Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra Review
Introduction
Once again, Sony has unleashed a monster upon the world, this time around called the Xperia XA1 Ultra. It’s the bigger sibling to the XA1, packing most of the same hardware in a larger form factor, with a couple of improvements.
But while its size may suggest otherwise, the XA1 Ultra’s specs put it firmly into mid-range territory, which may be a bit of a problem for all the spec chasers out there. So let’s dive in and see whether Sony’s latest phablet holds up under deeper scrutiny:
Design
A classic Sony in a supersized form factor
Like it or not, Sony’s carved its own little niche in terms of smartphone design and is steadfastly sticking to it. This is very much the case with the XA1 Ultra, which carries that classic, ultra-tall Sony look, but with a couple of extra tweaks added on top.
However, one-handed use isn’t as bad as one would expect it to be – while it could never be called a comfortable experience, it’s still entirely within the realm of possible for more straightforward tasks, such as scrolling through your Twitter feed. The biggest reason for this are the XA1 Ultra’s non-slippery back and sides, a change from the smaller XA1 which makes adjusting your grip to reach the further parts of the screen a less risky experience than it would otherwise be with such a big device.
6.5 x 3.11 x 0.32 inches
165 x 79 x 8.1 mm
6.63 oz (188 g)
5.71 x 2.64 x 0.31 inches
145 x 67 x 8 mm
5.04 oz (143 g)
6.17 x 3.06 x 0.31 inches
156.8 x 77.6 x 7.9 mm
6.56 oz (186 g)
5.96 x 2.97 x 0.31 inches
151.35 x 75.35 x 7.85 mm
5.75 oz (163 g)
6.5 x 3.11 x 0.32 inches
165 x 79 x 8.1 mm
6.63 oz (188 g)
5.71 x 2.64 x 0.31 inches
145 x 67 x 8 mm
5.04 oz (143 g)
6.17 x 3.06 x 0.31 inches
156.8 x 77.6 x 7.9 mm
6.56 oz (186 g)
5.96 x 2.97 x 0.31 inches
151.35 x 75.35 x 7.85 mm
5.75 oz (163 g)
Compare these and other phones using our Size Comparison tool.
Display
A surprisingly great panel that actually outclasses Sony’s own flagships in terms of color reproduction
The sneaky black borders
But what’s pleasantly surprising here is the XA1 Ultra’s color reproduction, which is actually pretty good for a mid-ranger, thanks to its accurate blues and greens. However, yellows tend to be a bit greenish, while reds are overall a bit weak. Still, compared to, say, the XZ Premium, this panel is better in terms of accurate color reproduction, though it’s still a tad too blueish.
Interface and functionality
Near-stock Nougat with a couple of welcome additional features
Processor and memory
Mid-ranger isn’t an insult any more
It’s 2017, and we’ve finally reached the point at which even a mid-range MediaTek chipset like the Helio P20 can perform sufficiently well for most, if not all of your daily tasks. Sony’s Xperia UX is fast and responsive, with smooth animations and pretty much no hiccups to speak of – something a few manufacturers could stand to learn from.
This is no doubt helped by the XA1 Ultra’s 4 GB RAM (a slight increase from its smaller sibling’s 3 GB), but, this being a mid-ranger and all, you still shouldn’t expect that much in the graphics department – even a simplistic-looking game such as The Trail, for example, has troubles running smoothly. Also, launching or switching apps can sometimes take a second or two, but this problem only rears its head when the device is under heavier load, which is pretty much par for the course.
The phone comes with 32 GB of internal storage, of which about 24 GB are available to the user, though that storage can be expanded via а microSD card.
Connectivity
Being a GSM-only device, the XA1 Ultra won’t work on Sprint and Verizon’s CDMA networks, even though it covers all of the Big Four’s LTE bands. Just like its predecessor, it supports NFC, making mobile payments an entirely real possibility. However, the USB connector on the bottom is now, thankfully, of the USB-C type, finally bringing the new, reversible standard to Sony's mid range.
Camera
Lots of pixels, decent photos, but finicky autofocusing
Sony just loves boasting about its cameras, and the XA1 Ultra is no exception: it’s equipped with an impressive-sounding 23 MP rear shooter and a 16 MP front one. But in true Sony fashion, the high pixel count doesn’t necessarily imply high quality.
The camera app is okay but somewhat confusing, as a number of different shooting modes, like panorama or burst for example, are delegated to separate, independent “apps” within the camera app. Another annoyance is the two-second delay between taking a picture and being able to preview it, as the gallery initially only shows a low-quality preview before loading the real thing. On the other hand, the dedicated camera button can be used to quickly launch the camera from stand-by, which is nice.
And speaking of delays: when using the dedicated shutter button, the camera would randomly decide not to immediately take a picture, but instead keep on focusing for as long as several seconds, ruining not just one or two shots. Also, focusing is problematic even when it supposedly works: more often than not, particularly in close-up shots, the XA1 Ultra’s camera would focus on a background object, even when you’ve manually tapped on one in the foreground.
Image quality
For a mid-ranger, the Xperia XA1 Ultra is perfectly adequate in terms of camera quality, though it isn’t nearly as good as Sony would like you to believe. Small sensors just don’t mix that well with high megapixel counts, and the XA1 Ultra proves it under more difficult conditions, such as low-light photography.
Color reproduction is reasonably good but finicky, sometimes veering a bit too much into oversaturated territory. In scenes with high contrast the XA1 Ultra’s camera often overcompensates, making otherwise good photos appear washed out. And lastly, Sony’s use of a wider-angle lens results in the corners of the photo becoming stretched around the edges, an effect most easily noticeable when taking a picture of a distant object.
For what it’s worth, though, both cameras still takes perfectly good photos – while there are a couple of kinks to be worked out here and there, no one can reasonably expect top-of-the-line photos from a mid-class device. So provided you take your photos under adequate lighting conditions, the XA1 Ultra delivers performance that is par for the course for its price range.
Sony XA1 Ultra Sample Images
Video
The XA1 Ultra records grainy videos and also has some troubles focusing. The rear camera doesn’t feature OIS like the front one does, and Sony’s SteadyShot does little to fix that problem. And lastly, the best available shooting option is full HD @ 30 FPS.
Multimedia
Being nearly the size of a small TV, the XA1 Ultra is a great way to enjoy a movie or TV show on the go, thanks to the surprisingly good-looking full HD screen. Being a mid-ranger, of course, it isn’t HDR-certified, but we’ll take what we can get.
Looking at the front of the device, one might mistake the top and bottom grilles as a placement point for front-facing stereo speakers. This, however, isn’t the case – the XA1 Ultra’s speaker is a single mono one, and can be found on its bottom. It’s sufficiently loud, but sound quality is, unsurprisingly poor, and sometimes prone to slight distortion. In headphone mode, the XA1 Ultra can easily reach painfully loud levels, and sound quality is sufficiently good.
Call quality
Just like on the XA1, the XA1 Ultra’s earpiece sounds a bit hollow, which is both due to the subpar quality of the audio itself and the overall lower volume. The microphone, however, does a pretty good job at capturing one’s voice, and the built-in noise cancellation works great.
Battery
A surprisingly decent performer, considering the huge screen
On first look, the XA1 Ultra’s huge size doesn’t exactly fit its 2,700 mAh battery, but, as it turns out, the device is an absolute champ in the battery life department, as it scored an impressive 10 hours and 32 minutes in our benchmark. But it also does well in real life as well, lasting a whole day with moderately heavy usage. This can in large part be attributed to the relatively low-power helio P20 chipset found inside, as well as the lower screen resolution.
Conclusion
When compared side by side with its smaller sibling – the Xperia XA1 – the XA1 Ultra almost looks a bit tacky. It’s like if Sony wondered how to make a more premium-looking mid-ranger, but the only ideas they had were “make it bigger” and “put some metal on it”. And neither of these decisions do it much favor, immediately drawing attention to design problems the smaller model’s body did a much better job of hiding.
Despite that, this is a classic Sony design, and one that very much stands out from the crowd of boring gray rectangles, for better or worse. And while your mileage may vary, in our experience its monstrous size just made the XA1 Ultra unwieldy, though that should be a given to anyone in the market for a phone with such a large display.
So if you’re, for whatever reason, looking for a humongous smartphone that won’t break the bank, the XA1 Ultra is, despite its shortcomings, one of the best choices out there for you right now.
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