Sony follows fashion trends, so it released the Xperia XA Ultra smartphone with a 16 MP front camera equipped with autofocus and flash, and even with big screen with narrow side frames. Today we will figure out what it is.
Appearance
Sony Xperia XA Ultra is made in the corporate style of the company. We have a version white color, but there is also black and lemon gold.
As usual, the manufacturer's logo is in the most prominent place - under the earpiece, next to it are proximity / lighting sensors, a huge front camera lens and a flash. The front camera lens is the same size as the main one. Although I am not afraid that they are spying on me, I still asked myself this question at first.
I did not like the implementation of the missed events LED located in the upper left corner. They obviously saved on it, as a halo glows around, which does not look the best.
One of the features of the phone is the screen, which is made "without frame". In fact, the sidewall of the smartphone acts as a frame - there are no accidental clicks while using the phone. Touch control keys on the screen.
On the right sidewall, traditionally for Sony, mechanical buttons are located. In our case, the volume button is located low, but in order to press it, you do not need to twist your thumb. On the left side, under the flap, there is a card slot microSD memory, and a nanoSIM dual SIM tray. On the top end there is a 3.5 mm audio jack and additional microphone, and on the bottom there is a microUSB port, a microphone and a multimedia speaker.
The back side is covered with a non-removable cover made of white matte plastic. The lid is pleasant to the touch, but still slippery.
It's not worth talking about the convenience of using a smartphone with one hand - it's still a device with a six-inch screen. Perhaps someone will be saved by the presence of a special mode that reduces the size of the active area of the screen to four inches. But I don’t know people who use this regime all the time, and not for the sake of pampering.
Display
XA Ultra is equipped with a huge six-inch IPS screen with Full HD resolution. As mentioned above, it has practically no side frames, which makes it look spectacular. The oleophobic coating is of high quality - fingerprints are easily wiped off. There is an automatic brightness sensor. Before us, the phone was obviously not taken care of, there are a lot of small scratches on the screen, so it’s hard to say how good the protective glass is.
The screen on the street looks good. Even under the direct rays of the sun, the information remains readable, but the picture noticeably loses its saturation.
Brightness varies from 524 to 6.65 cd/m². The contrast ratio is 1 to 1029. The color gamut is slightly wider than the sRGB triangle. The temperature is non-linear - it strongly depends on the brightness of the screen, so its value varies from 9500K to 8000K. The gamma curve is also significantly higher than the reference value. To summarize, we have a screen with high contrast and good saturation, but too cold colors.
For fans of manual settings, there are preset Mobile Bravia Engine 2 modes that will make the colors even more saturated. If you yourself want to customize the screen for yourself, then this can also be done.
Hardware platform
The Sony Xperia XA Ultra is powered by an octa-core MediaTek MT6755 (Helio P10) processor. It is made according to the 28nm process technology and consists of Cortex-A53 cores, which operate at a frequency of up to 2 GHz. GPU ARM Mali-T860 MP2 at 700 MHz. Volume random access memory is 3 GB, and built-in 16 GB expandable up to 200 GB through the use of memory cards.
Benchmark results are not outstanding. In Antutu, scores are at the level of Meizu MX5. As a phone for games, the device is suitable, but most likely not all games will run at maximum graphics settings.
If we talk about the smoothness of work, then everything is fine. Although Sony's proprietary shell is littered with third-party software, in practice this does not interfere with it.
Yes, the phone is running under the operating system Android systems 6.0.
Judge for yourself, the Sony Xperia X that I recently tested ran as smoothly as the Xperia XA Ultra.
Kit wireless interfaces standard - GPS (A-GPS, GLONASS), Wi-Fi (802.11 a / b / g / n), FM radio and NFC. Even without using the Internet, finding the location of the phone takes a matter of seconds.
Working hours
We are used to expecting a long battery life from a big phone, but this is not about the Sony Xperia XA Ultra. The capacity of the built-in battery is only 2700 mAh.
If you remove the phone from charging at 9 o'clock in the morning and use it intensively social services, talk on the phone, then by 22 o'clock it will already need to be charged. At the same time, my active screen time was 3 hours 34 minutes. Thus, there is enough charge for daylight hours, but it will be difficult to achieve more without saving and turning on the STAMINA mode.
cameras
On the official website, all manufacturers actively praise their offspring, someone focuses on autonomy, someone on the shell, and someone (like Sony) on cameras. The feature that distinguishes the Sony Xperia XA Ultra from others is a 16 megapixel camera with a 1/2.6-inch matrix, flash, optical stabilization and autofocus. In practice, everything is much more prosaic.
Not all pictures taken with the front camera are sharp. The problem is that autofocus often blurs, especially when the subject is close. On a half-bent arm, most of the shots are blurry, but if the arm is extended as far as possible, then the chance of getting an unsuccessful shot tends to zero. Having a front-facing flash should help with night shots, but we'll usually end up with a blurry subject, as again the autofocus isn't up to the task.
Main camera 21.5 MP with hybrid autofocus. Allows you to take good quality pictures. Macro shots are often hard to focus on, but this is a problem with many phones. In most cases, the pictures will be of high quality.
The popular "X" series of the extensive Sony Xperia family has been replenished with a new member - an elegant Xperia smartphone XA Ultra. The device embodies the perfect balance between the impressive technical characteristics of the older models and the sparing price of the basic ones. Read about the pros and cons of this 6-inch phablet in our review today.
Specifications
Display: 6″, IPS OGS, Full HD (1080 × 1920), 480 dpi, Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2;System on a chip: MediaTek MT6755, 64-bit, 8 x 1959 MHz;
GPU: ARM Mali-T860;
Operating system: Google Android 6.0 (Marshmallow);
RAM: 3 GB;
Built-in memory: 16 GB + microSD support (up to 200 GB);
Cameras: Rear - 21.5 MP with 1/2.4-inch Exmor™ RS sensor, front - 16 MP with 1/2.6-inch Exmor RS™ sensor;
SIM slots: 1 pc (nano-SIM);
Connectivity: GSM GPRS/EDGE, WCDMA, LTE 4G/Cat 4, aGPS, Wi-Fi Miracast, Bluetooth® 4.1, NFC;
Connectors: USB 2.1, mini-jack (3.5 mm);
Sensors: proximity sensor, light sensor, magnetometer, gyroscope;
Battery: non-removable, 2700 mAh;
Dimensions: 164 x 79 x 8.4mm;
Weight 202
Equipment
Sony Xperia XA comes in white cardboard box– 14.5 x 17.5 x 3.5 cm. The package design is laconic to the point of asceticism: only the familiar Sony logo and the model name – nothing else. The carcass of a smartphone lurks under the lid, the usual set of accessories is in the bowels of the package: a power supply with a USB connector, charging cable, it is also an adapter for connecting to a computer, and basic set documentation, including a certificate, warranty card and a brief user manual. No bonuses and goodies for you, the main surprise is the device itself.Appearance
Design has always been strong point Sony, was no exception and the hero of the review. XA Ultra looks like a premium segment device. The first thing that catches the eye is a spacious six-inch display, shimmering with gloss, decorated with fashionable rounded edges, protected by an oleophobic coating. The edging of the case is metal: expensive in appearance and smooth to the touch. On right panel the usual controls are located: the classic round on / off button, present in most Sony models, a small rocker and a separate camera key.
The bottom panel contains a microUSB connector and a thin slot of the built-in speaker. On the left side slots for SIM and Flash cards, neatly covered by a removable panel. Since the battery is also built-in here, dismantle back panel no need. Although this is not a reason to ignore the latter. Aristocratically black, with a thin layer of soft touch, it feels good in the hand and practically does not get dirty. In the upper left corner is the peephole of the main camera in the company with a flash.
The machine is assembled for five plus, all parts are adjusted to within a micron, the controls do not play, the panels sit like a glove - the device is made to last and is designed for many years of faithful service.
Display
The XA Ultra display is made in the spirit of the latest trend towards the maximum thinning of the frames. Freed from the usual frame, the picture seems to be floating in the air, creating a realistic illusion of presence in games and films. Thanks to an impressive 6 inches and an adult resolution of 1080 by 1920 pixels, the smartphone can be used to view any multimedia content - from streaming video in Full HD quality to dynamic 3D shooters.
Even long sheets of text on this screen look quite organic: fonts are displayed with maximum smoothing, long reading does not tire the eyes. At the same time, the display brightness is enough to easily navigate the interface even on a sunny day. outdoors. As for the multi-touch capabilities, the tests register support for up to 10 simultaneous clicks.
Iron
The presence of an excellent six-inch display with Full HD resolution would be a mockery of its owner if the developers did not provide the opportunity to drive modern 3D games on it. Fortunately, there is such an opportunity here: in the depths of the machine, mobile platform Helio P10 from Taiwanese giant MediaTek, equipped with a 64-bit eight-core CPU. The popular "An Tu Tu" benchmark rates the overall performance of this CPU at 17136 points.
Decent result- the gadget left behind many popular smartphones in its segment, like the LG V10. Three gigabytes of RAM makes its possibilities almost limitless: resource-intensive games like N.O.V.A 3 or Mortal Kombat X runs smoothly and without sudden dropouts. The case heats up moderately, without creating discomfort. Concerning disk space, then here it is more than dumped: the amount of internal memory is 16 GB, plus you can expand it with a capacious flash card. Technical certificate device sets the upper threshold as much as 200 GB.
Software
A spectacular addition to the chic case is a beautiful graphical shell smartphone - exactly the same as in the flagship models of the "X" family. The psychedelic wallpapers harmonize perfectly with the icon design, while the massive clock balances the entire interface, acting as a visual center of gravity. The operating system uses the fresh Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Unfortunately, using the XA Ultra as an example, it is impossible to evaluate all the possibilities of personalization - there are no biometric sensors in the smartphone. But it is beautifully implemented new system intelligent power consumption control.
Concerning preinstalled apps, there is a standard package from Google and some classic programs from Sony, like Xperia Lounge, Sony Xperia Store and Sony PlayStation. We especially note the beautiful “Sonevsky” audio player that can compete with the traditional Play Music. If you delve into the settings, you can squeeze out of the local audio system (by the way, a very decent one) and deep basses and transparent tops.
Connection
In the case of XA Ultra, we are dealing with a single-SIM device for a nano-SIM card. Here is a complete gentleman's set of mobile protocols from the ancient GSM / GPRS to the relatively young LTE Cat.4, which provides data transfer at speeds up to 150 Mb / s. The device keeps the signal confidently, local 4G works at full speed, allowing you to view streaming videos in normal resolution without any problems. There are also traditional WiFi modules and Bluetooth, supplemented by the traditional NFC for Sony smartphones - it allows you to make friends with the device with a headset or headphones in a matter of seconds.
Battery
The battery of the device does not strike the imagination with its capacity - here it is only 2700 mAh, which is not so much for a phablet. But, thanks to a competent power consumption control system, Xperia XA Ultra can be called one of the longest-playing models in its series. With the Stamina power saving mode turned on and a moderate load (a couple of hours of music, several calls, constant notifications from social networks and one streaming video), the device kept afloat for more than a day and a half from a single charge. If you activate an even more ascetic Stamina Ultra mode, then the device declared by the developer can completely spend two days without refueling.
Camera
Local cameras - single song. Sony has always been sensitive to the quality of mobile photos, and here the developers have done their best. The gadget is equipped with two proprietary Exmor RS matrices with a resolution of 21.5 and 16 megapixels. The image quality is comparable to good digital cameras: fast and clear autofocus, rich colors, good auto white balance, no yellowing or blue shifting. For selfie lovers, the front camera has a dynamic autofocus function that allows you to take quick and high-quality selfies. The interface of the local camera is quite convenient: the resolution changes in a couple of touches, there is a quick exit to manual mode and activation of HDR technology.
Price
Given the technical Xperia specs XA, the price of the device is relatively low. In the Sony brand store, a smartphone can be bought for 27,900 rubles. Of course, this is a little more expensive than the base model of the series, Xperia XA (22,900 rubles), but six inches of display, smart hardware and cameras with high resolution it's worth it.conclusions
During testing, the device showed itself only from the best sides: frankly, I was pleased with the design and build quality, I really liked the local IPS FHD matrix, I also liked both cameras, I was pleasantly surprised by the ratio of high performance to long battery life. In general, the Xperia XA Ultra justifies its price: in terms of aesthetics and breadth of possibilities, the device can compete with many devices in the premium segment. And it is not a fact that the latter will win in this dispute.(prices on the day of publication of the review).
Key features of the Sony Xperia XA Ultra
| Screen | S-IPS, 6", 1080x1920, 10 multi-touch, Mobile Bravia engine 2 |
| Iron | 2 GHz, Mediatek Helio P10 (MT6755), 64-bit, 8-core Cortex-A53, Mali-T860 MP2 |
| Memory | RAM 3 GB, ROM 16 GB, Micro-SD up to 200 GB |
| Mobile Internet | LTE cat.4 150/50 Mbps HSDPA 42.2 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps EDGE |
| Mobile networks | LTE Bands 1-3,5,7,8,20 UMTS 850, 900, 1900, 2100 GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 |
| Battery | Li-Ion, 2700 mAh, fast charging |
| Dimensions | 164 x 79 x 8.4mm |
| Weight | 202 g |
| Camera | 21.5 MP, 1/2.4", f/2.2, flash, autofocus, Sony Exmor RS IMX-230, hybrid AF front: 16 MP, 1/2.6, f/2.0, flash, autofocus, Sony Exmor RS IMX-234, optical stabilization |
| Navigation | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS |
| OS | Android 6.0 Marshmallow |
A powerful phablet with a super-sophisticated front camera. Well, what, but Sony's originality cannot be denied. Do you know a lot of front cameras with autofocus, flash and optical stabilization?
But what is the originality here? Rather, competent following fashion. People love to be photographed against the background of sights. Previously, to get a portrait of your loved one against the backdrop of the Trevi Fountain, you had to call someone for help. Now - help yourself - decent frontal cameras quite allow you to take pictures that you are not ashamed to post on Instagram-Telegram.
Frankly weak point one - the battery. Which is downright embarrassing. Since selfies are selfies, it means travel. Since travel means big battery vital. But no, break off. So external batteries- our everything.
On trifles - there is no finger sensor. I would like more flash memory. Slippery.
Everything else is great. Excellent appearance with thin bezels. Bright quality screen. Hardware - well, not a flagship, but I don't understand at all why high performance might be needed. For reading books, watching videos, browsing sites Sony Xperia XA Ultra is very good. Well, for making selfies in industrial quantities, of course, too.
Equipment
Modestly. Charger, Micro USB cable, a few pieces of paper.
Appearance
| Weight | 202 g |
| Size | 164 x 79 x 8.4mm |
| Protection | No |
Bandura, of course. Like all other smartphones with a screen of the same diagonal. If you want six inches, put up with the weight and size.
Three body colors - white, black, gold.
A distinctive feature is the super-thin bezels on the sides of the screen, which made the smartphone quite narrow. Inexpensive smartphones with a similar diagonal is usually about five millimeters wider. All the same, of course, it's too wide ... But you have to pay for being phablet, you can't get anywhere.
The bezel is metal, the back cover is plastic. Plastic is very pleasant, matte. Apparently quite durable. Although I did not conduct stress tests and did not carry the Ultra with the keys in one pocket.
The body is unbreakable. Cards are placed in a special tray, which is stuffed into a slot on the left edge. The card tray is human, no either-or. Two SIM cards (alas, Nano-SIM) and one memory card are placed without problems at the same time.
Special thanks for the sticker on the back cover, which clearly explains which side and where to shove the cards. Comfortable.
boring details
Above the screen is a large, very large camera eye. side by side front flash. On the other side of the logo are sensors and LEDs. Above the logo is a speaker, where without it.
There is nothing under the screen, android buttons are on-screen.
Behind - a camera with a flash (alas, in the corner). And a label indicating where the NFC is.
On top is a 3.5mm audio jack and a noise-canceling microphone.
Bottom - microphone, Micro-USB, speaker. The speaker, like the camera, is not well placed. Small. And sometimes, when you hold your smartphone horizontally, you completely cover it with your finger.
On the right side of the button. Volume rocker, Sony's traditional round power button. Plus a separate button for the camera.
On the left is a card tray hidden behind huge size plug.
Entrails (iron)
| AnTuTu | 46073 (v5.7.1) |
| AnTuTu | 50210 (v6.2.1) |
| Chipset | Mediatek Helio P10 MT6755 |
| Nuclei | 8 x Cortex-A53, 2 GHz |
| GPU | Mali-T860 MP2 |
| RAM (free) | 3 GB (1.3 GB) |
| ROM (free) | 16 GB (7 GB) |
| Micro SD | Up to 200 GB |
I have no complaints about the speed of the smartphone. The processor is fast. Yes, and RAM, hand on heart wallet, more than enough. Who and why in smartphones need 4-6 GB of RAM is a mystery to me.
But flash memory could be more. The results of the life of the cameras, fortunately, are safely written to the memory card. And this number does not work with software. Thick toys are stubbornly placed exclusively in internal memory. Considering that the smartphone is quite good for games, you will agree that this is a bit insulting.
Well, the traditional for Android prohibition of "third-party applications" to write to the memory card outside the directory allotted to them has not gone away. And at the same time "native" file manager smartphone does not. So everything that you decide to write to a memory card will have to be written from a computer.
Sensors. There is no gyroscope, on the mountain for Pokemon Go lovers. Only compass, accelerometer, light and proximity.
Communication with the outside world
Everything that is - everything works as it should and without problems. Hurrah, comrades. As usual, there is nothing to write in this section of the review.
Screen
The screen is bright, with an excellent oleophobic coating and sufficient resolution. What else is needed for complete happiness? I would not refuse the opportunity to work in gloves. Alas, she is not.
Slight 2.5D rounding to the edges.
Accidental clicks due to very thin margins on the edges sometimes happen, but rarely. When I tested the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge, I remember that I suffered a lot from such random clicks. There was no such thing.
What the screen is covered with is unknown. Obviously, if there was a glass Gorilla glass, they would say. But protective covering Obviously there is, the screen does not scratch from the gaze.
Operating system and other software
Android from fresh - 6.0 Marshmallow. Plus a proprietary shell plus, of course, a variety of proprietary software, which, as usual, no one ever uses.
Little bug - Facebook client and SwiftKey keyboard. And it's impossible to remove them.
Battery
The battery capacity for such dimensions, and even taking into account not the coldest processor, is quite modest, 2700 mAh. The results of battery tests, as expected, are so-so. 106% of the standard.
In general, it turned out strange with battery tests. After the very first measurements, I felt that the results were somehow ... not very good. Well, not so much - so not so much. What to do. Looked. It seems that there are no predatory processes eating the battery.
I finished a series of tests, fed the data to my script, he calculated everything, I grabbed my head. 47% of the standard! Thrash and gore! Eight hours of music, less than five hours of screen without load, etc. It doesn't happen! Marriage?
No, not marriage. However, I never found the culprit. But after resetting to factory settings, everything magically became as it should. 106% - the result, of course, is not magical. But it fits perfectly into my ideas about what and how should be in this world.
Sony Xperia XA Ultra as a flashlight
As a flashlight, the main flash is dim, and the beam is too wide. You can find a cat in a room, but it is problematic to light your way to a brighter future in the darkness.
The front flash in constant light mode is slightly dimmer than the main one (30 versus 40 lux from half a meter).
Sony Xperia XA Ultra as photo and video camera
Both cameras - with autofocus and flash, front - also with optical stabilization.
The quality of pictures from the front camera is, of course, very impressive in places (although the eyes often turn out to be completely crazy). So if you can’t imagine your life without daily perpetuating your loved one and at the same time you don’t accept the use of monopods, then, of course,
This smartphone with narrow bezels around a huge 6-inch screen has a 16-megapixel front camera with autofocus, optical stabilization and LED flash, which guarantees high-quality selfies even in low light. Vesti.Hi-tech found out all the features of the Sony Xperia XA Ultra.
After at MWC 2016 Sony introduced the first smartphones under the updated Xperia brand, including , and , the appearance of a large-screen device in the X series was only a matter of time. And indeed, this announcement was not long in coming, soon the Xperia XA Ultra phablet with a 6-inch screen joined the existing 5-inch company. It is worth noting that Sony has always succeeded in niche "giant phones", starting with the somewhat exotic and including the sought-after . Recall that recent models of smartphones with a large screen, having firmly staked out a place for themselves in the middle class, were already positioned with an emphasis on photo resources, taking into account the growing popularity of selfies. The Xperia XA Ultra continued this tradition by offering even more serious features of the front camera to self-lovers, including for creating crossbows in the dark. In addition to the 2-SIM version (F3212), a modification of this device with one subscriber identification module (F3211) is also offered for sale.
Specifications
- Model: F3212
- OS: Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) with proprietary Xperia shell
- Processor: 64-bit MediaTek Helio P10 (MT6755), ARMv8 architecture, 8 ARM Cortex-A53 cores, up to 2.0 GHz
- Graphics co-processor: ARM Mali-T860 MP2 (700 MHz)
- RAM: 3 GB LPDDR3 (933 MHz, single channel)
- Storage Memory: 16 GB, microSD/HC/XC card support (up to 200 GB)
- Screen: 6 inches, IPS, 1080p (1920x1080 pixels), Mobile Bravia Engine 2, pixel density per inch 367 ppi, protective glass 2.5D
- Main camera: 21.5 MP, Sony Exmor RS (optical size 1/2.4"), 5x Clear Image zoom, f/2.2 aperture, hybrid autofocus, LED flash
- Front-camera 16 MP, Sony Exmor RS (1/2.6" optical size), wide-angle lens (88 degrees), f/2.0 aperture, autofocus, optical image stabilization (OIS), LED flash
- Network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE (2G), UMTS HSPA+ (3G), LTE 4G Cat.4 (up to 150/50 Mbps)
- Ranges LTE frequencies: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20
- Interfaces: Bluetooth 4.1 (A2DP, aptX), Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), Miracast, Google Cast, NFC, USB-OTG
- SIM card format: nanoSIM (4FF)
- Slot configuration: nanoSIM + nanoSIM (Dual SIM Dual Stand-by)
- Navigation: GPS/GLONASS, A-GPS
- Radio: FM tuner
- Sensors: accelerometer, light and proximity sensors, gyroscope, compass
- Battery: non-removable, lithium-ion, 2700 mAh, support for fast charging Quick Charge 3.0
- Dimensions: 164x79x8.4 mm
- Weight: 202 grams
- Color: graphite black, white, lime gold
Design, ergonomics
The new "gigantophone" fully corresponds to its name - Xperia XA Ultra. The fact is that its design, down to the details, repeats a 5.5-inch smartphone, differing, of course, in increased dimensions. There are the same characteristic rounded corners, metal sidewalls and plastic inserts at the ends, a back cover made of matte polycarbonate smoothly "flowing" around the perimeter and a tempered protective glass with a 2.5D effect. Visually, the screen occupies almost the entire width of the case - it seems that there are simply no side frames around it. Thanks to this, a 6-inch phablet is practically the same width as a 5.5-inch smartphone. So, it is only 1.1 mm wider than Apple iPhone 7 Plus (79mm vs 77.9mm). At the same time, the top and bottom bezels of the screen also remained quite spacious. It should be noted that the dimensions of the new "giant phone" and its immediate predecessor, the 6-inch one, differ only in fractions of millimeters - 164x79x8.4 mm versus 164.2x79.6x8.2 mm. At the same time, the thickness of the body of the Xperia XA Ultra has increased in comparison with predictably (8.4 mm versus 7.9 mm), along with the dimensions in terms of.
But the weight of the novelty has exceeded 200 g (202 g according to the passport), which is still too much for a "non-metallic" smartphone, even with a large screen. For example, its plastic predecessors - and - weigh 171.8 g and 187 g, respectively. By the way, it's interesting, but the capacity of the "6-inch" battery only decreased over time - 3,000 mAh, 2,930 mAh and, finally, 2,700 mAh (Xperia XA Ultra).
As for the colors, only three of them were announced at the time of the announcement - graphite black, white and gold lime. The novelty in black, which we got for testing, quickly starts to look sloppy due to such a color of easily soiled matte plastic. However, devices in the other two colors are less predisposed to this. We also recall that certification of smartphone cases in the X family for protecting them from water and dust (with the exception of the flagship one) is not provided.
On the plate above the screen, decorated with the Sony logo, where they brought together the charging / notification LED indicator, light and proximity sensors, in contrast to, the previously absent LED flash appeared. However, the "peephole" of the new 16-megapixel camera (against the 8-megapixel one) also looks more expressive. Note that the cut in protective glass under the grille of the "conversational" speaker adjoins the upper end of the case.
The spacious plate below the display, as in, is simply empty, since the navigation bar, which includes touch icons for the Back, Home and " Recent Apps"("triangle", "house" and "square"), in this device is also on-screen.
On the top end, holes for a second microphone (noise reduction) and a 3.5 mm jack for an audio headset have taken their places. The microUSB connector for charging / synchronization at the bottom of the case was made up of a "conversational" microphone and a decorative grille of the "multimedia" speaker.
On the left edge, a microSD memory card slot and a slot with a tray for two places for subscriber identification modules (both nanoSIM formats) were placed closed with a common plug. Here I would like to thank the developers who managed to do without a combined slot with an alternative installation in this model.
On the right edge, they brought together a volume rocker, a dedicated camera control key, and a power / lock button. Since the fingerprint scanner in the Xperia XA Ultra, alas, is not provided, this button has a proprietary metal rivet shape, in the classic OmniBalance style.
At the top of the rear panel, decorated with the original Xperia script, there was a place for the main camera lens and LED flash. The area of the NFC antenna was marked with the corresponding logo.
While the relatively compact size of the Xperia XA Ultra doesn't feel like a traditional "shovel" in the palm of your hand, special options in the settings ("One-handed actions") are designed to make it easier to control this "giant phone".
Screen, camera, sound
The new 6-inch phablet can't boast super-high resolution on its display. For the installed IPS-matrix, they managed with the usual Full HD (1920x1080 pixels), which, taking into account the diagonal of the screen, provides a pixel density per inch of 367 ppi. With good color reproduction, the viewing angles of the screen are quite wide, and the installed anti-glare filter allows you to effectively use your smartphone even in bright ambient light.
A wide range of backlight adjustment allows you to choose the most comfortable brightness value either manually, or simply rely on automation ("Adaptive adjustment" option), which, however, does not seem too quick. And here is the enable function intelligent control backlight ("Light control"), which detects the presence of the device in the hand, allows you to save battery power. desired color temperature screen (option "White balance") is also easy to set yourself, using separate adjustments for channels R, G and B.
Sensory, capacitive screen clearly responds to pressure. Programs AnTuTu Tester and MultiTouch Tester confirmed multi-touch for ten simultaneous touches. It is proposed to improve the quality of images of photos and videos by enabling one of two options. As stated, proprietary technology Mobile Bravia Engine 2, analyzing the distribution of brightness, optimizes the contrast, which makes the image more natural. In turn, the extreme brightness mode (Super Vivid) makes the colors as bright and saturated as possible.
Oleophobic coating on tempered glass with the effect of 2.5D (manufacturer unknown) allows you to relatively quickly remove fingerprints from the screen, which, also without delay, reappear on it in large quantities.
The main photo module of the "giant phone" is equipped with an LED flash and uses a 21.5-megapixel Exmor RS sensor (optical size 1/2.4 inches). The hybrid autofocus lens with 5x Clear Image zoom has its largest aperture at f/2.2. Image stabilization here is not optical, but branded, digital (SteadyShot). The maximum image resolution for classic (4:3) and widescreen (16:9) aspect ratios is 5312x3984 pixels (21 MP) and 5312x2992 pixels (16 MP), respectively. You can see photo examples.
The main "chip" in the Xperia XA Ultra was the front camera, which got not only a 16-megapixel Exmor RS sensor (optical size 1 / 2.6 inches), but also a wide-angle lens (88-degree viewing angle) with autofocus, optical image stabilization ( OIS), as well as f / 2.0 aperture. For shooting in low light conditions, an "intelligent" LED flash with night portrait mode is provided.
Above is an example of such shooting in complete darkness, where, for lack of a suitable "victim", I had to make "crossbows" myself. The maximum image resolution for the classic (4:3) and widescreen (16:9) aspect ratio for the front camera is 3968x2976 pixels (12 MP) and 5120x2880 pixels (15 MP), respectively.
Both cameras can shoot videos in Full HD quality (1920x1080 pixels) at a frame rate of 30 fps. All content is stored in MP4 container files (AVC - video, AAC - sound).
The Camera application is practically the same as that used in other X-series smartphones. Recall that at the top of the screen of this program there are icons for quick switching: on special applications for the camera, as well as in the shooting modes "Video", "Manual" or "Super Auto" (transitions between them are performed by horizontal swipes). In turn, to change the image from the main camera to the front, and vice versa, use the swipe down from the top edge of the screen. As usual, auto mode independently selects shooting parameters. But in the "Manual" mode, you can decide on your own not only with ISO values, exposure compensation steps and white balance presets, but also with the most suitable scene (there are more than a dozen of them here).
Dedicated button for camera control, as well as mode quick start, remained in place. In addition, the volume rocker is also easy to set up to zoom in or start shooting.
The "multimedia" speaker in the Xperia XA Ultra, as in , is only one, however, it sounds surprisingly good and quite loud. But for listening to stereo recordings, there is no alternative to headphones, for obvious reasons. In addition, along with them, support for surround sound is offered through the implementation of VPT (Virtual Phone Technology) technology - emulation of a concert hall, club, studio. In the settings, you can also specify the type of audio accessories used (in addition to the "ordinary" ones, five more models of "in-ear" headphones are listed there). As for adjusting the audio parameters, the ClearAudio + function can automatically optimize them. But by equalizing the volume of various compositions, it is easy to puzzle the dynamic normalizer. In manual mode, a 5-band equalizer with presets is at your disposal. The built-in FM tuner only works when a wired headset is connected, which is needed as a shortwave antenna.
Filling, performance
As base platform for the Xperia XA Ultra, they chose the mid-range chipset MediaTek Helio P10 (aka MT6755), which is also used in.
The eight ARM Cortex-A53 cores of the True8Core processor are clocked at up to 2.0 GHz. At the same time, two executive modules ARM Mali-T860 MP2 (550 MHz) with support for OpenGL ES 3.2 and OpenCL 1.2 are used as a graphics accelerator. The MT6755 chip is manufactured using TSMC's 28HPC+ (28 nm) process technology, which provides a 30-35% reduction in power consumption compared to chips manufactured in compliance with the "old" 28HPC design standards. In addition, improved energy efficiency while maintaining sufficient computing power is achieved automatic adjustment frequencies of the processor and video accelerator. Helio P10 can work in LTE-TDD, LTE-FDD Cat. 6 (300/50 Mbps), HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, EDGE, etc., and is also equipped with Bluetooth 4.x LE interfaces and dual-band Wi-Fi. The base configuration of the Xperia XA Ultra is supplemented with 3 GB of LPDDR3 (933 MHz) RAM, which is controlled by a single-channel controller. The "extra" gigabyte of RAM, compared to (3 GB versus 2 GB), certainly affects the results of a number of tests.
So, the number of "virtual parrots" "knocked out" in the synthetic benchmark AnTuTu Benchmark has come close to 50 thousand.
The results of evaluating the effectiveness of the simultaneous use of several processor cores (Vellamo) look more convincing than the evaluation of the amount of "horsepower" in a single core version.
With variable High Performance and High Quality settings (performance at the expense of quality and vice versa), on the Epic Citadel visual test, the average frame rate at a resolution of 1800x1080 pixels remained almost unchanged - 58.3 and 58.1 fps, respectively. But when you change the setting to Ultra High quality value this parameter decreased slightly, to 43.2 fps.
The Xperia XA Ultra showed an average result on the 3DMark universal benchmark (recommended tests Sling Shot with ES 3.1). Although the available power is quite enough to run, including "heavy" applications.
The total number of points earned by the Xperia XA Ultra on the Base Mark OS II cross-platform benchmark was 355.
Of the 16 GB of internal memory, approximately 8.56 GB are available, and, of course, even less is free. By modern standards, such a volume of storage can hardly be attributed to the merits of the new device. To expand it, there is a slot designed for microSD / HC / XC memory cards up to 200 GB. Thanks to the support of USB-OTG technology, it is easy to connect a regular USB flash drive to the device, which we did not fail to verify on a Corsair removable USB drive (16 GB).
To provide functions voice communication and mobile Internet, there are two subscriber identification modules in the nanoSIM (4FF) format, with support for 4G Cat.4 networks. There is support for the "Russian troika" of 4G frequency bands - Band 3 (1,800 MHz), Band 7 (2,600 MHz) and Band 20 (800 MHz). Both SIM cards use the same radio module, so they work in DSDS (Dual SIM Dual Standby) mode.
As for other wireless communications, then, along with dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n (2.4 and 5 GHz), these are also NFC and Bluetooth 4.1 interfaces.
When you install the "Transport Cards of Moscow" application on your smartphone, the NFC interface allows you to find out the balance of the Moscow Troika card and the Strelka card located near Moscow.
For positioning and navigation, the multi-system receiver can use GPS and GLONASS constellation satellites, as evidenced by the results of the AndroiTS GPS Test and GPS Test programs. There is also built-in support for A-GPS technology.
The Xperia XA Ultra has a 2700 mAh non-removable lithium-ion battery. The manufacturer claims that this is quite enough to work for two days without recharging with a certain typical smartphone usage profile, defined by the company itself. The new product comes with a UCH20 charger (5 V; 1.5 A), which will take about two hours to fill the battery 100%. In order to ensure the operation of the smartphone for 5.5 hours after 10 minutes of filling the battery, a UCH12 fast charging adapter (3.6~12V, Quick Charge 3.0) is recommended, which will have to be purchased separately.
The AnTuTu Tester program rated the battery life of the smartphone at 6,932 points. A test set of MP4 videos (hardware decoding) and Full HD quality at full brightness spun continuously for just over 5.5 hours.
The provided power saving modes are designed to increase battery life. So, Stamina allows, in particular, to limit performance, disable background processes during inactivity, as well as set a list of applications that are allowed to access the network. More significantly extends the autonomy of Ultra Stamina, however, while leaving only the basic functions of the phone enabled ( voice calls, contacts and messages).
Software Features
The Xperia XA Ultra smartphone runs on Android 6.0 operating system, the interface of which is hidden under the proprietary Xperia shell. In terms of software capabilities and a set of pre-installed applications, the new device practically does not differ from the .
In the "One-handed actions" section, you can check the options for changing the working screen size, shifting to the right or left of the pattern input field, dial pad, etc.
Purchase, conclusions
Sony's new phablet gets updated nice design, which generally repeats a 5-inch smartphone from the same X line. The main advantages of the Xperia XA Ultra include a bright and contrasting 6-inch screen with narrow frames, an NFC interface that allows, in particular, to read the balance of transport cards, as well as the ability to fast battery charging. However, the most important "trick" of the novelty was, of course, the front camera, equipped with autofocus, "intelligent" flash and optical image stabilization.
The obvious disadvantage of the new phablet looks like a modest amount of built-in memory. Video playback time offline also doesn't add to the trumps of the Xperia XA Ultra. At the same time, the presence fingerprint scanner could become another advantage of the new smartphone (such a device is no longer surprising for middle-class devices).
However, from the point of view of selfie lovers, who, in fact, this device is aimed at, the advanced front camera for capturing "selfies" at any time of the day, in fact, leaves no competitors to the Xperia XA Ultra. At the same time, at the time of testing, according to Yandex.Market, large retail chains asked for 28,990 rubles (model F3212) and 27,990 rubles (model F3211) for this phablet, respectively. If this amount seems too high, then you should take a closer look at its predecessor - (24,990 rubles) with a simpler front camera, the purchase of which will allow you to save a little.
Review results Sony smartphone Xperia XA Ultra
Pros:
- Nice design
- Large, bright, high-contrast screen with narrow bezels
- Front camera with autofocus, flash and optical stabilization
- Useful interface NFC
- Fast charging capability
Minuses:
- Modest amount of built-in memory
- Not good big time offline video playback
- No fingerprint scanner
Let's dig into history. Once upon a time, in 2007-2009, when the term "smartphone" was just beginning to enter our thesaurus, mobile phones were small - we controlled each of them with one hand, and in our pocket they could be carried mixed with small change , sweets, a lighter, keys and other rubbish. Time passed. Everything that could grow in the world grew, including smartphone displays. In 2011, Samsung released a giant 5.3-inch (!) Galaxy Note as an experiment that many laughed at. Then the size of this smartphone was really shocking. Five years have passed - and any modern flagship flaunts a display like First Note, or even more. And no one calls it shovels.
To stop there is always bad. Therefore, in 2013, Samsung made a line of Galaxy Mega smartphones with even larger displays, which died out safely, as This was already over the edge. Six-inch smartphones turned out to be an expected niche solution. At the same time, the first big "Ultra" from Sony was born with an unthinkable 6.4-inch screen. From a subjective point of view, the Japanese managed to beat the ultra-large display more aesthetically and the series was continued in the face of the Xperia T2 Ultra and C5 Ultra. All these smartphones were similar to each other: with very large display the technical filling is average in performance.
In the same row is the brand new Sony Xperia XA Ultra. In terms of hardware, it repeats the "normal" Xperia XA. But the device costs less than 30 thousand rubles per official store Sony: 27 thousand rubles for the version with one SIM card and 28 thousand for the version with two. For a niche device, the price is not very high - this is important. Let's see what else can surprise the XA Ultra, in addition to its eccentric dimensions.
⇡ Specifications
| Sony Xperia XA | Sony Xperia XA Ultra | Sony Xperia X | Sony Xperia M5 | LG Xcam | samsung galaxy A5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 5 inches, IPS, 1280 × 720 pixels, 294 ppi, capacitive multi-touch | 6 inches, IPS, 1920 × 1080 pixels, 367 ppi, capacitive multi-touch | 5 inches, IPS, 1920 × 1080 pixels, 441 ppi, capacitive multi-touch | 5.2 inches, IPS, 1920 × 1080 pixels, 424 ppi, capacitive multi-touch | 5.2 inches Super AMOLED, 1920 × 1080 pixels, 424 ppi, capacitive multi-touch | |
| Protective glass | Yes, manufacturer unknown | Yes, manufacturer unknown | Corning Gorilla Glass 4 | Corning Gorilla Glass 4 | Corning Gorilla Glass (version not specified) on both sides | |
| CPU | Mediatek MT6755 Helio P10 (quad-core ARM Cortex-A53, 1GHz + quad-core ARM Cortex-A53, 2GHz) | Mediatek MT6755 Helio P10 (quad-core ARM Cortex-A53, 1.2GHz + quad-core ARM Cortex-A53, 2GHz) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 (dual ARM Cortex-A72, 1.8 GHz + four ARM Cortex-A53, 1.4 GHz) | Mediatek MT6795 Helio X10 (octa-core ARM Cortex-A53, frequency 1.95 GHz) | Mediatek MT6753 (Eight ARM Cortex-A53 Cores, 1.3GHz) | Samsung Exynos 7580 Octa (Eight ARM Cortex-A53 Cores, 1.6GHz) |
| Graphics controller | ARM Mali-T860 MP2, 700MHz | ARM Mali-T860 MP2, 700MHz | Adreno 510, 550 MHz | Imagination Technologies PowerVR Rogue G6200, 500 MHz | ARM Mali-T720, 550 MHz | ARM Mali-T720 MP2, 600 MHz |
| RAM | 2 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB |
| Flash memory | 16 GB | 16 GB | 32/64 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| Memory card support | Eat | Eat | Eat | Eat | Eat | Eat |
| Connectors | microUSB, 3.5 mm minijack | microUSB, 3.5 mm minijack | microUSB, 3.5 mm minijack | microUSB, 3.5 mm minijack | microUSB, 3.5 mm minijack | microUSB, 3.5 mm minijack |
| SIM cards | One nanoSIM / two nanoSIMs | One nanoSIM / two nanoSIMs | One nanoSIM / two nanoSIMs | One nano SIM | Two micro SIMs | Two nanoSIMs |
| Cellular 2G | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz | |
| Cellular 3G | HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz | HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz |
HSDPA 800/850/900/1700/ 1900/2100 MHz |
HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz | HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz | HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz |
| Cellular 4G | LTE Cat. 4 (up to 150 Mbps): bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20 | LTE Cat. 6 (up to 300 Mbps): bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 19, 20, 26, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41 | LTE Cat. 4 (up to 150 Mbps): bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20 | LTE Cat. 4 (up to 150 Mbps): bands 1, 3, 7, 8, 20 | LTE Cat. 6 (up to 300 Mbps): bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 40 | |
| WiFi | 802.11a/b/g/n | 802.11a/b/g/n | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11a/b/g/n | 802.11b/g/n | 802.11a/b/g/n |
| Bluetooth | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 |
| NFC | Eat | Eat | Eat | Eat | No | Eat |
| Navigation | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou |
| Sensors | illumination, proximity, | illumination, proximity, | illumination, proximity, | Approximation, accelerometer/gyroscope, | Illumination, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer ( digital compass) | Light, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope/pedometer, magnetometer (digital compass) |
| accelerometer/gyroscope, | accelerometer/gyroscope, | accelerometer / gyroscope / pedometer, | ||||
| magnetometer (digital compass) | magnetometer (digital compass) | magnetometer (digital compass), barometer | ||||
| Fingerprint's scanner | No | No | Eat | No | No | Eat |
| Main camera | 13 MP, hybrid autofocus, LED flash, Full HD video recording | 23 MP, ƒ/2.0, hybrid autofocus, LED flash, Full HD video recording | 21.2 MP, hybrid autofocus, LED flash, Full HD video recording | 13 MP, ƒ/2.2, hybrid autofocus, LED flash, Full HD video recording; additional 5 megapixel camera with wide-angle optics | 13 MP, ƒ/1.9, autofocus, LED flash, optical stabilization system, Full HD video recording | |
| Front-camera | 8 MP, autofocus | 16 MP, autofocus | 13 MP, fixed focus | 12.6 MP, autofocus | 8 MP, fixed focus | 5 MP, fixed focus |
| Nutrition | Non-removable battery | Non-removable battery | Non-removable battery | 9.88 Wh non-removable battery (2600 mAh, 3.8 V) | 9.58 Wh non-removable battery (2520 mAh, 3.8 V) | 11.02 Wh (2900 mAh, 3.8 V) non-removable battery |
| 8.5 Wh | 10.2 Wh | 9.96 Wh | ||||
| (2300mAh, 3.8V) | (2700mAh, 3.8V) | (2620mAh, 3.8V) | ||||
| Size | 143.6×66.8×7.9mm | 164×79×8.4mm | 142.7×69.2×7.9mm | 145×72×7.6mm | 147×74×6.9mm | 145×71×7.3mm |
| Weight | 138.8 grams | 202 grams | 153 grams | 143 grams | 118 grams | 155 grams |
| Hull protection | No | No | No | IP65 and IP68 | No | No |
| Up to half an hour at a depth of up to 1.5 m | ||||||
| operating system | Android 6.0 Marshmallow skin Sony Xperia | Android 6.0 Marshmallow skin Sony Xperia | Android 5.1 Lollipop, Sony Xperia skin | Android 6.0 Marshmallow, LG Optimus UI skin | Android 5.1 Lollipop, samsung shell touchwiz | |
| Current price | RUB 21,990 (single SIM version), RUB 22,990 (dual SIM version) | 27,990 rubles (version with one SIM card), 28,990 rubles (version with two SIM cards) | RUB 39,990 (single SIM version), RUB 40,990 (dual SIM version) | 26 990 rubles | 24 000 rubles | 23 990 rubles |
⇡ Appearance and ergonomics
It is very difficult to put into words the feeling of what it is like to hold the Sony Xperia XA Ultra in your hands. Very specific feelings. If you are seriously interested in this gadget and you are considering purchasing it, be sure to "try it on" in the showroom - fortunately, Sony and partners have plenty of them. This smartphone is really big - to manage it, you need to acquire special skills. For me, for example, it did not fit in a cup holder in a car in which the sixth iPhone usually drives - and this immediately caused some discomfort. The same goes for direct contact - I was uncomfortable, and some acquaintances who saw him during the test, on the contrary, were delighted.
Excess mass is another expected fly in the ointment when we are talking about a gadget with a six-inch screen. Xperia XA Ultra weighs 202 grams, and for a smartphone, this is, frankly, a lot. In general, if you hold the device in a vertical orientation with one hand, it is also inconvenient to work with it for the reason that top part devices will outweigh. IN landscape orientation On the contrary, it is convenient to work with a smartphone. Sony Xperia XA Ultra - front camera lens
Sony Xperia XA Ultra - side faces
Under the unlock key of the device are the volume control buttons, a little lower - the hardware shutter button. With its help, you can quickly switch to the camera. On the top there is an audio output for connecting a wired headset, on the bottom there is a microUSB interface and a slot external speaker. Slots for memory cards microSD and Nano-SIM are hidden under a plastic cover on the left side of the device.
The body of the smartphone is plastic. The device is assembled well - no creaking or backlash. True, when pressing on the sides, characteristic “color stains” appear on the screen - you should handle the smartphone carefully.
The surface of the back panel is matte, non-marking. The device does not strive to slip out of the palms, which is good. The gadget is very practical. The device exists in white, black and marsh colors.
