Sony Xperia 10, 10 Plus first look: The key focus is the taller display

Sony has re-energized its Xperia lineup with three latest 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 arrive with a screen aspect ratio of 21:9 with the standard being also 18:9 or 19:5 on most smartphones these days. This means the phones have a taller display compared to the competition.

We exhausted some moment with the Xperia 10 and 10 Plus on the show floor.  What stands out the most on the Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus – the additional tall display. Yes, it felt a bit awkward the first time I held the devices in my hands. The phones are not intended for one-hand usage, but the company has introduced a fresh 21:9 multi-window mode that lets user’s two apps all together on the screen.

But it does not take away the fact that the screen looks strangely taller and then you ask yourself whether you actually need a screen this tall?

Sony Xperia 10, 10 Plus support two apps at the same time with a multi-window feature.

The resolution is Full HD, so in the limited time that I exhausted with the device, it looked decent. But a lot depends on how the phones are priced. There are thin bezels on the sides and approximately none at the base, but there’s a thick band on top that also holds the frontage camera. There’s no notch, which some might discover 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 enclosed almost the total space, it is unclear if there is a huge number of apps that support this 21:9 aspect ratio screen, so that could be a problem.

Sony Xperia 10 has 12MP+8MP back cameras.

Other specifications of the two phones are mid-level such as Snapdragon 630 processor, 13MP+5MP back camera on the Xperia 10, while 12MP+8MP back cameras attached with Snapdragon 636 processor on the Xperia 10 Plus. Both the variants arrive with an 8MP selfie camera. The Xperia 10 has a 2,870mAh battery, while the Xperia 10 Plus gets a slightly bigger 3,000mAh battery.