Sony Xperia L2 Review: Blunt Design But Solid Build And Specs

Sony Xperia L2 is new budget offering from the Japanese electronics manufacturer and also one of the first smartphones from the company to come with a fingerprint scanner. Unveiled at CES 2018 alongside the Xperia XA2 and XA2 Ultra, Sony Xperia L2 looks to take on the mid-budget segment, specifically the sub Rs 20,000 category in India.

That said, on the first look, Sony Xperia L2 seems to be the smartphone from the old age with thick bezels which doesn’t even have the navigations keys, making it just an unused space. However, it’s the internals where Sony wants its new mid-range offering to compete with the likes of Moto X4, Vivo V7+, and Oppo F5.

The biggest highlight of Sony Xperia L2 is the 120-degree super wide-angle lens housed in the front camera which is touted to offer better performance in low-lighting conditions and squeeze more people in the same frame.

But will this be enough to compete in this cruel segment where we have seen features like 18:9 displays, dual cameras and last year’s flagship hardware making its presence felt? Let’s see.

Sony Xperia L2 Specifications

• 5.5-inch (1280 x 720) HD display with 2.5D curved glass, 16:9 aspect ratio, Image Enhance Technology, 293.72 PPI and Corning Gorilla Glass protection.

• 64-bit quad-core MediaTek MT6737T processor clocked at 1.5GHz paired with Mali-T720 GPU

• 3GB RAM and 32GB internal memory, expandable up to 256GB via microSD

• Android 7.1.1 (Nougat) out of the box

• Dual SIM (nano+nano), dedicated microSD card slot and Fingerprint sensor at the rear.

• 13MP rear camera with f/2.0 aperture lens, Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF), LED Flash, and 1/3.06″ sensor.

• 8MP front camera with fixed focus, f/2.4 aperture, 120° wide-angle lens and 1/4″ image sensor.

• 3.5mm audio jack and FM Radio

• Clear Audio+ and Clear Bass audio output

• 3300mAh battery with Qnovo Adaptive Charging

• Dimensions: 150 x 78 x 9.8mm and Weight: 178g

• 4G VoLTE , Bluetooth v4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS/GLONASS, NFC and USB Type-C support.

Sony Xperia L2 Price and Availability

Priced at Rs. 19,990, Sony Xperia L2 is available in Black and Gold color options, through both online and offline channels. While there has been no word on any launch offers from the Japanese multinational, users get a Qnovo Adaptive charger, USB Cable, and headphones as box contents.

Sony Xperia L2 Review

What we like about the Sony Xperia L2

• The build quality endows a lot of confidence while power/lock and volume rockers are placed perfectly, making it easy to use with one hand.

• The 5-inch display is bright and clear with ample of brightness levels for outdoor media consumption coupled with a vibrant color production, thanks to the Image Enhance Technology.

• Sony Xperia L2 comes with Stock Android out of the box offering the purest form of this OS without any bloatware.

• Apart from the rightly placed fingerprint scanner, a dedicated microSD slot is a nice touch of practicality.

• The front camera is capable of clicking detailed pictures and the OIS helps a lot in shaky conditions.

• The 120° wide-angle lens is all about practicality while taking group pictures.

• When it comes to backup, the 3300mAh battery can easily offer juice for a full day of heavy usage.

What we didn’t like about Sony Xperia L2

• Nothing dazzling about the design.

• Slow shutter speed and low light pictures appear muddy.

• We have seen way better performance credentials in this segment and the MediaTek MT6737T processor just can’t make a cut.

• It should have come with Android Oreo out of the box.

Conclusion

Late last year, Sony impressed us with its pricing for the Xperia XZ1 flagship, but our joy seems to have ended as the Xperia L2 is an overpriced device by a huge margin. You can easily get similar specifications in the sub-Rs 15,000 segment while the ‘L2’ just can’t justify its price tag.