Sony Xperia Z Ultra first impressions

While we completely missed the announcement of the Xperia Z Ultra in Shanghai Mobile Expo last month (our visa was denied), we were able to get a good glimpse of the device here in Tokyo during our media event for the Bravia 4K.

The Xperia Z Ultra sits between the Xperia Z and the Xperia Tablet Z. It’s thinner than either of the two as well. However, from the usability point-of-view, the Xperia Z Ultra is more like a tablet with a complete phone functionality rather than just an over-sized phone.

One will definitively have to use both hands to navigate/operate this device. At 6.44-inch across, the Z Ultra is almost the size of the Nexus 7.

In picture — the Xperia Tablet Z, the Xperia Z Ultra and the Xperia Z.

The materials and construction of the Z Ultra follows the Z, with a glass front and back cover. As such, be prepared for a lot of smudge and fingerprints all over the surface of the device.

Nevertheless, it’s still a gorgeous device. The Xperia Z Ultra has more than exceeded our previous good impressions with the Xperia Z and Tablet Z; and whatever shortcomings the two others had before are now fulfilled in the Z Ultra.

Looks more like a miniaturized Xperia Tablet Z rather than an oversized Xperia Z.

Even at 6.4mm thin, Sony managed to keep the device water-proof and dust-proof, just like its predecessor. It is a novelty that even rival Samsung got interested into.

This is the first time we’ve seen a Snapdragon 800 chip launched with a smartphone and comes with everything else you’d expect, including multi-band LTE support and a large battery capacity.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra specs:
6.44-inch full HD Triluminous display @ 1080×1920 pixels, 342ppi
Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 2.2GHz quad-core
Adreno 330 Graphics
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
up to 64GB via microSD card
8MP rear autofocus camera
1080p video recording @ 30fps
2MP front-facing camera, 1080p video
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
NFC
GPS w/ aGPS support, GLONASS
3,000mAh battery
Dustproof and Waterproof

Android 4.2 Jellybean
Dimension: 179.4 x 92.2 x 6.5 mm
Weight: 212g

Sony has not yet indicated when the Xperia Z Ultra will be officially released in the Philippines but there’s some indication it will be this month of August (as early as the 12th). We also have a scheduled trip to Malaysia first week of September to cover a new Xperia line so watch out for that and our full review of the Xperia Z Ultra.