My Sony Xperia 10 II died earlier this year (it’s not 100% water resistent… I tested it :). So I got a cheap Samsung Android phone and as you can image the first weeks it was horrible (different guestures).
Actually, I was quite happy with Sailfish (there are issues here and there…) and I’d like to revert back.
The only thing I didn’t like about the Xperia 10 II was it’s screen size. It was a bit too large for one handed operation (like almost any other modern phone).
So can you recommend the XA2 with 5.2’’ screen?
It would only have Android 9 support, right?
Does this matter in practice? Or would my banking app and DB navigator apps no longer work with Android 9? Spotify?
Is 3 GB RAM really enough these days?
Anything else that I would have to consider when buying the XA2?
Maybe someone who’s having the XA2 can convince me
Don’t trick yourself… the XA2 is only smaller in one direction - and a bit thicker too (not that it matters much).
No; you get Android 11 like all the other modern ones.
For the right price for the right user the XA2 is still fine. “Recommended” is a bit of a stretch though.
3GB RAM is indeed a bit on the low end; but depending on your usage, could be ok.
The real divider is probably VoLTE. If your country is shutting down 2G and 3G networks you need the 10 II or 10 III when that happens.
Well, no phone is 100% water resistant, but out of the box the 10 II has IP 65/68 rating, wear and tear and a product that had been “made on a Monday after a heavy party” is another story.
Rating
Dust
Water
IP65
Protected from total dust ingress.
Protected from low pressure water jets from any direction.
IP68
Protected from total dust ingress.
Protected from long term immersion up to a specified pressure.
No and no, it supports 11, but the 10 III has VoLTE support and 6 GB RAM
You can hopefully find your country and network provider here.
Don’t get an XA2, even if the smaller size is a factor (which I really do understand - I got the vanilla version specifically because of the smaller size). Jolla only provides 32-bit user space for it. No VoLTE. Severe issues with GNSS fix. (somewhat fixable). Battery drain issues. And perhaps network-dependent, but 4G on my device tends to drain the battery really quick - I’m permanently on 2G since there’s no more 3G here.
Still loving mine but it’s possible Jolla won’t support it much longer.
Running 2 bloated Android apps can cause problems eg HereWeGo and WhatsApp. Remember, 64-bit takes more memory so I’m not sure the 10 ii is much better.
Like most of the others I would recommend the 10 III. I still have my XA2 which I use for certain tasks that I do not want to do with my personal SF phone.
The problem with the XA2 was hardware degradation on the GPS antennae.
Size does not make.that much of a difference to me. My hands are sort of medium. The 10 III fits well in the front pocket of my chinos. The XA2 is better in that regard.
But for me excellent GPS functionality, 64bit support and VoLTE make a huge difference.
Thanks everyone for the great answers! You really helped a lot!
To summarize, it seems to be overall consensus that it’s better to get the Sony Xperia III. It’s more future proof and has better overall support.
For me, size-wise, the Xperia III is still okay (it fits well in a pocket), just for one handed operation my previous Xperia II (which I assume to have the exact same dimensions) sometimes felt slightly too “long”. That would have been the only reason for me to get the XA2.
I have been using XA2 for 1.5 year until I recently swapped to the Gigaset GS5.
Although the GS5 is faster, is having a more light sensible camera, and has quicker GPS, I’m still not decided.
IMHO, the XA2 is lovely. Humble, cheap, reliable, solid. (and kind of ecological as no new phone is needed)
Android App Support and Microg work well.
GPS is working ok if you take a unit which is in a good state and prefer a Single SIM. (I made tests with singles and double SIMs and it seems they tended to show that single’s GPS work better.)
Sometimes, something is not working correctly and a reboot is needed but it’s rare. Nothing even comes to my mind atm.
The 10iii is around 60% faster in low memory situations. In high memory eg running a few Android apps, it’s ~600% faster.
The screen is much snappier, around twice as fast. The CPU may be only 40% faster. And the GPS is about 2.5x better than the best my XA2 managed.
The XA2’s form factor is much nicer and it’s a lot lighter too. I also liked its curved screen.
I don’t get what they were thinking with the 10. I have a fifth of a screen I can’t do anything with. Even the camera isn’t 21:9. Nothing is, apart from the screen.
Good quality XA2s are hard to come by and are more expensive now than I bought 3 years ago. If a 10iii averages €230 and the XA2 ~€80, then the XA2 is a good deal. SF itself may work better on the XA2.
If Jolla make it through the current crisis, I’d expect them to tail off XA2 support. I’d hope they allow the community to keep these great phones usable but who knows.
If they don’t but SF is opened, I’d expect about the same. If SF isn’t opened, 10iii owners are in the same boat as XA2 owners more or less.
In short, if you’re on a budget and you can get an XA2 around €80, go for it. A nice thing about 2nd hand Sony phones is that their batteries have innate overcharging protection.
I had the 10 mark I… sold it… and I am regretting this. But Now, I’ve found a XA2 for 50 bucks here in Italy. What do you suggest to me? :o I don’t know if it is worth…
EDIT: The seller just lowered the price to 30 bucks! Man, I bought it. Ah ah, again on board he he
I had my XA2 plus in daily use for 4 years. After the display was broken, I got the GS5 and used it in dual boot because of the necessary Android apps.
I missed my XA2 plus and replaced the display and battery.
Now the XA2 plus has reached its end with 5 years in its pocket. Since there is currently no current alternative for me other than the GS5, I switched to the XA2 with a new SFOS license. It fits much better in my pocket. The speed for the native apps is very smooth and the basic requirements of a cell phone are met perfectly.
The feel is like the JP1 and can be operated very well with just one hand.
I have upgrade my XA2 DualSim Plus to a Xperia 10 III some months ago and it is a big bonus for me. I really do like the dimensions of the phone. The experience of the phone is in my opinion better than on the XA2. I don’t have any problems like need to wait a long time for GPS, silent phone calls or crashing apps. Well to the last point it is not 100% true. Sometimes the browser app is crashing, but that is related to the browser probably.
So all in all (and I can only speak for myself) I really do love my Xperia 10 III with SailfishOS and would prefer that instead of a XA2.
My 10 III still has echo during calls. Really annoying and prohibitive or using it as a phone.
I do not like the shape of these new Sony’s either. Some texts are cropped too much because of the narrow screen. Technically this device works well.
I agree that the XA2 was/is nice and I regret it that Sailfish is not supported officially on the Gigaset GS5 or Rephone.
Full agree @Kea ! This ‘banana phone’ form factor was a reason for me to not upgrade to X10 III as it is no advancement to my current X10’s and the form factor is very inconvenient. Therefore Jolla lost 2 licence fees, that I otherwise would have purchased.
Regarding GS5 / Volla 22, I can only tell that @piggz 's port for the Volla / GS 290 works like a charm, also Waydroid, so why shouldn’t GS5 do the same?
You don’t have to port SFOS, @piggz did this for us and provided a ‘ready to use’ solution. (btw, I’m also not a coder, too…) The community will surely help you to install successfully! You can always ask.
