in Sony's top-end XZ Premium is a real power hog. It still seemed sharp enough for all your essentials and bright enough to use outdoors.

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The phone is wrapped in a metal shell which looks quite pretty, but it doesn't have any kind of waterproofing. That's disappoining, given that waterproofing is something we're seeing more and more on smartphones -- including many of Sony's own handsets. Be careful around water with this one.

Sony hasn't yet announced pricing for the phone but it's due to go on sale globally later in September so we'll hear more in the coming weeks. 

Sony Xperia XA1 Plus specs:

  • 5.5-inch display
  • Full HD (1,920x1080-pixel) resolution
  • 23-megapixel camera
  • 3,430mAh battery 
  • Fingerprint sensor on the power button (only on UK phones )
  • 8-megapixel front-facing camera
  • Android Nougat software
  • USB-C charging