We have always seen Sony introducing smartphones with vivid displays, great designs, and strong cameras. However, in recent years, the Japanese phone maker focused mostly on flagships and mid-range devices. The Xperia XA1 Ultra also taps the mid-range smartphones market and makes quite a few compromises. Despite lacking stuff like a high-end processor or a fingerprint sensor, however, the XA1 Ultra surprises many with all that it is capable of. Let’s explore this smartphone and have a detailed Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra review.
Design
As far as the design goes, the Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra can be classified as a positively retro device. It boasts a massive 6” screen dominating the front. There are large bezels at the top and the bottom while the sides remain free blessedly. And, despite the big size, you can easily use this phone one-handed. Its ergonomic design keeps it easy on the hands and everything is pretty much in the balance. On its rear, the device has an aluminum coating that gives it a rather cool touch and allows it to maintain a premium feel.
Display
The big 6” device has its display as a centerpiece that brings a new visual design for something that hails from Sony. Yes, it skips the side bezels. This effect is, however, diminished when you turn its display on as it shows black borders on the sides.
Talking about the display itself, the phone boasts a full HD panel with 367ppi pixel density. Now, these specs may not be the best but they’re good enough for an average user. When it comes to color reproduction, however, the display gives pleasantly surprising results for a mid-range smartphone.
Cameras
Sony’s cameras are just amazing and XA1 Ultra brings the best ones too. The phone comes with an impressive 23mp rear camera while there’s a 16mp shooter at the front. The camera produces great results too, and you can expect detailed images with strong colors. An interesting feature is the 2-stage camera button that you can half-press to focus and full-press to capture a shot.
Performance
Even though Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra features a mid-range MediaTek chipset Helio P20, it performs well enough in most applications. It is snappy and the UX is pretty responsive with no hiccups and smooth animations to be expected. Besides the 64-bit Octa-Core processor, XA1 Ultra is equipped with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.
Despite the fact that this phone performs well in most benchmark tests, it is still a mid-range device and you should expect a slight lag when switching or launching apps. But that usually happens when there’s a heavier load on the device.
Battery Life
The Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra packs a 2700mAh battery, which is below par compared to most other similar devices. Still, it’s an all-day battery as the phone uses smart power management features to ensure that you make the most of it.
Overall, Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra is a good mid-range device with some trade-offs. But if you’re a multimedia enthusiast and don’t want to go for something too high-end, this one is a perfect match for you.