Sony Xperia 5 IV specifications

 

Sony Xperia 5 IV specifications

The Sony Xperia 5 IV is a unique smartphone in 2023 with a focus on photography that remains unchallenged by any non-Sony device, although this could also be a drawback in it, requiring a lot of knowledge about photography to bring out the best out of the camera. Proves.

Other than that, it's a compact smartphone that's easy to use with one hand, offers great battery life and features like a dedicated shutter, easy-to-access microSD port, LED notification light, and a headphone jack that has been abandoned due to a lot of competition. .

However, it's not the best Android technology on offer, lacking elements like adaptive refresh rate, true fast charging technology and the latest processors used by most premium Android competitors.

If you're obsessed with photography, you'll probably love what the Xperia 5 IV has to offer, but for most people who simply want a great multidisciplinary app, you might be better off elsewhere.

Key features

Immersive display The 6.1-inch 21:9 OLED display is notch-free and is more immersive as a result

Triple camera set Three 12MP rear cameras, including wide, ultra-wide and telephoto

Great specifications Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, 8GB RAM, 5000mAh battery

Introduction

Sony's Xperia smartphones don't try to compete directly with the leading Android competition, instead doing their own work to try to lure consumers away from the sea of similar smartphones in the market.

This trend continues with the Sony Xperia 5 IV, joining the Xperia 1 IV at the top of Sony's Android phone range, featuring many of the same key features in a more intuitive form in the pocket. The question is, is it really a phone for the average consumer, or is it better to leave it to photography professionals?

Design & Display

Compact one-handed design

Built-in two-step shutter button

Durable and waterproof

Sony doesn't market the Xperia 5 IV as a compact device, but that's exactly what it is, mainly because of a rather long and narrow design paired with a 6.1-inch screen.

It's certainly easier to carry and use with the hand of one of Apple's larger Android alternatives like Apple's Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max, and even with a longer than usual design, it's still easy for me to reach the top of the view.

The overall design of the Xperia 5 IV is heavily influenced by the Xperia 1 IV, which features a thin design with flat sides, a flat screen, matte glass on the back, and muted color options including black, green, and white. It's surrounded by a slightly recessed power button with an incredibly fast built-in fingerprint reader, along with volume controls.

There is also the distinctive two-step shutter button at the bottom right of the phone that doubles as a shortcut to the camera even when the phone is off, although I have found that sometimes I accidentally activate the technology when taking the phone out of two pocket devices.

This, coupled with features like a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microSD card reader that doesn't require a great tool to unlock, offers a suitable appeal for those who want something a little different from the standard swamp flagship.

The smartphone is a bit heavier than you imagine looking at it, but it's likely due to the inclusion of a large battery – more on that later.

It's definitely way off the likes of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, and if anything, it instills a bit of confidence that it can withstand a hit or twice. Gorilla Glass Victus' support for the front and rear glass panels, coupled with IP65 and IP68 dust and water resistance, enhances this lasting feel.

The 6.1-inch OLED display is one of the main reasons why the Xperia 5 IV is chosen instead of the Xperia 1 IV (slightly more recognizable) and a 6.5-inch panel, providing a smaller screen experience than competitors without much impact on the overall experience – largely due to the 21:9 aspect ratio.

The wide aspect ratio means the 6.1-inch screen is perfect for watching ultra-wide Hollywood movies without annoying black bars up and down, and it's perfect for watching Netflix on the go. This also means that the screen can be large and long while remaining comfortable to use with one hand, a feature that should not be overlooked for owners of a small hand.

It may not boast 4K resolution as its most expensive brother, but honestly, it's hard to tell the difference on such a small screen. If anything, it means that the Xperia 5 IV works better in games because it has fewer pixels to play.

The FHD+ panel offers clear images and great HDR support making the supported videos truly prominent. The colors are also great, thanks to the use of an OLED panel that provides not only vivid colors, but also deep dark black colors.

It's so bright, that Sony is demanding a 50% brightness increase compared to the previous generation Xperia 5, making it a solid screen to use in bright sunlight – although it's best off to avoid burning corneas in dark environments.

The 120Hz refresh rate of display provides smooth scrolling and ultra-smooth animations when browsing the various applications and menus of the smartphone, helping to feel the responsiveness of everything during use.

The only problem is that, unlike other phones with an equally high price, it locks at either 60 or 120 Hz with no adaptive refresh rate to save battery life when a high refresh rate is not needed (such as when watching movies or reading texts).

Camera

Great professional camera and video apps

Steep learning curve for beginners in photography

Average performance in its automatic modes

Sony is a popular brand in the camera and DSLR camera markets, and it uses the snapper experience to its advantage with the Xperia 5 IV.

The Xperia 5 IV actually comes with not one but three professional camera and video apps, although the one most of you will use is Photography Pro. It's a concept similar to most standard camera apps on the market, using computer photography and a range of hardware and software to automatically create the best possible image. It's basically your usual setting for aiming and shooting.

This is the basic setup, anyway. With a key click on the screen, you can switch to more advanced shooting modes, and that's where you actually start to shine – if you know what you're doing, that's it.

Manual controls in multiple shooting modes – including shutter priority and full manual, as with the Alpha DLSR line – are incredibly accurate, allowing you to tweak settings like ISO to truly change the overall feel of the image. Auto mode is decent, but manual modes are where the camera setup really lights up.

If, like me, you're a bit rusty with manual camera controls, you might find it a little frustrating experience at first. But with a little time and a lot of patience, you will learn how to take advantage of the advanced tools on offer. It really offers one of the most satisfying smartphone photography experiences because it was you who picked it up, not AI.

When it comes to actual camera setup, you'll find a 12MP wide end tool with dual-pixel PDAF technology that enables great real-time tracking focus from Sony, along with OIS for ultra-smooth shots. This is paired with a 12MP 2.5x optical zoom lens with OIS, and a 12MP 124° snapper.

Stunning dynamic range from the 12MP main lens

There are a lot of details on display in well-lit environments

Although the 12MP widescreen lens is more capable than the trio with an f / 1.7 aperture and a 1/17-inch sensor, there is great performance on offer from all three. Photos taken in well-lit conditions are filled with detail, vibrant colors, and stunning dynamic range, with top-notch camera tuning that makes it difficult to pinpoint which camera was used at a glance.

The main camera captures realistic shots in good lighting conditions

The super range closely matches in color and detail

2.5x optical zoom is not as powerful as some competitors, but the quality is obvious

However, it is certainly more designed towards professional users. I've discovered that the basic and auto modes can sometimes be hit and lost, choosing the wrong settings for the scene and resulting in a shot under or exposed overloaded, and this is not ideal on a phone that focuses on the versatility of its camera .

Auto modes can sometimes provide low-exposure shots

There is potential for decent low-light photography, although in my experience, it tends to perform better in moderately lit outdoor environments – such as street lamps and lamps – than dark indoor conditions, which can turn out to be a little soft, and lack well-crisp details. Illuminated shots.

There is the possibility of decent shooting in low light

There's also a professional video app to shoot video at up to 4K@120fps for high-resolution slow motion, along with dedicated 24 and 25fps shooting modes for a more cinematic atmosphere.

Along with a similar level of professional controls on elements like ISO, shutter speed, and white balance, as well as great rack focus capabilities, it's great at capturing high-quality video – but again, as long as you know what you're doing.

performance

Powerful performance, but not industry leader

First-class high-fidelity audio support

Android 12 with upgrade to Android 13

A few pre-installed Sony and third-party apps

As you might expect from a flagship Sony smartphone, the Xperia 5 IV's performance is top-notch – though not industry-leading.

This is largely due to the inclusion of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which was already replaced by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 by the time the Xperia 5 IV was launched. Let's not mention the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset in smartphones 2023...

But while it's not the latest and best, the performance still feels responsive on a daily basis with a hint of lag or stuttering no matter what I throw, whether it's scrolling through media-filled social media apps or running a casual game from Call of Duty Mobile with high graphics settings enabled.

I'll notice that weather can get hot when performing more daunting tasks like playing AAA mobile games with maximum graphics enabled, but they don't get uncomfortably hot, or hot enough to noticeably affect performance.

All this is largely reflected in the standard results, managing a respectable multi-core CPU score of 3274, while single-core performance scored 1087. It's a similar story in the GPU section with a score of 2534 in the advanced 3DMark wildlife software. Extreme graphics test.

Storage is respectable with 128 or 256 GB of UFS 3.1 storage available, although this can be expanded thanks to the inclusion of a microSD card slot - a feature that has become a bit rare in modern smartphones.

There's also a top-notch audio experience with a stereo speaker setup that does a decent job of immersing you in your Netflix movies with two front-facing speakers built into the screen, but what's even more impressive is the inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack that supports high-resolution audio up to 24-bit/192kHz.

Although it will require wired headphones that also support Hi-Res audio – something that won't be affordable for the average consumer – it's a boon for audio lovers out there, adding extra fidelity to music playback. There's also support for the likes of Dolby Atmos audio as well as Sony's patented 360 Reality Audio, which increases audio versatility.

While the Xperia 5 IV ships with Android 12, it has since gotten the upgrade to Android 13 and all the benefits that come with it.

There are more Sony-branded apps than you might expect, with Pro apps dedicated to taking photos, video, and audio, along with a few pre-installed apps including Netflix and the PlayStation app. I'm not too bothered by the inclusion of popular apps like Netflix, but if you're a digital hardliner, you can delete them just as easily.

Other than that, the smartphone works as you would expect with very few quirks in the user interface, a refreshing change compared to the likes of the Xiaomi MiUI 13.

Battery life

5000mAh battery

Comfortable all-day battery life

Slow charging speeds

Despite the Xperia 5 IV's pocket-friendly dimensions, Sony somehow managed to pack a massive 5000mAh battery. As for context, this is the same capacity as the larger 6.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, so it's impressive. And with a smaller screen to drive, it's safe to say that the battery life is great.

It's a phone that never reached the 20% mark while going out and around during testing despite some very heavy camera tests and occasional gaming session when sitting on the tube. In fact, on days when I didn't use the phone much, I found that the day would end with about half the battery left. This may be a good device for two days depending on your use.

Even when watching movies on Netflix, the battery is amazingly efficient, with only 6% drain when streaming for an hour. It's no surprise that games charge more taxes on the system, with an 8% drain when playing Call of Duty Mobile for 30 minutes, but that's not really that bad.

Charging speeds are not that fast at 30W, especially compared to other flagship Android phones that feature a full charge in about half an hour. In the test, it took 30 minutes to reach 50%, but a full charge took much longer at an hour and 46 minutes.

Wireless charging enthusiasts will be pleased that the Xperia 5 IV is the first in the 5 series to feature 15W Qi wireless charging capabilities, along with the ability to reverse wireless charging at 5W slower. Charging times will be slower than the wired variant, but convenient.