Why did your choose the Sony Xperia over something like a OnePlus 15 or (insert top tier phone this year)? I’ve always been curious as almost every owner I’ve heard from absolutely loves their phones?
Id be particularly interested in those who couldn’t put didn’t go through their carrier. I have a OnePlus 13 and I swear I’ll be using it for another 3 years. But I’d like to consider an Xperia for my next phone.

  • pieberry@lemmy.today
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    17 hours ago

    I got my xperia used by someone who didn’t like it, so i got a 2021 model in 2023 for less than half the original price.

    I got it because it has an unlockable bootloader and LineageOS support. Also because it has a headphone jack, sd card slot, and no [fucking!] holes in the screen.

    The performance has been perfect, even three years later. Everything works(except android auto keep breaking), everything can be programmed (including the hardware buttons), and I have control over my privacy. I have control ever pretty much everything, actually.

    The downside is it’s fragile AF on the software side, and there’s almost no security against physical attacks. It requires a high level of knowledge to set up and keep it running in a way that maintains privacy.

    It’s by far the best phone and phone experience I have ever had.

  • ChicoSuave@lemmy.world
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    17 hours ago

    I didn’t like my OnePlus 7 and hated the OS. XPeria has one of the best camera image sensors in digital cameras plus the model I got was the generation where they went back to 1080p screens but left the battery from the 4K display so the battery life is literal days of active use. The DAC is great and audio jack gets daily use. Also expandable SD card slot. No stupid Bixby button. Basically all the best stuff packed with the greatest mobile feature classics And no bloat or bullshit.

  • mmmm@sopuli.xyz
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    17 hours ago

    As a matter of fact today it’s the sixth year mark (no pun intended) with my xperia 1ii. Still works as new. Even battery life is still great. Can’t see myself using something else.

  • 🧟‍♂️ Cadaver@lemmy.world
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    20 hours ago

    I have no Xperia phone, haven’t had one since 2015. However I considered buying one only because audio quality. I’m always listening to music and have Hi-Res headphones. There aren’t many devices outside of Sony which have a good audio quality.

    I finally bought a Redmagic because the price tag was more affordable but well… Had I more money, I might’ve bouht an Xperia phone.

  • sbird@retrofed.com
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    1 day ago

    Many of the Sony Xperia devices are supported by LineageOS (not often you see that outside of Pixel and Fairphone), you have the beloved audio jack, front speakers w/ no notch, microSD expansion, and they’re just very cool devices :D

      • sbird@retrofed.com
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        1 day ago

        Pixel, Sony, OnePlus (mentioned already in the post) and Fairphone are the main ones. You also have several of the older Motorola devices, as well as a couple from other brands (like Nothing), usually older devices (newer devices are not supported nearly as well)

  • Creat@discuss.tchncs.de
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    1 day ago

    Not me personally, but Xperia are among the very few phones left that come in smaller sizes. Better for small hands. Not just the total size of the display but the width.

    Plus all the other reasons already given of course help (lineageos support, audio jack, …)

    • THE_GR8_MIKE@lemmy.world
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      18 hours ago

      That’s why I got a Zenfone. Of the two phones on the market with headphone jacks, when I got mine, the Zenfone was the smaller of the two. It’s sized like a normal phone. Not a tablet like every other phone these days lol

    • mjr@infosec.pub
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      1 day ago

      Yes! This! My previous phone was an Xperia because of this in large part. A 5 inch screen makes one-handed use so much easier, plus it fits in more pockets, pouches and niches, plus battery life was so much longer. I hope some decent manufacturer got their head out of their bottoms with small screens & lineage support when I next need a new phone. My thumb doesn’t reach the far top corner on a 7" screen!

  • AGuyAcrossTheInternet@fedia.io
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    1 day ago

    It was literally my only option for my peculiar set of needs:
    SD card slot, headphone jack, stereo speakers and no notch (never been a big fan of those, though originally I just feared there was not enough third-party supply in case I needed replacements).

    Big downside is that Sony still is notoriously bottom line in terms of software support. See them dropping the promised OS update to Android 17 for the 10 VI, two weeks ago.

    It’s devastating how much my choices have shrunk just with those things. Checked GSMArena’s phone finders and just went from nice-to-haves to the features I really wanted. I was surprised anybody (Sony) offered my nice-to-haves in a phone altogether.

    My carrier didn’t have it, so I got it through my former workplace who was about to order some work phones anyway. That’s also why I went with the flagship which I wouldn’t have needed, instead of the 5 VI or 10 VI.

    Before that, me sticking to Sony was actually coincidence. I used to have an iPhone, found it not for me, had an Xperia Z, then eventually a hand-me-down Z3, a Galaxy Note 9 (also a great phone but I hated the software and how Samsung kept trying to get me in their eco systems with the damn account). Switched to a 1 VI because of the aforementioned reasons and with the near-stock rom and the support for unlocking the phone in my region, I think I have another companion for a few years. Even the photos it shoots are great, if not the peak of the peak out there. That’s secondary to me though.

  • kboos1@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I loved all my Sony phones, I had to switch to Samsung and I fing hate it, the UI is terrible and Samsung apps keep asking me to create an account and accept their EULA. Plus their AI shenanigans.

    The biggest complaint with my Xperia 1iii was that there wasn’t enough support and light sensor was too sensitive. The battery crapped out after about 4 years and cell company only allows their phones (or a very short list of unlocked phones) on their network and the newest gen Xperias are not supported at all.

    The UI is so much cleaner, SD cards, and no notch/hole. My Xperia 1iii has turned into a emulator, streamer, and portable gaming device. The battery doesn’t last more than a few hours but it’s not a problem because I usually can’t play for more than a couple hours at a time anyway. I think it spent too much time charging and being directly in the sun. It was my attached to my windshield most of the time when I was a service technician.

  • chillxjr@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    This is not going to be helpful, but in the mid 2000’s I had an Xperia cell phone. It was the first truly mobile device I could get simple game emulators to run on. It also had a dedicated dpad and buttons for gaming. It was fantastic and for what its worth, I didn’t even know they still made phones, but I’m gonna check em out now too.

    Edit: Actually, the Xperia 1 VII looks sick as hell, and will probably be my next phone if I can get a hold of one.

  • 4TBHMeCCL@suppo.fi
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    1 day ago

    I got mine for free (or at least a discount, I don’t remember which), I trust Sony more (as a company) than OnePlus, it was easier for me to buy, and I’ve had it for a number of years so I don’t feel the need to replace it with a new one (as it still works).

    The newest one also gives six years of security updates, so one can hang onto the phone for a longer time.