Sony xperia m4 aqua dual lte reviews. Review of Sony Xperia M4 Aqua Dual - Anti-crisis smartphone from Tsifrus

One of the main features of the Xperia line is Stamina mode, in which the smartphone demonstrates very impressive battery life results. The Xperia M4 Aqua can easily withstand a day of work with active use, and in economy mode the battery will easily last for two days. This is a very good result, not only in the middle class, but in the market as a whole.

conclusions

Xperia M4 Aqua appeared on the market at the right time. As practice shows, people who are accustomed to A-brands find it difficult to come to terms with the fact that their favorite products have become unaffordable, so they switch to smartphones Chinese manufacturers I still don't want to. In this case, the Xperia M4 Aqua will be the best choice. It is very similar to the flagship model, many will not see any difference at all. Not only the design is similar, but the interface and pre-installed software are similar. Even the impressions of the work are very close. But the price varies almost twice. I am sure that many will even think that the flagship is not worth such an additional payment.

Sony Xperia The M4 Aqua is a smartphone that will definitely make your friends raise their eyebrows, especially when they hear its actual price. Elegant design, moisture protection, attractive characteristics - this new product, released in the summer of 2015, deserves the attention of buyers.

Appearance

The design almost completely replicates that of the brand’s more expensive smartphone, the Xperia Z3. But the body of the new product is made of durable polycarbonate, not metal.

The smartphone has fairly standard dimensions of 14.6 x 7.3 x 0.7 cm, it is thin, light (135 g) and fits comfortably in the hand.

The side panels around the screen are very thin, but the top and bottom panels, on the contrary, are quite wide. But they are not idle: the first houses the manufacturer’s logo, a speaker, a front camera and a small LED that blinks in different colors when the smartphone receives alerts, and the second predictably houses a microphone.

The power button is located on the right side in the middle, where you can also find the volume and camera buttons.

The case comes in 3 colors: white, black and coral red.

Two versions

Dual E2333, as the name suggests, has two slots for a nanoSIM card, while the Xperia M4 Aqua has only 1. In all other parameters and characteristics, they are identical. Only the weight of the Dual is 1 g less - 135 g versus the usual 136 g, and the cost of the Dual models is slightly higher.

Waterproof

Of course, this is the main trump card of this model. Moreover, compared to the previous waterproof model of the brand, this smartphone has become even more perfect.

Thus, there is no longer a need for plugs on the headphone and microUSB jacks, which caused inconvenience to users. But to prevent moisture from getting inside the case, after swimming you need to wait until the ports dry before connecting anything to them.

The protective cap remains only on the compartment for the nanoSIM card and microSD card; it must be carefully closed before allowing contact with liquid.

The Sony Xperia M4 Aqua meets IP65/IP68 standards, which means it is completely dust and waterproof, can be submerged in water for no more than 30 minutes and up to 1.5m in depth.

As always happens with capacitive screens, upon contact with liquid they become uncontrollable. So view your page in in social networks It won’t work underwater, but you can take photos thanks to the presence of a physical camera shutter button.

To better protect the case from moisture, the battery cannot be removed without special tools and skills.

Display

Most often, this is a parameter on which manufacturers like to save money in middle-class models. The Sony Xperia M4 Aqua smartphone was no exception to this rule, but still Sony engineers did a great job and made it quite bright, rich and clear.

The screen diagonal is 5 inches, the resolution is not the maximum possible, but not small - 1280 x 720 pixels, pixel density per inch - 294.

Although these are not the best indicators, the pictures and fonts on the screen look clear and beautiful.

It responds quickly and accurately to touches and gestures, and is protected by a scratch-resistant coating.

Characteristics

Despite its attractive design, inside the Xperia M4 is just a solid middling product. Octa-core Snapdragon processor 615, clocked at 1.76 GHz, and also 2 GB random access memory- such characteristics are not surprising today.

But they significantly reduce its cost to a competitive level.

Another question that particularly worries buyers in Lately: Does Sony Xperia M4 Aqua LTE support? Yes, the smartphone works with it, as well as with other necessary communication protocols - Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, WiFi, GPS.

Volumes internal memory vary depending on model number. How can you find out exactly what it is like for a particular device? For a smartphone with 1 SIM card, the markings E2303 and E2353 mean 8 GB of memory, and E2306 - 16 GB. The Sony Xperia M4 Aqua Dual E2312 also has 8 GB of internal storage, while the E2333 and E2363 have 16 GB.

Interface and performance

The smartphone runs on new version Android 5.0 OS, which is capable of using all the capabilities of its 64-bit processor.

Like the operating system, it has an add-on from the manufacturer, which somewhat changes its appearance, but does not create difficulties in learning.

But a smartphone does not always cope with its functions perfectly. Short-term freezes when opening applications or scrolling through them in the general list are common problems. This is not to say that they are very inconvenient, but they clearly indicate that you are not holding a premium smartphone in your hands.

The user also receives a considerable number of applications from the manufacturer. Their usefulness depends directly on how many other brand devices you have and how accustomed you are to using its services. Some of them can be removed, but some will have to be accepted, regardless of your preferences.

Unfortunately, these applications also have the ability to suddenly stop and restart. This is not such a rare occurrence, and when it occurs on background, then it causes almost no inconvenience.

But each such emergency restart provokes the appearance of alerts on the main screen, which are difficult to remove without sending a report to Google. So if you are temporarily left without Internet on your device, then its desktop will be littered with a considerable number of such notifications.

Photo and video

The Sony Xperia M4 Aqua Dual E2333 is a significant improvement over its M2 predecessor in this area. Like most modern models, it has 2 cameras: the main one is 13 megapixels and a pretty good front one is 5 megapixels.

The application for working with photos and videos is launched either from the main desktop or by simply pressing the physical shutter button.

Like all Xperia smartphones, it is rich in various modes (52 scenarios) and settings for manual shooting, but the auto mode also does a pretty good job of selecting the optimal parameters for different conditions. Color rendition in natural and artificial lighting quite accurate, the clarity and brightness of most images is also pleasantly pleasing. But full replacement A smartphone cannot become a digital camera.

The speed of the camera is its drawback - due to the low-power processor, frame processing is quite slow. Therefore, shooting fast moving objects will be difficult.

Front-camera It will please fans of Skype video calls and selfies with its capabilities, as it provides a fairly clear picture with correct color reproduction.

As for video, the highest possible quality for shooting is 1080 pixels.

Battery

Speaking about the Sony Xperia M4 Aqua smartphone, special attention should be paid to its battery. After all, the manufacturer actively advertises it as one of its main advantages. A 2400 mA battery should theoretically provide the user with 2 days without recharging.

But do the manufacturer’s assurances coincide with reality?

The smartphone has a number of options to save battery, for example,

• disabling all active applications when the screen turns off - while you can create a list of exceptions for especially needed applications;
• STAMINA mode - disables all functions except the most necessary ones - calls and SMS.

But even without these improvements, at the end of a day of moderate use, the smartphone demonstrates high level remaining charge is about 60%. Of course, when watching movies or playing games, the battery drains faster, and a similar effect has a similar effect on it. using Wi-Fi and 4G.

The Sony Xperia M4 Aqua smartphone is a middle-class gadget. The average user might not be immediately interested in this device, but there is one thing: outwardly it looks like an almost exact copy of the brand’s flagship, the Insperia Z3, and costs almost half as much. We can say that the Sony Aqua M4 phone is a dream come true for those who wanted to buy themselves an expensive and beautiful Z3 in many respects. The company is not actively promoting this model, so many fans of Sony products have to collect information literally bit by bit from different sources.

Let's try to figure out why the Sony M4 Aqua smartphone is interesting. Characteristics, description, capabilities, as well as expert opinions, along with reviews from ordinary users of the gadget, will be discussed in detail in the review. The article will talk about latest version devices for the territory of the Russian Federation under the code name E2312.

Smartphone market

The Sony M4 Aqua device was announced at the beginning of 2015 at the international exhibition of mobile gadgets, and sales began in our territory in the 2nd quarter of the same year. This was a time when the cost of premium phones dropped significantly. Nevertheless, manufacturers asked 35-40 thousand rubles for their flagships.

The heroes of the mobile market are simplified versions of premium gadgets, but with the same sophisticated design. In addition to the Sony M4 Aqua, all kinds of S90 from Lenovo with an iPhone look, Lumia from the 830 series (analogous to the 930 model), Huawei P8 Light (a copy of the flagship P8), etc. have poured into stores. So the M4 model has not become something out of the ordinary, but, in fact, is an adaptation of the flagship for the middle class of consumers.

Appearance

As mentioned above, the bumper on the Sony M4 Aqua is practically no different from the flagship Z3. If you give an ordinary user these two phones, he probably won’t even guess which model is more expensive. In general, the Sony M4 Aqua LTE is one of the few gadgets in its segment that looks really expensive and cool.

But small distinctive details are still visible upon close examination. The back panel of the smartphone is made of high-quality plastic, while the flagship has a glass cover. It's the same with the side frame - plastic versus metal. Although the Sony M4 Aqua has retained the shock-absorbing corners, the characteristics of the body do not allow them to be used to their fullest. They act more as a decorative element than a practical one.

The company made an almost win-win move, because not every user will be able to distinguish high-quality transparent plastic from glass. Therefore, the model looks very attractive - customers are happy, and ordinary competitors with ordinary plastic are jealous of the Sony M4 Aqua. Feedback from owners on this matter is mixed. Of course, many people like it when glass and metal feel pleasantly cool on the hand, but at the moment of a fall, a plastic model will clearly be more practical than a glass one. Still, whatever one may say, glass is more susceptible to cracks.

Protection

As the name "Aqua" suggests, the phone has some protective properties. The gadget meets international standards such as IP65/IP68, that is, there is maximum protection from moisture. To be specific, the Sony M4 Aqua LTE can take water procedures for half an hour together with the owner at a depth of up to one and a half meters (just right for a pool).

The company's only reservation about protective characteristics- This is to avoid chlorinated and sea/salt water. Well, if this happens, it is highly recommended to rinse the gadget with clean water. You can swim in a fresh river for the entire allotted time without fear of oxidizing the body with salt.

Interfaces

The latest engineering update of the Sony M4 Aqua made it possible to use Capless class interfaces for micro-USB, that is, without any plugs. A similar move was made in the Z4 line of tablets. This connector is much more practical: there is no need to constantly fiddle with the plugs for mains charging or for connecting to personal computer. Moreover, for particularly lucky owners such plugs fell off on the first lines of Sony M4 Aqua.

User reviews clearly show that Capless class connectors are not only convenient, but also practical. In addition, the company did not give up a slot for a memory card, which also pleased many owners, as well as the ability to choose to work with one or two SIM cards (variable for DuoSim versions).

Screen

If the flagship has a diagonal of 5.2 inches, then the more modest Sony M4 Aqua has a 5-inch screen, with the same body dimensions. Visually, this is barely noticeable due to the wider frames of the M4. The Aqua IPS matrix is ​​a little simpler flagship model, but it produces HD scanning as it should (versus Full HD in the Z3).

In its premium models, the company uses proven screen settings and a significantly expanded color gamut range (RGB > 130%), so the output picture is not very natural, that is, the colors are too pronounced (oversaturation) in the Sony M4 Aqua. Reviews on this matter are mixed, because all users are divided into two camps: those who are served only natural products, and those who are quite satisfied with such a juicy, bright and “anime” range.

The matrix has a completely modern and acceptable resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels with a dots per inch density of 294 ppi. This is quite enough so that even when examining the picture in detail, the image does not seem pixelated.

Bench screen tests

The maximum brightness level ranges from 515 cd/m2. Even iPhones of the sixth series will envy such a reserve. The contrast ratio is also at the appropriate level - about 1020:1. In fact, this is a typical result of this kind of matrices, even if not the best. In addition, the display is equipped with anti-reflective composites, which came in handy for the Sony M4 Aqua. The screen view has excellent angular layout. In general, the M4 model is significantly superior to its predecessors in this regard.

The temperature ranges around 7300K. The color scheme is slightly unbalanced: there is little red and too much blue. The average “Delta E” indicator shows an error on the scale of 5.62 points. Maybe not the best best result, but the almost perfect white balance more than compensates for this shortcoming.

The coverage of the entire gamut is very close to the sRGB standard, so the visual palette is adequate, and the colors are perceived to be of better quality than that of the majority of the top models. Although the gamma is shifted towards blue, there are no critical miscalculations observed in the Sony M4 Aqua. User reviews unanimously show that for its price category, the smartphone has an excellent and rich picture.

Using 24 templates of the ColorChecker utility (color rendition check), a result of 4.1 error points for the “Delta E” error was revealed. We can say that distortions in the graph do not have critical points, so in in this case The manufacturer is on the right track.

A simple adjustment of the Sony M4 Aqua in the white balance area will help you adjust the picture to suit you. There may not be as many possibilities as we would like, but with its help it was possible to remove the excess blue.

After manual manipulations on the stand, the “Delta E” error on the scale gray dropped to a value of 0.64, and average stopped at 2.04 points. The picture became close to ideal and almost completely got rid of the dark blue. If desired, you can achieve more acceptable results, but most users are more than satisfied basic settings gadget.

Generally speaking, based on the results of testing the screen, the smartphone left only positive emotions. There are many more strong points here than weak ones: excellent viewing angles, adequate brightness characteristics and acceptable color rendition without obvious “chemical” impurities.

If we talk about Sony mobile gadgets in general, the screen of the M4 model is perceived noticeably better and more interesting than the non-standard TRILUMINOS palette of other devices. The only drawback, which, in fact, cannot be called critical for this segment, is not the highest deployment. If, of course, you are spoiled by Quad and Full HD resolutions, then you are welcome to the shelf with a flagship with a corresponding price tag.

Performance

The Sony M4 Aqua hardware platform (memory/chipset) is a little simpler than the flagship Z3. The mid-range Snapdragon processor from the 615 series, running on eight cores, is responsible for performance. Instead of 3 GB of flagship memory, they installed 2 GB. The same thing happened with the main camera - 13 megapixels versus 20. You can find other simplifications in the model, but all of them have little effect on the overall perception of the gadget: the device turned out to be a little simpler than the flagship, but not twice as simple.

The processor power is quite enough for the existing matrix, moreover, the phone does not heat up even during intensive work, unlike some premium models with a high-performance chipset.

Working with SIM cards

The company has established a very good tradition for itself, releasing two versions of gadgets onto the market - with one and two SIM cards. Moreover, it doesn’t matter how much the Sony M4 Aqua costs in this or that case, the main thing is that the device fully supports LTE protocols. The cards themselves are switched between each other programmatically, that is, for example, if you want to choose exactly the SIM card that will work at 4G speeds, then it is enough to make simple manipulations in the menu, and not physically change it in the slot.

In addition, the device, equipped with two SIM cards, received twice as much internal memory - 16 GB versus 8. The price tag for this model is slightly higher, but there are clearly more advantages.

Autonomous operation

On the official Sony website, marketers claim that the model can work at medium load without recharging for up to two days. Modern mobile gadgets, working on the Android platform, usually last no more than one day of daylight, a maximum of a day.

It’s not entirely clear where the company’s marketers came up with such numbers, because there seem to be no prerequisites for this, especially since the device has a 2400 mAh (3.8 V) battery standard for its class. Competitors also have “fattier” models, with 3000 mAh capacity, but they do not make such statements.

A field test showed that with intensive use of the device (player, navigator, surfing), the battery lasts at most during daylight hours and a little in the evening, after which the gadget begins to ask for a power outlet. Whatever the manufacturer promises us, the battery life can be called standard for devices of this class.

You can significantly extend the life of your smartphone using built-in energy-saving software called Stamina. After activating this mode, the processor power is functionally limited and the background data transfer prohibition mode is activated.

In addition, there is another useful energy saving mode- “Low charge”, where, after activation, various power-hungry options are disabled and the level of the screen backlight is reduced along with the screen lock time. There is also an even more stringent saving mode - “Ultra Stamina”, which completely disables any “smart” functions of the gadget and turns the device into a very ordinary dialer with the ability to dial numbers, send SMS messages, and nothing more. Do not forget to perform a proper reset of the gadget after connecting all these modes (according to the instructions), if the battery is fully charged, otherwise the smartphone will remain a simple phone. Keep this point in mind before rebooting your Sony M4 Aqua.

If you load the device, as they say, to its fullest - active work Wi-Fi networks, continuous viewing of high-definition videos and data updates in the background - the battery will last just over seven hours, which is a very good result for devices in this segment. The only thing that will drain the battery in just a couple of hours is some powerful toy, but otherwise the battery life is quite acceptable.

Judging by the bare statistics of benchmarks, the same Antutu produces record results for the M4. First place with a good lead over the expensive S920 from Lenovo and Nexus 4 series.

Cameras

It’s worth noting right away that if you like to often take pictures of everything, then plastic case on the Sony M4 Aqua, covering the peephole will be clearly unnecessary; it is better to get well-sewn leather or, as a last resort, high-quality leatherette. Although the camera is not distinguished by its ultra-high resolution (only 13 megapixels), it takes pictures very well.

In general, the Sony brand policy regarding photography is very interesting and user-friendly. The company focuses not just on high-quality photography, but on additional effects and other filming surroundings.

Take, for example, an interesting mode with the original name “Augmented Reality”. That is, the user has the opportunity to apply any effects directly during shooting. There are butterflies, dinosaurs, flowers, and what not. The owner can easily get a landscape in real time with a bouquet of flowers in a winter field or a snowman walking along the beach sand.

Among other modes, it is worth noting the work with self-portraits (selfies), where the functionality of the smartphone can easily smooth out some obvious facial imperfections. There is work with a panorama, the ability to add live sound to a photo (similar to the GIF extension) and a lot of already familiar effects like sepia or monochrome.

In addition to simplifying the layout of the camera, the model also received its own certain advantages. For example, the front camera was equipped with a resolution of 5 megapixels, but the view was significantly increased - 88 degrees. Moreover, the front camera can work with the functionality of the main camera, such as augmented reality and other effects.

Platform

The company is not particularly trying to rework the platform “stuffing” such as menu branches or appearance. Therefore, all any critical changes come down to a set of design themes and new features of desktop gadgets. In fact, Android on the M4 is very close to a “pure” platform, not burdened with various features that we are used to seeing on other devices.

Some people don’t even like operating systems that are crammed with additional software. On the one hand, this seems to be for convenience, but on the other hand, so that the owner appears on the indicated resources more often and spends his hard-earned money. Therefore, in this regard, the manufacturer managed with minimal “intrusion” into the OS, for which we thank him (if we need anything, we’ll install it ourselves).

There is a choice of design themes, you can install the number of desktops you need, change the wallpaper, remove unnecessary ones if they bother you. The surroundings themselves look calm, without any inconsistency in style and in the absence of any flashy icons. This is probably why the speed of the interface is very impressive. Many owners in their reviews have repeatedly noted the fact that desktops and gadgets respond instantly, without friezes, sagging or other lags.

According to the old tradition, the company threw the most widgets into the smartphone popular applications. You can select them in two clicks through the window background programs. If you wish, you can add new gadgets to your device through the same Google Play. As for branded applications such as galleries, music libraries and other multimedia, everything here is done in the original style from Sony. There is a set of recommendation services on beautiful gadgets like Sony Select, which can be removed as unnecessary (thank you very much for that).

The music department is no longer called Walkman, but simply "Music". The design is very beautiful and, as they say, fits the theme. There is a cleaning function audio tracks from noise, as well as a sensible equalizer. Generally speaking, for its class the model sounds quite decent: maximum volume does not hiss or fall into cacophony, and all frequencies are adjusted as needed.

Summarizing

“Sony Xperia M4 Aqua” is not just a beautiful gadget with a stylish appearance that repeats the features of the company’s flagship, but this is precisely the rare case when a device of this class has practically no critical flaws. In our case (Sony Xperia M4 Aqua Dual E2312), the buyer will have to pay a little more than 16 thousand rubles for the gadget. Surely many users will want to get both a cool design and powerful smartphone from a famous brand. The Sony company has provided this opportunity to its fans.

In addition to its attractive appearance, the device has good protection against water, and of a standardized type - IP65/68. Therefore, for those who like to take photos in the pool or splash around in the bath while listening to their favorite music, this is just what they need.

The manufacturer did not skimp on chipsets: a good processor, enough RAM, a well-designed platform. The screen also showed good performance, as did the capabilities of both cameras. As additional bonus- very good battery life with this slim body, albeit lower than stated by marketers.

In fact, there is nothing to complain about; the smartphone is perfectly balanced in terms of price and quality. If you look at the lineup competitors, then the same Lumia 830, S90 from Lenovo and Galaxy from the A5 series are more expensive, but the characteristics are almost identical. So purchasing a Sony Xperia M4 Aqua is an excellent investment. Moreover, for such a price you probably won’t be able to find an even more intelligent device.

Advantages of a smartphone:

• attractive design almost exactly repeating the beautiful flagship Z3;
• light and thin bumper;
• excellent screen/matrix characteristics;
• ideal price/quality ratio;
• IP65/68 moisture protection without additional plugs;
• well-developed Android platform running on two SIM cards;
• long battery life compared to competing analogues.

Flaws:

• mediocre photo and video quality;
• The frames on the case are too wide for such a screen diagonal;
• plastic bumper.

The estimated price on Yandex.Market is about 16,000 rubles (first quarter of 2017).

The new Sony Xperia M4 Aqua is definitely a stylish and affordable phone in the mid-range segment. However, its design and some elements are borrowed from the company's top models. Like flagships, this smartphone is not afraid of moisture and can even shoot underwater.

Sony Xperia M4 Aqua phone - Reviews

Xperia M4 Aqua is equipped with a 5-inch display with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels, runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop with a modern 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 615 chip and has a 13-megapixel camera.

The Sony M4 Aqua only has 8GB of internal memory, and the battery capacity is also lower than the top-tier Xperia Z series. The question arises: is the price justified? of this device? Let's try to check this.

Equipment Sony Xperia M4 Aqua

The box contains the following set:

• Xperia M4 Aqua smartphone;
• 85A - 5V charger;
• microUSB cable;
• manual.

Design

The Sony Xperia M4 Aqua is similar to the flagship Xperia Z3 phone. They are so similar that at first glance it is quite difficult to immediately tell what the difference is between them. And that's great, because both phones are stylish, thin, and impressive to look at. Despite the fact that the Xperia M4 Aqua is equipped with a slightly smaller display (5 inches versus 5.2 inches Z3), the dimensions of the devices are almost identical.

Considering that the Sony Xperia M4 Aqua is sold at half the price of the Z3, there should be a difference here, but in this case it is not noticeable, but rather felt already in use. The M4 Aqua's body is made entirely of plastic, while the Z3's design is made of aluminum and durable glass. The mid-range plastic model does not look as impressive as the flagship case, but, nevertheless, it is quite durable, and the assembly and fitting of parts are at a high level.

There are paired speakers on the front panel, physical buttons are missing here. The on-screen keys are used for navigation. All physical buttons are located on the right side of the device: lock/power, volume rocker, two-way camera shutter release. The keys are small, but conveniently located and easy to find.

Sony Xperia M4 Aqua is protected from both dust and water

As is clear from the name of the model, the phone is protected from both dust and water. It is officially certified IP65/68. This ensures that the device can be safely immersed in water up to a depth of 1.5 meters for up to half an hour. But it is worth considering that here we're talking about about fresh water (for example, a swimming pool), and not sea salt. And when diving, all ports must be closed with special plugs.

Display

Sony Xperia M4 Aqua is equipped with a 5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. This gives a fairly decent pixel density of 294ppi. The screen is sufficiently sharp and pixelation is not visible during normal viewing. But upon closer inspection, the jagged edges of the pixels still appear.

The color rendition of the display is quite good. The calibration isn't perfect and the screen tends to lean towards cooler tones, but overall colors are nice and vibrant and free of unnatural oversaturation. For its class, this is one of the most successful displays. It’s nice that the company adheres to the SRGB color standard, since most visual materials on the Internet are designed specifically for it. Especially for color perfectionists, Sony has included in the menu the ability to calibrate screen colors. The default color temperature is within 7400K, above the 6500K standard.

The screen backlight is quite bright. It reaches 551 nits. This makes it easy to read the screen even outdoors on a sunny day. Viewing angles without color distortion are also decent.

Interface and functionality

Sony Xperia M4 Aqua runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop with a light and fast proprietary skin from Sony. Almost all stock apps such as Google Photos or Play Music, replaced with applications from Sony. They work great and fast, are very comfortable, and also look great.

One more a nice addition There will be colorful themes and wallpapers from the company. All this is complemented by a pleasant and easy-to-use interface. What's equally nice is that it doesn't come with a lot of presets.

Processor and memory

Sony Xperia M4 Aqua runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 615. This is a 64-bit chip with eight Cortex A53 cores. It operates at a frequency of 1.5 GHz, has 2 GB of RAM and an Adreno 405 GPU.

The figures are relatively low. It is natural to have concerns about slowing down in your work. However, the phone actually works great. Menu navigation is fast and smooth. There are no delays in applications. The exception is the camera application, but even there the “lags” are more likely hardware rather than software, but more on that later.

The device did not show impressive results in performance tests. But it is worth remembering that benchmarks in such tests are not always actual confirmation of good performance. And the most important next question: how did the device perform under everyday use? Here you can give the device a solid “good”.

Xperia M4 is not very powerful but worthy

The Adreno 405 GPU graphics chip is not particularly powerful. But in combination with the screen not too much high resolution it handles most games just fine. Shooters often run at slightly lower frame rates, but are still quite acceptable. There were no problems at all with the rest of the games.

The phone's built-in memory is somewhat cramped - only 8 GB. Of these for personal use less than 6 are available. But fortunately, the device supports expansion up to 128 GB using a microSD card.

Internet and connection

Sony Xperia M4 Aqua uses the mobile version of Google Chrome as its default browser. This is good because the app does its job well. Pages load quickly and the phone runs fairly smoothly.

The device is equipped with 4G LTE with broadband support. In addition to it, there is a standard package of Bluetooth 4.1, dual-channel Wi-Fi and GPS. Everything works perfectly without interruptions.

Camera

The Sony Xperia M4 Aqua phone comes with a 13-megapixel primary camera equipped with an LED flash and an f/2.0 lens. The front camera has 5 megapixels and can record video in Full format HD.

The camera app is the company's standard offering, with automatic and manual modes, as well as a few more fancy filters and effects that few people use. The interface itself is as simple as possible, there are separate buttons for photo and video shooting. But some parameters seem to be countries, for example, it is impossible in automatic mode manually set HDR when shooting. Here the phone itself decides whether to shoot HDR or not. The camera starts up quite slowly, and focus can hardly be called fast.

In general, the pictures from this model turned out to be quite mediocre. The images lack dynamics and sharpness in places. Also, while working with the camera, what caught my eye was that the white balance clearly leans towards blue, giving the colors some unnaturalness.

Sony Xperia M4 – Decent low-light performance

In low light, the photographs lacked dynamics, but compared to other devices of the same class, the phone performed perhaps better than anyone else. Images taken under such conditions do not appear as blurry after processing as similar phones. The flash does its job perfectly. It can illuminate fairly large scenes, but it adds more bluish tints to photos.

The front 5-megapixel camera takes good selfies. The pictures have good detail, but there are also minor problems with light. Photos look slightly faded.

As for video recording on the Xperia M4 Aqua, you can shoot up to 30 frames per second in 1080p resolution and a bitrate of about 20 Mbit. The video quality is disappointing. The videos filmed lack sharpness and detail. The picture is jerky. Eat various options focusing, but none of them showed a decent result, which was also disappointing. The sound in the video sequence is of rather low quality.

Multimedia

Applications on Sony Xperia M4 Aqua are standard set. They come with all Xperia models. This includes a gallery, video player and Walkman music player.

All multimedia applications have a button for direct access to PlayMemories Online from Sony. The gallery has the ability to view Facebook and Picasa images. It also offers options for editing pictures and photographs; the set is standard, without unnecessary bells and whistles.

The music player has a fairly simple interface. Home screen shows the cover of the album whose track is being played. The list gives a convenient overview of what is playing and will be played. There are several ways to organize your songs (albums, artists, folders, individual songs, and playlists).

Xperia M4 Aqua has one speaker on the rear panel. The phone is also equipped with paired front speakers and a headphone output. The sound quality is above average in all respects.

Connection quality

The call quality on the Sony Xperia M4 Aqua is quite good. With headphones, the sound is clear, but somewhat quiet. At the opposite end you can be heard perfectly and loudly, so there are no complaints about the microphone. There is some digital distortion, but it is minimal and unimportant.

Battery life

Despite the strong external similarity with the flagship Z3, when it comes to battery capacity, the difference is significant. Sony Xperia M4 Aqua is equipped with a 2400 mAh battery. And yet the company claims that it will last for 2 days. We decided to check this indicator.

The screen backlight was set to 200 nits during the test. The phone was used almost constantly - the discharge time was 6 hours and 22 minutes. The figure is not very impressive. Flagship with more capacious battery and with high energy consumption lasted almost one and a half times longer.

As for charging, from full discharge to 100% using a 0.85A - 5V device, the phone charges in 2 hours 55 minutes.

Bottom line

The Sony Xperia M4 Aqua has an excellent build: it's thin and stylish, and at the same time made of plastic, although it has the look and feel of a more expensive gadget.

The retail price of the Sony Xperia M4 Aqua is around $350 (280 euros), roughly on par with Samsung Galaxy A5, its main competitor in this segment. Both phones have great designs, the Galaxy A5 has the edge in camera control but lacks water resistance. Naturally, there are plenty of competitors from China - such as the Xiaomi Mi 4, currently available at the same price or cheaper, and the Mi 4 in particular comes with a predominantly sharper 1080 x 1920 pixel screen, and also has a feature-rich software MIUI.

The two big downsides to the Xperia M4 Aqua are in the camera department and the limited amount of internal memory. The 8GB of storage can simply be increased with a microSD card, but the camera's slow start-up and average focusing will still remain. Ultimately, the M4 Aqua isn't a bad device, but it's difficult to give it a heartfelt recommendation with the above two issues.

Pros of Sony Xperia M4 Aqua

• Good display.
• Good performance for everyday tasks.
• Great stylish design.
• Waterproof.
• Good call quality.

Minuses

• 8 GB of internal memory (not including microSD card slot).
• Slow focusing camera, mediocre image.
• Poor video quality.
• Long charge.

New Sony Xperia M4 Aqua – video review

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General characteristics

Type

Deciding on the type of device (phone or smartphone?) is quite simple. If you need a simple and inexpensive device for calls and SMS, it is recommended to choose a telephone. A smartphone is more expensive, but it offers a wide variety of options: games, videos, the Internet, thousands of programs for all occasions. However, its battery life is significantly less than that of a regular phone.

smartphone operating system Android 5.0 Case type classic Design waterproof Control screen buttons Number of SIM cards 1 SIM card type

Modern smartphones can use not only regular SIM cards, but also their more compact versions micro SIM and nano SIM. An eSIM is a SIM card integrated into the phone. It takes up virtually no space and does not require a separate tray for installation. eSIM is not yet supported in Russia. Glossary of terms for the category Mobile phones

nano SIM Weight 140 g Dimensions (WxHxD) 72.6x145.5x7.3 mm

Screen

Screen type color IPS, 16.78 million colors, touch Type touch screen multi-touch, capacitive Diagonal 5 inches. Image Size 1280x720 Pixels per inch (PPI) 294 Aspect Ratio 16:9 Automatic screen rotation There is

Multimedia capabilities

Number of main (rear) cameras 1 Main (rear) camera resolution 13 MP Functions of the main (rear) camera autofocus, digital Zoom 4x Face recognition Recording videos yes (3GPP, MP4) Max. video resolution 1920x1080 Geo Tagging yes Front-camera yes, 5 MP Audio MP3, WAV, FM radio Headphone jack 3.5 mm

Connection

Standard

There are several major cellular standards that are supported modern phones. In Russia, the GSM standard is used almost everywhere. For high-speed data transmission, 3G and 4G LTE standards are used - the highest speed of the existing standards. Glossary of terms for the category Mobile phones

GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G, 4G LTE, LTE-A Cat. 4 LTE bands support model E2303 - bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20; model E2353 - bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 28, 40 Interfaces

Almost all modern smartphones have Wi-Fi and USB interfaces. Bluetooth and IRDA are a little less common. Wi-Fi is used to connect to the Internet. USB is used to connect your phone to a computer. Bluetooth is also found in many phones. It is used to connect wireless headphones, to connect the phone to wireless speakers, as well as for transferring files. A smartphone equipped with an IRDA interface can be used as a universal remote control. Glossary of terms for the category Mobile phones

Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.1, USB, ANT+, NFC Satellite navigation

Built-in GPS modules and GLONASS allow you to determine the coordinates of your phone using signals from satellites. If there is no GPS modern smartphone can determine its own location based on signals from base stations mobile operator. However, finding coordinates using satellite signals is usually much more accurate. Glossary of terms for the category Mobile phones

GPS/GLONASS A-GPS system yes DLNA support yes

Memory and processor

CPU

Sensors

lighting, proximity, compass Use as a USB storage device There is

Before purchasing, check the specifications and equipment with the seller.