Sony Xperia X Performance review

      If you're a "Top Gun" type and expect your phone to have the power of a jet engine, then you're exactly who Sony had in mind with the Xperia X Performance.
The X Performance (never to be called the XP, I'm told by Sony) is the turbo-charged version of the Xperia X. Sony has packed more processing power into the Performance, along with speedier LTE 4G connectivity and a slightly bigger battery. Other than that, the two phones are almost identical, from the 5-inch full HD screen to the 23-megapixel camera on the rear. But trust me, the differences are very noticeable.

Design
When I first saw the phone, I confess to finding the smooth, rounded edges and matte back a little pedestrian. But my opinion changed significantly while using it. It's comfortable to hold, and when I went back to compare it with the Z5 and Z5 Premium I found it to be the best looker of the group.
My colleague Jessica Dolcourt called the Xperia X a "great one-handed phone" and the same goes for the Performance. Where she and I disagree is on screen size: A 5-inch screen is perfect for her dainty fingers. My hands are about twice as big, and 5-inch phones make me feel like I'm using a Fisher Price "My First Phone" toy. But 5-inches is what's on offer here and I happily admit that's a good size for 80 percent of the world.

Battery Life

If there's one element of the Performance that doesn't impress, it's the battery life. Scoring on average just over 10 hours in our tests, it felt equally disappointing in real-world use. While trying the camera out at lunchtime, I could practically see the percentage on the 2,700mAh battery ticking down like a time bomb.

I understand that the big processor and faster 4G will eat some battery life, but for a small-ish phone with (by today's standards) a pretty low-resolution screen, it's a crying shame. The only saving grace is the Qnovo charging technology, which promises 5.5 hours of battery life from a 10 minutes charge, but I'd prefer a bigger battery.

Camera

The camera is the exact same excellent 23-megapixel snapper that's on the Xperia X. 

The dedicated camera button is a standout feature, opening up the camera even from a fully locked screen in under two seconds.

Sony Xperia X Performance camera test

For the user who prizes power over pretty looks, it's hard to go past the Sony Xperia X Performance. The design might be sedate, but it's comfortable to use and the experience is akin to driving a high-powered car -- and that goes for the fuel economy too. A better battery life would push this into a new category of excellent, but even without that I can recommend the X Performance, at least for Australia and the UK. My American cousins might need to have a think about how essential a fingerprint scanner is before committing their dollars.