Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra User Manual

White paper

February 2017

G3212/G3226

Xperia™ XA1 Ultra

White paper | Xperia™ XA1 Ultra

Purpose of this document

Sony product white paper are intended to give an overview of a product and provide details in relevant
areas of technology.

NOTE: The illustration that appears on the title page is for reference only. All screen images and elements
are subject to change without prior notice.

Document history

Version

February 2017 First released version Version 1

Sony Mobile Developer World

For the latest technical documentation and development tools, go to www.sonymobile.com/developer.

This White paper is published by:

Sony Mobile Communications Inc.,
4-12-3 Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku,
Tokyo, 140-0002 Japan

www.sonymobile.com

© Sony Mobile Communications Inc., 2017. All
rights reserved. You are hereby granted a license
to download and/or print a copy of this
document.
Any rights not expressly granted herein are
reserved.

First released version (February 2017)

This document is published by Sony Mobile
Communications Inc., without any warranty*.
Improvements and changes to this text
necessitated by typographical errors,
inaccuracies of current information or
improvements to programs and/or equipment
may be made by Sony Mobile Communications
Inc. at any time and without notice. Such
changes will, however, be incorporated into new
editions of this document. Printed versions are to
be regarded as temporary reference copies only.

*All implied warranties, including without
limitation the implied warranties of
merchantability or fitness for a particular
purpose, are excluded. In no event shall Sony or
its licensors be liable for incidental or
consequential damages of any nature, including
but not limited to lost profits or commercial loss,
arising out of the use of the information in this
document.

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White paper | Xperia™ XA1 Ultra

Table of contents

Product overview ........................................................................................................2

Highlights ...............................................................................................................2

Product specifications ...........................................................................................3

Categorised feature list ..........................................................................................6

Technologies in detail .................................................................................................9

Accessibility and Usability ...............................................9

Device-to-device communications (local) ...........................................................10

Bluetooth® wireless technology ......................................................................10

Messaging ...........................................................................................................12

MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) .............................................................12

Email ................................................................................................................12

Positioning – location based services .................................................................13

Provisioning (OMA CP) ........................................................................................13

Multimedia (audio, image and video) ...................................................................14

Synchronisation (OMA DS, EAS, Google Sync™) ...............................................16

Web browser .......................................................................................................16

Memory in Android™ devices .............................................................................17

Trademarks and acknowledgements ..................................................................21

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Product overview

Highlights

• 6” full HD edge-to-edge display with 2.5D glass for a comfortable fit

• 16MP front camera with OIS and flash for standout selfies

• 23MP rear camera with Hybrid Autofocus and 0.6s quick launch & capture

• The latest high efficiency Octa-core processor with super-fast 4G network technology

Beyond borders

With a stunning 6” edge-to-edge screen, Xperia™ XA1 Ultra provides an immersive viewing experience
right in the palm of your hand.

Stylishly sleek

Precision-edge detailing, aluminum sides and 2.5D glass give Xperia™ XA1 Ultra a polished design, while
the endless loop surface provides a comfortable fit.

Standout selfies

With a 16MP front camera equipped with an optical image stabilizer, Exmor RS™ sensor and front flash
you can take high-resolution and blur-free selfies even in low light.

Make every moment a masterpiece

Xperia™ XA1 Ultra boasts a state-of-the-art 23MP rear camera with Hybrid Autofocus, Exmor RS™
sensor for low-light capture and quick launch for flawless pictures in true-to-life colour.

Performance that counts

Xperia™ XA1 Ultra features a high efficient Octa-core processor with 4GB RAM, making it a powerhouse
performer that easily meets all your smartphone needs.

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Product specifications

Operating system Google™ Android™ 7.0 (Nougat)

Processor MediaTek MT6757 2.3 GHz (Octa Core, 64-bit)

GPU Mali-T880 MP2 900MHz

Size 79 x 165 x 8.1 mm

Weight 188 g

Available colours Black/White/Pink/Gold

SIM card Dual nano SIMs

Main screen

Colours 16,777,216 colour TFT

Resolution Full HD (1920x1080)

Size (diagonal) 6.0 inches

Scratch-resistant Yes (Front with minimum pencil hardness > 9H)

Input mechanisms

Text input On-screen QWERTY keyboard, 12-key input,

Handwriting recognition

Touch screen Capacitive

Multi-touch capability 4 fingers

Memory

RAM 4GB DDR3

Flash memory G3212: up to 32GB*

G3226: up to 64GB*

Internal Storage

Expansion slot microSD™ card, max 256GB

Memory card speed class Class 10**

Memory card UHS speed class Class 1**

G3212: up to 24GB*
G3226: up to 55GB*

Main Camera

Effective pixels 23MP

Exmor Yes (Exmor RS™ IMX-300)

Clear image zoom 5x

Video recording Yes

Hybrid Autofocus Yes

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Photo Flash Yes

ISO ISO 6400 maximum in Superior auto mode for photos

ISO 3200 maximum for video

Minimum focus distance 120 mm

2nd Camera

Effective pixels 16MP OIS

Exmor Yes (Exmor RS™ IMX-234)

Video recording Yes (HD 1080p 30 fps)

Auto Focus Yes

Optical Image Stabilizer Yes

Photo Flash Yes

ISO ISO 6400 maximum in Superior auto mode for photos

ISO 3200 maximum for video

Sensors

Accelerometer Yes

Ambient light sensor Yes

eCompass Yes

Hall sensor Yes

Proximity sensor Yes

Mobile NFC Payment

MasterCard PayPass Yes

Visa payWave Yes

American Express Expresspay
Mobile

Networks

G3212 UMTS HSPA+ 850 (Band V), 900 (Band VIII), 1900 (Band II),

Yes

2100 (Band I) MHz
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20)

G3226 UMTS HSPA+ 850 (Band V), 900 (Band VIII), 1900 (Band II),

2100 (Band I) MHz
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
LTE (Bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41M)

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Data transfer speeds

White paper | Xperia™ XA1 Ultra

GPRS
(upload and download)

EDGE
(upload and download)

HSUPA (upload) Cat. 6, up to 5.76 Mbps

HSDPA (download) Cat. 24, up to 42.2 Mbps

LTE (upload and download) Cat. 6, up to 50 Mbps (upload), up to 300 Mbps (download)

Battery performance

Talk time (GSM) Up to 13 hours16 min.***

Standby time (GSM) Up to 658 hours***

Talk time (UMTS) Up to 11 hours 53 min.***

Standby time (UMTS) Up to 708 hours***

Standby time (LTE) Up to 671 hours***

Music listening time Up to 64 hours 57 min.***

Video playback time Up to 8 hours 38 min.***

Battery (Embedded) 2700 mAh

Up to 85.6 kbps (download). Up to 85.6 kbps (upload).

Up to 236.8 kbps (download). Up to 236.8 kbps (upload).

* The Xperia™ XA1 Ultra has
the user for downloaded applications and their data, music, pictures and movies. This device has up to
32GB (G3212) or 64GB (G3226) of flash memory in total. For more details about memory, see “Memor

oid™ devices” on page 17.

Andr

** This device meets the minimum hardware requirements to support Class 10 / UHS Speed Class 1 Flash
memory. Flash memory performance is dependent on the application and task being performed on the
device. If you would like to know about your memory card, refer to the technical specifications that came
with the card.

*** Values are according to GSM Association Battery Life Measurement Technique as performed in con­trolled laboratory conditions. Actual time may vary.

NOTE: Battery performance may vary depending on network conditions and configurations, and device
usage.

NOTE: All performance metrics are measured under laboratory conditions.

approximately 24GB (G3212) or 55GB (G3226) of free memory available to

y in

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Categorised feature list

White paper | Xperia™ XA1 Ultra

Call

Enriched calling*
Noise suppression

Entertainment

Movie creator
PlayStation® App*
Sketch
Xperia™ Themes
FM Radio

Messaging

Email
Multimedia messaging (MMS)
Text messaging (SMS)

Organiser

ActiveSync®
Airplane mode
Alarm clock
AVG Protection
Calculator
Contacts
Smart cleaner
STAMINA Mode
Stopwatch Timer
Ultra STAMINA Mode
World clock
Xperia™ Actions

Applications

Amazon Shopping*
Facebook™ application*
Introduction to Xperia™
News suite*
Weather application
What's new
Xperia™ Companion
Xperia™ Lounge*
Xperia™ Tips

Google

Gmail™*
Google Calendar
Google Chrome™*
Google Duo™*
Google Drive
Google Docs, Sheets and Slides
Google Photos
Google Play Movies
Google Play Music
Google Play Store
Google™ search*
Google Voice™ Search*
Google Maps™*
Smart Lock
YouTube™*

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Camera

- Photo

24 mm wide-angle***
Color & Brightness
Flash/Pulsed LED
Flash/Photo light
Night portrait flash**
Hand shutter**
HDR
Geo tagging
Image stabiliser
Optical image stabilization**
Object tracking***
Hybrid Auto focus***
Quick Launch***
Red-eye reduction***
Superior Auto
Save location
Self-timer
Smile Shutter™
Scene recognition
Touch capture
White balance

- Video

Hybrid Auto focus***
Color & Brightness
Front-facing camera (1080p)**
Geo tagging
Object tracking***
Save location
Smile Shutter™
SteadyShot™***
Optical image stabilization**
Touch capture
HDR Video

- Add-on applications

AR effect
Creative effect
Sound Photo
Panorama
Timeshift burst

Music

Surround Sound (VPT)
Album art
Headset optimisation
Bluetooth® stereo (aptX®, A2DP)
ClearAudio+
Clear Bass™
Dynamic normalizer
Music application
Spotify*

Connectivity

aGNSS
Bluetooth® 4.2 wireless technol­ogy
Cast
Media Transfer Protocol support
NFC
Quick Charge (Pump Express Plus

2.0)
Screen mirroring
USB charging
USB Connection mode
USB High speed 2.0 support
USB Host
USB Type-C™
Wi-Fi®
Wi-Fi® Hotspot functionality
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast™

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Text Input

Gesture input*
On-screen QWERTY keyboard*
SwiftKey™
Predictive text input

* This service is not available in all markets

** This feature is only supported by the front camera.

*** This feature is not supported by the front camera.

Display

Auto rotation
Multi-window
Screen zoom
Screenshot capturing
Smart backlight control
Image enhancement
Super-vivid mode

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Technologies in detail

The information presented in this section is a general overview of the technology incorporated into the
product. However, hardware and software levels of compliance to standards and specifications vary
between products and markets. For more information, contact Sony Mobile Developer World or the
relevant Sony representative.

Accessibility and Usability

Talkback* Yes

Captions* Yes

Magnifications Gestures* Yes

Large Text* Yes

High Contrast Text* Yes

Power button ends call* Yes

Auto-Rotation* Yes

Speak Passwords* Yes

Accessibility Shortcuts* Yes

Text-to-speech output* Yes

Touch and hold delay* Yes

Color Inversion* Yes

Color Correction* Yes

* This feature is subject to change in future releases of Google™ Android™.

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Device-to-device communications (local)

Bluetooth® wireless technology

Bluetooth® profiles supported Advanced Audio Distribution Profile v1.2

Audio/Video Control Transport Protocol Profiles v1.4
Audio/Visual Distribution Profile v1.3
Audio/Video Remote Control Profile v1.3
Bluetooth Network Encapsulation Protocol v1.0
Device ID Profile v1.3
Generic Access Profile
General Audio/Video Distribution Profile v1.2
Generic Object Exchange Profile v1.0
Hands-Free Profile v1.6
Human Interface Device Profile v1.0
Headset Profile v1.2
Interoperability Test Specification
Message Access Profile v1.0
Object Push Profile v1.1
Personal Area Networking Profile v1.0
PhoneBook Access Profile v1.1
RFCOMM with TS 07.10 v1.1
SIM Access Profile v1.1
Serial Port Profile v1.2
GATT Client
GATT Server
Find Me Profile v1.0
HID over GATT Profile v1.0
Proximity Profile v1.0
Bluetooth proprietary audio codec compression algo­rithms

Core version and supported
core features

Other supported features aptX® CD quality audio streaming over a Bluetooth®

Connectable devices Products that support at least one of the Bluetooth® pro-

More information:

www.sonymobile.com/developer

www.bluetooth.com

Version 4.2

connection

files listed above.
Bluetooth® 4.1 accessories generally require installation
of a supporting application.

10 February 2017

Wi-Fi®

Supported standards 802.11a/b/g/n

Wi-Fi Miracast
Wi-Fi Direct®
Wi-Fi Protected Setup

Connectable devices Wi-Fi® access points

Wi-Fi Direct compatible devices

Frequency band 2.4GHz/5GHz

Data transfer rate Up to 150Mbit/s

Security Open Authentication

Shared Authentication
WPA/WPA2 Personal and WPA2 Personal

802.1xEAP:
EAP-PEAP/MSCHAPv2/GTC
EAP-TLS
EAP-TTLS/MSCHAP/MSCHAPv2/PAP/GTC
EAP-PWD
EAP-SIM
EAP-AKA

White paper | Xperia™ XA1 Ultra

Encryption WEP 64 bit, WEP 128 bit, TKIP and CCMP (AES)

Power save WMM-UAPSD

QoS WMM

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Messaging

MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service)

According to OMA Multimedia Messaging Service v1.0 + SMIL

Email

Bearer type (IP) GPRS, EGPRS, UMTS, LTE, Wi-Fi®

Character sets BIG5 Traditional Chinese

GB2312 Simplified Chinese
GB18030
ISO-2022-JP Japanese
ISO-8859-1
ISO-8859-2 Eastern Europe
ISO-8859-5 Cyrillic
ISO-8859-7 Greek
ISO-8859-9 Turkish
ISO 8859-11
KOI8-R Cyrillic
Shift_JIS Japanese
USASCII
UTF-16
UTF-8
Windows® 874
Windows® 1251 Cyrillic
Windows® 1252
Windows® 1254 Turkish
Windows® 1258 Vietnamese

Protocols POP3 and IMAP4

Push email Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync® (EAS)

Secure email SSL/TLS, both port methods (POPS/IMAPS) and

START-TLS

HTML mail Yes (read only)

More information:

www.sonymobile.com/developer

www.openmobilealliance.org

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Positioning – location based services

Supported standards:

• OMA Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) v1.0, v2.0

• 3GPP™ Control Plane location (incl. Emergency location)

Supported satellite systems:

•GPS

• GLONASS

NOTE: When needed, the device automatically uses a combination of all available satellite systems to
accurately provide location information.

Provisioning (OMA CP)

OMA CP version 1.1

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Multimedia (audio, image and video)

Audio Playback Decoder format Supported in file format

Audio decoding MPEG-1/2/2.5,
audio layer 3

AAC, AAC+, eAAC+ 3GPP (.3gp), MP4 (.mp4)

AMR-NB, AMR-WB 3GPP (.3gp), MP4 (.mp4)

General MIDI (GM) SMF (.mid)

Linear PCM 16 bit WAV (.wav)

OTA OTA (.ota)

FLAC FLAC (.flac)

Audio Recording Encoder format Supported in file format

AMR-NB, AMR-WB 3GPP (.3gp), MP4 (.mp4), AMR

AAC-LC
Channels: Mono/Stereo
Sampling rate: Max 48kHz
Bit rate: Up to 160kbps

AMR-NB
Channels: Mono
Sampling rate: 8kHz
Bit rate: All rates (4.75kbps -

12.2kbps)

MP3 (.mp3)

(.amr)

3GPP (.3gp), MP4 (.mp4)

AMR-WB
Channels: Mono
Sampling rate:16kHz
Bit rate: All rates (8.8kbps -

23.85kbps)

Linear PCM 16 bit WAV (.wav)

Image Playback Decoder format Supported in file format

1, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 32 bpp and RLE
encoded formats

Single and multi-frame, bitmap
mask support (GIF87a format and
GIF89a format)

Joint Photographic Experts Group JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg)

Portable Network Graphics Bitmap
mask support

WebP WebP (.webp)

BMP (.bmp)

GIF (.gif)

PNG (.png)

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Image Capture Encoder format Supported in file format

Joint Photographic Experts Group JPEG (.jpg)

Portable Network Graphics Bitmap
mask support

Video Playback Decoder format Supported in file format

MPEG-4 Visual Simple Profile 3GPP (.3gp), MP4 (.mp4)

H.263 Profile 0 3GPP (.3gp), MP4 (.mp4)

H.264 High Profile 3GPP (.3gp), MP4 (.mp4)

VP8 VP8 (.webm)

VP9 VP9 (.webm)

DivX AVI (.divx)

Video Recording Encoder format Supported in file format

MPEG-4 Main Profile 3GPP (.3gp), MP4 (.mp4)

H.263 Profile 0 3GPP (.3gp), MP4 (.mp4)

H.264 High Profile 3GPP (.3gp), MP4 (.mp4)

Audio/Video Streaming Streaming transport RTSP according to 3GPPTM

PNG (.png)

HTTP(S) progressive streaming
HTTP Live streaming

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Synchronisation (OMA DS, EAS, Google Sync™)

OMA Data Synchronisation protocol versions 1.1.2 and 1.2

OMA Data Formats: vCard 2.1, vCalendar 1.0

Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync® protocol version 2.5

Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync® protocol version 12

Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync® protocol version 12.1

Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync® protocol version 14

Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync® protocol version 14.1

Google Sync™

Related information:

www.sonymobile.com/developer

Web browser

Google Chrome™ for Android™ is pre-installed in markets/regions where no restrictions apply.

Related information:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.android.chrome

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Memory in Android™ devices

To use Android devices efficiently, users should be aware of the different types of device memory. This
knowledge is important in order to understand, for example, where data such as music, photos and
videos is saved; how many apps can be downloaded from Google Play™; and how photos can be copied
to a PC.

Information regarding memory presented in this section may be useful to developers when optimising
applications for mobile devices.

Generally, all Android devices share the same basic memory setup. What differs is how much memory is
available to you via the different types of memory, and whether your device uses an external SD card or an
internal memory chip. Any information specific to the particular device model described in this White
Paper is noted as such.

Types of memory

The types of memory described and numbered below are consistent with the terminology used in Sony
mobile device menus and in other content relating to 2017 Xperia™ devices:

1. Dynamic Memory (also known as RAM) is used by applications that run when the device is turned on.
The amount of Dynamic Memory influences how many applications and operating system services can
run at the same time. The Android operating system automatically closes applications and services
that are not being used.

However, such automatic functionality has limits. For example, if a lower amount of free RAM is
available to applications after a new release of the operating system (due to increased capabilities in
the system), device speed will eventually be impacted. This is the main reason that a device cannot be
indefinitely upgraded to newer releases of Android™.

If you experience problems with RAM, for example, if the device runs slower than usual or if the Home
application restarts frequently when you leave an application, you should minimise the use of apps that
run all the time. Social networking apps that connect and update their data online and animated
backgrounds are examples of apps that are always running and affect RAM performance. To minimise
RAM issues, you could also consider using a static wallpaper instead of a live wallpaper.

To see which apps and services are currently active, go to Settings > Storage & Memory. You
should have at least 50MB, and ideally 100MB or more, of free RAM to avoid slowdowns and
application restarts.

You should also be aware that if you update the device to a later Android release, the load on the built­in Dynamic Memory will increase due to the addition of more features. As a result, the device may run
slower after an update.

The Xperia™ XA1 Ultra has approximately 4GB of RAM available to the Android OS and any installed
applications. Approximate 2GB of the total RAM is in use during normal operation when the user starts
using the device out of the box.

2. System Memory (also known as “System partition” or “/system”) is used for the Android OS and for
most applications that are pre-loaded from the factory. This type of memory is normally locked, and
can only be changed through a firmware upgrade. There is usually some free space available in this
section of memory. However, since it is locked, you cannot save apps, photos or any other content to
this memory. System Memory is reserved for future firmware upgrades, which almost always need
more memory than the original firmware. You cannot see or influence the use of this memory.

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3. Internal Storage is referred to as "working" memory. It can be compared to the C: drive on a PC or to the startup disk on a Mac.

This type of memory is used to store all application downloaded from the Google Play™ Store (and
other sources) as well as their settings and data (such as emails, messages and calendar events, for
example). All applications have an allocated area for application data. Memory dedicated to an
application is inaccessible to other applications.

Some game applications also store content such as game music and game level information outside
their own designated area. In most cases, an application can choose to save its data in a location of its
own choosing (outside the protected application settings area). Generally, such content is not deleted
when an application is uninstalled; it must be removed manually by connecting the device to a
computer with a USB cable, or by using a file manager application.

Internal storage is also used for all added user content. For example, photos taken using the device's
camera, media files downloaded from the Internet and file transfers are stored in this area. Typical user
content includes:

•photos

•movies

•music

• Email attachments

Internal Storage will tend to fill up as a result of normal usage. Devices with a large initial Internal
Storage can handle more applications and store more user content.

If the Internal Storage starts to get full, the device slows down, and in some cases it might no longer be
possible to install more apps. You should always ensure that you have at least 100 MB of free Internal
Storage. If not, you should consider removing some apps that you seldom use, or move content that
you do not frequently access to external storage.

You can see approximately how much Internal Storage is free in Settings > Storage & Memory. You
can also view more details about how much memory is used by applications under Settings >
Storage & Memory. In the Xperia™ XA1 Ultra, about 24GB (G3212) or 55GB (G3226) of Internal
Storage is available out of the box.

Please note that in Sony Mobile 2017 products, “Internal Storage” is now the combination of what was
previously known as “Device Memory” or “Phone Memory” (for applications and their data – also
previously known as “/data”) and “Internal Storage” (for user’s content – also previously known as “/
sdcard”). The changes in Internal Storage were made so that memory usage could be more flexible
and to allow encryption of user content.

Memory card slot

Some products include both a large internal memory and a built-in memory card reader. Android manages
devices with a built-in memory card reader and internal memory differently from a device that includes
only a built-in memory card reader.

Since most applications expect only a single location for storage, such applications will not generally
allow you to SAVE anything to the memory card (i.e., they do not offer the option to choose a storage
location). However, some applications (for instance, the Sony Mobile “Camera” application) may actually
allow you to do so. Other applications, for example, backup applications such as the Sony Mobile
“Memory” application, will by definition be configured to copy content from the Internal Storage to the
external SD card.

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On the other hand, when it comes to reading from an external SD Card, you will be able to access content
(for example, videos, photos and music) on a memory card inserted in this slot without any special
consideration since the Android system searches all available memory for content. Therefore, such
products may be regarded as supporting a fourth type of memory, called “External Card” or “SD Card”.

4. SD Card (known as “/sdcard1” from a programmer’s point of view, or by other names in other Android
products) is the name for the removable SD memory card in all 2017 Sony Mobile products. As
described in the previous section, this External Card memory is generally more limited in that any
application can read from it, but many applications cannot save to this card. Only a few applications,
including backup applications and file manger applications, have the capability to save to this card.

Backing up data to different memory types

Generally, you should not save photos, videos and other personal content solely on the internal memory
of a device. If something should happen with the hardware, or if the device is lost or stolen, the data
stored on the device’s internal memory is gone forever.

In a device where an SD card reader is the main memory, it is relatively easy to take the card out and copy
all content to a PC or Mac, or to an entertainment device with a memory card slot. In a product featuring
Internal Storage as the main memory, it is not possible to physically remove the memory. Instead, any
critical or high-value content must either be copied to an external SD card by a special backup
application, transferred to remote storage over a network (mobile or Wi-Fi), or to a computer via a USB
cable.

To facilitate the transfer of data via a cable, the Xperia™ XA1 Ultra supports Media Transfer Protocol
(MTP), which makes it possible to easily transfer content back and forth between your device and a
Windows® PC or an Apple™ Mac® computer. This application is called Xperia™ Companion and it can
be downloaded from the Xperia™ XA1 Ultra support page.

Note that you do not need to back up or make a copy of applications that you have downloaded from the
Google Play™ Store. They can normally be downloaded again after you have set up your Google account
to work in a new device (or in a device where the memory has been completely erased).

Note 1:
Some Android devices, including Sony Mobile devices from 2012 and Sony Ericsson devices from 2011
and earlier, do not use a single “Internal Storage” for both applications (and their data) and user content.
Instead, these devices use either an external SD card for user content, or a corresponding area of internal
memory to reproduce the functionality of an SD card. In such devices, there is a fixed limit between the
application area (“/data”) and the user content area (“/sdcard”), with the result that user content can build
up and reach this limit. When the user content reaches this limit, no additional data can be added using
any application. For example, the camera application would no longer be able to capture additional
photos even if a considerable amount of free space was available in the application area. This limit also
applies to the application area. Downloading and installing new applications would not be possible even if
there was enough free memory in the user content area.

Note 2:

Some devices with integrated storage have abandoned the distinction between the application area and
the content area when it comes to a Factory Data Reset. As a result, there is no option in such devices to
perform a Factory Data Reset and preserve content. In such devices, all content is completely deleted
from the device when a reset is performed.

In contrast, Sony Mobile’s memory integration solution makes it possible to preserve user content in this
situation. Therefore, when performing a Factory Data Reset, the default action will still be to only remove
applications and their data, and an option box must be checked if all content is to be removed as well (as
might be desirable when selling the device second-hand).

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Note 3:
For a developer, it is important to note that from a programming point of view the location names used to
refer to the different memory areas described in Note 1 are still valid, i.e., the area used for applications (“/
data”) is still present, as is the area used for content (“/sdcard”).

In reality, “sdcard” is a “symbolic link” to “/data/media”. However, from inside an Android application, “/
sdcard” can still be used. For example, you can use “sdcard/DCIM/100Android” to find all camera
images. The continued use of “/sdcard” to access the content area ensures compatibility across different
products and Android releases in this regard.

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Trademarks and acknowledgements

All product and company names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective owners. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. All other trademarks are property
of their respective owners.

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21 February 2017