Sony Xperia L2

The Sony Xperia L2 is a cheap Android smartphone that offers a reasonable set of features, but it's not going to blow you away.

Announced at CES 2018, the Sony XperiaL2 comes with a 5.5-inch 720p HD display, Mediatek chipset, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, microSD slot, fingerprint scanner, 13MP rear camera and 8MP front snapper.

Sony Xperia L2 Ultra price and release date

The Sony Xperia L2 Ultra release date was originally set for the end of January, but that has now been pushed back to February 9 in the US. We've yet to hear word from Sony on when it'll be launching in the UK or Australia.

In the US the price is also set at $249.99 (about £175, AU$310) and we'll update this hands on review as soon as we know more about the cost and availability in the UK and Australia.

Design and display

The Sony Xperia L2 isn't the best looking phone we've seen, but it's practically built with a solid plastic shell making it feel durable.

The power/lock and volume keys are located on the right of the handset and are easy to hit.

At 150 x 78 x 9.8mm, you can just about use the the Xperia L2 with one hand, but if your palms are on the small side you may need to use both. 

The rear facing fingerprint scanner is conveniently placed too, but it's a shame to see such a big bezel below the screen with no navigation keys or scanners housed in it. It feels like Sony could have given us a bit more screen.

On the note of the display, the Xperia L2 has a bright and clear, 720p HD screen which is a solid offering. 

Camera

The Sony Xperia L2 packs a 13MP rear facing camera, which we found provides a relatively standard shooting experience.

It's not the quickest on shutter speed, and low light shots seem to be a little muddy, but for a cheap handset it appears to be an adequate offering.

Round the front the Xperia L2 gets the same wide-angle, 120 degree field of view 8MP camera as the Xperia XA2 Ultra. It means you'll be able to squeeze more of your friends in each selfie snap.

Power, OS and battery

There's a decent amount of power under the hood with 3GB of RAM working alongside the MediaTek processor.

The disappointing aspect is the software, with the Xperia L2 launch with Android 7 Nougat, rather than the newer Android 8 Oreo. It makes us wonder if it will get an upgrade to Oreo in the future or not.

Performance during our brief time with the phone was good, but you'll have to wait for our full review to find out how it really gets on.

There's a decent size power pack inside the Xperia L2, with a 3,300mAh battery.

Early verdict

The success of the Sony Xperia L2 rests on its price point. So far the US pricing seems about right, and pitched at the right level it could be a fantastic budget buy. The competition at this end of the market is fierce though and it'll have its work cut out to stand out.

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