More anecdotes - mixed bag, not great for Aria
 

I've now flown 10+ Aria flights, plus some recent A350 (both 35K and 35G) and 77K J longhaul. I've mostly tried to avoid J longhaul on CX but its grown impossible post-COVID given the severe reduction in F, and this year the new forthcoming status and me making sure I get my 2,400 SP (yes, a bow to the puppet masters). In fairness I haven't been too extreme, I think SQ has maybe lost out on a couple regional F segments max cause I proactively changed things, and ANA or JL maybe a few segments switching instead, USA to North America. But it's real.

Now for the bad news. Not new news. I'm pretty sure I much prefer the 77K config to Aria for sleeping, assuming I have a window. I've flown the 77K config shorthaul enough but longhaul for the first time in a while only recently. (Havent flown 77A in J since pre-COVID, although seat is identical.) Having now done Aria maybe 10x or so, incl multiple longhauls, I'm confident I like the "old old J" on 77K better than Aria for sleeping. Its just so much roomier and easier to sleep. I'm neither a big nor particularly tall person, about 178cm, but I find myself twisting and turning in Aria in a way I forgot about not having to do on the 77K.

Not sure if I'm going out on a limb but I think I also like the "old old J" (77K/77A) and its remarkable width and space over the A350 J too (simply "old J"?), I register slightly less space with the A350. Being fair, the move to put seat cushioning atop the storage space lid on the A350 is a smart way to increase the bed footprint.

My main positive on Aria is simply privacy, for all seats on a full flight instead of just window seats so solo travelers are less impacted boking late. Matters to me cause I routinely book last minute, within 2-3 weeks of flights and often much tighter, so good seats are often gone. Longhaul I dislike first row (including 12A/K) on the A350s, nor any D/K combos on the A350s and 77K/77A J (maybe with exception of the mini-cabin in 77A, tho I'd probably be in F on that flight). There's also more modern tech, although I dont think the product deserves credit for this since tech is always new at launch.

Aria privacy is a real positive. I recently had the displeasure of 12A on the A350 being the only seat on my longhaul, active crew, curtains open, galley lights on, and despite my polite remarks it was just an impossible situation. A few middles were still open a few days out but I avoided them since I really dont like the privacy situation in them. Plane went out full otherwise I would've moved to the middle given the commotion in the galley.

Overall I'm coalescing around the idea that Aria is only an upgrade for privacy (and especially, making all middle seats more valuable for last-minute solo bookers) and better tech. Although the privacy "problem" is a big deal at least so me so I'm not sure how to juggle it.

A few last comments: CX's A350 J bathrooms, along with A350 armrests, are really in a sorry state. They were bad at delivery and have aged about as un-well as you'd expect. But fortunately none are "critical" to the operation of the A350 J seat. Aria on the other hand has adopted flimsy armrests too, but now the armrest is crucial to Aria bed mode. If the armrests continue to break on Aria, a situation I see as basically a guarantee unless they make a real hardware changes, pax run the risk of having even less bed space than the already-cramped environment.
Keeping in the spirits of not trying to be too negative, Aria is a perfectly fine product, but "evolutionary", and really has some downsides. For loyal frequent flyers, a disappointment I would say considering we'll have this for another decade or longer. And I really think the travel bloggers are off the piste on their favorable reviews. "Wow!" Instragram factor high and practical factor low. My impression is CX has a uniquely business-focused customer base, especially at the high end with DMs and premium cabins ex-HKG. None of the regulars are going to be fooled by the marketing.

Completely agree with everything above.

What are the odds of CX pausing the refit to make some changes? :)

The armrest does need to be fixed, but I doubt they would be willing to make the TV console smaller and I doubt it is even possible to carve out more room in the shell of the seat.

It would be a happy compromise if they simply took advantage of the bulkhead space and to make the footwells wider there (similar to all the J+ products out there) and blocked them for DMs or above, since the casual / influencer crowd seems to be happy with these seats.

I suspect changes required to make the fundamental issues right are going to require recertification which would be cost prohibitive. I'm just hoping they don't make the same mistake on the 77X and the 350 refit or else I'm really going to have to go find another airline to be my main.

Instawhores would tell you a pile of 💩💩 tasted delicious if they got a free meal or flight out of it...

The most positive thing I can say about Aria is that the plug sockets are in a place which make way more sense. Even Qatar moved them to be outside the storage thing on the CX birds they took over. No brainer.

I think their whole marketing department has gone from meh to off piste - branding LAX metro station?? I thought that was an Onion article when I saw it.

Excellent comment.
Last night, I flew QR from HKG on the old CX 77A. QR just restarted this ac in June after using a Qsuite A350. I was with wifey in 11D&G. I had forgotten how great the seat was. So spacy. And very quiet with only some rare FA foot traffic. I know these 11D7G are special. But even the regular seats are quite more spacy than Aria.
ARiA is good for privacy although the door is quite low and does not fully close. But very cramped. I must add that I like the big screen. Otherwise the old 77A J seats are better. And QR gives a rather sick full mattress and pillow case.