Despite its lackluster results on the smartphone market, Sony hasn’t given up on making phones yet. It’s not only making flagships either, but also dips its toes into the shark-infested midrange segment where Chinese manufacturers dominate with value propositions. But those aren’t really a problem in the US market, so Sony has something for those that want the brand name without spending four figures.
Enter the Xperia L4, Sony’s latest midrange smartphone.
Xperia L4 design
As long as you’ve seen a Sony phone released in the last 12 or so months, you’ll immediately recognize that this is a Sony phone. It follows the aesthetic introduced by the company last year: tall and slim phones with barely rounded corners.
The tall form-factor is once again determined by the 21:9 aspect ratio of the display. In this case, a 6.2-inch LCD panel with HD+ (720p) resolution and a notch.
Yes, a bit late to the show but Sony now has a phone with a notch as well. While that might disappoint some, considering that most content we watch is either 16:9 or 18:9, the notch will hardly ever make peek into your videos.
On the back, there’s a plain plastic panel and three cameras. Nice and clean.
Xperia L4 specs
Keeping up with the midrange theme of the phone are its internals. Here’s what Sony has equipped the Xperia L4 with:
Xperia L4
specs
Chipset
MediaTek Helio P22
Memory
3GB
Storage
64GB
Cameras
13MP main 5MP ultra wide 2MP depth 8MP front-facing
Battery
3,580mAh
Audio
3.5mm headphone jack
Nothing says budget phone like a MediaTek SoC. The Helio P22 is a decent mid-range chip, though, its performance is roughly comparable to that of the Snapdragon 625. It's worth noting that last year's Xperia L3 had the same chip, which shows Sony is really trying to save a buck with this one.
Memory is a bit low for 2020 standards even for the market segment the Xperia L4 occupies. 64GB of storage is not much either but as long as Apple offers as much on its $1,000 phones, we can't expect much else from other manufacturers.
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We're happy to see the large battery and headphone jack, however. That combo would make a pretty good media player out of the Xperia L4.
Not much to say about the cameras, they're unlikely to amaze anyone. A notable feature is that the phone can record videos and capture photos in a 21:9 format, so you can make full use of the display.
Xperia L4 price and release date
Sony is still quiet about the exact price of the Xperia L4 but considering other similar phones from the company, we expect the L4 to cost around $300. When will you be able to buy it is up in the air as well but Sony promises that it will be this Spring and only in select markets.
So, there you have it, another cheap Sony phone that will likely remain unnoticed and hardly ever bought, just like its predecessor.
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