Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra launches in the US: Big screen, big selfie camera

by Florin Troaca / Jul 12, 2017, 8:35 AM

Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra launches in the US: Big screen, big selfie camera

The Xperia XA1 Ultra, one of Sony's largest smartphones to date, was supposed to be released in the US last month, at about the same time with the Xperia XZ Premium. However, Sony is only now starting selling the handset.

As of today, US customers can purchase the Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra from Best Buy, which is offering the phone in four color variants: black, white, gold, and pink. The XA1 Ultra is sold unlocked for $399.99, and works on GSM / LTE carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile (sorry, Verizon and Sprint folks, this handset isn't for you).

Bigger and more advanced than the Xperia XA1 (currently sold stateside for $199.99), the Xperia XA1 Ultra sports a 6-inch display with 1080 x 1920 pixels, and has a 16 MP front-facing camera with OIS (optical image stabilization) - this should be perfect for all selfie lovers out there.

Running Android 7 Nougat, the Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio P20 processor, further featuring a 23 MP rear camera, 4 GB of RAM, 32 GB of expandable storage space, and a 2700 mAh battery. You can find out more about the smartphone by readying our Xperia XA1 Ultra review. Or, if you want to buy the handset straight away, go ahead and visit the source link below.

Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra

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source: Best Buy

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5 Comments

1. Xperia14

Posts: 1208; Member since: Sep 01, 2015

So the XA1 has a selfie camera with OIS and the main cameras of the XZs and XZp don't have OIS? Wtf Sony..

posted on Jul 12, 2017, 8:39 AM 0

2. hansip87

Posts: 228; Member since: Nov 10, 2015

even though i agree with you here, but to put how Sony thought about that is this.. when doing selfie, your hand will vibrate more often than not (single hand) so OIS is warranted. different case when you shoot with back camera, more often than not you use two hand to stabilize it, so EIS for video is enough. Plus the wider angle the lens, the less the need for OIS.

posted on Jul 12, 2017, 8:44 AM 1

5. Dr.Phil

Posts: 2452; Member since: Feb 14, 2011

They do have a 5-axis electronic image stabilization system, and the reviews I have seen they have not complained about any image shaking. The Pixel also uses EIS instead of OIS.

posted on Jul 12, 2017, 12:40 PM 1

3. maherk

Posts: 6965; Member since: Feb 10, 2012

You still need OIS for low light shots, unless you're Google. The XZ Premium is a fantastic camera phone in day light conditions, but it struggles to match the quality you get with the Pixel, S8, iPhone 7, and U 11 when it gets darker.