Sony Xperia 10 IV Smartphone Review

The Sony Xperia 10 IV is the latest smartphone to be added to the Sony Xperia 10 series, updating the Xperia 10 III and bringing another reasonably priced smartphone to a very busy sector of the camera phone market. We've been putting it to the test to find out how good the Xperia 10 IV is at capturing images as, after all, this is one of the main factors when considering which smartphone to buy. 

Sony Xperia 10 IV Features

The Sony Xperia 10 IV is a compact smartphone with a simple design that has a 6-inch display and a line-up of cameras that, on paper, are pretty decent. On the front is an 8MP f/2.0 27mm Wide Angle Lens while the rear triple camera set-up features: 12 MP, f/1.8, 27mm (wide), PDAF, OIS, 8 MP, f/2.2, 54mm (telephoto) with PDAF, 2x optical zoom and an 8 MP, f/2.2, 16mm (ultrawide). You get up to 2x optical zoom (10x digital zoom) and camera technology such as Phase-Detection Autofocus and Optical Image Stabilisation. 

Other features include an IP65/68 rating which means it is dust resistant and can survive 30 minutes in a water depth up to 1.5-meters, there's a headphone jack along with a 5000mAh battery built-in. 

Sony Xperia 10 IV Key Features:

• Triple Rear Camera: 12 MP, f/1.8, 27mm (wide), PDAF, OIS, 8 MP, f/2.2, 54mm (telephoto) with PDAF, 2x optical zoom, 8 MP, f/2.2, 16mm (ultrawide) 
• Front Camera: 8MP f/2.0 27mm Wide Angle Lens
• Display: 6" OLED display
• Zoom: 2X optical zoom
• Optical Image Stabilisation
• Phase-Detection Autofocus
• Pro video and camera modes 
• Video: 1080p, 30 fps
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• Type-C USB
• 5000mAh battery
• 128GB/6GB RAM (microSDXC slot for expanded storage)
• Dimensions: 153 x 67 x 8.3mm
• Weight: 161g

Sony Xperia 10 IV Handling

The Sony Xperia 10 IV looks very much like the Xperia 10 III with its glass front and plastic back/frame, slightly rounded corners and longer design than other smartphone manufacturers tend to go with. For a Sony smartphone, it is rather compact and feels lightweight but also a little on the cheaper side with its plastic construction but Sony had to save some money somewhere to bring the price down. The matte finish is nice, though, and is similar to that on the recently reviewed Sony Xperia 5 IV. On test is the black version of the smartphone and, let's face it, you can't really go wrong with black. It also feels comfortable to hold and the design is minimal with small bezels surrounding the screen. 

On the right, you get the volume controls and power button while the left is where your SIM card goes. On the bottom of the smartphone is a USB-C port and up top is a headphone jack for those who still like to use wired headphones. Up front is a 6-inch OLED display that's plenty bright enough and it's made from Corning Gorilla Glass Victus so should be a little more scratch resistant. 

Turn the smartphone over and you find the rear triple camera unit with its 12MP wide, 8MP telephoto and 8MP ultrawide camera set-up. On the front is an 8MP wide-angle lens which performs perfectly well when capturing selfies. You do get some of the features found in Sony Alpha cameras built-in such as Phase-Detection Auto Focus and Optical Image Stabilisation is always welcomed. 

Optical zoom is limited to 2X with up to 10X available via digital and plenty of camera app features are built in such as filters, panorama mode, the ability to add bokeh, HDR and more. 

The camera app is easy to work around and is similar to any other camera app out there. Although, the Xperia 10 series app is slightly different to the camera app found on the Xperia 5 series (take a look at our review of the Xperia 5 IV). You have 3 zoom buttons to switch between the ultra-wide, wide and telephoto lenses then to use the digital zoom, you have to 'pinch zoom' the display. Click the display and you can adjust the exposure of the shot. Filters are found under the art palette while clicking 'more' brings you top options such as panorama mode. HDR can be switched on and off but we actually found the colour balance was better when it was left on. 

Sony Xperia 10 IV Camera Features:

• 12 MP, f/1.8, 27mm (wide), PDAF, OIS
• 8 MP, f/2.2, 54mm (telephoto) with PDAF, 2x optical zoom
• 8 MP, f/2.2, 16mm (ultrawide)
• Front Camera: 8MP f/2.0 27mm Wide Angle Lens
• Zoom: 2X optical 
• Optical Image Stabilisation
• Phase-Detection Autofocus
• Pro video and camera modes 

Battery life - The 5000mAh battery performs really well, outlasting most other smartphone batteries and we didn't need to reach for a charger at the end of the day.