Debate: Huawei Mate 9 vs Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra

In a world of 5-inch displays, there is a class of devices that many would consider too large: 6-inch phablets. But for others, these screen dimensions are the least acceptable for versatility, work and multimedia.

Today we will compare two of these big-screen monsters, the Huawei Mate 9 heavyweight and the trendy bolid that is the Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra. Both stand out for their generous screens, with the Sony XA1 Ultra being 0.1 inches larger, but will any of us need it?

Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra vs. Huawei Mate 9: The Price

The most obvious comparison where to start is the price. Both devices belong to very different market segments, and if price is a decisive factor for you, then the Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra should sell for around € 400 and will merit the purchase, as we will see later that it is about an excellent smartphone for this price.


Huawei Mate 9 versus Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra: What do these two great phablets offer in common?




The Huawei Mate 9 has a professional aspiration and is well-known for its specifications and price starting at € 699.99. But this is not an expensive smartphone, well viewed its features.

So let's look at the remaining differences.

Design and Ergonomics

Ah the ergonomics: for some, no 6-inch screen smartphone is ergonomic, say what you say. It is not true, and both devices under analysis approach the ergonomic concept in their own way.

The Huawei Mate 9 does not hide from being the smartphone for the elites of both: the frame and the back face are in metal, with cutouts only for the various communication antennas, GPS, NFC and Bluetooth. The device is one of the most beautiful on the market and the soft roundness of the rear panel gives you tremendous comfort in the hand.

The Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra highlights how compact the Huawei Mate 9 is.

In terms of design, the Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra goes a very different way and, while retaking the general features of the Xperia XZ is, like this device, colossally aggressive. The tradition of the Xperia to be extremely fine stays here and the loop design benefits the very captivating look of this plastic beauty. Yes, if metal construction is a must, the Xperia XA1 Ultra may not satisfy you.




This difference in terms of approach under construction makes the Huawei Mate 9 the toughest of the two to crash and crash.

Huawei Mate 9 features decidedly premium design and construction.

What about ergonomics? This is a pointed case because each of the terminals has its superiority in different uses.

So for professionals who want their big screen to work on documents, emails, or readings, the Huawei Mate 9 is easier to use with just one hand. Not only does the rounded backside allow us to more easily cover the entire smartphone without danger of falling, as the rounded corners allow the thumb to reach the opposite ends of the screen more easily.

The design of the Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra impresses.

In practice, the thick bezels at the bottom and top of the screen of the Xperia XA1 Ultra further block the active hand and reduce the area of ​​the large screen with one hand.

The Sony XA1 Ultra bezels are one of their trademarks.

But who wants to see multimedia or shoot with some intensity, Xperia turns out to be the most appropriate. On the horizontal, the generous edges along with the button dedicated to the camera facilitate the photographic capture with only one hand. Already to see a movie or video, we have more space to support the thumbs.

So if you are going to use your phone upright and to work, the Huawei Mate 9 is more comfortable, but if you will use the front camera intensively, the Xperia is very well thought out to allow for better gripping.

Screen

Well, in this case we have to say that despite being the cheapest, the Xperia XA1 Ultra has a screen that is not ashamed compared to the more expensive Huawei Mate 9.

In fact, the Xperia loses in maximum luminosity, leaving to Mate 9 the visualization in conditions of high luminosity.

Both smartphones have excellent screens.

Both screens have excellent viewing angles and liveliness, and although they are not QHD resolution (which would be ideal in these dimensions), they are good options for multimedia.

But the Xperia XA1 Ultra features deep blacks and excellent contrast, and the sideless design creates a cinematic experience even deeper and without the distractions of the edges. Watching a movie on this screen is like having the image float in front of you.

There is only one snag, and despite SmartAmp and good quality audio, Xperia does not rival Huawei Mate 9's tremendous stereo audio and advises you to use headphones.

If your design has led many to think that the Xperia XA1 Ultra would have stereo front speakers, the speaker is actually located at the base of the device where it can be easily muffled.

Photography

Here one of the devices clearly has the best photography, the other has the best ergonomics and selfies.

If you are a photography lover and like to explore the possibilities of the cameras, Mate 9 is purely fascinating, since it has two chambers for which I would put my hand on the fire. In monochrome, no smartphone beats Mate 9 except the Huawei P10 Plus.

The Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra is ambitious in terms of camera.

Huawei Mate 9 cameras not only have excellent detail resolution, but also some of the best implementations on the market in terms of manual mode, filters and extra features.




The Xperia XA1 Ultra keeps the shutter button down, an excellent idea.

Faced with this, I feel that the camera of Sony does not offer such promising results, and is more limited for those who really want to do photography, thanks to an app that is not yet at the level of the main competition.

The dual cameras of Huawei Mate 9 have few rivals on the market.

But the XA1 Ultra earns points for the best selfie camera and front flash. The images captured by the front camera of the Xperia are above any criticism and although Mate's are good, the difference in resolution is noticeable.

The design of the Sony also facilitates the use by the selfie-centric, since the lower edge allows much more security when we hold the smartphone during a selfie.

Performance

Here, the two devices in comparison are in two very different championships.

The Xperia XA1 Ultra arrives us with a Helio P20 accompanied by 4GB of RAM, and in terms of pure performances, it is the best Xperia ever in this price range. A user, even if intensive, will not feel important limitations in their daily lives: the Xperia XA1 Ultra will be interesting, either as a leisure smartphone or as a working tool.

The Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra has enough power to run demanding games

However it is undisputed that Kirin 960 in Mate 9 is several levels above MediaTek in terms of capabilities. Huawei's octa-core, which includes four Cortex-A73s and four Cortex-A53s, holds up an impressive load, so everything turns out to be faster in Mate 9: downloads, application loading, and existing games.

But more crucial is that the power of Huawei will last longer, thanks to its much more generous battery of 4000mAh, compared to the 2700mAh of Xperia. Huawei Mate 9's Super Charge technology is equally outstanding, achieving a 50% charge in about half an hour, and ensuring that Huawei is always available.

Conclusion

Large-screen fans do not have many options in a market dominated by 5-inch and 5-inch displays, and it does not help that the biggest phablets do not always follow the attractive specs screen.

The Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra is one of the best examples of a smartphone with an excellent and generous display that does not sacrifice specifications and therefore it is fantastically versatile.

Huawei Mate 9 is an extremely ambitious smartphone designed to give ambitious users the best tools available on the market. It is a working tool with few rivals and yet it is not so focused on the professional that it loses joviality and interest for other uses.

The Huawei Mate 9 is a smartphone decidedly for those who want the best.

All in all, the Huawei Mate 9 is the clear winner of this comparison, offering power, ergonomics and polyvalence, as well as leading cameras. But it offers all this at a price that pushes it away from the pockets of many interested parties.

In view of this, the Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra offers an enviable price-quality ratio and is stated as a very valid alternative to more contained budgets. It is an alternative for those who want to save on budget, but not on features.




It's certainly less versatile than Huawei Mate 9, with less processing power and lower battery life, but it's still pretty full and at almost half the price it's well worth it if you focus on multimedia and do not need the extra vitamins in the Huawei Mate 9.

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