Sony Xperia Z Ultra: The 6.44-inch Full HD phablet with water resistance
Back in 2013, the smartphone world was busy redrawing the line between phones and tablets. Samsung had proven there was an appetite for oversized handsets with the original Galaxy Note, and the rest of the industry scrambled to claim a slice of the new category. Sony's contribution to this growing segment arrived in the form of the Xperia Z Ultra, a device so large that it genuinely challenged what buyers considered pocket-friendly. With a 6.44-inch Full HD display, it sat at the very top end of the phablet scale, and for Australian consumers who wanted a single device to replace both their phone and their tablet, it offered a tempting proposition.
The timing was interesting. Australian retailers like JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman had started giving premium Android devices dedicated shelf space, and carriers such as Telstra, Optus and Vodafone Australia were bundling flagship handsets with monthly plans that made even the most ambitious purchases feel reachable. The Xperia Z Ultra slotted into that environment as a premium option, marketed toward professionals, content creators and anyone who spent their commute between Sydney and Melbourne reading, watching video or sketching ideas on the move.
What really set the Xperia Z Ultra apart from the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 and the HTC One Max was its combination of scale and refinement. The handset was one of the first phones to carry an IP58 rating, meaning it could sit in fresh water at a depth of up to one metre for thirty minutes without flinching. For Australians whose weekends often involved a trip to Bondi Beach, a fishing trip off the coast of Fremantle, or simply an accidental drop into a Brisbane pub's beer garden, that kind of durability carried real weight.
Sony also positioned the Ultra as a bridge between entertainment and productivity, citing compatibility with a stylus, though none shipped in the box, and pairing the device with a magnetic charging dock that turned it into a bedside alarm clock. For a market where premium smartphones regularly crossed the thousand-dollar mark in AUD, the Ultra needed to justify its price with more than just screen real estate, and on paper it certainly tried.
| Feature | Sony Xperia Z Ultra | Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 | LG Optimus G Pro | HTC One Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.44" Full HD IPS | 6.3" | 5.5" Full HD IPS | 5.9" Full HD |
| Processor | Snapdragon 800 | Snapdragon 400 | Snapdragon 600 | Snapdragon 600 |
| RAM | 2 GB | 1.5 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB |
| Storage | 16 GB + microSD | 8/16 GB + microSD | 32 GB + microSD | 16/32 GB + microSD |
| Rear camera | 8 MP | 8 MP | 13 MP | 4 MP UltraPixel |
| Battery | 3050 mAh | 3200 mAh | 3140 mAh | 3300 mAh |
| Water resistance | IP58 certified | None | None | None |
| Weight | 212 g | 199 g | 172 g | 217 g |
Design and build quality
Sony's OmniBalance design language was on full display with the Xperia Z Ultra. The phone wore a flat slab of glass on the front and back, framed by a slim metal band that ran around the edges. At 6.5 mm it was unusually thin for a device this large, and the squared-off corners gave it a distinctly industrial character that separated it from the rounded Galaxy Note 3 and the curved LG G Flex released later that year.
Holding the Ultra required commitment. At 212 grams it had real heft, and reaching across the screen with one hand was an exercise that required thumb gymnastics. Sony tried to offset this with a dedicated one-handed mode that shrank the active display area into a corner, but for buyers in Adelaide or Hobart shopping at their local Vodafone store, the size remained the first thing they noticed in the hand. Despite that, the build quality was exceptional. The tempered glass panels resisted scratches better than the plastic of competing phablets, and the aluminium frame added a reassuring rigidity that made the phone feel every bit the premium product Sony claimed it was.
The power button, a round aluminium disc, sat on the right edge of the device and became something of a Sony trademark. It was easier to locate by feel than the recessed buttons on the Galaxy S4, and it housed a notification LED that pulsed softly when a message arrived. The microSD slot and micro-SIM tray were hidden beneath sealed flaps, hinting at the water resistance story that would define the phone's reputation across the wider Xperia line.
Display performance
The 6.44-inch panel was the headline feature for good reason. With a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels and a pixel density of around 342 ppi, text looked crisp without the obvious sub-pixel structure that plagued earlier large phones. Sony used its own Triluminos technology combined with the X-Reality engine, both of which had been tuned on the company's Bravia television line. The result was a screen that punched above its weight for colour reproduction and motion handling.
For Australian users who spent long afternoons watching cricket replays on their devices, the display offered good outdoor visibility. Peak brightness was high enough to remain readable at a café table in Surfers Paradise, and the wide viewing angles meant a friend leaning over to share a video wasn't pushed into a dimmer sweet spot. Blacks were solid thanks to the IPS panel, though direct comparison with the AMOLED screens on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 still showed the characteristic gap in contrast that LCD technology struggled to close.
Content consumption was where the Ultra genuinely shone. Streaming video from catch-up services filled the screen with detail, and games such as Real Racing 3 and Modern Combat 4 benefited from the extra real estate without overwhelming the Snapdragon 800's graphics capabilities. Sony had also included a glove mode that responded to touches through thin fabric, a small but genuinely useful feature during Melbourne's colder mornings when commuters were bundled up against the winter chill.
Performance and hardware
Under the hood, the Xperia Z Ultra was among the first Android phones to ship with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 chipset clocked at 2.2 GHz. Paired with 2 GB of RAM and an Adreno 330 GPU, the device handled the heavy lifting of 2013's app catalogue with little fuss. App launches were snappy, multitasking felt fluid, and the Adreno GPU pushed high-resolution games with comfortable frame rates.
Storage was modest out of the box at 16 GB, but the microSD slot accepted cards up to 64 GB, which Australians using their phones as portable media libraries for long drives between Brisbane and Cairns found genuinely useful. The 4G LTE modem supported the 1800 MHz band used by Telstra and Optus in major cities, and the radio pulled usable signal even in regional areas where signal strength dropped below full bars.
Battery life was solid rather than spectacular. The 3050 mAh cell comfortably lasted a working day with mixed use, though heavy video playback or gaming drained it more quickly than the larger 3300 mAh unit inside the HTC One Max. Stamina Mode, Sony's power-saving toggle, extended runtime by throttling background activity, and the optional magnetic charging dock kept things topped up on a desk without the wear and tear of daily micro-USB plug insertions. Audio quality through the rear-mounted speaker was decent but not class-leading, with acceptable volume but limited bass response compared to the front-facing speakers of the HTC One.
Camera and multimedia
Sony had a complicated relationship with cameras on its phones in 2013. Despite owning the Exmor sensor technology used in many competing flagships, the Xperia Z Ultra shipped with an 8-megapixel rear shooter that felt conservative for a premium device. There was no LED flash, which Sony justified by claiming that better low-light sensitivity reduced the need for one, though reviews and real-world testing showed that dark scenes still suffered from visible noise.
Daylight photography was solid, with accurate colours and good dynamic range through the HDR mode. The 2-megapixel front camera handled video calls adequately but produced selfies that lacked the detail of competing devices. Video capture topped out at 1080p at 30 frames per second, and the inclusion of electronic image stabilisation helped smooth out handheld footage, a feature that Australian travellers shooting handheld clips of Uluru or the Great Ocean Road genuinely appreciated.
Multimedia playback was a stronger suit. Sony's Walkman app handled local audio files with detailed equaliser settings, and the Album app pulled together photos and videos from local storage and social accounts. DLNA streaming to compatible TVs worked seamlessly, and for those who wanted a single device that doubled as both phone and living-room media controller, the Ultra delivered where it counted. Compared to the imaging systems on apple devices of the same era, however, Sony still had work to do, particularly in low-light scenarios where iPhone optics consistently produced cleaner results.
Water resistance and real-world use
The IP58 rating was more than a marketing checkbox. The Xperia Z Ultra survived dunks in sinks, splashes at the pool and even brief submersion at the beach without functional compromise, as long as the sealed covers over the SIM and microSD slots were properly closed. For families taking the phone on a weekend trip to Noosa, or tradies working on a Perth construction site, that resilience was a tangible advantage over competing phablets.
In daily use, the water resistance encouraged behaviour that would have been unthinkable on a glass-backed Samsung or HTC handset. Reading recipes with wet hands while cooking, taking calls in the rain during a Brisbane downpour, or rinsing dust and grime off under a tap became routine. Sony even demonstrated the phone taking photos underwater in a fish tank during launch events, a marketing moment that turned the Ultra into something of a poster child for ruggedised flagships.
The limitation was that the phone wasn't rated for saltwater or chlorinated pools, which mattered for Australians with regular pool access or those keen to take it into the surf. A freshwater rinse after any accidental exposure was recommended, and the micro-USB port required careful drying before charging. These were minor caveats in the context of a category where none of the direct competitors offered any meaningful water protection at all.
Head to your nearest JB Hi-Fi, drop into a Harvey Norman, or browse the latest mobile deals to see what pricing the Xperia Z Ultra and its contemporaries carried once they hit the second-hand and refurbished market across Australian retailers. Water resistance alone has kept these early phablets surprisingly relevant even years after launch, and for buyers who spend weekends outdoors or simply want a single device that survives everyday accidents, the Ultra remains a thoughtful piece of smartphone history worth picking up today.