Sony XA1 Ultra review: Only the camera clicks, the rest could have been better

isn’t in the business of making budget smartphones – whether that strategy has worked or not is up for debate. The idea of making high-end phones is certainly a risky one as one needs to back it up with quality products. Sony XA1 Ultra is the latest smartphone launched by the company. It comes with a price tag of Rs 31,990 and will compete with the likes of Hononr 8 Pro and One Plus 5. The XA1 Ultra has a lot going for it but there are few shortcoming as well.

We spent some time with the device and this is our full review.

Design & display

For a while now, Sony hasn’t changed its design philosophy for its smartphones. Most Sony handsets have the trademark spacious forehead and big chin look – and perhaps it’s time to ditch it as it makes them look all the same. What’s good about the XA1 Ultra is its full aluminium body with smooth rounded sides. There’s a pane of flush 2.5D glass atop with its 15.24 cm edge-to-edge display (just sides, not fully). The rounded sides makes the device easy to hold and gives a firm grip. The sim card slot is on the left side and the volume keys, power button and the dedicated camera button sits on the right.
 
The top rim houses the headphone jack while the lowerrim only houses the USB type-C charging port with a speaker grille. The rear is home to the secondary camera with the flash right under it. But hold on, where’s the fingerprint sensor? Well, there isn’t one and for a device costing above Rs 30,000 it certainly came as a rude shock. Sony, perhaps, believes that users might not need a convenient and easy way to unlock their device. Moving on, we have the gigantic 6- inch full HD display which is definitely a true delight, but we’d still argue it could have been managed in a smaller form factor. Having said that, the viewing angles are great, even outdoors under high exposure the display doesn’t reflect so much. On display, the Ultra XA1 clearly scores highly.

Performance

The Sony XA1 Ultra runs on Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box, MediaTek Helio P20 Octa Core 64bit (Quad Core 2.3GHz + Quad Core 1.6GHz) and 4GB RAM with 64GB of internal storage which can be increase up to 256GB via microSD card. The phone’s UI is neat compared to other devices but it’s flooded with Sony apps which will be rarely used and the worse part is that you can’t even delete them but you can disable them.

 

A big screen means that the mini display feature can be activated to for ease of use with one hand. Perhaps Sony could’ve reduced the bezels as well. Watching movies or playing games on the big screen is fun as the colours are sharp and vibrant. A sore point of the phone is that Sony has used the same MediaTek Helio P20 octa core processor like in the Sony Xperia XA1. Why use the same processor which has been used on a smaller, cheaper and less powerful device on its more powerful successor? Considering that competition in the same segment uses powerful processors, it clearly is baffling why Sony has opted for an inferior version. The device tends to slow down while loading heavier apps and freezes a little here and there.We ran a couple of tests; on Geekbench it scored a mere 845 on single core and 3797 on multi core. On AnTuTu it scored a 62844, for device at this price is nothing extra ordinary. On a bulky and huge device like this you expect a bigger battery but Sony has powered it with a 2700mAh battery – just 400mAh more than Sony XA1. It also has Quick Adaptive Charging, so it is quicker than normal charging but nowhere close to beating OnePlus Dash-charging. On a full charge the device will barely last a full day but with intense use, you will have to power up the device at least twice a day.Apart from the good display, the only thing you can look forward to in this device is the cameras. It has a 23MP 1/2.3” Exmor RS for mobile image sensor, Hybrid Autofocus, ISO 6400 to support low-light photos, 24mm wide-angle with f2.0 aperture and 5x Clear Image Zoom. The images are crisp and perhaps helps you overlook the other glaring flaws in the device. It can shoot at 23MP with 4:3 aspect ratio, comes with Manual mode feature and also has a dedicated camera button on the right rim of the phone. It has a 16MP front with Optical Image Stabilisation and front facing flash. The front OIS helps you take steady selfies and is a feature that lives up to its expectation.

Verdict

Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra smartphone boasts of impressive camera and display. However, the smartphone's not-so-powerful processor, lack of fingerprint sensor and smaller battery capacity leaves us sore. Especially, since it competes with smartphones like Honor 8 Pro and OnePlus 5. Both these smartphones have a fairly good camera backed by some top-end specifications.To sum it up, if you're looking for a smartphone with good camera and display then XA1 Ultra will not disappoint you. But in case you are looking for a complete package, there are other options you can choose from in the same price segment.