Sony at some point rumored to be considering closing down its mobile business. However, the company has instead decided to try something new with the Xperia X series.
While the Xperia Z5 was one of the best devices in the market back in 2015, not so many buyers were after the phone. This is especially since Sony has had the habit of slamming huge price tags on its premium handsets, something that has been repeated with the new high-end Xperia X Performance and even the low-end Xperia XA. This makes buyers hesitant, especially when there are cheaper and much better options in the likes of ASUS ZenFone 3, ZenFone 3 Deluxe, OnePlus 3 and others.
Still, Sony is not giving up as it has just started selling the Xperia X Performance and entry-level Xperia XA in the country. Unlike other OEMs that have found it easy to strike deals with local carriers, Sony hasn’t managed to pin down one. As a result, these two handsets can only be bought through participating retailers in the U.S., which include the likes of B&H Photo and Best Buy.
The availability of the Xperia X Performance and Xperia XA comes after the mid-range Xperia X started selling in June. This makes it three Sony-made handsets available in the U.S. market – all of which were announced at the MWC 2016. But later on, Sony announced a phablet-sized Xperia XA Ultra, which will go on sale this Sunday, July 24.
Price details
The high-end Sony Xperia X Performance will not come on the cheap, with the asking price set to $699.99. However, this also gets you a SanDisk microSD card of 128GB in size. As for the color variants, you can get any of White, Graphite Black, Rose Gold or Lime Gold.
As for the low-end Xperia XA, the handset costs $279.99 and the package includes a SanDisk microSD card of 64GB. It comes with the same color variants as the Xperia X Performance. The larger Xperia XA Ultra, which will start selling on Sunday, will be available at a price of $369.99, including a 64GB microSD card. As for the color variants, it drops the Rise Gold option but keeps the other three colors already mentioned.
The mid-range Xperia X, which went on sale in June, costs $549.99 and it includes a SanDisk microSD card of 128GB. It comes in four color variants of Rose and Lime Gold, White and Graphite Black.