From the selfie-oriented and fun experience of Xperia C3, Sony has stretched the C-series closer to flagship experience through their new Xperia C4 boasting sharper display, faster chip and more megapixels count on its camera.
Our unit is dual SIM variant priced around P16k pesos from online stores here in the Philippines. Aside from SIM card slot options, both single and dual SIM variants offer the same hardware and software features. Read on to find out about the Xperia C4 in our review.
Table of Contents
Design and body
The Xperia C4 is a compact phablet of Sony with screen-to-body ratio greatly improved from the Xperia C3. By sight, the Xperia C4 is not an attraction. It is a plain-looking Android phablet, saved only by the printed Sony Xperia brand to make it standout from the crowd.
As I mentioned on top, the Xperia C4 has one of the highest screen-to-body ratio in smartphone. This means that the screen occupies most of the area on the front. Top bezel is quite busy with the 5MP selfie camera paired with LED flash. Xperia C4 utilizes the Lollipop on-screen keys instead of capacitive keys.
Physical ports and controls are complete on Xperia C4. The right side houses the signature power button, volume rocker, shutter key and flap door access to microSD card and dual nano SIM cards. MicroUSB 2.0 port is located on the left side while 3.5mm audio jack is placed on the top.
Our unit comes in matte white, sadly the back could get easily stained. We suggest buying a case to avoid wiping your phone’s back all the time. Sides are curved and feel like metal but upon searching we found that these are built from reinforced polycarbonate brushed with metal finish. The rounded bumper corners add extra protection against accidental drops.
The weight and thickness of Xperia C3 have been almost retained on Xperia C4. The Xperia C4 is 0.3mm thicker and few grams lighter than its predecessor. But it is much easier to hold, thanks to the reduced bezel and light weight design.
Display
The Xperia C4 packs a 5.5-inch FHD 1080p IPS LCD display translating to 401ppi. The resolution and picture quality are up compared from the Xperia C3. We bring the Xperia C4 outside and saw a huge display quality improvements in sunlight legibility and clarity. Colors are now punchier while details are sharper. The display is top-notch and matches high-end flagship smartphones.
Camera
From 8MP shooter of Xperia C3, the main camera now on C4 is 13MP still paired with single LED flash. Most of the shots we took have slightly inaccurate white balance and too soft details. But most shots remain brighter even in low light conditions.
Movie mode captures up to 1080p video at 30fps. Overall picture and audio quality are considerably good given it was taken from a mid-range device.
Sony touts the Xperia C4 as selfie-oriented device, however, we found out that the 5MP camera is just average, but at least the front facing LED flash works well in dark-lit conditions.
Performance and benchmark
With MediaTek 6752 octacore chip, 2GB of RAM and 16GB storage, the Xperia C4 can easily match the speed and power of flagship Android smartphones. The device can handle demanding tasks as well as provide snappy performance. Browsing through the phone is smoothly handled by the chip and memory.
Benchmark results show promising numbers too, though slightly lower than bulky Intel Atom Z-powered devices.
- AnTuTu benchmark: 43947
- GeekBench: Single 802, Multicore 4155
- Basemark OS: 868
Software and experience
Running on Android 5.0 Lollipop, users experience on Sony Xperia C4 is close to the native Lollipop experience, but cleaner and richer in proprietary software features in my opinion. What I only want to have on Xperia C4 is the same animated theme I used from Xperia Z3+. The closest substitute to this missing feature is the live wallpaper option from the home screen settings.
Speaker
The Xperia C4’speaker is one of the decent speakers we’ve encountered. The sound quality is convincingly good. We like the treble which is rich and balanced. Its volume level is also strong and loud enough to be used in open spaces. What is missing, however, is a richer bass output.
Battery
With only 2600mAh power juice, this makes the Xperia C4 an underpowered phablet compare to the other mid-range Android phones these days. Sony could’ve gone with at least 3000mAh of juice to compensate for the sharp, bright and large display of Xperia C4.
But how does the battery fare in actual test? After 2 hours of HD movie playback in loud speaker and max brightness while on airplane mode, the battery was down to 64% from full charge. Result is below average from the mid-range Android devices we tested, but put into account that Xperia C4 has one of the brightest display. Dimming down the brightness will surely result to more higher battery rating.
The battery life on normal mode of Xperia C4 could last up to a whole day of use including dozen entries of SMS, few minutes of browsing and voice calls while being connected to the WiFi and receiving push notifications and updates.
With stamina mode turned on, you can push the phone up to couple of days while sacrificing the performance and experience. But if you intend using only the basic smartphone features, then turning on the stamina mode is the best idea.
Verdict
The Sony Xperia C4 is a complete upgrade from the Xperia C3. Performance is top class while display is one of the best we’ve seen from a mid-range device. The major drawbacks from buying the Xperia C4 is the poor battery life and unimpressive main camera quality.
For under P16k, the dual version of Xperia C4 is slightly expensive. You really need to research for alternatives before buying the C4. Some could settle with the LG G3 or Xperia Z2 with close pricing to the Xperia C4 while offering better hardware features.
What we like from Sony Xperia C4
- Superb display
- Top class performance
- Decent speaker
What we don’t like from Sony Xperia C4
- Poor battery life
- Average front facing camera, so-so main camera
- A bit pricey
Sony Xperia C4 Dual specs |
| 5.5-inch FHD IPS display, 401ppi |
| 7.9mm thick, 147g weight |
| Scratch-resistant glass |
| Mediatek 6752 octacore chip, 1.7GHz Cortex A53 CPU |
| 2GB RAM |
| 16GB internal, microSD card up to 128GB |
| 13MP camera, HDR, 1080p video, LED flash |
| 5MP selfie camera, 720p video, LED flash |
| Dual nano SIM, 4G LTE, WiFi a, Bt 4.1, NFC, FM Radio, GPS, ANT+ |
| Android 5.0 Lollipop |
| 2600mAh |
| White, Mint Green, Black |
| P15,990 for dual SIM as of July 25, 2015 |
Related reviews and comparison:
