LG G Pad 8.3 and Sony Xperia Z Ultra join Google Play Edition roster

By Jon Mundy

Contact via linkedin December 11, 2013 9:31 am GMT

Google has added two new devices to its Google Play Edition collection, which means that the LG G Pad 8.3 and the Sony Xperia Z Ultra are now available with stock Android.

Earlier in the year, Google worked with manufacturers to produce versions of the top Android devices with all of the custom UI elements stripped out. This resulted in the HTC One Google Play Edition and the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition.

Now Google has added two new devices to the initiative in the LG G Pad 8.3 and the Sony Xperia Z Ultra.

The LG G Pad 8.3 is, as you might have guessed, an 8.3-inch tablet with a Full HD display. That’s a pretty unique feature right there in an Android market dominated by 7-inchers.

The 8.3 of the title also signifies that it’s just 8.3mm thick, which is either quite neat or a fortunate coincidence.

The Sony Xperia Z Ultra, for its part, is more phablet than tablet. It features a 6.44-inch Full HD display and a top-of-the-range 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU.

We were impressed by its colourful screen, distinctive design and impressive performance when we took the regular model for a spin a couple of months back.

Of course, both devices should be considerably improved by ditching the bloat and adopting Google’s pure, unadulterated Android 4.4 KitKat OS.

The only catch here: like the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4 models before them, neither device will be available outside the US.

Still, if you fancy bringing one home from that New York Christmas shopping trip, the LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition costs $349 and the Sony Xperia Z Ultra Google Play Edition costs $649. Both are available from the Google Play Store.

Next, read our HTC One vs Samsung Galaxy S4 comparison.

By Jon Mundy

Contact via linkedin

Jon is a seasoned freelance writer who started covering games and apps in 2007 before expanding into smartphones and consumer tech, dabbling in lifestyle and media coverage along the way. Besides bein…

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