It’s not a speed demon, so apps can take a little while to load, but not so long that you’ll be tapping your feet. Sony has even paired it with more memory, so you’ve got 4GB to help when it comes to multitasking.Īndroid 8.0 Oreo feels responsive enough, with no noticeable lag or stutter when swiping between home screens or scrolling through web pages. The Snapdragon 630 CPU is the same as the one found in the smaller Xperia XA2, and it’s just as nippy here. Sony has learned that mid-range phones deserve matching CPUs, so it has made the switch from Mediatek silicon to a much more competent Qualcomm chip for 2018. SONY XPERIA XA2 ULTRA PERFORMANCE & BATTERY LIFE The sensor is in a comfortable position, so you don’t have to stretch to unlock, but it can be a bit over-sensitive, trying to unlock the phone when you so much as brush it, even when it’s in your pocket.īeyond those minor grumbles, you get USB-C charging and a 3.5mm headphone port – two things that aren’t exactly guaranteed in a mid-range phone. For some unknown reason, Sony had to disable the sensor on all its older handsets – something it has finally remedied here. Having the sensor built into the power button worked really well on previous Xperia phones, but at least now the move means owners in the USA will finally get to unlock their phone with a digit. The metal frame really does make a big difference here.Ī fingerprint sensor on the back is a new move for Sony, one we’ve got mixed feelings about. It’s made from a mix of materials, but despite a copious use of plastic, doesn’t feel cheap. The angular design gives you plenty to grab on to, although the sides are thankfully that little bit curvier now, instead of sharp and square. Typing takes two hands to hold the thing steady, and at 221g it’s got some real heft, too. You’d need hands the size of baseball mitts to make this look small when you grab it. If you’ve seen a Sony phone in the last couple of years, then the XA2 Ultra will feel very familiar – if not a whole lot bigger. The XA2 can get up to a decent volume, and avoids distorting when you’ve got things really cranked up, but you’re still going to want to plug in a pair of headphones for anything more than a quick YouTube clip.
It’s not like Sony has filled that extra space with a set of stereo speakers, either. At least things stay skinny at the sides, which work well when you’re watching something in landscape. It has massive bars above and below the screen, which are a long way off the on-trend 18:9 phones currently doing the rounds. Brightness is decent enough, too, if not quite high enough to see perfectly when you’re outside on a sunny day.īezels have long been a weak point for Sony, and the XA2 Ultra is no different.
The Full HD resolution is clear and detailed, if not quite as sharp as a QHD display.Ĭolour temperature leans a little towards the cool end of the spectrum, but you can always head into the Settings screen and give things a tweak. The LCD panel was never going to have the vibrant colours, deep blacks and impeccable contrast of an OLED screen, but it does a decent job when you want to catch up on your Netflix streaming. You’d normally have to step up to the £450/500 bracket to find something with such a pocket-stretching display. That’s a shame, because it’s packing a 6in, Full HD screen – good luck finding one of those on a cheaper phone. For selfies, it’s got a real edge over its rivals, but the rear snapper just isn’t all that impressive. You really have to use the front camera more than the rear one to get the most from the XA2 Ultra. This would be fine if it was speedy to save your shots, but similarly-priced rivals are much more responsive.
The manual HDR mode makes all the difference, handling a variety of exposures better than the default Superior Auto mode, and adding extra vibrance to each snap. Overly aggressive noise reduction can strip out detail, too, leaving things a little muted. If you’re not careful, it’s all too easy to blur your shots. Focusing can take a while when it gets dark, and unlike the front camera, there’s no OIS here. The wide-angle shots don’t show the same clarity, but the wide angle lens means you can get three people into the frame instead of just one.įor more traditional shooting, the rear camera packs in plenty of detail into each shot, with vibrant colours, but only when there’s enough light. What would have been a grainy mess without assistance is suddenly sharp and clear. The LED flash can be a bit harsh, but makes all the difference to those late-night club selfies. It does a great job when you feed it enough light, with OIS keeping facial features looking crisp and detailed.