Sony Xperia M2: A mid-range classic in the making, or a phone at the wrong price point?

The Sony Xperia M2 is the follow up to the popular mid-range handset that saw the company trying a number of different suffixes and hoping one stuck for those that don't want to spend a lot of money.
When you pick up the Xperia M2, you're instantly struck with that opinion. It's not a phone with a lot of style when compared to the likes of the Xperia Z2, but at the same time, it uses the same design language well.
The Omnibalance look (which mostly boils down to the unique power key) is in effect here, and does lend an element of premium packaging to proceedings, bringing a much better phone than the still-popular predecessor, the Xperia M.
The only reason that it doesn't feel overly premium in the hand is that it's a slightly chunkier beast, coming in at 8.6mm compared to the razor thin 6.4mm thickness of the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet, for example.

It's also got a slightly smaller screen than the other premium phones on the market, and that display is packed with fewer pixels. If you've never spent a lot of time with a phone that uses an HD screen, then you might not see the problem, but the qHD offering here is definitely sub par compared and looks a little washed out and overexposed.

Still, when it's shipping for under €220 (around £180 / $300 / AU$335) and can run 4G, Sony thinks that such things won't matter - and I'm inclined to agree. The phone is solid, has a 4.8-inch screen and an 8.1MP camera that uses a lot of the same trickery as it's more powerful brothers.

The Exmor RS sensor helps boost the low light performance, and the general speed with which things are done seems pretty good considering it's only running a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset, which is a little low even for a phone at this price.

It's essentially running the same chipset as the Moto G, an arguably better phone that costs nearly half the price. Sony is trying to chip away at this price lead by bundling in a number of extras (three movies from its store do help somewhat, although the fact you get six with the new Z2 phone and tablet is slightly galling) and 30 days free trial to Sony Music Unlimited.

The Sony Xperia M2, while carrying the same Omnibalance design language that extends to similar amounts of covers to protect the ports, oddly isn't waterproof as well, which begs the question of why some of those are there.
They do keep the body looking sleeker, but it would have been a great selling point to say you could put the M2 in the dishwasher.

The dedicated camera key is pleasing too, and shows that Sony is still staying true to its promise of keeping this on most Android phone to make it easier to shoot a quick snap when you need to.

The camera app is also pretty well-stocked as it offers the likes of HDR mode as well as the more gimmicky features like TimeShift Burst, which does give the impression that the M2 is a solid part of the Sony family.

Key features

• 4.8" qHD TFT, 229 pixels per inch, Gorilla Glass 3, ambient light sensor
• LTE connectivity
• The Xperia M2 Dual has Dual SIM with Dual Call support (but without the LTE connectivity)
• Android 4.3 Jelly Bean (planned upgrade to Android 4.4 KitKat)
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset with quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 processor, Adreno 305 GPU and 1GB of RAM
• 8MP camera, single LED flash, 1080p video recording, dedicated hardware shutter key
• VGA front-facing camera with video recording
• 8GB of built-in storage, expandable via the microSD card slot
• Active noise cancellation with a secondary microphone
• 2,300 mAh battery; STAMINA Power Saving Mode

Main disadvantages

• Resolution is relatively low for this screen size
• No Android KitKat on launch
• Non user-replaceable battery

The Sony Xpria M2 sounds quite convincing on paper. A modern midranger, almost by the book. The OmniBalance design Sony introduced with the Xperia Z back in 2013 rules out a removable battery, but we guess that's the price to pay for looks and feel above the pay grade.

Sony Xperia M2 live pictures
The lack of KitKat will likely be sorted soon enough - the Xperia M2 update is already in development and should be out in the summer. That leaves us with the issue of screen resolution. Now qHD certainly sounds on the low side when spread across a 4.8" diagonal but the truth is, it's probably enough for many. We are sure a lot of you will go for size over pixel density - especially at the right price.
We'll get to that but first things first. Take the jump to our hardware checkup.

User interface

The Sony Xperia M2 comes with Android 4.3 out of the box, while the company has promised the Android 4.4 KitKat update is already in the works. The software package looks very much the same whatever the Android version and that's why everything would feel and seem so familiar if you've ever used a recent Sony smartphone.

The lockscreen is the usual affair - it supports widgets (one per pane), while the rightmost pane will fire up the camera. There are a few available default widgets, but you can always get more from the Play Store. Also third party apps oftentimes come with their own set of extra widgets.
Naturally, you can protect your lockscreen by Face, Pattern, PIN or Password unlock, in ascending order of security.

The lockscreen and its options
The Xperia M2 lets you add or remove homescreen panes (you start with five) and set any of them as default. You can't have more than seven panes at any given time though, nor can you change the order they're in.

Adding stuff to the homescreens is very easy
Adding stuff on the homescreen is easy, as it is the customization. You can set various live and static wallpapers, add widgets and shortcut, or change the UI theme.

Available UI themes • download more themes
The notification area features a few toggles (Sound, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Brightness by default). There's also a quick shortcut to the settings menu. The toggles are customizable and you can choose between 16 different quick toggles and have up to 10 of them visible in the notification area across two rows of shortcuts. You can even opt out of having the Settings key, which is nice.

The notification area and settings
The app drawer is laid out across multiple pages and you can sort the apps manually, alphabetically, by the most used or most recently installed. The menu with those settings is accessible via a swipe from the left edge of the screen and you can also search apps and even uninstall apps from there.

The app drawer
The Xperia M2 uses the stock Android task manager that lets you switch between recently opened apps, as well as terminate them with a side-swipe.
The so-called "small apps" are also available in the Xperia M2 and are accessible via the task manager. They are similar to Samsung's Mini Apps, and pop up tiny widget-like applications on your homescreen, which you can move around and use without having to open the full-fledged app. So far, there's a default set of nine: Active Clip, Chrome Bookmarks, Browser, Calculator, Calendar, Gmail, Timer, Notes, and Voice Recorder. You can launch only one instance of a Small App, but you can open multiple Small Apps simultaneously.

The task switcher • Small Apps list • Small apps in action
You can download more Small Apps off the Play Store or use the option to turn your favorite widgets into Small Apps. Just hit the Plus key at the top of the list and choose a widget.
Finally, Google Now integrates with your Google account and can access your daily routine, internet searches, email, etc. and give you information relevant to your interests and daily needs.

Google Now
It provides traffic information to your work or home, knows the scores of sports teams you follow and gives you the weather forecast for your location. It's great for at-a-glance info, but can handle voice input as well. It also has a dedicated homescreen/lockscreen widget.
The user interface is buttery smooth, there is no visible lag or long loading times. The Sony launcher is lightweight and, combined with the snappy chipset, you'll get great UI experience. The upcoming Android 4.4 KitKat and its optimizations might even make things even faster.

Source
GSM Arena Sony Xperia M2 Review  (Design 8.3/10, Features 8.1/10, Performance 8.1/10)
Phone Arena Sony Xperia M2 Review (User Review 9/10)
Techradar Sony Xperia M2 Review
Official Website

Where to Buy
$399.99 WElectronics Sony Xperia M2
$312.49 Offerbank Sony Xperia M2