Sony Xperia XA2
Shares rank 38 of 46 smartphones by recommenders
A small Sailfish OS phone with long battery life and stable native apps, though US carrier VoLTE requirements have turned it into ewaste.
5 people recommended Sony Xperia XA2 in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
3 of the 5 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “SailfishOS: A Linux-based European alternative to dominant mobile OSes”.
Summary written by Claude from 5 comments.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- mixed feelings
- 1
- warn against or regret it
- 1
The record
Recommended in 2 of 12 months
In 3 different threads.
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
- Recommended in 3 threadsNeeds 5 or more, not met.
- 3 of its 5 recommenders came from one threadNeeds half or less, not met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 5 of the 7 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Small size that fits the hand
“I couldn't find a small enough SailfishOS phone to switch to”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “Jolla on track to ship new phone with Sailfish OS, user-replaceable battery” “XA2 was the perfect fit for my hand”
Comment from 2 Nov 2025 in “SailfishOS: A Linux-based European alternative to dominant mobile OSes” Long battery life
“The battery life was insane for the time.”
Comment from 2 Nov 2025 in “SailfishOS: A Linux-based European alternative to dominant mobile OSes” Native Sailfish apps rarely crash
“native Sailfish apps on my Xperia XA2 seldom, if ever, crash”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “Jolla on track to ship new phone with Sailfish OS, user-replaceable battery”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Obsolete on US carriers due to VoLTE
“turned into ewaste by the VoLTE requirements of US carriers”
Comment from 1 Nov 2025 in “SailfishOS: A Linux-based European alternative to dominant mobile OSes”
Other smartphones people recommend
The four most recommended other smartphones, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple iPhone | 438 | 190 | 789 | 36% | 12 | 7 yrs97 people | — |
| Fairphone | 110 | 42 | 94 | 54% | 12 | 3 yrs14 people | — |
| iPhone 13 mini | 105 | 32 | 44 | 70% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Apple iPhone Pro | 90 | 45 | 138 | 39% | 12 | 4 yrs24 people | — |
| Sony Xperia XA2This page | 5 | 1 | 1 | 83% | 2 | — | — |
Also compared with iPhone SE, Jolla Phone, Nokia N900 and Apple iPhone 12 mini.
What people said
5 of the 7 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“native Sailfish apps on my Xperia XA2 seldom, if ever, crash”
“I couldn't find a small enough SailfishOS phone to switch to”
“The battery life was insane for the time.”
“XA2 was the perfect fit for my hand”
“turned into ewaste by the VoLTE requirements of US carriers”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.