Only in Japan: Sony transforms its Xperia Z Ultra smartphone into a WiFi-only tablet

Is the “world’s slimmest” 6.4-inch full HD Xperia Z Ultra from Sony a smartphone or a tablet? The company seems to be marketing it as both.

Sony unveiled the Xperia Z Ultra in June last year, touting it as a large-screen smartphone with 4G LTE support, powered by a 2.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and equipped with a 8-megapixel rear-facing camera. A Google Play edition of the Z Ultra was released last month.

However, Sony has just launched the Xperia Z Ultra WiFi-only version in Japan today, positioning it as a tablet instead. The WiFi-only variant, which has the same specs as the original Xperia Z Ultra, will be released on January 24 for 52,000 yen (about $499). A Sony spokesperson says that there are no plans to make the WiFi-only version available outside of Japan.

Image via Sony