Smartphone Sony Xperia M2 Aqua: a review, specifications, reviews

Recently, Sony has become one of the leading manufacturers of waterproof smartphones. Two years ago they looked like heavy brick, but now the differences between them and conventional models are not striking. Sony Xperia M2 Aqua, released in autumn 2014, not only looks aesthetically, but also significantly reduces the price threshold for this type of smartphone. And what is inside this model? What can attract the buyer Sony Xperia M2 Aqua? The review will tell you about the characteristics, price, pluses and minuses of this model.

Appearance

Affordable price does not worsen the design of the smartphone. Sony Xperia M2 Aqua looks attractive and in many respects similar to more expensive models. It is made in the characteristic symmetrical style of this manufacturer. Sharply stands out only the big silver button of inclusion in the middle of the right end.

The shape of the Sony d2403 Xperia M2 Aqua black is almost identical to the Xperia Z2 and looks stern and solid in a laconic black color. The back panel is flat, made of pleasant, slightly textured plastic, and the edges are rounded. Thanks to this, not only the model fits comfortably in the palm of your hand, but the risk of chipping at the corners is reduced. Therefore, the smartphone Sony Xperia M2 Aqua d2403 for a long time will look like a brand new one.

Dimensions of the smartphone is quite standard - 14 x 7.2 x 0.86 cm, weight 149 g.

Other color solutions for the case are classic white and original copper.

Display

One of the weakest points of the model is its 4.8-inch screen. Its size is quite normal, but the resolution is rather low - 960 x 540, the density of pixels per inch - 229, which significantly reduces the brightness and clarity of the image. The display does not have the best viewing angles, and it greatly flares that it will complicate its use on the street. Budget models Motorola Moto G and Asus Zenfone 5 easily outperform it, while they are much less.

Of course, the screen is not a key feature of the Sony Xperia M2 Aqua d2403, but it's still an important parameter for the smartphone. Obviously, its quality was sacrificed by the manufacturer for the sake of reducing the final cost of the model.

Waterproofness

And what about the main trump card of the Sony Xperia M2 Aqua? The characteristics on paper promise a class of protection against dust and moisture IP68 - the greatest possible at the time of the release of the smartphone. Most competitors still boast only IP67. What is the difference between these two degrees of protection? IP67 assumes that the smartphone can be immersed in water for a period of not more than 30 minutes, IP68 - for an unlimited time, but to a depth of not more than 1.5 m.

That is theoretically Sony Xperia M2 Aqua is absolutely protected from dust and liquid. But, as always, this statement has important nuances.

The waterproofness of the case is achieved due to the presence of plugs with rubber gaskets on all connectors of the smartphone. This somewhat worsens his appearance, and also causes inconveniences in everyday life. For example, every time you need to connect headphones, you have to open the connector for them.

In addition, if it's not safe to close at least 1 stub, the smartphone will be just as vulnerable to moisture as any other.

To hope that they can be used under water is also not worth it - the capacitive touchscreen from the water becomes completely unmanageable. Only the physical shutter button of the camera remains available.

But this smartphone does not take pictures of coral reefs. It is designed for use only in fresh water, as saline accelerates the wear of rubber gaskets, which retain the interior of the apparatus in the dryness.

What can boast a smartphone Sony Xperia M2 Aqua?

Characteristics of the model are fairly average, given its cost. In general, this waterproof version is identical in all other aspects of the Xperia M2 model.

Her heart - quad-core processor Snapdragon 400, running at 1.2 GHz, "helps" him 1 GB of RAM.

These are far from the best characteristics, but because of the low resolution of the screen, these features are enough to perform most daily operations quickly and without freezes.

The amount of internal memory is standard 8 GB, of which about 5 GB are available to the user. So its expansion with a microSD card (up to 32 GB) is a must, not a whim.

The smartphone supports 4G, as well as other standard communication protocols - Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth latest version 4.0.

Interface and calls

The Sony Xperia M2 Aqua d2403 uses the familiar Android 4.4 operating system. For a more attractive look, small changes have been made to it from the manufacturer. The interface is identical to that of the Xperia Z2 - laconic and not overloaded. But because of the low resolution of the name of the application and even the clock does not look so clear, because the pixels from which they are composed are well seen.

The manufacturer pre-sets a lot of applications, mainly targeted at the digital media devices of the brand, music, movies and social networks. Most of them are unlikely to be needed by the user, but they can not always be deleted. But you can always bring to the main screen only those applications that are really needed.

As for the basic function of the smartphone - calls, it is also difficult to find faults here. Speakers and microphone provide the necessary volume and clarity, the connection does not break. However, the smartphone is not designed to play music. At medium and high volume, strong distortion of sound is noticeable.

Photo and video

The smartphone has two cameras - the main one, with a matrix of 8 megapixels, and the front one - 0.3 megapixel, which due to its modest capabilities is useful only for video chatting.

The application for working with photos is rich in various functions. Initially, it offers to shoot in auto mode, identical to what can be found on digital cameras, but with the choice of the focus point.

In the menu you can also find HDR, panorama, several filters, retouching portraits and even adding 3D virtual objects to the frame - from fish to elves.

A significant drawback is the speed of the camera. Despite the separate physical shutter button, focusing and processing the frame takes quite some time. So shooting fast moving objects will be difficult.

The dynamic range (the number of details that can be seen in dark and light areas of a picture with high contrast) is noticeably affected, and even shooting in HDR mode, which combines several exposure values in one frame, does not show the best result. In addition, it lasts even longer, so you have to be patient. At the edges of contrasting areas, lilac digital noise is often noticeable, objects also sometimes take this shade instead of pure black or gray colors.

Excessive illumination or, conversely, its lack - the conditions with which the M2 Aqua does poorly. The presence of the flash allows you to improve the situation when shooting close subjects, but it distorts the color rendering, giving the frame unnecessarily warm tones.

But in conditions of good natural light, without bright contrasts, the smartphone will please the owner with fairly clear and vivid photos, the quality of which is much better than that of models with a 5MP camera.

The video can be shot in HD-quality 1920x1080 pixels, digital image stabilization, as well as HDR mode are available during shooting.

Battery

The battery is not designed to be removed by the user - one of the manufacturer's steps to minimize the number of slots in the casing. The battery capacity is 2300 mA. Since the smartphone is not the most powerful processor and a modest screen resolution, they give a much smaller load on the battery. Thanks to this, we can confidently state that the M2 Aqua can withstand a day of intensive work without recharging. With moderate use, even 35-40% of the charge will remain the next day.

Price of issue

How much will the Sony Xperia M2 Aqua cost the buyer? It is predictable that the price of a smartphone varies slightly depending on the dollar, but in general it remains fairly stable - 14.5-15 thousand rubles. But since this is not the newest model, in many stores it is discontinued.

Summing up

If you need a high-quality waterproof smartphone at an affordable price, then you are perfect Sony Xperia M2 Aqua. The characteristics of it are quite average, and the main drawbacks to users include the following:

• A camera that works slowly and does poorly with non-standard shooting conditions;
• A screen that is worse than that of conventional competitor models;
• Moisture protection, which relies entirely on stubs rather than internal port security.

But there are also undeniable advantages of M2 Aqua, which are noted by the owners of the phone:

• Fairly high performance;
• The camera can take pictures underwater;
• Good battery;
• Attractive price;
• Moisture protection is a useful property that is useful not only for amateurs to swim with equipment, because with her smartphone is not afraid of rain or snow, or accidental fall into a puddle or bathroom.

So this purchase fully justifies its value and has much to offer its owner.