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The Sony Xperia 10 Plus has been featured in a video repair guide published by YouTube tech channel “pwrdbykyank .” The video passed along by GSMArena covers the disassembly and reassembly of the device and reveals that Sony’s latest addition to its mid-range portfolio is relatively easy to repair.
The phone gets bonus points for including pull tabs for easy battery removal, especially since more expensive devices like the Samsung Galaxy S10 omitted this small but helpful addition. Likewise, the Sony Xperia 10 Plus’ display is set in place with adhesive and can be detached using prying tools without suffering any damage. Once again this doesn’t apply to Samsung’s latest flagship.
In all fairness, the Sony Xperia 10 Plus is based on a plastic unibody as opposed to a glass sandwich design, so the display must be able to detach from the frame without damage, seeing how this is the only way to get inside the phone.
The internal component that seems to be most susceptible to damage during disassembly is a large ribbon cable found below the battery. It connects the USB Type-C connector to the motherboard and it’s secured in place with adhesive. But with patience, it can be removed without damage. Plus the USB Type-C connector is not soldered onto the PCB so if needed, it can be replaced relatively cheaply along with the ribbon cable.
The Sony Xperia 10 Plus was announced at Mobile World Congress along with a smaller non-Plus model. Its 6.5-inch IPS display has a resolution of 2520 x 1080 pixels, it’s protected by Gorilla Glass 5, and unlike many other mid-range devices from different OEMs, it doesn’t have a display notch, and has a taller 21:9 image format.
The smartphone is driven by the Snapdragon 636 chipset introduced by Qualcomm in October 2017. The silicon is based on four Kryo 260 Gold CPU cores clocked at up to 1.8GHz and four Kryo 260 Silver cores featuring a frequency of up to 1.6GHz. The processor is paired with an Adreno 509 graphics chip and a Snapdragon X12 LTE modem.
Other features include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner which is quite usual for Sony’s mobile devices, and a dual camera on the back panel comprising a 12-megapixel sensor offering 21:9 video recording to match the display, along with an 8-megapixel telephoto unit offering 2x optical zoom.
Memory-wise the mid-range model has 64GB of built-in storage expandable with up to 512GB via microSD. In most regions, it ships with 4GB of RAM, while a variant with 6GB of RAM will be shipped in China.
The Sony Xperia 10 Plus became available for pre-order on the same day it was announced at Mobile World Congress and is expected to hit the shelves in the U.S. on March 18. As usual with Sony’s mobile devices, the new mid-range model won’t be subsidized by carriers and can only be acquired unlocked for the full price of $429. It should be compatible with Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T, and to sweeten the deal, Verizon customers can take advantage of a $250 prepaid Visa card should they choose to attach the smartphone to a new account.