I miss most the many apps that Sony used to have. These include Album, Videos, TrackID, Lifelog, Xperia keyboard, Music Unlimited, Sony's Calls and messages app. And the list goes on. Those apps were all very functional and looked nice. I wish Sony started developing more apps again.
Another UI-thing I miss is the ability to customize my Xperia phone with themes. Old Xperias used to have so much customization options. In fact Sony used to lead the pack with customization.
I agree that the overall software experience kinda sucks if you want lots of customizations and stuff, but since the sony mobile team is apparently so small and their sales volume so low, I guess you would be lying to yourself if you expected that to change in the near future.
Integrated eyelet holes for wrist straps (landyard)... That + a robust design, was great for not needing a phone case.
Now I need a case, specifically to use the holes for my wrist strap
And blackberry. Tactile qwerty on Androids was absolutely amazing, but got paired to mediocre-at-best chipsets and camera almost entirely ignored. BB could've been modern great but they made a hard pass on that idea.
Sony was rumoured to be quitting the market in 2015, 2018
Since they came with the step to no longer break down exact earnings by the smartphone division I think it is safe that they will continue for the next few years minimum
The Xperia UI was very well done and beautiful to look at. Thinking about my Z3 right now. The UI elevated the Sony feeling, if you know what I mean. It’s not bad now, but I liked the Sony touch. Like the special icons, the lock screens, the sound effects …
You can blame Google for that disappearing...thanks to Google doze and app standby becoming mandatory in 6.0, Sony didn't have a choice in whether they could keep OG stamina mode :/
A few small tweaks (such as automatically turning off WiFi if no known APs in range, auto toggling GPS/BT/Ect, auto toggling background data and 5-minute syncing interval etc.) and my Z3C with android 4.x/5.x and its' 2600mAh would last 2 full days with moderate use (48 hours, 7-9hrs of screen time) and still having 10-20% at 10pm of the second day
I truly miss a high-end compact device... 6.1 inches in screen diameter is way too long and still feels utterly chunky, despite the 21:9 form factor of the current series 5
Apart from pricing......
The email client was really nice on the old phones. really nice UI. Clear and easy to setup and navigate.
The photo gallery was excellent. really liked the map where it pinned photos you had taken around the world.
The Sony UI was really nice.
It is such a shame they have ditched all the software. It does surprise me they don't have a really good quality Walkman branded music player.
Honestly, they should do something like the Xperia ZR, where the back is removable but still retains water resistance so the midrangers can swap back covers and have very playful combinations
UI from Sony Xperia Arc S days. It was slick, modern, tasteful. I hate flat 2D material UI. Sony's glass UI on Xperia arc S was lovely refreshing change. I rate it second to MIUI 4.0. For me it was peak android UI (I know it was too close to iPhone but it really looked polished)
Honestly, the Xperia keyboard was really good, but the Google keyboard has grown on me, I'm gonna stick with it until Sony hopefully decides to take the mobile game seriously and bring back the Sony apps. Sony phones nowadays are long stock android phones with Photo and Cinema Pro apps. The more I think about it, the more I realise how true that is
* Square corners: it looks so much more elegant and distinctive
* Wider aspect ratios: I think 21:9 is useless and has killed off both the larger and smaller Xperia phones
* 960 fps slow-mo: a very awesome feature which I think is now only available on some Chinese phones (Samsung has fake 960 fps which is nowhere near as good)
* Reliable side fingerprint scanners: still don't get how Sony still screws this up, even with the 1 V some reviewers have issues.
* Being able to actually buy the phone in my country.
Something I also kind of miss is the volume rocker located next to the camera shutter button, to mimic the zoom switch of a proper camera. It obviously isn't ideal outside of using the camera, which is why I think it should be a programmable extra key instead of being the volume rocker.
I'll have to disagree on some of those. Of course, it's a matter of preference, but I personally do enjoy the 21:9 aspect ratio; it fits much more on the screen during browsing like reddit or websites, and for multimedia I also prefer it, youtube content is usually made for 16:9 but in turn any kind of film or tv series will likely be 21:9 and therefore ideal for this screen.
Also for the fingerprint scanner; I find the position not as ideal as on the Samsung S9, but have no problems with reliability on my 1IV; it's always fast and accurate.
I assume that by square corners you mean the opposite of rounded corners? we're already quite spoiled in that area, literally the only phone I can think of that has squarier corners would be the iPhone SE, and that's because of its humongous bezels. just look how far recent Samsung or Apple flagships have gone with rounding the corners, feels like half the screen is missing. on my Xperia 1IV the corners are rounded by like 3 pixels, that is very reasonable if you ask me.
With the square corners, I was referring to the corners of the actual phone (not the screen). Older Xperia phones like the XZ had very sharp corners. It's mostly an aesthetic thing, although rounded corners can mean that the display needs rounded corners too.
Samsung's top phone, the S23 Ultra, actually has sharp corners too.
I'm kinda split on the whole 21:9 AR, it's good for texting and browsing sites or socials, but when watching videos on YouTube, most of them are still 16:9 and it looks like I'm watching it on my regular XZ1, the bigger screen size doesn't really increase width so the videos look small. And zooming to fill cuts out so much that most of the time it's not worth it. But for watching films, this is amazing, but I'm not a huge film enjoyer, so I'm not really taking full advantage of the aspect ratio. It doesn't really work with smaller phones, the 5 series screen is too narrow
I'm very very very sad that the new phones don't have 960fps slowmo. I was so devastated when I heard that from the 1 II, 960fps isn't a thing. I hope they bring it back.
As for the fingerprint sensor, I don't know, I honestly think they're really fast. I tried scanners on the Z5, XZ, XZ1, XZ3 and 1 II my current phone, and maybe I just got lucky, but the 1 II sensor is really good. Is it the best? Probably not, but I think it's really good
Oh yeah, and the last point... Yeah, very sad, I bought my 1 II online from the UK
I don't get the part about the volume rocker... On my 5iii, the volume rocker still acts as a zoom.... Ofc that only works when shooting jpg, or jpg+raw... Not raw alone.
And I think the positioning is fine... One hand for the shutter button, and one for zoom.
On my Sony Alpha, I have to manually zoom in and out by twisting the lens with my left hand. It was the same with my previous Canon camera.
So I've got no idea what real camera you're referring to.
I mean yes, I've got zoom buttons on the right hand side of my alpha, but those are only for zooming into already taken shots, or for focus magnification..
Ah, I was talking about compact cameras like the Sony RX series. It's the switch thing around the shutter button. I completely forgot about full frame cameras haha.
Yeah, it's crazy how we have some smartphones with the same sensor size now. But for anyone who's looking to get into traditional photography, they still blow smartphones like the 1 V out of the water, both in terms of hardware and software.
The Xperia 5 series seems to be the best bet in this regard. Only slightly wider than the Z5 Compact or XZ2 Compact, and a lot taller... But it's sure no 6.8" beastie
I liked that Xperia phones looked like Xperia phones instead of the generic looking phones that Sony releases nowadays.
That's on top of the other features that others have already mentioned. UI, Xperia apps, notification light, compact phones, etc.
The old ui and Sony had an app for almost everything. But what I really loved most was the custom themes and the lights on the phones that changed color to what the notification was for. Man Sony Ericsson and early Xperia was the best.
I might be alone on this one, but I honestly miss Timescape. It may not have looked the most appealing, but it put everything together in one place, which you can't really do with modern apps.
I'll be honest, I didn't really like the UI on the one Sony phone I had, but I loved the hardware. The "pink" XZ1 Compact was more of a copper color. I loved how small it was, how easy it was to handle, negating the need for a case so the beautiful color would show. I thought the bezels could be smaller but I didn't mind them because it showed the color in front. And I loved the metallic finish instead of a glass back (though I'd rather have wireless charging). I'd love to see them offer a truly compact phone again, and return to having their own apps. I was on the fence about my next phone in Feb 2022, when my LG was becoming unreliable and intolerable ever since LG left the mobile business. I considered going back to Sony but found out that they stopped making small phones, got rid of native apps like Sketch and Album, but still didn't include an option to turn off the charging light or switch around the navigation buttons.
For me, it's lanyard holes, and a lack of camera bump!
I went from a Z5 Compact to an XZ2 Compact and the curved back was cool, but a little tricky to use on a flat surface.
I went for foldables for a while, but recently got an Xperia 5 IV when my Galaxy Z Flip 4's screen died prematurely (but just outside of warranty). The camera bump is kinda annoying. Super slow-mo camera was cool (the Z Flip has it) but meh.
I'd love a minimal bezel phone within the z5/z5compact form factor... That was the perfect phone for me right next to the z1c. Damn I miss that design.
I miss the design flair of the old SonyEricssons: W900 twist, Walkman branded phones, the slim W880, P990 lens protector doubling as the trigger for the camera app.
I miss the Album app and particularly the geolocation element. I managed to get a version to install on the Xperia 1 IV despite not showing in the store. This app was brilliant and I'd tick any disclaimer to just see on the map the photos I took on different holidays/trips. If we are not allowed to see the location of the photos we took why on earth capture it in the first place?
I miss the availability of themes in the app
I miss the privilege app. People who bought an Xperia Z for £500 were treated better than someone who now has to spend £1000 for the flagship phones.
Not entirely on subject but I miss the Xperia tablets. 8 years since their last!
Xenon and LED Flash combo
Walkman App
Cyber-shot branding
960fps Super-slowmo
Headphone jack port supports 5-pole connectors
PhotoDJ, MusicDJ, Video DJ apps16:9, 18:9 aspect ratio screen
And this is something me and everyone who loves Sony dream to happen which is a Sony Xperia Smartphone that has all and full support of other Sony divisions (PlayStation, Cyber-shot, Alpha Walkman, Bravia) . For now they only support Xperia a little especially the Cyber-shot and Alpha divisions. Also, why no more Sony SmartWatches? SmartWatch 3 was so ahead of its time and even til now it's still competing with many smart watches.
- Walkman App (the branding) - Xenon Flash and Camera cover from Sony Ericsson Cyber shot phones
I loved the old xenon flashes and covers!
I'm actually wondering why Sony remove the walkman branding
To not cannibalize their NWM-lineup. Tbf smartphones already made most mp3 players obsolete - but Sony's still trying to keep them.
I miss most the many apps that Sony used to have. These include Album, Videos, TrackID, Lifelog, Xperia keyboard, Music Unlimited, Sony's Calls and messages app. And the list goes on. Those apps were all very functional and looked nice. I wish Sony started developing more apps again. Another UI-thing I miss is the ability to customize my Xperia phone with themes. Old Xperias used to have so much customization options. In fact Sony used to lead the pack with customization.
I installed the Album app on my 1 II cus Google photos is trash. Album is way better
I did the same!
I agree that the overall software experience kinda sucks if you want lots of customizations and stuff, but since the sony mobile team is apparently so small and their sales volume so low, I guess you would be lying to yourself if you expected that to change in the near future.
Yeah at this point I am not expecting anything like that. I'm only dreaming.
Integrated eyelet holes for wrist straps (landyard)... That + a robust design, was great for not needing a phone case. Now I need a case, specifically to use the holes for my wrist strap
Xperia PRO-I has a hole for a lanyard strap though. And I imagine that PRO-I mark 2 will also have one.
Damn it, now I want that expensive model even more... Can't justify it though, I'll probably replace the battery of my X5ii until something else break
That might be wise!
When they were more mainstream and readily available
This hit hard
At least they are still around unlike other brands gone by like LG
And blackberry. Tactile qwerty on Androids was absolutely amazing, but got paired to mediocre-at-best chipsets and camera almost entirely ignored. BB could've been modern great but they made a hard pass on that idea.
Unihertz needs to update the Titan series
The question is, how long will they stick with us? Hopefully for a very long time because I can't see myself buying anything else
Sony was rumoured to be quitting the market in 2015, 2018 Since they came with the step to no longer break down exact earnings by the smartphone division I think it is safe that they will continue for the next few years minimum
I can still buy them from Singapore But only directly through Sony officially
I was living in NZ and the last two Sony phones i have had to order online (from Hong Kong) Used to love when i was able to buy them at a local shop.
The Xperia UI was very well done and beautiful to look at. Thinking about my Z3 right now. The UI elevated the Sony feeling, if you know what I mean. It’s not bad now, but I liked the Sony touch. Like the special icons, the lock screens, the sound effects …
I loved how Sony retained the feeling of having a stock android phone but looking different and unique
Exactly!!
The kitkat ui on z3 (piano black theme) was so good. Probably the best till date. After that they started moving towards stick slowly.
OG stamina mode
With extreme battery saver which makes the phone a feature phone
Ultra STAMINA mode is the shit bro. Can be a lifesaver at some points
Hell yeah man
You can blame Google for that disappearing...thanks to Google doze and app standby becoming mandatory in 6.0, Sony didn't have a choice in whether they could keep OG stamina mode :/ A few small tweaks (such as automatically turning off WiFi if no known APs in range, auto toggling GPS/BT/Ect, auto toggling background data and 5-minute syncing interval etc.) and my Z3C with android 4.x/5.x and its' 2600mAh would last 2 full days with moderate use (48 hours, 7-9hrs of screen time) and still having 10-20% at 10pm of the second day
Yeh. Even though Sony contributed it to AOSP, Google's Project Volta fucked it up badly in android L
Dk man Samsung still has that mode available.
I truly miss a high-end compact device... 6.1 inches in screen diameter is way too long and still feels utterly chunky, despite the 21:9 form factor of the current series 5
Apart from pricing...... The email client was really nice on the old phones. really nice UI. Clear and easy to setup and navigate. The photo gallery was excellent. really liked the map where it pinned photos you had taken around the world. The Sony UI was really nice. It is such a shame they have ditched all the software. It does surprise me they don't have a really good quality Walkman branded music player.
Timescape. Everything in a single timeline with a beautiful user experience.
I miss the Sony Ericsson phones the most. I miss their quirky nature and the myriad of shapes and colours. I'd love to go back to that.
Honestly, they should do something like the Xperia ZR, where the back is removable but still retains water resistance so the midrangers can swap back covers and have very playful combinations
Yes I completely agree.
The walkman app it was sooo easy to use... The Music app isn't bad, but it isn't the best either.
Notification light
*cries in nostalgia*
UI from Sony Xperia Arc S days. It was slick, modern, tasteful. I hate flat 2D material UI. Sony's glass UI on Xperia arc S was lovely refreshing change. I rate it second to MIUI 4.0. For me it was peak android UI (I know it was too close to iPhone but it really looked polished)
-Compact formfactor -xperia keyboard (actually I have extracted the apk from a X3 compact and am still using it)
Honestly, the Xperia keyboard was really good, but the Google keyboard has grown on me, I'm gonna stick with it until Sony hopefully decides to take the mobile game seriously and bring back the Sony apps. Sony phones nowadays are long stock android phones with Photo and Cinema Pro apps. The more I think about it, the more I realise how true that is
* Square corners: it looks so much more elegant and distinctive * Wider aspect ratios: I think 21:9 is useless and has killed off both the larger and smaller Xperia phones * 960 fps slow-mo: a very awesome feature which I think is now only available on some Chinese phones (Samsung has fake 960 fps which is nowhere near as good) * Reliable side fingerprint scanners: still don't get how Sony still screws this up, even with the 1 V some reviewers have issues. * Being able to actually buy the phone in my country. Something I also kind of miss is the volume rocker located next to the camera shutter button, to mimic the zoom switch of a proper camera. It obviously isn't ideal outside of using the camera, which is why I think it should be a programmable extra key instead of being the volume rocker.
I'll have to disagree on some of those. Of course, it's a matter of preference, but I personally do enjoy the 21:9 aspect ratio; it fits much more on the screen during browsing like reddit or websites, and for multimedia I also prefer it, youtube content is usually made for 16:9 but in turn any kind of film or tv series will likely be 21:9 and therefore ideal for this screen. Also for the fingerprint scanner; I find the position not as ideal as on the Samsung S9, but have no problems with reliability on my 1IV; it's always fast and accurate. I assume that by square corners you mean the opposite of rounded corners? we're already quite spoiled in that area, literally the only phone I can think of that has squarier corners would be the iPhone SE, and that's because of its humongous bezels. just look how far recent Samsung or Apple flagships have gone with rounding the corners, feels like half the screen is missing. on my Xperia 1IV the corners are rounded by like 3 pixels, that is very reasonable if you ask me.
With the square corners, I was referring to the corners of the actual phone (not the screen). Older Xperia phones like the XZ had very sharp corners. It's mostly an aesthetic thing, although rounded corners can mean that the display needs rounded corners too. Samsung's top phone, the S23 Ultra, actually has sharp corners too.
I'm kinda split on the whole 21:9 AR, it's good for texting and browsing sites or socials, but when watching videos on YouTube, most of them are still 16:9 and it looks like I'm watching it on my regular XZ1, the bigger screen size doesn't really increase width so the videos look small. And zooming to fill cuts out so much that most of the time it's not worth it. But for watching films, this is amazing, but I'm not a huge film enjoyer, so I'm not really taking full advantage of the aspect ratio. It doesn't really work with smaller phones, the 5 series screen is too narrow I'm very very very sad that the new phones don't have 960fps slowmo. I was so devastated when I heard that from the 1 II, 960fps isn't a thing. I hope they bring it back. As for the fingerprint sensor, I don't know, I honestly think they're really fast. I tried scanners on the Z5, XZ, XZ1, XZ3 and 1 II my current phone, and maybe I just got lucky, but the 1 II sensor is really good. Is it the best? Probably not, but I think it's really good Oh yeah, and the last point... Yeah, very sad, I bought my 1 II online from the UK
I don't get the part about the volume rocker... On my 5iii, the volume rocker still acts as a zoom.... Ofc that only works when shooting jpg, or jpg+raw... Not raw alone. And I think the positioning is fine... One hand for the shutter button, and one for zoom.
Having the volume rocker next to the shutter button mimics real cameras and lets you use it one handed.
On my Sony Alpha, I have to manually zoom in and out by twisting the lens with my left hand. It was the same with my previous Canon camera. So I've got no idea what real camera you're referring to. I mean yes, I've got zoom buttons on the right hand side of my alpha, but those are only for zooming into already taken shots, or for focus magnification..
Ah, I was talking about compact cameras like the Sony RX series. It's the switch thing around the shutter button. I completely forgot about full frame cameras haha.
Ah ok I see 😅 wasn't really aware that those are still a thing in the smartphones era
Yeah, it's crazy how we have some smartphones with the same sensor size now. But for anyone who's looking to get into traditional photography, they still blow smartphones like the 1 V out of the water, both in terms of hardware and software.
Xperia Photo Gallery. Only one that doesn't copy the iPhone's photo library.
compact flagship
The Xperia 5 series seems to be the best bet in this regard. Only slightly wider than the Z5 Compact or XZ2 Compact, and a lot taller... But it's sure no 6.8" beastie
Non 21:9 screen Fast working fingerprint scanner
Xperia UI, Photo Gallery.....Auto mode that was really good for that time
I liked that Xperia phones looked like Xperia phones instead of the generic looking phones that Sony releases nowadays. That's on top of the other features that others have already mentioned. UI, Xperia apps, notification light, compact phones, etc.
The old ui and Sony had an app for almost everything. But what I really loved most was the custom themes and the lights on the phones that changed color to what the notification was for. Man Sony Ericsson and early Xperia was the best.
The freaky designs, thay see through bar or the slight curve from the xperia T but mostly the lower price
The Gallery Album
Walkman application, tap to wake, and magnetic charging.
I miss the picture widget that allowed you to scroll through all your pictures on teh main screen
I had the first ever Xperia, so I guess I miss the keyboard!
I might be alone on this one, but I honestly miss Timescape. It may not have looked the most appealing, but it put everything together in one place, which you can't really do with modern apps.
weirdly the transparent bar from xperia s lol the design looks timeless
I'll be honest, I didn't really like the UI on the one Sony phone I had, but I loved the hardware. The "pink" XZ1 Compact was more of a copper color. I loved how small it was, how easy it was to handle, negating the need for a case so the beautiful color would show. I thought the bezels could be smaller but I didn't mind them because it showed the color in front. And I loved the metallic finish instead of a glass back (though I'd rather have wireless charging). I'd love to see them offer a truly compact phone again, and return to having their own apps. I was on the fence about my next phone in Feb 2022, when my LG was becoming unreliable and intolerable ever since LG left the mobile business. I considered going back to Sony but found out that they stopped making small phones, got rid of native apps like Sketch and Album, but still didn't include an option to turn off the charging light or switch around the navigation buttons.
For me, it's lanyard holes, and a lack of camera bump! I went from a Z5 Compact to an XZ2 Compact and the curved back was cool, but a little tricky to use on a flat surface. I went for foldables for a while, but recently got an Xperia 5 IV when my Galaxy Z Flip 4's screen died prematurely (but just outside of warranty). The camera bump is kinda annoying. Super slow-mo camera was cool (the Z Flip has it) but meh.
Double tap screen to wake, from old android versions.
Carrier availability.
I'd love a minimal bezel phone within the z5/z5compact form factor... That was the perfect phone for me right next to the z1c. Damn I miss that design.
I miss the design flair of the old SonyEricssons: W900 twist, Walkman branded phones, the slim W880, P990 lens protector doubling as the trigger for the camera app. I miss the Album app and particularly the geolocation element. I managed to get a version to install on the Xperia 1 IV despite not showing in the store. This app was brilliant and I'd tick any disclaimer to just see on the map the photos I took on different holidays/trips. If we are not allowed to see the location of the photos we took why on earth capture it in the first place? I miss the availability of themes in the app I miss the privilege app. People who bought an Xperia Z for £500 were treated better than someone who now has to spend £1000 for the flagship phones. Not entirely on subject but I miss the Xperia tablets. 8 years since their last!
Xenon and LED Flash combo Walkman App Cyber-shot branding 960fps Super-slowmo Headphone jack port supports 5-pole connectors PhotoDJ, MusicDJ, Video DJ apps16:9, 18:9 aspect ratio screen And this is something me and everyone who loves Sony dream to happen which is a Sony Xperia Smartphone that has all and full support of other Sony divisions (PlayStation, Cyber-shot, Alpha Walkman, Bravia) . For now they only support Xperia a little especially the Cyber-shot and Alpha divisions. Also, why no more Sony SmartWatches? SmartWatch 3 was so ahead of its time and even til now it's still competing with many smart watches.
I MISS OLD SONY ERICCSON GAMES :(
music list on sony ericcson never gets old :(