Sony launches three new mid-range Xperia smartphones for 2018 and the cameras are the stars of the show

Classic Sony Xperia style

CES 2018 is underway in Las Vegas, and that means we're all about to be met with a flood of new gadgets and gizmos over the next week. Early out of the traps are three new mid-range smartphones from Sony: the Xperia XA2, the Xperia XA2 Ultra (pictured above), and the Xperia L2.

While these handsets won't trouble the likes of the iPhone X or the Pixel 2 in terms of their aesthetics or their performance, they do give you another option if you're looking for a good value handset that won't let you down.

This being Sony, the cameras are the stars of the show, and the XA2 models feature a whopping 23MP rear-facing snapper that's likely to take some fantastic-looking shots. The sensor boasts an ISO 12800 sensitivity level that should ensure excellent results even when light is at a premium. 4K video recording is also possible, up to a frame rate of 120fps for your slow-motion clips.

And all three of these phones come with a "super wide-angle selfie camera" on the front, so you can fit in as many grinning faces as possible. An 8MP camera is included on the front of the XA2 (shown above) and the L2, while the XA2 Ultra ups the ante with two front-facing cameras: a 16MP one and an 8MP one.

That might seem like selfie overkill to some, but if you like photos of yourself and your friends, it sounds perfect.

The XA2 and the XA2 Ultra both run on the Snapdragon 630 processor. The XA2 comes with 3GB of RAM while the more expensive XA2 Ultra ups that to 4GB, and has an increased screen size of 6 inches rather than 5.2 inches.

Meanwhile the L2 (shown above) has a slower MediaTek MT6735P processor and 3GB of RAM, and should be cheaper as a result. The phone features a 5.5-inch screen and a 13MP camera on the back, as well as that wide-angle selfie one on the front.

For the first time, the US versions of these phones will include fingerprint sensors on the back, just like the variations released everywhere else in the world, giving you a little bit of added biometric security.

We're still waiting on pricing details from Sony but these phones will be rolling out during January and February.

David Nield

Dave has over 20 years' experience in the tech journalism industry, covering hardware and software across mobile, computing, smart home, home entertainment, wearables, gaming and the web – you can find his writing online, in print, and even in the occasional scientific paper, across major tech titles like T3, TechRadar, Gizmodo and Wired. Outside of work, he enjoys long walks in the countryside, skiing down mountains, watching football matches (as long as his team is winning) and keeping up with the latest movies.