Sony Xperia XA2 and XA2 Ultra vs. Xperia XA1 and XA1 Ultra - what's new?

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Sony Xperia XA2 and XA2 Ultra vs. Xperia XA1 and XA1 Ultra - what's new?
Earlier this week, at CES 2018, Sony unveiled two new mid-range Android Oreo smartphones that succeed the Xperia XA1 and XA1 Ultra of last year. Called Xperia XA2 and Xperia XA2 Ultra, the new handsets are already available to pre-order in the US, being offered unlocked for $349 and $449, respectively.

While Sony didn't drastically change the design of its new Xperia XA family, the XA2 and XA2 Ultra look better than their predecessors, thanks in no small part to their reduced top and bottom bezels. Another thing that's almost instantly noticeable on both handsets is the presence of fingerprint scanners on the back - that's a first for Sony smartphones.

The Xperia XA2 and XA2 Ultra use Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processors instead of the MediaTek Helio P20 chipsets found inside last year's models. The Snapdragon 630 is more efficient than the Helio P20, while also representing an upgrade when it comes to gaming, thanks to its more powerful Adreno 508 GPU.


When talking about displays, the XA2 sees an important upgrade, as it sports a 5.2-inch 1080p screen that's obviously superior to the 5-inch 720p screen of the XA1. The XA2 Ultra comes with a 6-inch 1080p screen - similar to the XA1 Ultra. Both new phones pack considerably larger batteries - 3300 mAh (XA2) and 3580 mAh (XA2 Ultra). These should provide increased usage times over the 2300 mAh and 2700 mAh batteries of the XA1 and XA1 Ultra.

The Xperia XA2 and XA2 Ultra also feature enhanced cameras. Their rear cameras are similar, offering 23 MP, 1/2.3-inch Exmor RS sensors, 4K video recording, and 120 fps slow-motion recording. On the front, the XA2 has a wide-angle 8 MP camera, while the XA2 Ultra has a dual camera (16 MP with optical image stabilization + 8 MP wide-angle) with LED flash. No wonder Sony is presenting these as "selfie smartphones."

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For a detailed specs comparison between Sony's Xperia XA2 and XA1 series, check out the tables below. 

Display
Size
5.0 inches
5.2 inches
Technology
IPS LCD
IPS LCD
Screen-to-body
70.87 %
74.89 %
Peak brightness
 
500 cd/m2 (nit)
Features
Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Hardware
System chip
MediaTek Helio P20 MT6757
Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 SDM630 (14 nm)
Processor
Octa-core, 2300 MHz, ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit
Octa-core, 2200 MHz, ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit
GPU
Mali-T880 MP2
Adreno 508
RAM
3GB LPDDR4
3GB LPDDR4
Internal storage
32GB
32GB
OS
Android (8.0 Oreo, 7.0 Nougat)
Android (9.0 Pie, 8.0 Oreo)
Battery
Capacity
2300 mAh
3300 mAh
Charging
MediaTek Pump Express
Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
Talk time
11.30 hours
the average is 13 h (780 min)
39.00 hours
the average is 13 h (780 min)
Stand-by time
23.3 days (560 hours)
the average is 25 days (600 h)
36.0 days (863 hours)
the average is 25 days (600 h)
Talk time (3G)
10.12 hours
the average is 0 h (0 min)
29.00 hours
the average is 0 h (0 min)
Stand-by time (3G)
25.1 days (603 hours)
the average is 0 days (0 h)
41.3 days (991 hours)
the average is 0 days (0 h)
Stand-by time (4G)
23.8 days (572 hours)
the average is 0 days (0 h)
49.4 days (1185 hours)
the average is 0 days (0 h)
Music playback
55.32 hours
124.00 hours
Video playback
7.35 hours
22.00 hours
Camera
Rear
Single camera
Single camera
Main camera
23 MP (Features: Laser and PDAF)
23 MP (Features: PDAF)
Specifications
Aperture size: F2.0; Focal length: 24 mm; Sensor size: 1/2.3"
Aperture size: F2.0; Focal length: 24 mm; Sensor size: 1/2.3"; Pixel size: 1.12 μm
Video recording
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (120 fps)
Features
EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
HDR, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
Front
8 MP
8 MP
Video capture
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
Design
Dimensions
5.71 x 2.64 x 0.31 inches (145 x 67 x 8 mm)
5.59 x 2.76 x 0.38 inches (142 x 70 x 9.7 mm)
Weight
5.04 oz (143.0 g)
the average is 6 oz (171 g)
6.03 oz (171.0 g)
the average is 6 oz (171 g)
Materials
 
Back: Plastic; Frame: Aluminum
Biometrics
 
Fingerprint (touch)
Buyers information
Price
$ 299
 
See the full Sony Xperia XA1 vs Sony Xperia XA2 specs comparison or compare them to other phones using our Phone Comparison Tool.


Display
Size
6.0 inches
6.0 inches
Technology
 
IPS LCD
Screen-to-body
76.10 %
76.07 %
Peak brightness
 
500 cd/m2 (nit)
Features
Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Hardware
System chip
MediaTek Helio P20 MT6757
Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 SDM630 (14 nm)
Processor
Octa-core, 2300 MHz, ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit
Octa-core, 2200 MHz, ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit
GPU
Mali-T880 MP2
Adreno 508
RAM
4GB LPDDR4
4GB LPDDR4
Internal storage
32GB
32GB
OS
Android (8.0 Oreo, 7.0 Nougat)
Android (9.0 Pie, 8.0 Oreo)
Battery
Capacity
2700 mAh
3580 mAh
Charging
MediaTek Pump Express
Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
Talk time
13.27 hours
the average is 13 h (780 min)
41.00 hours
the average is 13 h (780 min)
Stand-by time
28.5 days (685 hours)
the average is 25 days (600 h)
33.4 days (801 hours)
the average is 25 days (600 h)
Talk time (3G)
11.88 hours
the average is 0 h (0 min)
32.00 hours
the average is 0 h (0 min)
Stand-by time (3G)
29.5 days (708 hours)
the average is 0 days (0 h)
35.0 days (841 hours)
the average is 0 days (0 h)
Stand-by time (4G)
28.0 days (671 hours)
the average is 0 days (0 h)
37.2 days (893 hours)
the average is 0 days (0 h)
Music playback
64.95 hours
118.00 hours
Video playback
8.63 hours
24.00 hours
Camera
Rear
Single camera
Single camera
Main camera
23 MP (Features: Laser and PDAF)
23 MP (Features: PDAF)
Specifications
Aperture size: F2.0; Focal length: 24 mm; Sensor size: 1/2.3"
Aperture size: F2.0; Focal length: 24 mm; Sensor size: 1/2.3"; Pixel size: 1.12 μm
Video recording
Yes
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (120 fps)
Features
HDR, Object tracking, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
HDR, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
Front
16 MP
16 MP
Video capture
1920x1080 (Full HD)
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
Design
Dimensions
6.50 x 3.11 x 0.32 inches (165 x 79 x 8.1 mm)
6.42 x 3.15 x 0.37 inches (163 x 80 x 9.5 mm)
Weight
6.63 oz (188.0 g)
the average is 6 oz (171 g)
7.80 oz (221.0 g)
the average is 6 oz (171 g)
Materials
Frame: Aluminum
Back: Plastic; Frame: Aluminum
Biometrics
 
Fingerprint (touch)
See the full Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra vs Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra specs comparison or compare them to other phones using our Phone Comparison Tool.

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