Sony Mobile on Thursday announced the Xperia XA1 Plus during its pre-IFA 2017 press conference, revealing its successor to the Xperia XA1 which the Japanese original equipment manufacturer (OEM) unveiled earlier this year at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain. The newly revealed device is meant to be a significant upgrade over its predecessor in many aspects, including the one that many consumers care about the most – the battery.
The Xperia XA1 Plus is powered by a 3,430mAh battery which is significantly larger than the 2,300mAh unit found in the original Xperia XA1. Coupled with an efficient MediaTek-made system-on-chip (SoC) and the fact that the handset is equipped with a compact 5.5-inch display panel, the Xperia XA1 Plus should have no issues lasting a whole day on a single charge, Sony suggested. Once its cell is depleted, recharging it shouldn’t take much longer than an hour thanks to the phone’s support for Pump Express+ 2.0, MediaTek’s proprietary fast charging technology that has a performance comparable to that of Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0. Much like its predecessor, the Xperia XA1 Plus ships with a non-removable battery and there’s still no word on how much replacement batteries for the device could cost. While its screen is of the 1080p variety as opposed to the 720p display panel found on the original Xperia XA1, this particular feature wouldn’t amount to a significant difference in battery life even in the context of two identical batteries, let alone one that’s 1,130mAh larger. As far as the mid-tier price segment of the smartphone market is concerned, the battery performance of the Xperia XA1 Plus should be one of the best money can buy.
A capable and reliable battery is just one of several reasons why Sony is hoping consumers will choose the Xperia XA1 Plus over its mid-range alternatives this fall. The device is scheduled to hit the market in the coming weeks and will have a worldwide release, with the Tokyo, Japan-based consumer electronics manufacturer confirming that it will be offering the handset in white, black, blue, and gold color options, though it remains to be seen whether all of them will be available in every territory where the device launches.
