The Sony Xperia XA Ultra has an excellent quality, huge 6-inch, high-definition (1080p) edge-to-edge display that's easy to see in bright light- a plus for viewing multimedia content. This unlocked GSM-based Sony can work on major providers such as AT&T and T-Mobile. The camera is among the best. Its 21.2-megapixel s captured very good still images. They were ultra-sharp, the color is highly accurate, the dynamic range was very good, and it did very well under low-light conditions. The camera also took very good 1080p video. This model also has a plethora of camera capabilities and features, including more than a dozen modes and effects. And you can conveniently access the camera via the dedicated button on the side of the phone. The front-facing camera has one of the highest resolutions we've seen, 15.9-megapixels, handy for your selfie indulgences. This model also has a built-in answering machine. It will pick up an incoming call, play your greeting, and record the callers' message on your phone, which can be easily retrieved. Sony's What's New app which gathers multimedia content including movies, music, games and more, from different apps and service's and presents them in a single view. It also includes Sony's PlayStation app, which lets you connect to your PS4, log in to the PlayStation network to see what happening, and more. On the down side, the Xperia XA Ultra is large and weighs a whopping 7.1 ounces. Performing one-handed operations with this slab is a challenge, though you can reduce the screen size by swiping diagonally up from either bottom corner.
The Xperia XA Ultra has intuitive navigation that provides easy access to all its main functions via a highly responsive touch screen that supports many home screens of apps, programmable shortcuts, as well as back, home, and recent apps keys. The recent apps key lets you see a stack of screen shots of your most recently used apps. Tap any one of them, and you can jump to that app. Pressing and holding the home key launches the search function. This model comes with Androids Marshmallow OS, which gives users more precise control over what personal information individual apps can access. Now, on an app-by-app basis, you grant or deny permission for an app to access such personal data as your location, your contacts, and other potentially sensitive information. Another notable Marshmallow feature is Google Now on Tap, which improves the relevance of Web or in-app searches by producing results based on the context of what you're doing. For instance, if a friend sends you a text message from the Mets game, Google on Tap can fetch you the current score, the team's league standing, or information about their next venue-all from within the message. To launch Google on Tap, you just long-press the home key. Google also helps you dive more directly into specific app content with fewer steps. For instance, if you launch the National Public Radio app, the app will ask you which programs you'd like to listen to. Marshmallow also adds extra controls in settings. For instance, Storage adds explore capability, Battery adds optimization controls, Location adds WiFi and Bluetooth scanning options, and Backup & reset adds a network settings reset. The Xperia XA Ultra lets you perform Google searches by voice command and lets you download applications, services, games, and more from the Google Play Store. Its multi-touch screen lets you zoom in and out of photos or Web pages using two fingers (for instance, your thumb and index finger). A handy on-screen drop-down status bar alerts you to and takes you to new messages, upcoming appointments, and other items that need your attention, even when your screen is locked. Its Android OS offers better text editing tools and controls for managing data usage, and enhanced voice-activated navigation and dictation.
The Xperia XA Ultra supports Near Field Communication (NFC), a short-range wireless communication technology that allows the phone to read "smart" tags or other items that have NFC capability in them (though the technology is not yet widely deployed for mobile phone users). The Xperia XA Ultra works on 4G networks (LTE), allowing fast streaming, downloading, and uploading of high-definition videos and other large files. The fast network also facilitates better Web browsing experiences. The WiFi connection provides another way to access the Web, e-mail, and other Internet-based content, without using your data plan allowance.
MESSAGING: The virtual keyboard was very easy to use. It supports a method that allows users to type words without lifting a finger-literally. You enter a word by dragging your finger across the screen from letter to letter. Though it's initially awkward to use, we eventually had a lot of success "typing" quickly and accurately with this method. It has an advanced voice command feature that supports text fields, allowing you to dictate e-mails, text messages, Tweets, and other normally typed forms of communication. This phone comes with common preset text messages and also allows you to create custom preset text messages for your individual special situations or frequent use. The keyboard also has a dedicated key to emoticons. Excellent e-mail readability and attachment capabilities. This phone allows you to create and edit Word documents and Excel spreadsheets out of the box, which can come in handy when working on the go. The Xperia XA Ultra also supports Microsoft Exchange and Outlook for work e-mail. When connected to Windows or Macintosh computers, this phone can appear on the computer as another drive. You can then transfer data to and from your phone as you could on a regular drive.
PHONE: We tested the Xperia XA Ultra under a variety of conditions to simulate environments ranging from the quiet indoors to noisy roadsides. We found voice quality good when talking and listening. Talk time was an adequate 12.5 hours. The phone has a very good mixture of controls and features for making and taking calls. Excellent keypad readability under most lighting conditions. Its voice command allows you to conveniently dial numbers from your phone book by speaking the name, without the usual training. You can also dial numbers by pronouncing the digits. It has Bluetooth for wireless hands-free voice communication. This model can simultaneously be on a phone call and an Internet-based connection over the cellular network. Can be used internationally. But auto answer doesn't work with headset. Ringer is not easy to mute.
MULTIMEDIA: The 21.2-megapixel camera is among the best we've seen in a phone. It produced very good quality pictures and also did a very well under low-light conditions. The camera's optical image stabilizer also improves your chances of taking better handheld photos under low-light conditions. Its touch focus feature lets you override the autofocus by tapping on any subject on the screen. The camera's built-in flash and ISO settings controls also help improve your chances of taking better pictures under low-light conditions. Its face and smile detection come in handy when you're snapping pics of babies, toddlers, or other fussy subjects. This model has a plethora of camera capabilities and features, including more than a dozen modes and effects. The camera took very good 1080p video, on par with what you'd get with the better pocket camcorders. The front-facing ultra-high resolution 15.9-megapixel camera allows easy self-portraits, and can support video chats. It can also record at 1080p.
The music player has the capabilities and controls of a typical stand-alone MP3 player, including an equalizer, music shuffle and repeat controls, and options for sorting music by album, artist, etc. This model also supports Bluetooth stereo headsets, can download music over the phone network, and has an FM radio. Its Bluetooth data support enables the phone to wirelessly share pictures, contacts, and other files with compatible printers, computers, and mobile devices.
GPS navigation capability provides spoken turn-by-turn directions and automatic re-routing. The Xperia XA Ultra also supports the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) standard. This lets the phone connect via WiFi to share content with other compatible certified devices such as a TV, printer, and computer.
The Xperia XA Ultra can act as a mobile hotspot for WiFi-enabled devices. It has 16GB of built-in memory and supports memory cards of more than 128GB. Its memory capacity is beneficial for storing music, videos, pictures, and other types of files. But the Xperia XA Ultra battery is non-removable.
