We Go Hands-On with the Xperia XA2 Ultra!

Sony officially launched their flagship device in the Philippines, the Xperia XZ2, earlier today but the Japanese brand brought along their mid-range competitor as well — the Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra. The device was introduced early in the year at CES 2018 and this is the first time we’re seeing the device for ourselves. We haven’t had a considerable amount of time with the XA2 Ultra just yet to give you our conclusions but let’s give you our initial thoughts and give the device a quick once-over. Before we begin, let’s give you guys a rundown of the phone’s hardware.

Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra Specifications

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 octa-core processor
• 4GB RAM
• 6.0-inch Full HD IPS LCD display
• 32GB/64GB of expandable storage (up to 256GB)
• 23-megapixel f/2.0 rear camera with PDAF, LED flash
• 8-megapixel f/2.0 and 16-megapixel front cameras with autofocus and OIS
• 3G, LTE
• Dual SIM
• WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC
• GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
• USB Type-C, Fingerprint scanner
• 3580mAh battery
• Android 8.0 Oreo

Initial Impressions: Still Rockin’ a Bit of the OmniBalance

Sony deviated from its signature design language with the Xperia XZ2 but it looks like we’ll still be seeing the rectangular silhouette in their mid-range phones; that is if you’re looking at it dead on. For 2018, the XA series has been given gentle curves on its back to give you better ergonomics and trust me you’re going to want to get a good grip on it because it is quite hefty. The device tips the scale at 221 grams and is 9.5mm at its thickest part; making it feel rather substantial in the hand. For material choice, you’ve got a polycarbonate plastic back with an aluminum frame and, true to form, the XA2 Ultra looks to be well-built without any noticeable gaps in its seams or any play in the device either.

Let’s take a quick tour of its button and port layout.

The right side houses most the button with the volume rocker, round power button, and the dedicated camera key.

Access to the SIM tray if found on the left and there’s no need for SIM ejector tools here. You merely pry out the flap to reveal the SIM tray and microSD expansion slot.

You’ve got the headphone jack and a microphone on top of the device.

Last, but not the least, is the USB-C port and the speaker grille on the bottom of the phone.

The front is dominated by the 6-inch Full HD IPS display, which gives you an overall pixel density of 367 pixels per inch and a screen-to-body ratio of 76-percent. No surprises here. Since you don’t have a taller aspect ratio on the XA2 Ultra, this means that the top and bottom are still rather thick. The panel itself is nice and vibrant plus it was easy enough to read while gave it a quick go under the noonday sun. It’s also protected by Gorilla Glass 4.

On top of the screen is the dual front camera system of the XA2 Ultra, which consists of a main 16-megapixel shooter at f/2.0 with OIS paired with an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera at an f-stop of f/2.4. You have a dedicated flash for taking selfies in low-light situations but we’re guessing you’re going to want to be well-lit for your self-portraits; something we’ll have to settle once we get a hold of the phone for an extended period of time.

Flip the device and you’ve got the 24-megapixel rear camera, at an aperture of f/2.0, that has PDAF and its LED flash unit. The fingerprint scanner is right below the camera module and we’ve got to say, we like its placement more than the one found on the XZ2.

Under the hood of the Sony Xperia XA Ultra is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. This should give you a good amount of zip for day-to-day work and the usual social media apps that use but you may want to dial down the settings on the gaming side of things. This is, of course, based on our past experience with this processing package but we’ll have to test it out further once we get our review unit. The device runs on Android Oreo out of the box and is juiced up by a 3580mAh battery.

That pretty much does it for this quick look at the Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra. The phone has been priced at Php 22,990 and should be available in Sony Centres, Xperia Shops, and Sony Authorized Dealers. You have three colors to choose from Black, Blue, and Gold.