Sony Xperia X battery life

The Xperia Z brand was a mark of Methuselah-like battery life, but now fans are a little antsy - the Z-series is no more, the X-series replaces it. Has the battery gene carried over?

The Xperia X has definitely lost some capacity - the Z3 had 3,100mAh, the Z5 had 2,900mAh, the Xperia X has 2,620mAh. Even the Xperia Z5 had 2,700mAh, so it falls to a new chipset and newer components (the screen largely) to cut back on their power use and make up the difference.

Before we use up the battery, we have to charge it first. The Sony Xperia X supports fast charging, but you'll have to bring your own. The one that comes in the box puts out only 1.5A, so a full charge will take quite a while. Also, Sony is yet to jump on the wireless charging train.

Okay, slow to get in, but are electrons slow to leave the battery?

Our Endurance rating for the Xperia X is 67 hours, a small decline compared to the 73 hour rating of the Xperia Z5. The smaller Z5 Compact did even better, but the X-series is yet to declare its Compact challenger.

The raw endurance rating doesn't tell the whole story, though. The Xperia X improves on the talk time of the Z5 by a couple of hours. The 19 hour score puts it above the likes of the LG G5 and fan-favorite Z3 Compact (but not the newer Z5C).

Talk time

• Gionee Marathon M5
  38:07h
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
  32:54h
• Xiaomi Redmi 3
  32:53h
• Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
  31:40h
• Oppo R7 Plus
  30:46h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  30:29h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM
  29:46h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM
  29:46h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE
  29:46h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  29:46h
• Huawei Honor 5X
  29:40h
• vivo V3Max
  28:47h
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  28:34h
• Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE
  28:25h
• Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
  28:23h
• Huawei G8
  27:44h
• Huawei Mate 8
  26:45h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 active
  26:29h
• Motorola Moto X Play
  26:28h
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  26:01h
• Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos
  25:12h
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  25:02h
• Samsung Galaxy A8 Duos
  25:02h
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  24:29h
• Oppo R7s
  24:03h
• Xiaomi Mi 4s
  23:25h
• Motorola Moto X Force
  23:22h
• LG AKA
  23:20h
• Meizu PRO 5
  23:10h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM
  23:09h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE
  23:09h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM
  23:09h
• Oppo R7
  22:58h
• Samsung Galaxy S7
  22:57h
• Motorola Moto E (2nd gen)
  22:36h
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (USA)
  22:32h
• Motorola Moto X Style
  22:23h
• ZTE nubia Z9
  22:20h
• Lenovo ZUK Z1
  22:13h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
  22:02h
• Oppo F1 Plus
  21:07h
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  21:02h
• Meizu m2 note
  20:55h
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  20:50h
• HTC 10
  20:42h
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
  20:40h
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  20:27h
• Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL
  20:22h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  19:48h
• ZTE nubia Z9 mini
  19:08h
• Sony Xperia X
  19:05h
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
  18:51h
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  18:37h
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  18:31h
• Microsoft Lumia 650
  18:30h
• Huawei P8lite ALE-L04
  18:25h
• Huawei P8lite
  17:38h
• LG G5
  17:37h
• LG G5 SE
  17:37h
• Lenovo K3 Note
  17:13h
• Sony Xperia Z5
  17:13h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
  17:09h
• LG Nexus 5X
  16:57h
• vivo X5Pro
  16:57h
• Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM
  16:50h
• Microsoft Lumia 950 XL
  16:50h
• LG V10
  16:40h
• Lenovo Vibe Shot
  16:17h
• Meizu m1 metal
  16:02h
• OnePlus X
  15:57h
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  15:51h
• Microsoft Lumia 435 Dual SIM
  15:50h
• Microsoft Lumia 435
  15:50h
• Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe ZE551ML
  15:47h
• Acer Liquid X2
  15:38h
• Archos 50 Diamond
  15:23h
• ZTE Blade S6
  15:01h
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
  14:53h
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra Dual
  14:53h
• Huawei P9
  14:53h
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  14:51h
• BlackBerry Priv
  14:40h
• Huawei Honor 7
  14:33h
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  14:31h
• Microsoft Lumia 532
  14:24h
• Microsoft Lumia 532 Dual SIM
  14:24h
• Acer Liquid Jade Primo
  13:53h
• Huawei Mate S
  13:53h
• Huawei P8
  13:50h
• Meizu MX5
  13:15h
• Sony Xperia C4 Dual
  13:11h
• Oppo F1
  12:53h
• Oppo R1x
  12:33h
• HTC One E9+
  12:07h
• BlackBerry Leap
  12:05h
• Apple iPhone SE
  11:56h
• Microsoft Lumia 550
  11:40h
• HTC One A9
  11:12h
• Sony Xperia E4g
  11:07h
• Apple iPhone 6s
  9:41h
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  8:25h

The web browsing time appears to take a hit - 9 and a half a hours, a 5 hour deficit compared to the the Z5. A big part of this is a recent change in testing procedure - we now test phones with their screens set at 200 nits, but when we reviewed the Xperia Z5 we put the brightness slider at 50%. For the Z5 that means a lowly 90 nits, giving it perhaps an unfair advantage.

So, compare it instead against the Galaxy S7 (9:35h), Huawei P9 (9:15h), HTC 10 (9:08h) and LG G5 (7:35h). These have all been tested under the new procedure and it seems that in this respect the Xperia X does quite well.

Web browsing

• Gionee Marathon M5
  30:51h
• Huawei Mate 8
  17:05h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 active
  16:25h
• Xiaomi Redmi 3
  15:11h
• Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE
  15:05h
• Sony Xperia Z5
  14:35h
• Huawei P8
  13:32h
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  13:32h
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
  13:26h
• Apple iPhone SE
  12:55h
• Meizu PRO 5
  12:51h
• Xiaomi Mi 5
  12:50h
• Motorola Moto E (2nd gen)
  12:42h
• Acer Liquid X2
  12:39h
• Apple iPhone 6s
  12:27h
• ZTE nubia Z9
  12:18h
• Samsung Galaxy A8 Duos
  12:18h
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  12:18h
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  11:55h
• Motorola Moto X Play
  11:52h
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  11:51h
• Meizu m1 metal
  11:33h
• Sony Xperia E4g
  11:32h
• Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
  11:20h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  10:56h
• Microsoft Lumia 532
  10:52h
• Microsoft Lumia 532 Dual SIM
  10:52h
• Microsoft Lumia 950 XL
  10:50h
• Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM
  10:50h
• Lenovo ZUK Z1
  10:46h
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  10:43h
• Oppo R7 Plus
  10:39h
• Huawei Honor 7
  10:38h
• LG AKA
  10:38h
• vivo V3Max
  10:31h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  10:25h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM
  10:23h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM
  10:23h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE
  10:23h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM
  10:14h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  10:14h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE
  10:14h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM
  10:14h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
  10:12h
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (USA)
  10:09h
• Huawei Honor 5X
  10:00h
• Huawei G8
  10:00h
• Meizu m2 note
  9:54h
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
  9:52h
• Huawei Mate S
  9:43h
• Sony Xperia X
  9:34h
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  9:32h
• Xiaomi Mi 4s
  9:30h
• Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos
  9:30h
• Motorola Moto X Force
  9:29h
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  9:29h
• Microsoft Lumia 435 Dual SIM
  9:22h
• Microsoft Lumia 435
  9:22h
• Huawei P9
  9:15h
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
  9:10h
• Oppo R1x
  9:10h
• HTC 10
  9:08h
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  9:04h
• Meizu MX5
  9:03h
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  8:58h
• Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
  8:46h
• Huawei P8lite ALE-L04
  8:42h
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  8:35h
• LG Nexus 5X
  8:32h
• Huawei P8lite
  8:27h
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  8:27h
• LG V10
  8:20h
• BlackBerry Priv
  8:20h
• Oppo F1 Plus
  8:17h
• Lenovo Vibe Shot
  8:11h
• Oppo R7s
  8:07h
• HTC One E9+
  8:05h
• Microsoft Lumia 650
  7:57h
• Oppo F1
  7:55h
• Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe ZE551ML
  7:52h
• ZTE nubia Z9 mini
  7:44h
• Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL
  7:43h
• BlackBerry Leap
  7:37h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
  7:36h
• LG G5
  7:35h
• LG G5 SE
  7:35h
• Acer Liquid Jade Primo
  7:30h
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  7:29h
• Oppo R7
  7:22h
• Archos 50 Diamond
  7:20h
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
  7:15h
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra Dual
  7:15h
• Sony Xperia C4 Dual
  7:05h
• ZTE Blade S6
  7:01h
• Microsoft Lumia 550
  6:55h
• Motorola Moto X Style
  6:49h
• OnePlus X
  6:32h
• Yota YotaPhone 2
  6:23h
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  6:19h
• Lenovo K3 Note
  5:56h
• HTC One A9
  5:22h

Finally, the web browser scores about the same as the video player. Against these same flagships, the Xperia X beats the P9 (8:46h) and HTC 10 (8:42h) but loses to the S7 (14:50h) and the G5 (10:21h).

Video playback

• Gionee Marathon M5
  26:24h
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  20:08h
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
  18:36h
• Oppo R7 Plus
  18:04h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 active
  18:03h
• Meizu PRO 5
  18:02h
• Xiaomi Redmi 3
  17:50h
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (USA)
  16:54h
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  16:22h
• Motorola Moto X Force
  15:07h
• Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE
  14:58h
• Samsung Galaxy S7
  14:50h
• Apple iPhone SE
  14:17h
• Lenovo ZUK Z1
  14:14h
• Oppo R7s
  14:05h
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  13:57h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  13:53h
• Xiaomi Mi 5
  13:52h
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  13:51h
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  13:08h
• Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
  13:04h
• Motorola Moto E (2nd gen)
  13:04h
• Acer Liquid Jade Primo
  12:53h
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  12:45h
• Samsung Galaxy A8 Duos
  12:45h
• Acer Liquid X2
  12:42h
• Huawei Mate 8
  12:34h
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
  12:21h
• Oppo F1 Plus
  12:13h
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  12:12h
• Motorola Moto X Play
  12:06h
• LG AKA
  11:54h
• Asus Zenfone Selfie ZD551KL
  11:32h
• Huawei Mate S
  11:26h
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  10:47h
• Apple iPhone 6s
  10:46h
• vivo X5Pro
  10:41h
• Microsoft Lumia 950 XL Dual SIM
  10:38h
• Microsoft Lumia 950 XL
  10:38h
• LG G Flex2
  10:35h
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  10:35h
• Xiaomi Mi 4s
  10:35h
• LG G5 SE
  10:21h
• LG G5
  10:21h
• Huawei G8
  10:20h
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  10:11h
• Huawei P8lite ALE-L04
  10:00h
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  9:59h
• Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos
  9:58h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
  9:57h
• Sony Xperia X
  9:56h
• vivo V3Max
  9:48h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM
  9:43h
• Huawei Honor 7
  9:43h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM
  9:43h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE
  9:43h
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  9:40h
• Oppo R7
  9:33h
• Huawei P8
  9:25h
• Huawei Honor 5X
  9:16h
• Oppo F1
  9:14h
• Motorola Moto X Style
  9:14h
• Meizu MX5
  9:13h
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
  9:13h
• Huawei P8lite
  9:00h
• BlackBerry Leap
  8:59h
• Microsoft Lumia 532 Dual SIM
  8:51h
• Microsoft Lumia 532
  8:51h
• Huawei P9
  8:46h
• HTC 10
  8:42h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE
  8:40h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM
  8:40h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM
  8:40h
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  8:40h
• Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe ZE551ML
  8:34h
• HTC One A9
  8:33h
• Microsoft Lumia 435 Dual SIM
  8:27h
• Archos 50 Diamond
  8:24h
• Meizu m1 metal
  8:11h
• ZTE Blade S6
  8:00h
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra Dual
  7:58h
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
  7:58h
• Sony Xperia Z5
  7:53h
• Yota YotaPhone 2
  7:41h
• LG V10
  7:30h
• Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
  7:24h
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  7:14h
• ZTE nubia Z9
  7:11h
• Microsoft Lumia 650
  7:09h
• ZTE nubia Z9 mini
  7:02h
• HTC One E9+
  7:00h
• OnePlus X
  6:55h
• Lenovo K3 Note
  6:55h
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
  6:37h
• BlackBerry Priv
  6:33h
• Meizu m2 note
  6:27h
• LG Nexus 5X
  6:25h
• Sony Xperia E4g
  6:00h
• Lenovo Vibe Shot
  5:40h
• Sony Xperia C4 Dual
  5:39h
• Microsoft Lumia 550
  5:05h

With battery life comparable to some of the best Android flagships that launched in the last few months, I think it's safe to say Sony did a great job with the Xperia X. It even improved on the respectable Z5 battery life.