If you're a fan of big phones but can't afford something like the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, you're in luck. A mid-range phablet from Sony and goes by Xperia XA1 Ultra will start selling soon and it looks like a formidable alternative to the more expensive big phones.
The Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra is the latest in the company's long line of huge phones. The first phablet from Sony was the Xperia Z Ultra which came out in 2013. The 6-inch Xperia XA1 Ultra is smaller than the original (by 0.4 of an inch) and it comes in a combination of aluminum, plastic and scratch-resistant glass.
The phablet sports a TFT LCD display with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. It is powered by a 16nm MediaTek Helio P20 Octa-core processor along with a Mali T-880MP2 graphics chip. It comes with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of built-in storage while the G3226 version packs 64GB of storage. Both versions are expandable up to 256GB courtesy of a microSD card. The Xperia XA1 Ultra runs on Android 7.0 Nougat operating system out of the box.
The front-facing camera has 16MP and is capable of 1080 pixel video recording at 30 frames per second. The rear camera, at 23MP, is even more impressive. The main issue by far with the Xperia XA1 Ultra is its rather small battery. The Sony phablet packs a sealed 2,700mAh Li-Ion battery. It also supports Mediatek Pump Express+ 2.0 fast charging. Another head-scratching move by Sony is the lack of stereo speakers. As GSMArena noted, the Xperia XA1 Ultra is notable geared towards multimedia use which would've been a better experience if stereo speakers were present.
Unlike the flagship Xperia XZ Premium which can be pre-ordered through the Sony website right now, those interested in the Xperia XA1 Ultra will have to wait until June 12 before they can pre-order the phablet, as reported by Phone Arena. It will then be available online on June 21 before dropping in stores on July 2. The company has yet to announce the price of the mid-range phablet but the Sony Xperia A1 Ultra is expected t cost around $400.
