So I heard him say how he'd love to use an Xperia phone if they allowed switching the back and menu buttons. I use an Xperia Pro-I, because just...
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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/vinaypundith on 2024-12-21 04:04:22+00:00.

So I heard him say how he’d love to use an Xperia phone if they allowed switching the back and menu buttons. I use an Xperia Pro-I, because just as Linus said it’s one of the only phones left on the market with a headphone jack and SD card slot and a really good display etc. I wanted to add to that, there are some small design choices/oversights that really annoy me even though I generally like the phone. Basically, it’s got great hardware and poor software. Also, yes it’s absurdly expensive - I got mine used with a cracked screen.

  1. The camera does not work below 5% battery (it will give an error saying battery too low). …What?? Camera is one of the things that when you need it, you *really* need it, and need it quick. Why would you block it when the battery is less than 5%?

  2. Again the camera: The pictures it takes are sharp, but the image preview in the camera app is *terrible*. Preview will often be out of focus while the actual picture it takes is sharp. Never seen this even on ultra budget chinese junk phones.

  3. Flashlight is too dim.

  4. No desktop mode. It can output to a monitor, but there’s no desktop mode in the OS.

  5. Programmable hotkey can launch one of a short list of apps. I used to use a Samsung S7 Active, which has a hotkey that you can assign different actions for single press, long press, double press etc. The Xperia one feels like a big downgrade.

  6. Poor OS support - 2 Android versions for what was an $1800 phone when new. Cannot LineageOS it because it’s too niche of a device.

  7. Stock OS isn’t great, I had to use Nova Launcher.

Of course, there’s things I love about it:

  1. All the buttons are on one side of the phone - so I don’t accidentally press the power button while adjusting volume.

  2. it *has* a programmable hotkey at least, even if it isn’t great

  3. QR code scanner is the quickest, most accurate QR scanner I’ve ever seen.

  4. The headphone jack and SD card slot, of course.