Sony Xperia XA1 and XA1 Ultra
Two mid-range phones with a couple of very clever tricks
There are limits to how excited you can get over a mid-range handset, and especially ones as confusingly named as Sony’s latest. The names “XA1” and “XA1 Ultra” may make sense on internal spreadsheets, but good luck getting anyone to remember them in the outside world.
But what appear to be a couple of unremarkable mid-range handsets have a couple of tricks up their sleeves, which could make them a canny purchase for photography fans. Or, more likely, will see their ideas stolen by better-placed rivals.
Let’s get the basics out of the way first. There’s nothing special about a 2.3GHz MediaTek octa-core processor, 3/4GB RAM and a 2,300/2,700mAh battery. The smaller XA1 has a 1,280 x 720 display, while the larger Ultra model packs a 1,920 x 1,080 display.
Fans of Sony’s angular design won’t be disappointed. The new range of phones sticks with the solid-feeling rectangle approach, although the edge-to-edge screen looks classier than previous models. They look like premium phones, even if the internals give the game away somewhat.
Then we come to the 23-megapixel camera. From our brief hands-on time in Barcelona, this appears to be a key asset. Images proved sharp and vibrant, only losing their edge when you pinch your fingers to the maximum zoom. Trade shows aren’t the ideal environment for putting a camera through its paces, so we’ll be back for more in-depth analysis when we get our review models.
I can share the two aces up the Sony Xperia XA1’s sleeve: superslow-motion video and predictive photography. The first is exactly what it sounds like. The Xperia XA1 lets you take slow-motion video at 920fps. To put that into context, the iPhone 7 records at 420fps. This rate does come with a drawback, however: you can only capture it in bursts of 0.182 seconds, which translates into six seconds of normal playback.
It’s also a touch fiddly to get right: to capture super-slow-motion footage, you must start recording and then press the appropriate button. Still, when you pull it off, the results really are excellent.
Next up is “predictive photography”, and as someone who regularly takes photos of a fidgety cat (don’t judge me), this sounds like a gamechanger. As with predictive texting, the camera will guess what you’re trying to capture and do it for you in the background. How? The camera has a dedicated memory chip that looks out for movement in a shot. When it spots this, it will take a snap or two in the background, letting you save a better shot than the one you actually managed to catch if you were a couple of milliseconds out. You can then save or delete the alternatively timed snaps at your will.
The big question is whether these features will be convincing enough to turn an otherwise-middling handset into a recommendation. Sony is quoting $300 for the XA1, and an unspecified amount more for the Ultra. As the Huawei P8 Lite shows – see p69 – you need something special to stand out.