Today we are reviewing a cool camera phone from a company with a rich history. It’s the Sony Xperia 5 IV, which is a more affordable and compact alternative to the high-profile 4K flagship Xperia 1 IV with a unique telephoto lens. The Sony Xperia 5 IV has a 6.1″ 21:9 elongated display supporting 120Hz and a trio of professional cameras with the appropriate software. The smartphone turned out to be a very interesting device for testing, not devoid of charisma and nuances. In this review, we will find out whether the company managed to find a reasonable compromise and create something special at an affordable price for photographers and videographers.
Sony Xperia 5 IV specifications and features
- Screen: OLED, 6.1 inches, 2520×1080 pixels, 449 ppi, 21:9 aspect ratio, 120Hz refresh rate, support for HDR BT.2020, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection
- Processor: Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (4 nm), Adreno 730 video chip
- Memory: 8/128, 8/256 GB, type of permanent memory – UFS 3.1, support for microSDXC cards (SIM card slot is used)
- Battery: 5,000 mAh, 30W fast charging, wireless charging
- Cameras:
- 12 megapixel wide-angle (f/1.7, Exmor RS, OIS, 24 mm)
- ultra-wide-angle 12 megapixel (f/2.2, Exmor RS, 124° viewing angle, 16 mm)
- 12 megapixel telephoto (f/2.4, OIS, 2.5x optical zoom, 60 mm)
- video recording: 4K@24/25/30/60/120fps HDR, 1080p@30/60/120fps; 5-axis gyro-EIS, OIS
- front camera: 12 megapixels, f/2.0, 24 mm, 1/2.9″, 1.25µm, HDR support, 4K@30fps video recording, 1080p@30/60fps, 5-axis gyro-EIS
- Data transmission: 5G, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Bluetooth 5.2, Bluetooth LE, A-GPS, Galileo, A-Glonass, BeiDou, QZSS, NFC, USB Type-C (USB 3.2)
- Operating system: Android 12 (there is an update to Android 13)
- Dimensions and weight: 156.0 × 67.0 × 8.2 mm, 172 g
- Materials: side bezels made of aluminium, Gorilla Glass Victus protective glass
- Features: compact form factor, stereo speakers with support for Dolby Atmos, Hi-Res Audio, DSEE Ultimate and 360 Reality Audio, 3.5 mm audio jack, support for microSDXC up to 1 TB, IP68 protection, fingerprint scanner built into the power button
- Colours: Green, Black, Ecru White
Product positioning, price and competitors
Sony Xperia 5 IV – the successor to the “trio” of 2021. The device was announced on 1 September 2022, and the same month it went on sale with a European price tag of €1050 and a focus on mobile photography enthusiasts.
Xperia 5 IV was upgraded on all fronts at once: display, hardware, software. Compared to the Sony Xperia 5 III, the “four” has a more capacious battery, which has increased from 4,500 mAh to 5,000 mAh, a front-facing camera of 12 megapixels instead of 8, and a newer Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor instead of Snapdragon 888. These are the key improvements. The manufacturer has done a great job on the quality of photo and video shooting, which will be appreciated by those users who are professionally engaged in mobile photography. Add to this the support for wireless charging and eSIM, which were not available before, and we have a suitable evolutionary legacy. And it’s still one of the most compact Android flagships on the market. The screen diagonal remains the same – 6.1 inches with an aspect ratio of 21:9.
For whom: photographers, videographers, content makers, all those who are fond of mobile photography, fans of compact smartphones and Sony’s corporate identity.
Sony Xperia 5 IV is recommended as a worthy alternative to the popular Apple iPhone 14 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus in a compact form factor.
Read also:
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus review: A plus for size and battery
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra smartphone review: An unprecedented flagship
In the 256GB price category, Apple’s closest competitor is the iPhone 13 and 14 with 128GB of storage. If you focus on the potential of cameras, it makes sense to take a closer look at the Google Pixel 7 Pro 12/128GB or Pixel 7 8/256GB.
The price range of the smartphone includes Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra 12/512GB, OnePlus 10T 16/256GB, and Samsung Galaxy S22+ 8/128GB. The latter, by the way, is also compact – with a 6.1-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. It also has water protection, but the Sony cameras are more capable.
The scope of delivery
The device comes in a white cardboard box with only the phone itself and the accompanying documentation inside.
This year, the Sony team has abandoned not only the charger but also the USB-C cable. For charging, you need to buy a 30W adapter separately. A complete charging kit, the XQZ-UC1 from Sony, costs about €50. Charging from an old smartphone will also help out.
There is also no ejector for the SIM slot, but it is not needed – more on that later.
Read also: Review and experience: Is it worth buying the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus in 2023?
Design and ergonomics of the Sony Xperia 5 IV
The majority of the front panel of Sony Xperia 5 IV is occupied by a 6.1-inch OLED display with a non-standard 21:9 aspect ratio. The screen is narrow but very tall, but users of Japanese smartphones have long been used to this.
The display glass protrudes slightly above the body, which can affect its durability in clumsy hands. But the screen is much more comfortable and pleasant to make gestures on.
There are no notches, only the top and bottom bezels are visible. The top one has a new 12-megapixel selfie camera, which is an improvement over the previous model. It has the same module as in Xperia 1 IV. The top speaker is also used as an earpiece. There are also sensors and an RGBW LED indicator for notifications, which is rare nowadays.
There is a second stereo speaker in the lower part of the bezel. It is located symmetrically to the top one. And so it is in most SONYA speakers.
On the back of the smartphone, you can see a protruding triple camera unit with 12-megapixel main and wide-angle cameras, just like in Xperia 1 IV, as well as a 12-megapixel telephoto camera with 2.5x zoom. And the ZEISS T* logo is hard to miss. Outside the camera unit, you can see an LED flash and an RGB colour sensor for precise white balance.
As you can see, Sony does not seek to emphasise the “camera-phone” nature of the device by having a huge camera unit, like its competitors. However, we have to admit that it looks modest against the competition.
There is also an NFC support icon and the name of the line on the back. On the right side of the smartphone there is a power button with a built-in and rather nimble fingerprint scanner, which is sometimes complained about on the Internet, volume buttons, and a physical camera shutter button, which has long since disappeared from the mass market. Thanks to the company for this, as this is a must-have solution for a camera phone. The left side of the smartphone is empty.
On the top end of Sony Xperia 5 IV you can see a microphone and a 3.5 mm audio output. You may be pleased with this if you are going to use your smartphone as a work tool. Well, it’s also good for fans of wired headphones.
On the bottom edge of Sony Xperia 5 IV is a speakerphone, a USB-C port, a SIM card tray and a memory card. It can be easily removed without a paper clip. It should be noted that this is a very important design decision, because the professional orientation of Xperia 5 IV requires frequent replacement of memory cards.
The smartphone is distinguished from its competitors by a strict Sony corporate identity. It looks solid and feels like it, despite its light weight (172 g) and thin body (8.2 mm, although the device looks “fat” due to its angular edges).
And in terms of build quality, SONY is always on top of the game. The body is made of glass with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection and aluminium – everything is flawlessly assembled and fitted. Thanks to its narrow, elongated body, the device fits comfortably in your hand. It can also be used as a mirror.
There is a downside – Xperia 5 IV actively collects fingerprints. You need to be very careful not to make them visible.
Sony is to be commended for the true water resistance of the case. And although this is the norm for the company’s smartphones, in the case of the hero of the review, the manufacturer did not take the easy way out: the Xperia 5 IV has both an audio jack and a microSD port – in general, everything is complicated. The device’s IP68 rating means that it can be immersed in water to a depth of 1.5 metres.
Read also: Xiaomi 13 smartphone review: almost perfect
Screen
The 6.1-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 2520×1080 pixels, which gives a cinematic aspect ratio of 21:9, is excellent.
There are a couple of modes: standard and Creator. In both, you adjust the white balance and select the desired preset: warm, neutral, and cool.
Creator mode adjusts the colour rendering depending on the content being played on the screen. And when you start Netflix, the mode automatically switches on, using the BT.2020 gamut for more accurate colour reproduction. In standard mode, the picture is brighter and more saturated.
Compared to the “three”, there is a 50 per cent increase in brightness. In the manual mode, 663 nits are available with standard display and medium white balance, while the automatic mode delivers all 930 nits. The minimum brightness value drops to just under 2 nits.
Refresh rates are 120 Hz and 60 Hz. It drops when the device overheats. And there is no adaptive mode with dynamic adjustment to save battery power – this is a minus. In Game Enhancer, you can select a 40 Hz limit for games to save battery power. Or set it to 120 Hz for interactive entertainment.
There is also an active screen mode, when the screen is activated in black and white after receiving a notification or when you pick up the phone.
Read also: Motorola Edge 30 Ultra Review: Can Moto Make Flagships?
Sony Xperia 5 IV hardware and performance
The Sony Xperia 5 IV is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which replaces the Snapdragon 888 in the Xperia 5 III. Performance is on par with competitors with 8 Gen 1 and 8+ Gen 1 on board. We also note the excellent Adreno 730 graphics. It’s one of the best to date.
The only bad thing is that the manufacturer has not invested in cooling solutions for its flagships. The Sony Xperia 5 IV, like other Xperia smartphones, starts to throttle quite quickly due to poor heat dissipation. We also associate the “average” AnTuTu results with thermal limitations.
- Geekbench 5: single core – 1135, multi core – 3225
- 3DMark:
- Sling Shot: MAX
- Sling Shot – Extreme Open GL ES 3.1: MAX
- Wild Life: 6446
- Wild Life Stress Test: 6248/4483/71.8%
- Wild Life Extreme: 2372
- Wild Life Extreme Stress Test: 2276/1426/62,7%
- AnTuTu 8: 701898
At peak performance, the smartphone retained 58% of the maximum processor capacity for an hour. In the first five minutes, it dropped to 60%, maintaining the limit until the end of the hour-long test.
The stability of the graphics accelerator is no better. After 8 minutes of operation at peak power, GPU performance dropped by half.
We also note the decrease in the screen refresh rate to 60 Hz during games, multitasking or photo/video editing. This is not good.
And the camera heats up the device. It’s possible that in the summer heat the smartphone will overheat and shut down the camera application. Even during testing in the cold season, this appeared on the screen with enviable regularity:
To sum up, the Xperia 5 IV is a pretty powerful device. But we would not recommend it for the same games – it starts to slow down after half an hour. And over time, this disadvantage will become more and more obvious. Although the performance of Xperia 5 IV is enough for a comfortable game of Iron Marines, Limbo, Leo’s Fortune, Dead Cells and Battle Chasers: Nightwar and other titles.
We tested the version with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. There is also a 256 GB version. Don’t forget about memory card support.
Read also: Xiaomi 12 Pro Flagship Review: Is It Worth Choosing?
Sony Xperia 5 IV camera
The cameras on the rear panel have three lenses and several built-in sensors underneath.
The main camera is a 24-megapixel 12MP lens with 1.7 aperture and 1/1.7-inch sensor. The ultra-wide-angle camera has 12 megapixels, 16 mm, f/2.2 and a 1/2.5-inch sensor. It is slightly inferior to the main camera in terms of detail. Photos are at a decent level anyway. There is also a 60mm zoom lens.
The photo quality is excellent for a flagship. It’s clear that Sony focuses on naturalness, we see the pictures as our eyes see them. There are no problems with clarity, dynamic range, or contrast.
There’s no night mode as such (in the interface), but the phone uses a typical technology for taking pictures in low light, creating several frames and combining them. The quality is excellent, although noise is sometimes noticeable.
An example of a zoom:
Wide-angle lens:
Although the wide-angle camera is equipped with autofocus, it cannot work in macro mode, as is common in other top smartphones. Therefore, close-up shooting is only possible at a distance of approximately 7-8 cm from the main lens.
The smartphone records video up to 4K. Optical and electronic image stabilisation is available, but only when shooting in 1080p at 60 fps. We recommend shooting at this speed for the result to be with good detail, smooth picture and realistic colours.
A special Video Pro mode has been introduced to control video shooting parameters. Autofocus with eye position detection using AI algorithms and distance measurement, switching between lenses during shooting, object tracking effect and autofocus with eye tracking – all cool.
Video recording with a wide dynamic range is also interesting for creative experiments, when several frames with different exposures are combined into one. However, stabilisation does not work for it.
You can even remove the sound of wind from the recorded video. And Sony Xperia 5 IV has plenty of such options. You just have to start an exciting journey into the world of creativity. There are two applications for this in the smartphone: Video Pro, which we have already mentioned, and the main one – Cinema Pro – the most advanced, offering fine control over all aspects of the video shooting process. The Sony Xperia 5 IV has more settings than any other smartphone, which can be confusing for a user who is used to “clicking on automatic”.
Such photographers will probably choose the basic mode in the Sony Photo Pro app. The interface is similar to Sony Alpha, but adapted for a mobile device. Almost all settings in your smartphone can be controlled with one finger. And you can use both the virtual shutter button and the hardware one.
Photo Pro has an auto mode and classic modes: “Program, Shutter Speed Priority, and Manual. If you want to save your preset settings so that you can quickly return to them, check out the Memory Recall option.
The front camera with 12 megapixels, f/2.0 and a larger 1/2.9″ sensor than the previous model is capable of taking good pictures in daylight, in particular in portrait mode. In night mode, it’s mediocre.
Read also: Huawei nova 10 Pro Review: Curved Screen, Super Cameras And 100W Charging
Sound
Sony Xperia 5 IV boasts full-fledged stereo speakers. The main one is located under the screen, and the earpiece speaker is above it. Both are front-firing.
The sound is balanced. Everything is fine. One piece of advice: in landscape orientation, hold the smartphone with the top to the left, as the main speaker always becomes the right channel, and the earpiece speaker is the left.
Sony Xperia 5 IV has a special Music Pro application designed to record instruments and voice in studio quality. Xperia 1 IV has the same application. You can mix different tracks and export the results. And no one forbids you to share them. During recording, there is noise reduction. And the vocals are clear as a result.
Here are a few words about the vibration of the smartphone. Actually, about the dynamic vibration that synchronises with the content being played. The smartphone transmits a tangible tactile response at the point of pressing the screen.
Operating system and software
Sony Xperia 5 IV runs on Android 13 with the Xperia UI shell. It is in many ways similar to pure Android. However, there are some branded features, such as the Multi-window Switch screen split. It is divided into two halves with variable size. For each of them, you can select an application from the list. There is a Side Sense panel that gives you access to frequently used functions and applications.
For gamers, there is a Game Enhancer app that launches all games. A panel with various settings allows you to disable unnecessary notifications, adaptive brightness, sidebar, and the shooting button.
Unlocking methods
As already mentioned in the design section, there is a side fingerprint scanner that works quickly and accurately.
But there is no face unlocking… no. Japanese exoticism, what can I say, because this function is common even for budget Googlephones for 100 bucks. Perhaps Sony believes that face unlocking at this level (for example, Apple’s system is more complex and requires a large cutout in the screen) is not a secure enough technology compared to a fingerprint scanner, so they simply do not use it. But it is still a disadvantage.
Sony Xperia 5 IV battery and battery life
Sony Xperia 5 IV is powered by a 5000 mAh battery. This is an 11% increase compared to the Xperia 5 III. In addition to 30W wired charging, wireless charging is now supported. In other words, this model is the first smartphone in the Xperia 5 series to have this option. Prior to its introduction, it was only available to Xperia 1 models.
In the battery life test, Sony Xperia 5 IV has 116 hours. It should be noted that the “three” in a similar test scored only 100 hours. The Xperia 1 IV, a novelty of last May, has the same time.
A standard 30W USB-PD charger gives 45% in half an hour. The Xperia 1 IV with the same battery, chipset and charger has about the same result.
Sony Xperia 5 IV takes 1 hour and 45 minutes to fully charge. And this is also the level of the older brother and other representatives of the device class.
Summary
To sum up, Sony Xperia 5 IV is a worthy evolution of the line. Compared to the previous model, the design is more modern, the display is brighter, the hardware is more powerful, and the shooting quality is better. There is also support for wireless charging, even the 3.5 mm jack has not been forgotten. And there is microSD support. At the same time, the body remains compact and durable, with water protection, and the design is recognisable.
All in all, if you like small Sony and mobile photography, the new Xperia will be the best of the best for you. And even the problems with processor trotting won’t spoil the user experience. Although this is exactly the fly in the ointment – the thing that prevented us from calling Sony Xperia 5 IV the perfect smartphone. Yes, we agree that many non-gaming devices can’t impress with the stability of performance, but the Xperia 5 IV is in trouble with this time. And the screen refresh rate under load also drops to 60 Hz, which is rare for other smartphones. Sony definitely needs to solve the problem of the cooling system in its next model. The battery life of the Xperia 5 IV, on the other hand, is excellent. As is the ergonomics – the non-standard dimensions turned out to be very convenient in life.
Advantages of Sony Xperia 5 IV
- Branded design and excellent ergonomics
- Reliable protection against moisture (IP68)
- Elongated 120Hz OLED screen with high brightness and no notches
- Balanced stereo speakers
- Soft and clear vibration
- 3.5 mm headphone jack
- Powerful hardware base
- Decent battery life
- High quality photos and videos + cool software for photographers and cameramen
- Almost “pure” Android 13
The disadvantages of the Sony Xperia 5 IV
- High cost
- No power supply and cable included
- Fast overheating under load and strong throttling
Read also:
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- Huawei P60 Pro review: The world’s best mobile camera again?
- Samsung Galaxy S23 review: the cool compact flagship
Photos used from GSMArena, Tabletowo, GSMManiak.
The Sony Xperia 5 IV offers a compact and affordable option for photographers and videographers. With its trio of professional cameras and unique telephoto lens, it captures stunning photos and videos. Its sleek design and make it a stylish and practical choice.