Sony unveiled the Xperia Z Ultra today, the world’s slimmest full HD Android smartphone with a 6.4-inch touch screen. It incorporates ‘TRILUMINOS’, a display technology introduced by Sony at CES for its BRAVIA televisions, for better color reproduction, as well as X-Reality for optimizing the colors, sharpness and contrast of images.
The device runs on a 2.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and sports an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with ‘Exmor RS for mobile’ senor, capable of shooting HDR video and images.
The Xperia Z Ultra is also waterproof, certified to IP58 and dust resistant, putting it in direct competition with the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active. Sony hasn’t clarified what this means in regards to the depth or duration of the built-in protection, but for reference the original Xperia Z could combat up to one meter of water for 30 minutes.
Despite its larger display, the Xperia Z Ultra is “actually the same width as a passport,” according to Sony designer Jun Katsunuma, ensuring that it can still fit rather snugly in one hand.
The Xperia Z Ultra has new and updated Sony Media apps, including a new WALKMAN app, Movies app and Album app, to draw consumers back into the Sony ecosystem.
The device will launch globally in the third quarter of 2013 and be sold in three colors; black, white and purple.
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