Sony Xperia XA1 Plus review

Telephony

The Sony Xperia XA1 Plus we have for review is the single SIM version. Dual SIM versions are also available in some markets.

The list of favorites, the call log and the contacts are all tabs within the same app, and the dialer is summoned with a tap on a button. The call log can be filtered by missed, incoming and outgoing calls. Smart dial is supported too.

Dialer with smart dial • In-call screen • Call log • Phonebook • Favorites

Loudspeaker

The XA1 Plus is one of the loudest Xperias we've tested. It's single bottom-firing loudspeaker pumps out more decibels than the larger Ultra and stays distortion free even at maximum amplification. An easy Excellent mark in our three-prong test.

Speakerphone test	Voice, dB	Pink noise/ Music, dB	Ringing phone, dB	Overall score
Sony Xperia XZ Premium	62.9	65.2	71.6	Below Average
Sony Xperia XZ1 (ClearAudio+)	64.5	67.6	67.7	Below Average
Oppo F3	63.1	68.7	70.4	Average
Sony Xperia XA1	61.7	69.7	71.8	Average
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)	66.6	66.1	81.5	Good
Nokia 6 (Global version)	63.1	70.9	82.5	Good
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)	67.3	70.3	81.5	Very Good
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)	68.0	70.2	82.3	Very Good
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra	68.3	71.6	81.0	Very Good
Motorola Moto Z2 Play	66.1	70.0	85.3	Very Good
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)	67.8	71.2	83.1	Very Good
Xiaomi Mi 5X	78.4	73.9	88.4	Excellent
Sony Xperia XA1 Plus	88.9	77.8	84.6	Excellent

Text input

For text entry, Sony has been sticking with the SwiftKey keyboard for a while now, and the Xperia XA1 Plus doesn't break with tradition. SwiftKey is touted as having one of the best prediction algorithms and offers pretty much everything: multiple layouts and themes, 5 different sizes, undocking, secondary symbols upon long press, swipe input, and emojis.

Swiftkey keyboard is the default text input method

Other apps

The News app is a news aggregator, pulling stories from sources on topics of your choice. It can also issue two daily bulletins for you at a time you specify, so you don't miss out on current events.

News

Xperia lounge is Sony's own entertainment app, feeding you exclusive content and competitions related to music, movies and games.

Xperia Lounge

There is a file manager, strictly speaking, but it's buried in the storage options in the Settings menu. It does allow basic copy and move actions, on multiple items too. However, you can't access it from the app drawer, all you get there is a shortcut to a downloads folder.

Sony's health-tracking app Lifelog doesn't come pre-installed, though all it takes to download it is a trip to the Play Store.