Design
Nothing anew about the design and body as Xperia is following the same build for the past couple of years and not as fancy as the high-end versions of Sony. The phone is pretty slim and the power button is placed somewhere in the middle on a side. The glossy plastic rear seems quite attractive but seems to get smudged and scratched easily. But being water-resistant is the major highlight. The USB port, audio jack and speakers are all designed to be water-resistive by adorning a nano-coating. The Sim card slots and micro SD card slots are protected by a rubber flap which is positioned right above the power buttons. A dedicated camera button is also placed on the polycarbonated sides. The thin body measures 7.3mm and weight 136 gms. Thus making it an easier task to hold it for longer hours of smartphone activities. The speakers are located at the bottom. The available color variants will be Black, white and Coral.
Display
Aqua M4 packs in a 5 inch HD display screen with 720x1280p resolution. The display panel looks neat with no projecting pixelation but is slightly over satutated. The brightness levels are normal. The display is fairly sharp but you will eventually get used to it. The saturated tone makes the pictures look more clearer and louder. The brightness levels can be adjusted and there are customization levels for white balance. The size of the Aqua is not too small nor too big making it quite handy.
Performance
Aqua M4 is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core 64- bit processor along with 2 GB of RAM. This is in fact Sony's first smartphone to be launched with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor. The internal storage feature is not quite attractive since it just offers 8GB on top of which the phone has umpteen number of pre installed apps. So obviously you will need a memory card which can be expandable up to 128 GB. The processor installed has always resulted in rising temperature levels in all the other devices but with a recent update Sony seems to have overcome that issue. Performance is not quite satisfactory though, playing heavy games somehow has resulted in a lathargic performance by the device.
The call quality sound is decent and there has been no reported issues of sudden call-drops. The audio quality is too good, gives you a rich audio treat.
Software
The Aqua M4 comes in with Android 5.0 Lollipop and the screen definitely looks color and welcomin gwith the Sony's own UI. Sony has preloaded the phone with number of services including Music, Play Station, Liv, Xperia Lounge, Album and movie. In addition to these we will find a number of apps as well which includes Facebook, MovieCreator TrackID etc to name a few. Witht he limited RAM space you will be most likely forced to uninstall a few apps.
Camera
The Xperia M4 Aqua comes with a 13 MP rear shooter which produces pictures which is nothing extra-ordinary in quality. The pictures comes out in decent colors but seems to be a bit over-exposed. The video quality is very poor as the camera fails to pool in light from sources. Resultin gin darker images and videos. The features provided are Face detection, Smile detection, Digital zoom, Self-timer, Digital image stabilization, Autofocus, Touch to focus, Geo tagging . The front camera is of a 5 MP one.
Battery
The 2,400mAh battery of Sony Xperia M4 Aqua Dual is pretty great, providing battery life of just over a day. With no quick Charge features you will be advised to carrry your charger with you. With Battery saving feature you may still be able to save some power.
Key Features
Display -5-inch 720p HD display
OS - Android 5.0 Lollipop
Processor - 64-bit Snapdragon 615 octa-core CPU |
Storage - 2 GB RAM 16 GB ROM( Indian version), supports microSD cards up to 128 GB
Camera - 13MP rear camera and 5MP front camera
Connectivity - 4G Dual SIM LTE
Battery - 2,400 mAh battery
Weight -136gms
Price - Rs. 24,990/-
Final Word
The finish and build is gorgeous and the phone overall looks very attractive.There aren't any other unique features such as fingerprint scanning and quick charging, Since Sony has always focused more on camera, battery life and other design details. The phone seems a bit overly-priced for the given features. The speakers at the bottom may tend to be concealed while using the device with a single hand. The resolution offered is very poor at this price tag since phones above 20K normally features a 1080x1920p display.
The device is indeed cluttered with preloaded apps of which some cannot be uninstalled. There is nothing great about the camera as the white balance, exposure and contrast levels all seems faulty.
The enhanced processor claims to provide you with powerful performance and hassle free browsing experience. In short the Aqua M4 has a good display, attractive design and powerful battery life. The camera quality may however be a put off.
