Sony has yet to announce its next lineup of mid-range smartphones, although one of its possible offerings this 2018, the Xperia XA2 Ultra, might have already been leaked. A recently spotted product certification from the tech firm suggests that Sony has been working on the 2017's XA1 Ultra follow-up, which could launch in the coming months.
The latest scoop about the rumored Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra came from Malaysia's SIRIM product certification system, which shows that an unknown Sony hadset with model number H4233 might be the XA1 Ultra successor. The product certification does not show more specific details, although Android Central noted that the model number cited matches the Sony smartphone that appeared on a GFXBench listing in September.
The said Sony Xperia handset with model number H4233 is shown to sport a 6-inch 1080p display, while the device itself is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chipset with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. The speculated Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra is expected to sport a 21MP rear-mounted camera and 15MP front-facing camera. The device will run the latest Android 8.0 Oreo version out of the box.
Meanwhile, Phone Arena was able to obtain the live renders of the Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra that show its front and back panels. The images do not look satisfying for those who expect a brand new design for the Xperia lineup. For one, the Xperia XA2 Ultra seems to keep the thick bezels on the top and bottom portions of the front display. Perhaps the anticipated Xperia redesign will happen in the high-end smartphones, which may feature an all-screen display with the bezels reduced on all sides. Nevertheless, the Xperia XA2 Ultra will remain as a widescreen option for mid-range handsets this year, with thinner bezels on the left and right sides.
The Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra is expected to appear in the first quarter of 2018, although it remains to be seen if the launch will happen at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this January, or at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) expo in February.
