Sony Xperia R1

Sony announced the release of the Sony Xperia R1, a lower mid-range device that aims at offering the premium Sony experience at a budget-friendly price. The specifications are a tad scaled down to keep the price low. Hopefully, that shouldn't be much of a problem, as Sony is one of the better smartphone manufacturers out there and are capable of releasing an excellent device across all segments.

The Sony Xperia R1 features a 5.2-inch IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 720x1080(282 ppi pixel density). The primary camera is 13-megapixels with phase detection autofocus(PDAF), face detection, LED flash, HDR and panorama. The secondary camera is 8-megapixels with PDAF. The quality of images captured by the cameras is significantly better than any other similarly priced device, as Sony camera sensors are one of the best in the industry and used by a wide range of OEMs. 

The Sony Xperia R1 is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor clocked at 1.9GHz, along with 2GB of RAM and a dismal 16GB of internal storage which can be expanded up to 256GB via microSD expansion. The battery is a non-removable 2,630mAh battery, which will more than likely require charging twice a day to remain operational. Sony's decision to use the Snapdragon 430 to drive the phone is questionable, as it is a dated chip. The device is expected to run Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box.

The Sony Xperia R1 is a dual-SIM phone with both SIM slots compatible with 4G and VoLTE. Other connectivity features include 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer. It also features a proximity sensor, accelerometer, ambient light sensor and a gyroscope. The device is ideal for people who use their smartphones frugally and for basic to mid-tier applications. Get yours at the lowest price online by checking out our best offers.