Xperia XA Ultra review: average camera, amazing battery

Sony Xperia XA Ultra release date and price

Sony has a launch event scheduled for August 10 in São Paulo, at 10am, where it will make the official announcement of this smartphone. Therefore, we do not have a suggested retail price of the device, or the date on which will be available for purchase. However, the specifications of the XA Ultra are higher than the Xperia X, which hit the market for $550 so expect a price above this.

Sony Xperia XA Ultra design and build quality

Compared with the line Xperia Z and even the Xperia X and X Performance, the Xperia XA Ultra has a design feature that draws our attention when the screen is activated: the lack of bezels. In this sense, Sony is to be congratulated on the X series.

Another very interesting feature is a 16 MP sensor on the upper front of the XA Ultra, which, despite its size, hasn't increased the upper and lower bezels compared to the previous models.

The Xperia XA Ultra is not a discrete device with its 6-inch screen and holding the device in your hands is not as comfortable as having a model like the Moto X Style, for example, with its back curve. So if you have no interest in phablets, I advise not to buy the Xperia XA Ultra. Now if this is your niche, be aware that Sony actually managed to optimize the front of the unit for the screen.

Despite the Ultra name, the new phablet Sony does not have premium features. This is midrange phone with some extra features, but does not have the fingerprint reader like the Xperia X. Thus, the device comes with the same features as the Xperia Z3+ design.

The frame of the Xperia XA Ultra is made of aluminum, but the back is clear polycarbonate. The model only weighs 202 g and is 8.4 mm thick.

On the left side of the frame, we have the SIM card and Micro-SD memory card slots covered with a lid. However, this characteristic of the Xperia line smartphones ensure water resistance but in the case of Ultra XA it is purely aesthetic, since the device does not have waterproof certification.

At the top, there is a mini jack for headphones, and at the bottom we find a speaker. Incidentally, there is no worse position for the speakers for playing games or watching videos.

The Xperia XA Ultra will be available in four colors: white, black, gold and lime.

Sony Xperia XA Ultra display

The Xperia XA Ultra screen 6 inches with a decent pixel density of 367 ppi. The screen has a Full HD resolution with IPS LCD technology, which offers a good experience in bright sunlight when the screen brightness is at 100% capacity.

For multimedia, the XA Ultra screen is above average, the viewing angles are really good. However, sometimes the experience with the white balance is not satisfactory. Almost all images make the cameras look bad on the handset screen, but when put on the computer they look better. I think this is the first time I have had this experience, it's usually the opposite.

Sony offers us a chance to modify the white balance, but despite trying to have the hottest colors using this function, it still fails to be worth a mention in this review since the change has to be made in the eye and there are no ways or pre-established standard to assist the user. Experience with the screen brightness is good, one of the best I've ever had with a Sony device.

Sony Xperia XA Ultra software

In the Xperia XA Ultra, Sony used polished software and kept the UI light and colorful. Android 6.0 Marshmallow comes installed on Xperia XA Ultra have some new elements such as a new look for the SMS application and Swiftkey keyboard as standard in place of the Xperia Keyboard.

Among the features that attract our attention, use of the device with one hand is a great option for a 6-inch device, however, you have to set it in the best possible way before going to use it. If you kept the lock screen active in general you have to give two commands until you can launch the camera or dialer quickly by dragging your finger right or left will reduce the screen to use with one hand.

I must say that I did not like this solution by Sony, especially since the use of the device with one hand already comes pre-selected. And when you realize that in the midst of this situation you would need to quickly launch the dialer from the lock screen, the quality of user experience is reduced.

The Xperia UI also has a new lock screen and a system of apps suggestions that run from the home screen. Sony has a number of pre-installed applications, some removable and others not, such as Spotify, the Kobo eBooks, Sky Go, Amazon and AVG anti-virus.

Sony Xperia XA Ultra performance

Inside, the Xperia XA Ultra comes with the same processor as the original intermediate Xperia X and not too exciting for a smartphone with "Ultra" in the name. The CPU is MediaTek Helio P10 2.0GHz octa-core chip is one for intermediaries. The device's internal memory is 3 GB and storage is 16 GB and can be expanded up to 200GB via a microSD card.

If the smaller version of the Xperia X series graphics were already lower than expected for the GPU Helio P10, which has two cores 700 MHz. With the Xperia XA Ultra, which has a larger screen, we had almost the same points between them. With the XA Ultra, the games can still run at 720p, however, if you want to use the potential of the XA Ultra screen, which offers 1080p, the graphics will be reduced.

Recalling that the chipset architecture is the Cortex A-53 mid-range, which can justify the intermediate performance octa-core processor.

But what bothered me most was the delay to open some applications, especially in multitasking. This could be improved by accelerating the range of animations in the developer options. However, a new device with a CPU like the Helio P10 with 3GB of RAM should not do that.

Now, one thing is certain, we recommend the use of a microSD card to optimize the performance of Xperia X, and this will also be the case of the XA Ultra, which comes with only 16 GB of internal storage.

Sony Xperia XA Ultra audio

Like the Xperia X, and other smartphones from the Japanese manufacturer, the XA Ultra has a speaker slightly more acute. Call quality is clear and we do not have that 'echo' in the background. In the test model that Sony sent to  AndroidPIT, it did not offer the headphones in the box.

Accessing the device settings, we have the chance to use the equalizer application of Xperia UI, which has settings for bass and treble tones.

The sound of Sony's mono speaker is good, despite the metallic effect of audio when the volume is at 100% capacity. However, the option to put it in the bottom right affects gaming and video watching.

What really caught my attention was the capture audio from the microphones. I had the chance to use the device for a concert and the audio clarity was impressive.

Sony Xperia XA Ultra camera

The Xperia XA Ultra is the unicorn of the Xperia series because the front camera offers better results than the rear. Unlike the Xperia Ultra C5, in which both cameras had the same sensor, the XA Ultra front camera is 16 MP, with an f / 2.0 aperture supported by an LED flash; while the rear camera is 21,5 MP with an aperture of f / 2.2 and  LED flash support.

Interestingly, the 16 MP camera has an optical image stabilizer, which functions as digital stabilization. With the videos I took, my impression is that the front camera did a much better service, even for the capture of images, since it is optimized for low light conditions.

Regarding the rear camera, when we look at the photos and videos in a software on a computer, you can identify slight smudges or distortions in the images captured by the device. The media captured with the front camera actually maintained decent quality.

The hybrid auto focus Xperia XA Ultra is excellent for those who like to focus on the scene and capture images quickly, however, it seemed slower than the Xperia Z5, for example. As is traditional in Sony smartphones, the Xperia XA Ultra comes equipped with a physical button to be used as the camera trigger.

Although the camera has an interesting manual mode, the Superior Auto function can be the most viable way for those who have no expertise with adjusting smartphone camera settings.

• Check here the Xperia X Ultra camera test photos in high-resolution

Unfortunately, I had problems when using the camera application. I encountered an error that made the software freeze four times when I was using the front camera. After several attempts to fix the problem without having another application use the camera in the background or something, I had to reset the machine. I'm sorry to say that the camera sensor then overheated.

Sony Xperia XA Ultra battery

The Sony Xperia XA Ultra has a small battery capacity for its size, 2,700 mAh. In comparison, the Xperia Z5 Compact has the same 2,700mAh battery, but with a 4.6-inch screen. In the review of the Xperia X, done by my colleague Eric Herrmann, the device left much to be desired in the question of battery life. But during my test with the Ultra variant, I confess that I was surprised with the capability of this unit.

The Xperia XA Ultra offers good performance when it comes to battery life, and can reach up to 8 hours of use for videos, which is enough for a device with its specifications. In benchmark tests, the Xperia XA Ultra performed, as shown above, like devices such as the Moto G4 Plus, Xperia X and LG G5, for example.

Additionally, the load time of the device is fast due to the use of UCH12 technology, which uses fast load support from Qualcomm. That's really positive.

Sony Xperia XA Ultra technical specifications