Introduction
Sonys love for big screens goes all the way back to 2013 and the 6.4" Xperia Z Ultra, which was followed by a phablet in every generation since. Some four years later we have the Xperia XA1 Ultra at our doorstep, all 6 inches of it. And since we headed down memory lane, the Xperia T2 Ultra certainly deserves a mention too. While the Z Ultra packed some flagship-grade internals, the T2 Ultra was less obsessed with specs - and screen size for that matter, its display diagonal coming in at 6 inches sharp.
But its really the Xperia C3 that wed call the XA1 Ultras spiritual ancestor, even if it was on the "small" side in phablet terms, a 5.5-incher with zero Ultra in its name. You see, the C3 sported a high-res selfie camera (5MP was pretty high at the time) that was among the first to have a flash. The C4 brought some improvements, but it wasnt until the C5 that Ultra returned to the model name. The Xperia C5 Ultra added even more megapixels and autofocus to the front cam, putting a 6-inch screen in a slimmed down body.
The X-ifying of Sonys smartphone lineup marked the next chapter in the XA1 Ultras past. Its predecessor was called the XA Ultra - X because they all were part of this series, A for midrange, and Ultra for, well, 6 inches. Yet another upgrade in the selfie camera department saw a hike in resolution (of course), but also the introduction of OIS - a checkmark on only a select few spec sheets. The flash went without saying.
So, there we are,today with the Xperia XA1 Ultra. The name we already broke down to bits, and theres the 1 that signifies second generation in Sonys twisted logic. Theres not much in terms of front-facing camera upgrades this time - a flagship-grade shooter goes on the back instead, the basics like RAM and storage are now more than just barely adequate, and an efficient 16nm Med iatek chipset will try to get better mileage out of the same measly battery capacity.
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra key features
- Body: Aluminum sides; plastic top, bottom, and back; scratch-resistant display glass (>9H pencil hardness).
- Display: 6.0" TFT LCD, 1,920x1,080px resolution, 367ppi.
- Rear camera: 23MP Type 1/2.3" sensor, f/2.0 aperture, 24mm-equiv. focal length; autofocus; single LED flash; 1080p/30fps video recording, SteadyShot EIS.
- Front camera: 16MP Type 1/2.6" sensor, f/2.0 aperture, 23mm-equiv. focal length; OIS, autofocus, single LED flash; 1080p/30fps video recording.
- OS/Software: Android 7.0 Nougat.
- Chipset: 16nm Mediatek Helio P20 - Octa-core CPU (4x2.3GHz Cortex-A53 + 4x1.6GHz Cortex-A53), Mali T-880MP2 GPU.
- Memory: 4GB of RAM; 32GB of storage (64GB for G3226 version); microSD slot up to 256GB.
- Battery: 2,700mAh Li-Ion (sealed); Mediatek Pump Express+ 2.0 fast charging.
- Connectivity: Single-SIM (model names G3221/3223) and Dual-SIM (G3212/G3226) versions; Cat. 6 LTE (300Mbps/50Mbps); USB Type-C (v2.0); Wi-Fi a/b/g/n; GPS, GLONASS; NFC; Bluetooth 4.2.
- Misc: single bottom-firing loudspeaker, 3.5mm jack, dedicated two-stage hardware shutter release button.
Main shortcomings
- Smallish battery capacity
- No stereo speakers on a phone thats clearly targeted towards multimedia use
- No fingerprint sensor
Sony only fits fingerprint sensors in its high-end phones (though the feature is disabled in the US), but the XA1 Ultra isnt one of them. Fingerprint recognition has become more or less a given on even m uch cheaper devices, and its absence on the XA1 Ultra cant go unnoticed. Were also not massive fans of the top and bottom bezels that can almost be described with the same adjective.
The side bezels, on the other hand, are probably among the slimmest in Sonys Xperia lineup. Its bewildering why Sony wouldnt trim them on its more expensive phones in a similar manner, but were sure they have their reasons.
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra press images
Ask us and youd get a unanimous more is better response when it comes to battery backup. Ask Sony and youd be told that last years capacity is just fine. After spending time with the smaller Xperia XA1 (sans the Ultra), wed be inclined to reconsider - the more advanced chipset sure helps, but brute force (a.k.a. larger battery) cant hurt either, right?
Right, but lets stay on track - before we get to the battery life, theres unboxing and hardware overview to be done.
Unboxing
Sonys retail boxes barely differ from one model to the next but the XA1 Ultras is special. As in larger. Thats it. Theres still a standard issue 5V/1.5A charger (so not really PumpExpress+ 2.0 capable), and a U SB cable. There are no headphones in the box.
Just the basics in the box that we got
Once again though, this may not necessarily apply to the retail bundle in all corners of the world. Sony likes to tailor its package contents to different markets and carriers, so check before you buy.
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra 360-degree spin
The Xperia XA1 Ultra measures 165 x 79 x 8.1mm, so its a millimeter taller than the XA Ultra, but also 0.3mm thinner while keeping battery capacity unchanged. More importantly though, the new model is 14g lighter and it tips the scales at 188g.
Six-inches is not an overly popularr screen size, but weve reviewed a few models with this diagonal already. The Oppo F3 Plus, for example, measures 163.6 x 80.8 x 7.4mm and weighs 185mm, while the Galaxy C9 Pro measures 162.9 x 80.7 x 6.9mm and weighs 189g. So for a phone of this display size, the Xperia XA1 Ultra is about right with points to be had for the almost 2mm less in width.
Hardware overview
Now, heres a phone weve seen before. The Xperia XA1 Ultra is practically the XA1, only larger. Strictly speaking, its not exactly a straight-up multiply everything by a factor of 1.2 type of upscaling. The XA1 Ultra actually fares a little better in screen to body ratio - the display of the Ultra is 22mm taller, while the difference in physical height between the two is just 20mm more. So not only are the bezels not proportionally larger, theyre actually slimmer.
The Ultras forehead does also have a prominent selfie camera staring at you, compared to the XA1s more incognito shooter. The front flash thats been a staple of the lineup since the Xperia C3 is also hard to miss. The smaller model doesnt have that, its an Ultra feature.
Other than those peculiarities, the Ultras top bezel arrangement is similar to the one on the non-Ultra - an earpiece, camera on its left, ambient light/proximity sensors to the right. Theres also a notification LED in the top left corner.
You wont find anything under the display even if the cutout at the bottom would have you think otherwise - its not a speaker, the XA1 Ultra doesnt have stereo speakers. Thats a bummer, really, as a phone of such proportions is clearly built with multimedia in mind.
A lot of screen, bezels in check • Bottom one disappears • Familiar arrangement at the top • Nothing here
Even before Sony went all Xperia X with its smartphone lineup, the C5 Ultra was already a head-turner if minimal side bezels were your thing. That didnt change with the XA Ultra, and it doesnt change now either. In Sonys world that makes the XA1 Ultra the champ in fitting the most screen in the smallest footprint.
The sides are made of aluminum, and thats probably part of the reason they could be kept so thin. They also provide adequate grip for you to handle the device securely. The loop surface design where the front flows through the sides into the back is realized with a different set of materials on the XA1 Ultra (and the XA1 pr oper) compared to the XZ Premium - its aluminum sides/plastic back here, compared to the Premiums nylon sides/glass back. It does achieve a similar effect more or less.
In the hand
The XZ Premium has aluminum on its top and bottom, but that would have been too much metal for a mere mortal like the XA1 Ultra - the top and bottom plates are plastic here.
Youll find the USB-C port centered on the bottom, the loudspeaker to its right. Up top, theres the 3.5mm headphone jack and a secondary mic.
USB-C port and loudspeaker • the only loudspeaker • 3.5mm jack and secondary mic up top
In what is a common Sony practice, all controls are on the right side of the phone. The power button is a centimeter above the midpoint and its the old circular knob from the OmniBalance days - there is no fingerprint reader here. Above it is the volume rocker, which is a convenient location. Towards the bottom is the two-stage shutter button, which can also double as a camera shortcut.
On the left side is the card compartment - the SIM card has its own tray, which you need to take out to access the microSD slot. The memory card clicks into a push-to-insert, push-to-eject kind of slot but by the time you get to it, the phone will restart because youve taken the SIM card out.
OmniBalance throwback • The buttons click nicely • Card tray on the left
The XA1 Ultra may be a different kind of smudge-magnet next to the Premium, but it still is one - the midranger is a little better at concealing the grease on its back, but its also not quite as easy to wipe clean. Oh, well.
The matte black rear panel is tough to keep clean • Camera in its customary position in the top left corner.
Youd be looking at the display and not the back, so lets see how that performs in our tests on the next page.
Ultra-sized 6-inch display doesnt disappoint
To deserve the Ultra moniker, a Sony Xperia needs to be 6 inches or more, and the XA1 Ultra qualifies. Its also a FullHD resolution panel, as anything less wouldve been too coarse on that diagonal, while more wont make the budget. The resolution is good for 367ppi, perfectly adequate for the class.
Under a microscope, we see a conventional RGB arrangement with an equal number (of equally-sized) subpixels for each primary color.
The XA1 Ultra is very bright a t its maximum setting making it past the 600-nit mark, if only just. Theres no boost when you enable auto brightness. Blacks are kept in check for what turned out as an excellent contrast, verging on 1600:1. The XA1 Ultra is superior to both last years XA Ultra and the current smaller XA1 in all three disciplines. Not only that, but the XA1 Ultra outperforms Sonys current flagships as well.
Among potential competitors, few can match the XA1 Ultras peak brightness, and only AMOLEDs offer better contrast.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | ||
| 0.512 | 537 | 1049 | |
| 0.382 | 603 | 1579 | |
| 0.50 | 531 | 1071 | |
| 0.461 | 564 | 1223 | |
| 0.463 | 573 | 1238 | |
| 0.343 | 509 | 1485 | |
| 0 | 425 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 533 | ∞ | |
| 0.44 | 637 | 1448 | |
| 0 | 447 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 427 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 609 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 371 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 526 | ∞ | |
| 0.31 | 397 | 1281 | |
Outdoor visibility is great as well, the XA1 Ultra edges out the iPhone 7 Plus in this respect (hit the Expand button above the chart to see it). Even the AMOLED display on the Moto Z Play is no match for the Ultra, though Samsungs own Galaxy A7 (2017) does have the upper hand - not all AMOLEDs are equal.
Sunlight contrast ratio
- S amsung Galaxy S8
4.768 - Samsung Galaxy S8+
4.658 - Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
4.615 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
4.439 - OnePlus 3
4.424 - Samsung Galaxy S7
4.376 - HTC One A9
4.274 - Samsung Galaxy Note7
4.247 - Samsung Galaxy A3
4.241 - OnePlus 3T
4.232 - Google Pixel XL
4.164 - ZTE Axon 7
4.154 - Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
4.124 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
4.124 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
4.09 - Huawei Nexus 6P
4.019 - Vivo Xplay5 Elite
3.983 - OnePlus X
3.983 - Apple iPhone 7
3.964 < li class="shouldhide">Oppo R7s - Huawei P9 Plus
3.956 - Meizu Pro 6 Plus
3.935 - Lenovo Moto Z
3.931 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
3.918 - Samsung Galaxy C5
3.911 - Samsung Galaxy C7
3.896 - Samsung Galaxy A5
3.895 - Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
3.879 - Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
3.873 - Samsung Galaxy A8
3.859 - Sony Xperia XZs
3.818 - Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
3.817 - Motorola Moto X (2014)
3.816 - Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
3.804 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
3.802 - LG V20 Max auto
3.798 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
3.798 - Sony Xperia XZ
3.795 - Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
3.789 - Apple iPhone 6s
3.783 - Meizu Pro 5
3.781 - Microsoft Lumia 650
3.772 - Xiaomi Mi 6
3.767 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.756 - Oppo F1 Plus
3.709 - Vivo X5Pro
3.706 - Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
3.688 - Apple iPhone SE
3.681 - Huawei Mate 9
3.68 - Samsung Galaxy A7
3.679 - Meizu PRO 6
3.659 - BlackBerry Priv
3.645 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
3.597 - Apple iPhone 7 Plus
3.588 - LG G6
3.556 - Apple iPhone 6s Plus
3.53 - Motorola Moto Z Play
3.526 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
3.523 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
3.523 - Acer Jade Primo
3.521 - Microsoft Lumia 950
3.512 - Oppo R7 Plus
3.499 - nubia Z11
3.466 - Huawei P10 Plus
3.456 - HTC U Ultra
3.453 - Samsung Galaxy J7
3.422 - Meizu MX5
3.416 - LG V20
3.402 - Huawei P10
3.379 - Oppo R9s
3.352 - Honor 8 Pro
3.341 - Oppo R7
3.32 - Lenovo P2
3.316 - Xiaomi Mi 5s
3.276 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
3.244 - Samsung Galaxy J2
3.235 - Sony Xperia X Performance
3.234 - Xiaomi Mi Note 2
3.228 - Motorola Moto X Play
3.222 - Oppo F3 Plus
3.218 - Huawei Mate 9 Pro
3.206 - Huawei P9
3.195 - Lenovo Vibe Shot
3.113 - Motorola Moto X Force
3.105 - LG Nexus 5X
3.092 - Huawei Mate S
3.073 - Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
3.065 - Sony Xperia XA1
3.012 - Sony Xperia X
2.989 - Huawei Mate 8
2.949 - Xiaomi Redmi 3S
2.913 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
2.906 - LG G5
2.905 - HTC One S
2.901 - Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
2.893 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
2.884 - Sony Xperia XZ Premium
2.877 - Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB)
2.877 - Sony Xperia Z5
2.876 - Microsoft Lumia 550
2.851 - Lenovo Moto M
2.813 - Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
2.803 - Sony Xp eria Z5 compact
2.784 - Meizu MX6
2.751 - LG V10
2.744 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
2.735 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
2.714 - Meizu M5
2.71 - Sony Xperia M5
2.69 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
2.679 - Huawei P9 Lite
2.679 - Vivo V3Max
2.659 - Xiaomi Mi Mix
2.658 - Xiaomi Mi 4i
2.641 - Sony Xperia XA
2.609 - Motorola Moto G4 Plus
2.582 - Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
2.582 - Meizu M5s
2.58 - Xiaomi Mi 4c
2.574 - LeEco Le Max 2
2.567 - Microsoft Lumia 640
2.563 - Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
2.563 - Lenovo Moto G4
2.544 - Lenovo K6 Note
2.544 - Oppo F1
2.528 - Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
2.525 - Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
2.506 - Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
2.503 - Oppo F1s
2.481 - Motorola Moto G
2.477 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
2.473 - Huawei G8
2.471 - Huawei nova
2.467 - Sony Xperia Z
2.462 - Lenovo Vibe K5
2.459 - Meizu m3 max
2.447 - HTC 10 evo
2.407 - Huawei Honor 7
2.406 - Sony Xperia E5
2.386 - Z UK Z1 by Lenovo
2.382 - HTC 10
2.378 - Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
2.378 - Oppo F3
2.376 - vivo V5 Plus
2.371 - Meizu m1 note
2.362 - Huawei nova plus
2.329 - HTC One E9+
2.305 - Alcatel One Touch Hero
2.272 - Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
2 .254 - Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
2.253 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
2.249 - Sony Xperia C4 Dual
2.235 - Xiaomi Mi Note
2.234 - Motorola Moto G (2014)
2.233 - Huawei P8
2.196 - Meizu M5 Note
2.189 - Huawei Honor 6
2.169 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
2 .166 - OnePlus Two
2.165 - HTC One X
2.158 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20)
2.145 - LG Aka
2.145 - Archos 50 Diamond
2.134 - Xiaomi Redmi Note
2.119 - Xiaomi Mi 4S
2.095 - Acer Liquid X2
2.084 - Huawei P8lite
2.078 - vivo V5
2.059 - Moto G 3rd gen max manual
2.026 - Xiaomi Mi 3
2.001 - Xiaomi Mi Max
1.996 - Sony Xperia E4g
1.972 - OnePlus One
1.961 - Meizu m3 note
1.923 - BlackBerry Leap
1.892 - Meizu m2 note
1.892 - HTC Butterfly< /span>
1.873 - ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
1.759 - Sony Xperia U
1.758 - Asus Zenfone Selfie
1.68 - Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
1.675 - ZTE Nubia Z9
1.659 - Motorola Moto E
1.545 - Sony Xperia M
1.473 - Sony Xperia L
1.351 - HTC Desire C
1.3 - Meizu MX
1.221 - Sony Xperia E
1.215
3.964
Hardly a first for a Sony phone, the Xperia XA1 Ultra puts a bluish tint to whites with a grayscale DeltaE of around 9, and an average DeltaE of 6.0, when compared against the sRGB color space.
You can tweak the color reproduction with the RGB sliders in the white balance section of the display settings. Youd need a colorimeter and dedicated software to calibrate it, though. Our trial-and-error attempts led to an average DeltaE of 2.6 with RGB values of 197, 83, 0. That, however, results in a massive dip in maximum brightness - with these white balance settings, the phone only pumped out 380nits. The blue and green pixels are brighter than the red ones and taking away some of the bluish cast lowers the screens maximum brightness. Thats not a glitch as it can be observed with any LCD out there but the dip on the XA1 Ultra after the calibration is more serious than usual.
Connectivity
The Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra comes in single and Dual SIM flavors. Ours is the single SIM version, so we cant comment on how the Dual SIM variety handles the two cards. Cat.6 LTE is supported by the Helio P20s modem for download speeds of up to 300Mbps.
Wi-Fi b/g/n over 2.4GHz and a/n over 5GHz is supported, but not ac. You can stream video wirelessly over Miracast but the XA1 Ultra isnt DLNA certified.
The supported Bluetooth is now v4.2 LE, as opposed to the XA Ultras 4.1. Bluetooth comes with the audio-focused aptX protocol as well.
NFC is available too, and so is an FM radio receiver.
For positioning, you get GPS and GLONASS, but no BDS or Galileo.
Peripherals can be connected via the USB-C port, but USB 2.0 limits transfer speeds to 480Mbps. Theres a good old 3.5mm jack for attaching headphones too.
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra battery life
Just like the small XA1, the Xperia XA1 Ultra relies on the same capacity battery as the model it replaces - thats 2,700mAh. Our skepticism was proven unfounded on the XA1, which posted quite respectable endurance results out of its tiny 2,300mAh cell, so we dived into our testing without worrying all that much.
And that turned out to have been the right attitude as the the Xperia XA1 Ultras endurance is anything but disappointing. Lets start with what matters most - the tests we carry out with the display on are particularly demanding on the 6-inch Ultra, and 10 hours of video playback is admirable, even if the competition might be capable of more. Almost 12 hours of browsing the web over Wi-Fi is even more praiseworthy.
Thats hardly a word to describe the phones longevity in voice calls, where it couldnt make it to the 13-hour mark. Apparently, Mediateks modem isnt as efficient in this use case as the competing solu tions. But we still think talk time comes a distant second after all the other screen-on activities that you are bound to carry out on your big-screen smartphone.
The less than exciting showing in voice calls means, however, a lower overall endurance rating. Dialing in the numbers from the individual tests into our formula results in an overall endurance rating of 68 hours - not bad, but certainly not class-leading.
Our endurance rating stands for how long a single battery charge will last you if you were to use the smartphone for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. Weve established this usage pattern as they are common day-to-day tasks and it allows our battery results to be comparable across devices. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case youre interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones weve tested will compare under your own typical use.
On the software side of things, Sony has also baked in their proprietary Stamina battery saving feature. It has two modes: regular Stamina, and Ultra Stamina. The first disables non-essential features like GPS and vibration, and takes performance down a notch.
Ultra Stamina is for absolutely dire occasions when you dont expect to be able to be near a power outlet for a long period of time. Enable that and its back to basics where you get a single homescreen with access to the dialer and contacts, text messages, camera, clock - just the basics. Going out of Ultra Stamina requires a restart.
Stamina modes • Engage at... • Ultra Stamina • Available apps • Homescreen
Android 7.0 with a select few Xperia bits
Non-flagship Xperias of the day are running Android 7.0 Nougat at launch - such was the case with the XA1, and the Ultra is the same. In this sense, if we were to be picky, wed have to say that the 6-inch phablet is not as up-to-date as the XZs and its v7.1.1. Youd be hard-pressed to tell the difference, though, as Sonys customizations are both very light and consistent between devices and OS versions. The big things, like the proprietary Stamina battery saving modes and the home-baked multimedia apps, are all available here too.
In the absense of a fingerprint sensor, its Smart Lock that you can turn to for some conditional security - trusted nearby devices, locations, faces, or voices can allow you to skip the security unlock protocol that you may have set up on the phone.
Lockscreen • A notification • Clock styles • Smart lock with face detection
The homescreen appears unchanged from the rest of the X series. This includes the swipe down gesture: it shows a screen of the apps you use the most, along with recommendations for new apps to install. The search field is highlighted so that you can start typing the apps name immediately.
Homescreen • Homescreen • App search and suggestions • Folder view • Homescreen settings
The traditional app drawer is present, and youll find a number of proprietary apps pre-installed. Sony takes great pride in the A/V prowess of their devices, and the multimedia apps are all custom and feature-rich, but more on them in their dedicated chapter.
The app drawer is quite functional as well, letting you sort the apps by frequency of use, name, date installed or a custom arrangement. The app search works here too, and you can go into a management state, allowing you to uninstall multiple apps instead of having to drag each one to a virtual waste bin.
App drawer • Sorting options • App management • App search
Themes are available (both free and paid) that can customize the look and sound of the Xperia XA1 Ultra. Some themes are even interactive, with their wallpapers reacting to your touches.
The notification area is plain Android. You can re-arrange the quick toggle tiles and adjust the screen brightness. Whats missing is a toggle for Auto brightness (you need to go into the settings for that). Its the way stock Android is set up, but weve always missed that option and were always relying on custom UIs to enable it.
The app switcher is similarly a vanilla Android affair, with the 3D rolodex look and a Close-All button. The native Nougat multi-window is present - in Sonys implementation if a running app supports split screen, you will be able to snap it at the top or bottom of the screen right from the rolodex. Its easy to use the split screen mode, but there is no way of knowing which app supports it - you have to start it first and then try to snap it to see. Its also a 50/50 split always, you cant resize the windows - it sure would have been handy on this massive 6-i ncher.
No-nonsense task switcher • Split screen apps • Notification area is vanilla Android • No auto brightness toggle
The Smart cleaner feature will periodically empty the cache of apps you havent used in a while. You can switch this off, or just manually tell it not to bother with certain apps.
Smart cleaner frees up memory of both kinds
Sony ships its latest Xperias with a proprietary backup solution built-in. It can backup applications, contacts, messages, and phone settings. The backup info itself can be stored in the cloud under your Sony online account, or locally on the microSD card or an external USB device. Backups can be scheduled, including conditions like "Connected to Wi-Fi" and "Charging device", depending on your preferences.
Scheduled backups are the best way to prevent data loss
Theres a one-handed mode for those occasions when you cant be bothered to use both limbs. It needs to be enabled in settings and is then evoked by a diagonal swipe from one of the bottom corners. You can then resize the window, and even move it up and down, though sending it all the way to the top feels like def eating the purpose - or is it just us?
One-handed mode
Synthetic benchmarks
The Xperia XA1 Ultra has the Helio P20 chipset as its heart - a midrange offering from Mediatek based on two quad-core Cortex-A53 clusters in a big.LITTLE configuration - 4x2.3Ghz + 4x1.6GHz.
Midrange Mediatek chipsets have been getting a bad rep in the past couple of years for no t being quite energy efficient. The best bit about the new Helio P20 is that unlike any of the companys other chipsets, this one is built on a 16nm fabrication process. Compare that to the 28nm used for the Helio P10 for instance and youll know that the new chipset should really offer better power efficiency, less heat and why not better performance than the previous gen.
Indeed, that was our experience with the 5-inch Xperia XA1, and we expected a similar showing from the Ultra. The caveat with the big one is that its got a FullHD display, as opposed to the XA1s 720p unit - a drop in graphics frame rates was to be expected.
But first things first - we start off with GeekBench to get a feel for CPU performance. Unsurprisingly, the XA1 Ultra posts similar numbers to its smaller bro in this benchmark, particularly in the multi-core test. The Ultra has a sligh t advantage over the non-Ultra in single-core, but its not a night-and-day difference.
The Snapdragon 625 matches the Helio P20 near perfectly in single-core performance - look at the results posted by the Huawei nova plus, vivo V5 Plus, or the Redmi Note 4.
In multi-core applications, however, the Helio P20 has an advantage, hence the XA1 Ultra outperforms the competition. A Snapdragon 652, on the other hand, is a much more powerful affair in both single-core and multi-core benchmarks. Its represented here by the Galaxy C9 Pro. But that chipset comes from a higher performance tier than the Snapdragon 625 as its name suggests.
GeekBench 4 (single-core)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3T
1890 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
1815 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
1546 - Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
1440 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
862 - vivo V5 Plus
846 - Huawei nova plus
843 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
832 - Sony Xperia XA1
800 - Motorola Moto Z Play
795 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
776 - Lenovo Moto M
771 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
638
GeekBench 4 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
4456 - OnePlus 3T
4364 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
4333 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
4102 - Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
3976 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
3610 - Sony Xperia XA1
3554 - vivo V5 Plus
3136 - Huawei nova plus
3100 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
3011 - Lenovo Moto M
2921 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
2719 - Motorola Moto Z Play
2621
For an assessment of the overall performance, not just the CPU, we turn to Basemark OS II 2.0. The XA1 Ultra underdelivers here, posting lower numbers than the XA1, and we gather its the higher resolution to blame. The Snapdragon 625s of this world are scattered pretty wide with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 ranked lower than the XA1 Ultra, but the Huawei nova plus comes out ahead of the Sony phablet.
Basemark OS 2.0
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3T
2678 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
2434 - Oppo F3 Plus
1890 - Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
1770 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
1728 - Sony Xperia XA1
1351 - Huawei nova plus
1215 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
1163 - vivo V5 Plus
1107 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
1050 - Motorola Moto Z Play
1031 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
987 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
497
A ccording to Antutu 6, the Snapdragon 625s and the Helio P20s are quite on par with each other in terms of overall performance. Thats also true for the 14nm Exynos 7880 (represented here by the Galaxy A7 2017), which scores closely to the other energy-efficient chipsets.
AnTuTu 6
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3T
165097 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
155185 - Oppo F3 Plus
91458 - Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
85181 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
85162 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
64983 - Huawei nova plus
64680 - vivo V5 Plus
63812 - Motorola Moto Z Play
62217 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
61616 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
60767 - Sony Xperia XA1
60707 - Lenovo Moto M
51831 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
50109 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
44062
Lets move on to graphics benchmarks. Looking at the frame rates in GFX Bench offscreen tests (rendered at 1080p regardless of actual display resolution) - theres hardly anything to split the S625s and the Helio P20s, but the Exynos 7880 has more oomph and this gives the Galaxy A7 (2017) an edge.
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3T
49 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
44 - Oppo F3 Plus
17 - Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
17 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
15 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
14 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
9.9 - Huawei nova plus
9.9 - vivo V5 Plus
9.9 - Motorola Moto Z Play
9.8 - Sony Xperia XA1
9.6 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
9.6 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
7.2 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
7.2 - Lenovo Moto M
7.1
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3T
33 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
30 - Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
11 - Oppo F3 Plus
10 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
9.5 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
9.1 - Sony Xperia XA1
6.2 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
6.2 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
6.2 - Motorola Moto Z Play
6.2 - Huawei nova plus
6.2 - vivo V5 Plus
6.2 - Lenovo Moto M
4.7 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
4.7 - Nokia 6 (Chinese v ersion)
4.6
GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3T
20 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
18 - Oppo F3 Plus
6 - Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
5.8 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
5.4 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
5.2 - Sony Xperia XA1
3.7 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
3.7 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
3.4 - Motorola Moto Z Play
3.4 - Huawei nova plus
3.4 - vivo V5 Plus
3.4 - Lenovo Moto M
2.5 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
2.5 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
2.5
Since most of these phones feature 1080p displays, theres not much of a difference between offscreen and onscreen results. However, the 720p XA1 manages practically double the frame rates of the Ultra in all three tests. That said, the Ultras scores are perfectly in line with what other phones in its class are capable of, save for the Galaxy A7 (2017), which has a notable advantage.
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is bette r
- OnePlus 3T
48 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
47 - Sony Xperia XA1
19 - Oppo F3 Plus
17 - Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
17 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
15 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
15 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
10 - Motorola Moto Z Play
10 - Huawei nova plus
10 - Xiaomi Redmi No te 4 (S625)
9.7 - vivo V5 Plus
9.7 - Lenovo Moto M
7.6 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
7.5 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
7
GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3T
33 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
32 - Sony Xperia XA1
15 - Oppo F3 Plus
11 - Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
11 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (H elio X20)
9.4 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
9 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
6.7 - Motorola Moto Z Play
6.7 - Huawei nova plus
6.6 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
6.2 - vivo V5 Plus
6.1 - Lenovo Moto M
5.2 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
5.1 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
4.6
GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3T
20 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
19 - Sony Xperia XA1
7.9 - Oppo F3 Plus
6 - Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
5.8 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
5.4 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
5.2 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
4 - Motorola Moto Z Play
3.7 - Huawei nova plus
3.7 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
3.4 - vivo V5 Plus
3.4 - Lenovo Moto M
2.7 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
2.7 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
2.5
Basemark X puts a tiny bit more separation between the S625 and the P20 - the XA1 and XA1 Ultra are trailing the Qualcomm bunch. The Exynos 7880 is again out of reach, using the Galaxy A7 (2017) in our comparison.
Basemark X
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3T
36958 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
36062 - Oppo F3 Plus
16695 - Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
15814 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
14619 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
13666 - vivo V5 Plus
10542 - Huawei nova plus
10524 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
10446 - Motorola Moto Z Play
10401 - Sony Xperia XA1
9714 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
9598 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
7522 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
6754 - Lenovo Moto M
6732
Its the exact opposite in Basemark ES 3.1, at least as far as the S625-P20 feud is concerned. The Mediatek chip posts substantially higher scores than the Snapdragon, even if the two seemed more evenly matched in the OpenGL 3.1 parts of GFX Bench. Once again, the Exynos-powered Galaxy A7 (2017) is a notch closer to the devices packing upper-tier chips.
Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal
Higher is better
- OnePlus 3T
641 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
538 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
287 - Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
261 - Oppo F3 Plus
261 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
229 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
192 - Sony Xperia XA1
191 - Huawei nova plus
138 - vivo V5 Plus
138 - Motorola Moto Z Play
138 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
131
In a single sentence - the Xperia XA1 Ultra is a dependable performer, putting out benchmark results in the ballpark of competitors numbers. The GPU of the Helio P20 chips is better suited to the 720p Xperia XA1, but in fairness none of the FullHD rivals in the Ultras class have a lot going for them in this respect either. Well, except maybe the Galaxy A7 (2017).
Telephony
The Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra we have for review is the single SIM version (G3221). Dual SIM versions are also available in some markets.
The list of favorites, the call log and the contacts are all tabs within the same app, and the dialer is summoned with a tap on a button. The call log can be filtered by missed, incoming and outgoing calls. Smart dial is supported too.
Dialer with smart dial • In-call screen • Call log • Phonebook • Favorites
Loudspeaker
Even if the two slits, top and bottom, on the Xperia XA1 Ultra hint at a stereo speaker setup, the phone actually packs just a single bottom-firing driver. It is, however, plenty loud, unlike the XA1, but it still falls slightly behind the XA Ultra from last year. Even so, the flagship XZ Premium with its pair of speakers has nothing on the Ultra in terms of sheer loudness.
| Speakerphone test | Voice, dB | Ringing | Overall score | |
| 61.6 | 66.2 | 68.3 | Below Average | |
| 62.9 | 65.2 | 71.6 | Below Average | |
| 62.4 | 65.5 | 73.3 | Average | |
| 61.7 | 69.7 | 71.8 | Average | |
| 65.0 | 68.2 | 70.8 | Average | |
| 61.0 | 69.3 | 78.3 | Good | |
| 64.5 | 72.9 | 72.0 | Good | |
| 62.9 | 70.3 | 77.0 | Good | |
| 68.3 | 68.0 | 76.9 | Good | |
| 66.6 | 66.1 | 81.5 | Good | |
| 67.3 | 70.3 | 81.5 | Very Good | |
| 65.8 | 73.5 | 80.8 | Very Good | |
| 68.3 | 71.6 | 81.0 | Very Good | |
| 64.0 | 71.4 | 87.8 | Very Good | |
| 73.4 | 72.1 | 84.1 | Excellent | |
| 83.1 | 74.5 | 85.0 | Excellent | |
| 88.9 | 79.3 | 82.7 | Excellent |
Text input
For text entry, Sony has been sticking with the SwiftKey key board for a while now. Its touted as having one of the best prediction algorithms and offers pretty much everything: multiple layouts and themes, 5 different sizes, undocking, secondary symbols upon long press, swipe input, and emojis.
Swiftkey keyboard is the def ault text input method
Other apps
The News app is a news aggregator, pulling stories from sources on topics of your choice. It can also issue two daily bulletins for you at a time you specify, so you dont miss out on current events.
News
Xperia lounge is Sonys own entertainment app, feeding you exclusive content and competitions related to music, movies and games.
Xperia Lounge
There is a file manager, strictly speaking, but its buried in the storage options in the Settings menu. It does allow basic copy and move actions, on multiple items too. However, you cant access it from the app drawer, all you get there is a shortcut to a downloads folder.
Sonys health-tracking app Lifelog doesnt come pre-installed, though all it takes to download it is a trip to the Play Store.
Sonys great Album is on the Ultra as well
The Album app that handles image viewing on the Xperia XA1 Ultra is among the most comprehensive and feature-rich gallery apps weve seen, and its fast and easy to use.
At the very top of the list is a slideshow, showing off your photos. Lower down, the first photo of each month is shown at twice the size of other images.
Ph otos are organized by month, and you can use pinch-zoom to change the size of thumbnails (then they smoothly animate into the grid).
The Album app is beautiful and functional
You can also browse photos on a map (you can manually add geotag info too) or by folder. This includes network s torage so that you can view photos from a DLNA server (your home computer, for one). Then theres integration with online albums - Facebook, Flickr, and Google Photos (someone should tell Sony engineers this is no longer called Picasa).
Image editing is handled by several apps, including the default Image Editor, Sketch and Sticker creator (so you can create your own custom stickers to send to your friends).
Viewing an image • The image editor is quite powerful< /span>
Sketch lets you fingerpaint over a photo or a paper-like texture, add text, stickers, photos and so on. If youre talented, (the below screenshot reveals our mediocrity), you can share your creations on the Sketch mini-social network. We stuck with just browsing through what others drew.
Sketch is a fun image editor with a mini social network for sharing art
Movie Creator is similar to the Google Photos Assistant. It automatically creates short videos from the photos and videos youve shot. You can do it manually too: pick photos and videos, change their order, and add color effects and music (you get a small audio collection to start off with, but you can use custom files too). Then tap the Share button and send out your animated slideshow.
The Movie Creator can automatically or manually make shareable slideshows
Music app
The Music app is Sonys custom player that comes pre-installed on the XA1 Ultra, and it feels like part of the same software package. The contextual side menu offers many of the same browsing options - by folder, network folder, and online services like Spotify (its just a link to the Spotify app though). You can share music from the phone to compatible players.
Music app
The app can find the tracks video on YouTube, look up info about the artist on Wikipedia, and search for lyrics on Google.
The Music app offers a variety of audio settings - ClearAudio+ determines the best audio quality settings depending on the track youre listening to. Then theres DSEE HX, which uses an almost wizardly algorithm that is supposed to restore or rather extrapolate compressed music files, like MP3s into high-res audio. According to Sony, the result is near Hi-Res Audio Quality, but it only works with wired headphones. It also helps with streaming audio but not Spotify.
Dynamic normalizer evens out the volume differences across tracks, which is great if youve mixed multiple albums from multiple sources.
Audio settings[NO MENTION OF THE MODEL NAME AT ALL? LETS SPRINKLE IT HERE AND THERE.]
![Audio settings[NO MENTION OF THE MODEL NAME AT ALL? LETS SPRINKLE IT HERE AND THERE.] - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra review](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_u6EgkxO3Uti6Fhuj6n4bOVnobXyMFQx-DqSesLb05vAj4liULY6vKXLnEPN4jvXAE4k6bmoB0kIQ=s0-d)
![Audio settings[NO MENTION OF THE MODEL NAME AT ALL? LETS SPRINKLE IT HERE AND THERE.] - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra review](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uuFXPCKbsipXpTZe4hO9USv3t8DhCRekIGqIhsxy6UYaE2SoXcVcfMk34Jr9R6lTQfrah3OBM9Pg=s0-d)
![Audio settings[NO MENTION OF THE MODEL NAME AT ALL? LETS SPRINKLE IT HERE AND THERE.] - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra review](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uPQ6OCAI6M4pSalbU4nzr-Ksl11Y-qxuC0koReFspGglSuNMNtflyEEXSv9M8rpJ4aN5W7T6BEmg=s0-d)
![Audio settings[NO MENTION OF THE MODEL NAME AT ALL? LETS SPRINKLE IT HERE AND THERE.] - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra review](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sNL60opBpe1z4GUezNXbU8BeN-dHNWejJpjfWfJcK9Nqul88FWZXFa_6gHvOnRjqbBZPY_s5j-Fg=s0-d)
FM Radio with TrackID
The Xperia XA1 Ultr a comes with an FM radio receiver and an app to go with it - and Sonys is probably the best one weve seen. It has nice visuals, pulls the stations names over RDS, and you can pick favorites. You can also assign colors to group the stations - say blue for news, yellow for rock music, or purple for house stations.
TrackID doesnt come pre-installed for some odd reason, but its such a perfect fit for the FM radio, that we downloaded it anyway. TrackID is Sonys trusted song identification software which has since evolved way past simple recognition. It can now show you music charts by country, give you live updates on recent searches across the world, and store your search history as well.
FM radio • TrackID
Video
Named simply Video, the app does little than what it says on the tin. It can play your local videos and videos on your home network, plus it has extensive subtitle settings. Unfortunately, the TV guide functionality has been removed (pretty much since yesterday - they pulled the plug on May 30).
Video player
Impressively loud audio
When plugged into an active external amplifier, the Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra truly impressed us. It delivered the excellent clarity weve come to expect from smartphones these days, but its loudness was higher than anything weve tested for years now.
Sadly, plugging in a pair of headphones did some noticeable damage to the output with the stereo separation and the frequency response suffering a moderate amount and some distortion creeping in. Its certainly not a poor showing and considering the volume levels, which were again impressive, wed actually call it good, but with that kind of a start, we were really hoping for perfect in both tested use cases.
| Test | Frequency response | Noise level | Dynamic range | THD | IMD + Noise | Stereo crosstalk |
| +0.02, -0.18 | -93.9 | 94.0 | 0.0053 | 0.0089 | -91.3 | |
| +0.65, -0.18 | -93.2 | 93.3 | 0.176 | 0.485 | -51.9 | |
| +0.03, -0.01 | -93.5 | 93.3 | 0.0010 | 0.0066 | -92.0 | |
| +0.55, -0.02 | -92.4 | 92.5 | 0.0090 | 0.315 | -58.1 | |
| +0.04, -0.01 | -93.3 | 95.0 | 0.0018 | 0.0075 | -93. 3 | |
| +0.15, -0.02 | -92.6 | 94.2 | 0.0023 | 0.100 | -63.9 | |
| +0.05, -0.28 | -91.9 | 92.2 | 0.0037 | 0.051 | -90.3 | |
| +0.18, -0.05 | -91.0 | 91.6 | 0.019 | 0.230 | -57.9 | |
| +0.03, -0.01 | -94.3 | 94.3 | 0.0034 | 0.0063 | -93.4 | |
| +0.53, -0.30 | -92.9 | 93.0 | 0.017 | 0.434 | -49.7 |
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra frequency response
You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.
23MP in 4:3, or 20MP in 16:9 - multi-aspect IMX300 on board
The Xperia XA1 Ultra, just like its smaller stablemate XA1, is equipped with a 23MP camera on its back, and not just any 23MP camera. The in-house IMX300 sensor sits behind a 24mm-equiv. f/2.0 aperture lens, a setup were quite familiar with.
Sony flagships have relied on the same sensor and lens combo since its debut on the Xperia Z5 series, all the way up to the Xperia XZ. Now the IMX300 has been retired in favor of a new 19MP imager. Or, should we say, the IMX300 is now relegated to Sonys mid-tier devices, represented here by the XA1 Ultra.
Depending on whether you shoot in 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio, different portions of the sensor are used; you get either 22.8MP or 20.1MP images, respectively, and never the full 24.8MP. Hence the official 23MP designation. Among the benefits of having such a multi-aspect sensor are the similar field of view in both modes (measured diagonally), and higher-res 16:9 shots than what youd get by cropping from a regular 23MP sensor which has a 4:3 aspect ratio.
You can read more about the IMX300 it in our dedicated article, which we published back when the Z5 came out (when the sensors designation wasnt official, strictly speaking).
The Xperia XA1 Ultra doesnt get the laser autofocusing and the RGBC-IR sensor that came with the same 23MP image sensor on the Xperia XZ and X Compact - theres only so many niceties allowed on this mid-range phone. Then again, they werent game changers on t hose models, so their absence here is no big deal.
Camera interface
Sonys camera UI has been polished over the years, and the Xperia XA1 Ultra comes with the latest iteration. You change modes by swiping up and down (or left and right, if youre holding it in portrait). A swipe will also let you switch to the selfie camera single-handedly.
Speaking of modes, Superior Auto will probably be the main mode you use, and the 23MP resolution is available here as well, unlike the Xperias of old that limited it to 8MP.
Superior Auto will try to adjust image parameters to better match the scene by recognizing among some two dozen different scenarios. It can also engage HDR for you (Backlit scene its called), which isnt available as a toggle in this mode - its only found in Manual mode.
Camera UI
Other than HDR override, in Manual mode you get access to full range shutter speed selection (1/4000s - 1s), exposure compensation, white balance, and a manual focus slider. The ISO setting (50-3200) is still tucked away in an extra settings menu, though, and you can select sensitivity OR shutter speed, but not both at the same time.
Manual mode
Image quality
The 23MP IMX300 Sony sensor was behind the flagship cameras of the Xperia Z5 and X series, but the samples we got from those devices failed to impress us. Sure, they were good, getting better with each new smartphone, but the corner softness was the most notable disappointment, and sometimes the over-sharpening was getting in the way. Our experience with the XA1 non-Ultra showed us that much more likable results were possible from the same sensor, so we were keen to examine the Ultras output.
Only, we were in for an unpleasant surprise. The XA1 Ultra produced images with a strong green cast across multiple shooting scenarios, reliably missing the white balance by a huge margin. Before we go any further, though, lets just say were attributing this to a faulty unit - we cant imagine Sonys used a different setup between the XA1 and the XA1 Ultra, and it only makes sense that we received a bad review unit. Surprisingly, color saturation is noticeably higher than what were used to seeing by other Sony phones so this may be related in some way but we can t be sure.
Colors aside, the Xperia XA1 Ultra resolves a ton of detail (as does the XA1, duh!), and noise isnt an issue in daylight. The images are sharp, sometimes sharpened beyond what we like, but we found very few over-sharpening artifacts on the samples if any. The dynamic range is wide and even if the Super Auto fails to recognize the scene as Backlit, you would still get a great sample.
Sony has indeed put some work on improving its post-processing algorithms, but we also suspect the XA1 Ultra uses improved lens setup as well. The annoying corner softness of the past is down to some very tolerable levels with this implementation.
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra 23MP camera samples
We also noticed some barrel distortion that werent straightened out by the algorithm. Such distortion is quite expected with a lens that wide (24mm), but it should be easily correctable in-camera and yet Sony has failed to fix this here.
HDR
While Superior Auto would occasionally activate the HDR mode (Backlit scene), if you really want to force it, youd have to go to Manual mode and select HDR from Settings. The HDR mode brought back more detail in the shadows, while it prevented the highlights from clipping. There is less resolved detail in the HDR images, though, especially in the foliage, while the colors turned were often over-saturated. Note these happen only in the manual HDR mode, the Superior Auto is much better in getting the right settings for a Backlit scene.
HDR: Superior Auto Backlit • Manual, HDR Off • Manual, HDR On
Panorama
Sony has seriously increased the panorama resolution since the Xperia XZs smartphones - up to 4000px vertically, while the previous phones were only capable of panoramic images that are up to 1000px in height. Also, you can stop the panorama at any time you like, while older phones used to get confused if you dont do the full 360° (which was a minor thing, but annoying all the same). While the quality isnt on par with the still images, there is enough detail, wide dynamic range, and very good stitching. Its certainly an improvement over the panoramas last years Sony phones were taking.
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra panorama sample
Selfies
The XA1 Ultra has one major difference in hardware, when compared to the 5-inch XA1 - a 16MP selfie shooter with an LED flash replaces the 8MP unit we saw on the XA1. The setup is a direct reuse of the one found in last years XA Ultra, and thats no bad thing.
Expect highly detailed selfies with excellent detail, good dynamic range and true-to-life colors. Plus the 16:9 native aspect promises to fit more of your friends in the frame, though the lens isnt too wide itself.
Selfie samples
The front-facing flash lends the XA1 Ultra some exclusivity, but its not strictly a gamechanger. It will help you in absolute darkness, theres no denying that, its just that it wont produce miracles. Check the images below - first ones with the fluorescent lights on, for the next one, we killed them, and the third shot is with the flash.
Selfie samples, indoors: Well lit • Dim lighting • Flash on
A quick word of warning - the skin-softening effects are always on in Superior Auto mode so if you dont like your skin processed, youd better switch to Manual mode for your selfies (you dont need to tinker with any of the other settings despite what the name of the mode would suggest).
Picture Compare Tool
Feel free to check how the Xperia XA1 Ultra stacks against the Xperia XA Ultra (the old one) and the Galaxy A7 (2017) in our Photo Compare Tool. You can, of course, pick another set of competitors among the wide selection of devices weve tested over the years.
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra vs. Xperia XZ vs. Xperia X Performance in our photo compare tool
Video quality
The Xperia XA1 Ultra tops out at 1080p/30fps when recording video, but weve seen Sony consistently keep 4K to its higher-end phones so thats not a surprise. Truth be told, in this particular case, the Mediatek chipset is not capable of 4K video recording anyway (unlike the similarly midrange Snapdragon 625 chipset).
You also have the option for capturing the 1080p clips in HDR, but that wont get you a quality improvement.
The standard 1080p/30fps mode is encoded at about 17Mbps, which is the defacto standard. Audio is recorded in stereo at 128Kbps.
The video samples are soft and lacking in detail ioon contrast to the main camera. Contrast is high and the framerate is smooth, but otherwise the recorded videos are far from good.
You can also download a 1080p@30fps (10s, 22MB) video sample taken straight off the XA1 Ultra.
As usual, the final step would be to examine the phones video output in our video comparison tool. Weve pre-selected the XA Ultra from last year and the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017), but you can go ahead and pick your own set for comparisons.
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra vs. Xperia XA vs Xperia X in our video compare tool: 1080p
Final words
Six-inchers are few and far between. They are far from the established sweet spot for screen size in most markets. Weve definitely seen the segment p ick up in the last year across various manufacturers portfolios but the fact remains that phones this big remain a niche product for now. Regardless of how tastes evolve, it is always a good time for us when a Sony Xperia Ultra comes our way.
And the Ultra moniker doesnt make any promises the phablet cant keep - the 6-inch display doesnt fear any test and posts respectable numbers across the board. And its the proper aspect for the day, for you YouTube buffs. If only there were speakers at its both ends.
Huge screen, tiny battery - poor endurance? Not really. While the overall rating is just okay, the results in the individual tests with real on-screen time are more than encouraging. And about 13 hours on a voice call should be enough for the occasional meet-up arrangement if youre not one to text. Calls aside, the excellent efficiency comes courtesy of the 16nm Mediatek Helio P20, and it also breezes through the light Android skin - easily a match for the Snapdragon 625, which seems to be the prevailing choice in this segment.
Stick to daylight stills and camera output is very good with heaps of resolved detail and wide dynamic range. We experienced some issues with white balance on our unit, but were willing to write it off as a one-off, reviewers curse type of thing - especially since there was nothing of the sort when the XA1 non-Ultra was around. Video is consistently mediocre between the two, so no asides there.
The selfie camera is another of the XA1 Ultras headline features, and we like it as much as we did in the previous generation. It captures a lot of detail, it has wide dynamic range and renders accurate colors, plus its got the flash to (just barely) rescue shots in extremely low light.
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra key test findings
- The XA1 Ultra could pass for a flagship Xperia - build quality is high and the aluminum sides have a premium feel in the hand. The narrow sides help keep the large 6-inch device manageable, and the top and bottom bezels are actually thinner than on the XA1 proper.
- High maximum brightness and contrast, good outdoor legibility, color accuracy kept in check - its hard to find fault with the Ultras 6-inch LCD.
- Battery life is quite good all things considered - 10 hours in local video playback (which could be a key use case for the large display) and close to 12 hours in web browsing are the numbers we find most important. Not even 13 hours in 3G voice calls is that much of a letdown, but again, its the endurance with the display on that really matters for a 6-inch smartphone and its there that the phone performs admirably especially for its battery capacity.
- The Ultra doesnt stray from the rest of the Xperias in user interface - Vanil la Android Nougat, Stamina-branded battery-saving modes, and Sonys own multimedia apps - thats what weve come to expect.
- Benchmark performance of the Xperia XA1 Ultra is nearly identical to the Snapdragon 625-equipped competitors in the segment, the Exynos 7880 in the Galaxy A7(2017) is snappier than both the Mediatek and Qualcomm chips.
- It may be a single one, but the Ultras loudspeaker can make some noise. Even if a notch below the Excellent mark of the last years model, the XA1 Ultras Very Good rating puts it ahead of the pack.
- Audio quality through the analog jack delivers spectacularly loud output - perhaps the loudest weve seen - and clarity is really good too.
- The primary camera captures detail in abundance, and we can hardly complain about its dynamic range or noise properties.
- The 16MP selfies are very detailed too, colors are spot-on and dynamic range is excellent for a front cam.
- Completely lackluster video output from the p rimary camera - soft and lacking in detail. The good colors and contrast cant really save it.
If you must have a 6-inch display and nothing smaller will do, theres little the big names have for you so far this year. That is unless youre willing to spend double and go for the Galaxy S8+, but thats more than a little stretch.
Xiaomi unveiled the Mi Max 2 a few days ago, but the 6.44-inch phablet (the ph part there is barely justifiable) might be too much of a stretch on your pocket, only this time literally. This ones packing the Snapdragon 625, coupled with a 5,100mAh battery, and were pretty sure itll beat the Xperia in endurance despite the larger display, though we havent had a chance to test it yet.
Its also running a newer Android 7.1.1 and can record FullHD video, but we cant see it matching the Xperias stills. And the 5MP selfie shooter on the Mi Max 2 - Xiaomi is not even trying to stand up to the tricked-out 16MP front cam of the Xperia XA1 Ultra. The Mi Max 2 is cheaper however, but not available everywhere.
Xiaomi Mi Max 2
Another one of those region-specific offerings, the Oppo F3 Plus is a somewhat more expensive 6-incher out of China. Its powered by the vastly more powerful Snapdragon 653 chip, with 4K video recording support being a direct benefit. The F3 Plus also has a strong selfie game, but its interpretation is of the dual camera variety - read bokeh effects. In terms of battery life, the XA1 Ultras stamina isnt on the same level as the F3 Plus.
Oppo F3 Plus
Opting for the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) means youve conceded the 6 inches requirement, but at 5.7", its not that big of a difference. In return, youd be getting IP68-rated dust and water protection, a consistently more powerful chipset, and also notably better battery life. The A7 (2017) may be more expensive depending on region, and may actually not be available in your market, especially if thats Europe.
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
In the absence of a Mi 6 Plus, the Mi 5s Plus is the sensible phablet to have in Xiaomis lineup. Dual rear camera with 4K video, Snapdragon 821, excellent endurance, bargain price. Only its no Sony, and aftersales support may be lacking in large parts of the world, where youd also need to resort to gray imports to buy one in the first place.
Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
The Huawei Nova Plus display measures just 5.5 inches in diagonal - that wouldnt be Ultra in Sonys world. It is, however, more affordable in some places and it can record 4K video. On the other hand, its still running Marshmallow. It is getting a replacement - the nova plus 2 was recently announced, and that one has got a dual camera on the back, and a 20MP selfie snapper - the Ultras been outnumbered.
Huawei nova plus • Huawei nova 2 plus
Its transition time in the Moto camp, where the Moto Z Play is a viable alternative to the XA1 Ultra. The old one is pretty great already - Snapdragon 625 and 3510mAh battery made for a 100-hour rating in our tests. The 4k video recording comes as standard, as does support for MotoMods snap-on accessories on the back. The incoming Moto Z2 Play slashes battery capacity to 3,000mAh, but the Snapdragon 626 shoul d be even more efficient. Both Motos have little to offer in the selfie department with their pedestrian 5MP shooters.
Motorola Moto Z Play • Motorola Moto Z2 Play
Wed mention the OnePlus 3T, which is great value for money if slightly more expensive than the Xperia, but with the OnePlus 5 around the corner and sales of the 3T discontinued, you cant really bet on getting one.
Big display, adequate battery backup, high-res cameras front and rear, the Xperia XA1 Ultra is tailor-made for the YouTube-watching, selfie-snapping, Insta-sharing crowd that have the phone in their hands all day. Other phones can fill those shoes, yes - some cheaper, and some more powerful too. But Sony fans would pick the Ultra over all of the above any day, and (as it often happe ns with the companys mid-tier) it would actually be a very reasonable choice.
! ( hope useful)
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