SpecEagle
SpecEagle review · Sony

Sony Xperia SP review: A mid-ranger with an aluminium frame and a transparent light-bar.

SpecEagle Editorial·Apr 2013·$450
Overall
42/100
Class rank
#18 of 28
Tier
Mid-range
Buy?
Look elsewhere
The verdict, up front

The phone with the glowing light-bar.

The Xperia SP stood out with a transparent strip at its base that lit up for notifications and music — a distinctive Sony design flourish. Wrapped in an aluminium frame with a capable camera, it was a stylish mid-ranger of the early Xperia era.

01Display

58/100

58/100 trails the 63-point cohort average for mid-range phones of 2013.

TypeTFT LCD (Mobile BRAVIA 2)
Size4.6 inches
Resolution1,280 × 720 px (HD)

02Camera

54/100

54/100 trails the 56-point cohort average for mid-range phones of 2013.

Main8 MP, Exmor RS, f/2.4, LED
Video1080p
FrontVGA

03Performance

54/100

54/100 — right at the average for mid-range phones of 2013.

ChipsetSnapdragon S4 Pro (28 nm, dual)
RAM1 GB
Storage8 GB · microSD

04Battery

58/100

58/100 trails the 62-point cohort average for mid-range phones of 2013.

Capacity2,370 mAh
Standby~ 530 hours

05Build

64/100

64/100 — right at the average for mid-range phones of 2013.

06Value

54/100

54/100 trails the 57-point cohort average for mid-range phones of 2013.

What works
  • Distinctive transparent light-bar that glowed with notifications.
  • Aluminium frame felt premium for a mid-ranger.
  • Decent Exmor RS camera.
  • microSD + jack.
What doesn't
  • Only 1 GB RAM and 8 GB storage.
  • HD (not full-HD) display.
  • Mono speaker.
  • Heavy 155 g for the size.
Cross-shop it against
Apple iPad Air 2
$499 · score 64/100

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 28-phone cohort of mid-range devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .