# Sony Xperia XA2

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/sony-xperia-xa2/

5 people recommended Sony Xperia XA2 in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

3 of the 5 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “SailfishOS: A Linux-based European alternative to dominant mobile OSes”.

**Verdict:** A small Sailfish OS phone with long battery life and stable native apps, though US carrier VoLTE requirements have turned it into ewaste.

Summary written by Claude from 5 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Small size that fits the hand (2 comments in the sample): "I couldn't find a small enough SailfishOS phone to switch to" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47313743)) "XA2 was the perfect fit for my hand" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45786726))
- Long battery life (1 comment in the sample): "The battery life was insane for the time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45786791))
- Native Sailfish apps rarely crash (1 comment in the sample): "native Sailfish apps on my Xperia XA2 seldom, if ever, crash" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47313933))

## What people warn about

- Obsolete on US carriers due to VoLTE (1 comment in the sample): "turned into ewaste by the VoLTE requirements of US carriers" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45786419))

## Other smartphones people recommend

- [Apple iPhone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone/): 438 recommend, 190 mixed, 789 criticize
- [Fairphone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fairphone/): 110 recommend, 42 mixed, 94 criticize
- [iPhone 13 mini](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-13-mini/): 105 recommend, 32 mixed, 44 criticize
- [Apple iPhone Pro](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-17-pro/): 90 recommend, 45 mixed, 138 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Sony Xperia XA2", https://hackerapproved.com/p/sony-xperia-xa2/ (5 recommend, 1 mixed, 1 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.