Bummer: Turns out the Sony Xperia UL is just an Xperia ZL with rounded corners

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Published 20 May 2013

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Disclosure

Sony, for reasons that I still don’t understand, announced two flagship smartphones during the first week of January; the Xperia Z and the Xperia ZL. Had they announced those phones just a few months earlier, they would have been amazing, but Sony unveiled them as everyone and their mother was eagerly anticipating the launch of the HTC One and Galaxy S4.

Rumors have been circuating around the internet that Sony was going to refresh the Z and ZL during the summer, with updated processors (Snapdragon 600 instead of Snapdragon S4 Pro) and smaller screens. Last week I even wrote about a leaked device called the Xperia UL that might have come with all these spec bumps.

Well, I’m sorry to say this, but the Xperia UL is now out, and it’s basically an Xperia ZL, except that the corners are round. Same Snapdragon S4 Pro, same 5 inch 1080p screen, likely with the same horrible viewing angles, and just … same, same, same.

The UL is meant for the Japanese market, so don’t expect to see it land in a store near you any time soon. Pushing all this negativity aside for a moment, I am still super excited to hear about the upcoming “Honami” phone, which promises to be the best Sony phone in the history of Sony phones. We’re talking 10 megapixel camera, totally new Android software, a design that borrows heavily from Sony’s laptop division, and so much more.