Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
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- AnonD-682910
- psk
- 10 Oct 2017
Im really surprised with the battery performance. I've owned it for 4 months now and have to say that, although we're not talking about something spectacular (the battery is really small with only 2700mah), I'd never think in my best hopes that it'd last so long with such a massive screen.
I'd say that the duration of the battery was my biggest concern when I bought it and that concern is now vanished. I'm a youtube addict and I play a lot of demanding games. It behaves really well. So far I haven't found a game that runs slow and I've been pushing it with Asphalt 8 or Gods of Rome, for instance, and it behaves wonderfully.
Also, the advantage of this small (yet really surprising) battery is that the phone is super elegant, even with the massive screen. I like my phones big, so I dont mind the size (and the screen/body ratio is really good, too). For its size, it's super light and so so thin... Also, another surprise was how comfortable it is in your hand. If you're busy and can only use one hand, no problem!: it contains an option for one hand usage in which you can reduce the screen size, also "pushing" it either to the left or the right hand side of the actual display. That way, you now have created through software an emulated (roughly) 5" screen - or maybe even a bit smaller than that - that you can now fully and easily control with just one hand. It's a great solution for someone with small hands such as mine.
But the actually spectacular feature is full on, full-brightness and super-vivid options enabled display. If you have everything on and at its max, the visualization of a film is just outstanding. Also, you'd need this kind of beautiful colours and light to fully appreciate the tremendous quality of both cameras. Yes, I've mentioned both because finally I own a smartphone that didn't cost 1000 euros in which the selfie photos are something to actually look at without ever realizing that the responsibility lies on the front camera. This is a powerful and detailed induced little devil, the front camera. Yes, at night the front flash helps a lot, even though I was so surprised by the quality of the photos when any of the 2 cameras is used with low light or even outside in the dark, at night time.
On the low side, I have to mention the fact that it only has one loudspeaker, which is a disappointment for all the 80's Sony Walkman fanatics like me. Come on, a brand like Sony, that people link so much to music, should have included a 2nd speaker for stereo sound. Without that, in my opinion, it's loud enough, but it loses quality if you spike the volume up, which is a shame... however, I do recognize that I always use earphones. And, in the rare occasions in which I actually use it to play music aloud, there's always bluetooth and my faithful JBL Speaker nearby,.. (Noone really uses his smartphone to play music aloud, come on, even if it contains 2, 3 or 20 speakers.)
Yep, the lack of a fingerprint sensor is also on the down side but, honestly, it's one of those things that I can perfectly live without. I've had it and ended up, with my previous phone, replacing it by usage of the old-fashioned 4 digit pin code...
How expensive is it to make a phone water proof? That would also be a nice touch that I think that the Plus will have,.
However, as said, the screen size is of major importance to me. I wouldn't want a screen any bigger than 6" but 5,5" is really not enough for me and the usage I give it, with mainly games and youtube (apart from the skype calls that are spectacular on both the sending and the receiving sides - with this front camera you better make sure there are no boogers inside your nose and you've washed your teeth after dinner before you decide to video call your girl because this unbelievable 16 MP camera will definitely catch them!!! On the other hand, you're actually holding a phone but in those times you really forget about that because it feels that you're actually in front of a tablet or small laptop, screen wise.
I strongly recommend this phone for everyone that is looking for a big screen. The moment you look and grab the phone you fall in love (the design, feel and weight are flawless, to me, at least...). If you have any doubts regarding the machine under the hood I have to repeat myself: no game, so far, has pushed it beyond the point in which lagging is noticeable. Everything so far has been fluid and fast (maybe someone could suggest some heavy games on the hardware so that I can try them out and then post the results). Battery wise, expect no miracles but I do place it considerably above the usual autonomy of large smartphones, especially because I can usually go for the heavy games and, basically, if after a good 3 hours of play I see that I've used too much battery, then, as long as I have more than 5 per cent of battery, I can always activate the ultra stamina mode. It reboots the system and squeezes a few good hours out of those last 5-10% of battery. This is a real battery indicator, by the way, in which, after 4 months in which I haven't respected the most healthy battery charging procedures, the last 10% of battery will last you the same amount of time as the first (between the 90-100% - everyone had a phone that after a couple of months would switch itself off a few seconds after it got to 3 or 4%!!! or an iphone, in which the last 20% lasted as much as the first 2%!!!!)
Anyway, on the market right now, I don't think you can find such a strong 6" device - I believe they call them phablets - with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of ROM an octacore processor with very interesting speed values (finally Meadiatek made it fast and reliable for gaming), the unique numbers and quality associated to both cameras - of course, especially the front one - , the surprising autonomy of such a light and elegance-allowing battery, the love inducing design (by the way, I'm a man, Portuguese, and I bought the Gold one, for the first time in my life, because it's freakin' beautiful!!!) at this price and with such a strong brand associated. This is merely my opinion, so... just think that I've been using GSM arena for years now and this is the first time I'm writing and look at the size of this tech love letter to my phone. Only a really goood device could cause something like this to happen!
Go for it, trust me. Unless you want smaller. Or really expensive. Or..,. ugly. Or a chinese unpronounciable brand that advertises the RAM, the ROM, the 234 processors and billions of MAH of battery but then, when you get them, dont last as long, dont offer the same type of guarantee, dont perform as well as a real phone with not so impressive features but real ones, made out of real components from real brands.
Quality has a price. I had an Oukitel K-6000 pro. Nothing bad to say about it. Really. But there's also nothing spectacular. putting them face to face on paper, there really isnt much of a difference between the XA1 Ultra and the chinese one. However, on a real face to face, I can play Asphalt 8 on the Oukitel. As long as I keep my hands off the back after 10 mins of gameplay, or I'll burn myself. And after a couple of months it starts lagging and lagging and lagging...
You can't, of course, compare a 130 euro phone with another that is more recent and costed me 370 on the month of its release. But what I mean is that feature wise, they do seem similar on paper. That's why I say now: beware of this unbelievable chinese deals in which it seems that you can buy almost a flagship phone for 150 euros or less. That's impossible. Usually the phone won't last you more than 2 months until something happens (nothing tragic, just small things but annoying things - with lagging on top of my list, right next to the almost dangerous heating problems and battery issues)
I love Sony ever since they made their first Feature-loaded Z. It was spectacular with features like the water proof that noone had seen before on a flagship, apart, of course, from the record breaking cameras it had and the battery, that was stupidly strong for the time.
This XA1-Ultra is a mid-range phone that surely, to me, feels like it's really grasping on the flagship terrain. Especially when you compare it with some flagships after a good couple of months of intense and irresponsible usage. It's elegant, slim and light and big. And it's exactly like I wanted it to be.
Cheers guys, and enjoy it.
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- Anonymous
- rvk
- 09 Oct 2017
AnonD-481725, 09 Oct 2017Definitely xa1 ultra, but keep in mind it doesn't have fing... moreGreat, thank you!
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- Danny
- ItZ
- 09 Oct 2017
I bought xa1 ultra from freedom, after a month I got touch screen problem. Dont buy this crap
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- AnonD-481725
- StN
- 09 Oct 2017
Anonymous, 08 Oct 2017Hi, which is better huawei p10 lite or sony xperia xa1 ultra?Definitely xa1 ultra, but keep in mind it doesn't have fingerprint scanner.
- ?
- Anonymous
- rvk
- 08 Oct 2017
Hi, which is better huawei p10 lite or sony xperia xa1 ultra?
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- Rhena
- KZK
- 08 Oct 2017
AnonD-257122, 08 Oct 2017I want a big screen phone for movies/games. I'm torn betwee... moreDefinitely XA1 Plus, fingerprint sensor and good batery life. I use XA1 Ultra and the battery is so disappointment. 6 inch is too much big plus with their huge bezels, I can't put it my pocket. XA1 Plus you can get fingerprint sensor so don't bother people see you draw pattern and PIN. 5.5 inch is big enough if you want big phone. Verry sorry for my bad english
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- AnonD-257122
- YW1
- 08 Oct 2017
I want a big screen phone for movies/games. I'm torn between the XA1 ultra and XA1 plus which one is better? XA1ultra has bigger screen with front flash while the XA1 plus has fingerprint sensor and bigger battery life, in my country the XA1 ultra is priced at 13,990 while the plus is available at 10,990. Which one should I go for?
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- bob
- 6pD
- 08 Oct 2017
this is amazing phone i all ready buy.. thank you sony....
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- bubloo
- 7t}
- 03 Oct 2017
can anyone help me
i want to buy xperia xa1 ultra, my usage is whats app, facebook, messenger, telegram and little browse, i do not play games....
i hear that the phone getting small lag when opening apps even call pad too
is it true?
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- AnonD-692005
- KZK
- 01 Oct 2017
AnonD-704490, 30 Sep 2017I have this phone and I can tell you that Helio P20 really ... moreI'm not using XA1 Ultra, but I saw some reviews that it's too hard to lasts for two days cuz MediaTek P series is not good at battery-efficiency. But I'd guess it has beast performance since their processor's core and clock rate almost same as SD625. Cheers :D
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- Anonymous
- 3Y1
- 01 Oct 2017
AnonD-703941, 28 Sep 2017some ones says it has and it can play VR . your better way ... moreIt shows in specifications that it has gyroscope. But in real there is nothing. So don't buy this piece of suit. I already wasted my money
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- AnonD-704490
- GQT
- 30 Sep 2017
AnonD-692005, 30 Sep 20171) MediaTek P20 has good performance, but it's only midrang... moreI have this phone and I can tell you that Helio P20 really packs a punch. Its 4 powerful cores of the total 8 are clocked at 2.3 ghz and performance is very smooth. Maybe you keep your phone at 100% or GPS is on all time thats why you loose battery. Sony is best in battery optimisation. My XA1 ultra lasts 1.5 days and can go upto full 2 days at times depending on usage.
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- AnonD-692005
- KZK
- 30 Sep 2017
Ujwal, 30 Sep 2017Hi Users,
Please give me suggestions about XA1 Ultra....
... more1) MediaTek P20 has good performance, but it's only midranger chipsets while SD835 is high-end chipsets.
2) Most of reviewer says it has good battery life even 2700mAh but it's only could lasts for a day.
3) Most of MediaTek phones suffer an overheating problems, so it could be has this problem from start
That's only I could answer. I don't know about the no.4 cuz I assumed it has specific answer for that.
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- Justin
- D0e
- 30 Sep 2017
This mobile fast charging r not?
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- AnonD-704332
- a0w
- 30 Sep 2017
Be Aware! the XA1 Does NOT come with a gyroscope sensor, despite what the specifications say!! This is official from Sony!
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- Ujwal
- HsJ
- 30 Sep 2017
Hi Users,
Please give me suggestions about XA1 Ultra....
1)Chipset Mediatek Helio P 20 is better or poor performance instead of SD 835?
2)2700 MAH Battery is sufficient? Why not use 3600 ?
3) experience of heating problem from start or after few month?
4)Video call facility available or not?
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- AnonD-481725
- X1E
- 29 Sep 2017
AnonD-704283, 29 Sep 2017Is the battery big enough?Yes, 5 to 7 hours screen on time.
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- AnonD-704283
- 0U3
- 29 Sep 2017
Is the battery big enough?
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- AnonD-481725
- X1E
- 29 Sep 2017
ur friend , 28 Sep 2017i want to buy xa1 ultra dual it is safe of not....please re... moreIt is totally safe, don't worry, but keep in mind it doesn't have fingerprint scanner.
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- AnonD-704114
- teX
- 29 Sep 2017
AnonD-703941, 28 Sep 2017some ones says it has and it can play VR . your better way ... moreHello Jayasinghe. I have known your problem since childhood. So if you want to check whether VR features is or not Check VR videos on Youtube. After you play VR videos then move your phone arround. If it is working the video will move itself.
I do not recommend sony brand nowadays. If you want to buy a good phones with gyro, buy note 5 or one plus 3t. Note 5 will be cost nearly as same as xa1 ultra but not sure.
You better buy apple or samsung