# Sony Xperia Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/sony-xperia/ 11 people recommended Sony Xperia in Hacker News comments, 4 had mixed feelings and 13 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 12 months, in 11 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Criticized more than recommended: critics say security updates are slow and pricing is uncompetitive; those who recommend it cite their water resistance, headphone jack, microSD slot and good audio. Summary written by Claude from the comments below. ## What people warn about - Cellular network compatibility problems (3 comments in the sample): "that option also died once AT&T changed the details of their voice network and it was no longer possible to place 3G phone calls" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48646508)) "my brand new Sony Xperia VII phone would not work in upstate NY" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47215294)) "4G/5G does not work properly in Australia" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46424870)) - Camera quality worse than rivals (2 comments in the sample): "rooted Sony phones have terrible photo / video quality" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46558250)) "Sony phones have even worse camera than Samsung" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47134816)) - Poor value and uncompetitive pricing (2 comments in the sample): "Sony reintroduced it but has probably the worst VFM in the market" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47244908)) "They've always had uncompetitive pricing." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46423986)) - Security updates slow or short-lived (1 comment in the sample): "Their security updates were sub par the last time I checked." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46907485)) ## Why people recommend it - Headphone jack and microSD slot (6 comments in the sample): "Sony phones were some of the first high end water resistant phones…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47381972)) "The Sony Xperia line has been waterproof for over 10 years and continues to have a headphone jack and an SD card slot." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46461817)) "I want the SD card, dual sim plus eSIM, a headphone jack, a rectangular screen with a decent aspect ratio" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46425816)) - Long-standing water resistance (1 comment in the sample): "The Sony Xperia is thinner and lighter than any iPhone and has the same IP rating." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50204540)) - Good audio and jack quality (1 comment in the sample): "they're inherently superior when it comes to audio just working" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47374340)) - Compared favourably with iPhone (1 comment in the sample): "The Xperia is bounds ahead of the iPhone." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45946470)) ## 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", https://hackerapproved.com/p/sony-xperia/ (11 recommend, 4 mixed, 13 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.