Sony's new mid-range smartphone Xperia M2 Aqua features waterproof factor and dust tight certification which can be a good option for users of Xperia V and Xperia ZR looking for similar technologies.

Ingress Protection Level

Sony Xperia M2 Aqua boasts IP 65/68 certification level against water and dust. IP 65/68 is higher compared to the IP 55/57 of Xperia V and Xperia ZR. IP 65/68 on Xperia M2 Aqua offers total protection against dust and protection against low-pressure water jets and safety from water damage within 30 minutes under 1.5 metres depth of freshwater. Xperia V and Xperia ZR water protection is limited for up to 30 minutes under one metre of depth only.

Decent Display Screen

Xperia M2 Aqua has 4.8 inches of display screen with qHD resolution and IPS LCD technology that provides wider viewing angles compared to TFT screens. Though, Xperia V and Xperia ZR have the edge on the HD display resolution but offers smaller screen size of 4.3 inches and 4.55 inches, respectively.

Latest Software Version

Software is another advantage of Xperia M2 Aqua especially the device will initially run with Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS. Xperia V has been confirmed to remain on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean as its final major software update while Xperia ZR is nearing to its end of life cycle. Owners of Xperia M2 Aqua can expect two major firmware updates after Android KitKat including Android 5.0 L.

Camera Performance

Sony Mobile installed a decent 8 MP camera lens on Xperia M2 Aqua with full HD 1080p video recording. It is lower compared to the 13 MP rear camera lenses installed on Xperia V and Xperia ZR but Xperia M2 Aqua features Sony Exmor RS mobile image sensor just like with Xperia ZR. Moreover, it also boasts several camera features such as HDR mode, SteadyShot video stabiliser, a pulsed LED flash support and downloadable camera apps.

Performance and Battery Life

Since Xperia M2 Aqua is a newer smartphone than Xperia V and Xperia ZR, it is equipped with a new processor model that has improved performance and better battery efficiency. Moreover, its battery unit has 2300 mAh capacity similar to Xperia ZR that is higher than the 1750 mAh offered by Xperia V. Check the processor and graphics chipset models with clock speed below:

Sony Xperia M2 Aqua

Sony Xperia ZR

Sony Xperia V

1.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400

1.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8064

1.5 GHz dual-core from Qualcomm

Adreno 305 GPU chipset

Adreno 320 GPU chipset

Adreno 225 GPU chipset

Sony Xperia M2 Aqua will roll-out starting from autumn of 2014 to several markets including Latin America, Asia Pacific and Europe. Xperia M2 Aqua is also compatible with Sony accessories such as SmartBand SWR10 and the Lifelog app.