Sony Xperia XA2 and XA2 Ultra vs. Xperia XA1 and XA1 Ultra - what's new?

Earlier this week, at CES 2018, Sony unveiled two new mid-range Android Oreo smartphones that succeed the Xperia XA1 and XA1 Ultra of last year. Called Xperia XA2 and Xperia XA2 Ultra, the new handsets are already available to pre-order in the US, being offered unlocked for $349 and $449, respectively.

While Sony didn't drastically change the design of its new Xperia XA family, the XA2 and XA2 Ultra look better than their predecessors, thanks in no small part to their reduced top and bottom bezels. Another thing that's almost instantly noticeable on both handsets is the presence of fingerprint scanners on the back - that's a first for Sony smartphones.

The Xperia XA2 and XA2 Ultra use Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processors instead of the MediaTek Helio P20 chipsets found inside last year's models. The Snapdragon 630 is more efficient than the Helio P20, while also representing an upgrade when it comes to gaming, thanks to its more powerful Adreno 508 GPU.

Sony Xperia XA2 and Xperia XA2 Ultra

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Sony Xperia XA2 and Xperia XA2 Ultra

When talking about displays, the XA2 sees an important upgrade, as it sports a 5.2-inch 1080p screen that's obviously superior to the 5-inch 720p screen of the XA1. The XA2 Ultra comes with a 6-inch 1080p screen - similar to the XA1 Ultra. Both new phones pack considerably larger batteries - 3300 mAh (XA2) and 3580 mAh (XA2 Ultra). These should provide increased usage times over the 2300 mAh and 2700 mAh batteries of the XA1 and XA1 Ultra.

The Xperia XA2 and XA2 Ultra also feature enhanced cameras. Their rear cameras are similar, offering 23 MP, 1/2.3-inch Exmor RS sensors, 4K video recording, and 120 fps slow-motion recording. On the front, the XA2 has a wide-angle 8 MP camera, while the XA2 Ultra has a dual camera (16 MP with optical image stabilization + 8 MP wide-angle) with LED flash. No wonder Sony is presenting these as "selfie smartphones."