Sony Z Ultra Google Play Edition announced in the US; runs Android 4.4 KitKat

Out of nowhere Sony has just announced the “Sony Z Ultra Google Play Edition.” Yep, you read that right, this is the first Sony Xperia device to get a close to Nexus-like experience with Android updates directly from Google. Notice the absence of the ‘Xperia’ brand in the naming though, which seems like an odd decision. Perhaps this was taken to avoid confusion with the normal Xperia Z Ultra, although the words ‘Google Play Edition’ should have been enough to differentiate the two.

The Sony Z Ultra Google Play Edition is in stock right now but is only available to those in the United States for $649 with free shipping. The Sony Z Ultra Google Play Edition supports a number of LTE bands (Bands I, II, IV, V, VII, VIII, XVII).

As you would expect of a ‘Google Play Edition’ device, the Sony Z Ultra ships with Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box – no need to wait for an indefinite date in the future for a promised update. If you think you’re forgoing some of the special features from Sony firmware builds, then you’d be wrong. The software includes BRAVIA, TRILUMINOS display for mobile, X-Reality for mobile picture engine and an Exmor RS sensor.

Now that the Sony Z Ultra Google Play Edition has been unveiled, we can only wonder what future collaborations are in store between Sony and Google. Of course, we’d love to see a Sony Xperia Nexus device at some point, but we certainly won’t complain with more Google Play Edition devices from Sony.

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