Sony’s Xperia Z Ultra phone could actually be a Wi-Fi only tablet

We’ve seen many a tablet turn into a road warrior, or even a huge phone, with the addition of a SIM card. A phone becoming a tablet is a much scarcer transformation, but if any device can make that switch, it’s Sony’s nearly iPad mini-sized 6.44-inch, 1080p Xperia Z Ultra handset.

Sony’s Xperia Z Ultra exists on the very peripheries of what we might call a phone; its huge 6.4-inch 1080p display is great for some things, but carrying it in your pocket every day might cause problems. To that end, Sony has announced a new Wi-Fi-only model of the device for release in Japan, and the press release refers to it throughout as a “tablet.” Beyond the removal of cellular radios, the Wi-Fi model appears to be identical to the regular Xperia Z Ultra, featuring the same 6.5mm-thick waterproof casing, 8-megapixel camera, and Android 4.2 software.