Sony today debuted at IFA 2022 the Xperia 5 IV, a new compact smartphone. Like all of Sony’s smartphones, the company highlights its camera capabilities with a laser-sharp focus on its videography features. It goes on sale in Europe and the U.S. at the end of September and October respectively.
The Xperia 5 IV ships with a compact 6.1-inch OLED display capable of a 120HZ refresh for smooth scrolling and 240Hz Motion blur reduction for gaming. Sony says this is its brightest Full HD display yet and up to 50% brighter than the Xperia 5 III. There’s a 3.5mm headphone jack that supports high-quality audio, as well as the newest Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) Audio standard, though that will come in a future update.
As far as cameras go, the Xperia 5 IV sports a triple set of cameras. All three cameras support object tracking and Eye AF (autofocus). Sony also touts support for 4K HDR and 120fps video capture for super slow motion cinematography. All this is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 paired with 8GB of RAM and a 5,000mAh battery.
“We are thrilled to introduce the new Xperia 5 IV as a continuation of our Xperia series. We are always listening to our customers to develop cutting-edge technology that meets their needs as creators, gamers, and music and video enthusiasts,” said Yang Cheng, Vice President, Imaging Solutions, Sony Electronics Inc in a release. “The Xperia 5 IV is a powerful and compact tool that is perfect for anyone looking for the best technology in a small, sleek form factor.”
Compact phones have been going extinct for a while now. Apple is expected to drop the iPhone Mini with the iPhone 14 series, and Google’s Pixels have steadily inched up in size. Only the Asus Zenfone 9 alongside Sony’s phone now service this small market. Although Sony’s phone features a somewhat standard 6.1-inch diagonal screen size, the company’s choice of aspect ratio means that its phones are thinner and narrower than rival products.
Sony’s certainly charging a pretty penny for it. The Xperia 5 IV will go on sale at the end of October in the U.S. for $1,000. Pre-orders open on September 1, with pre-order bonuses being available in the form of Sony’s WF-1000XM4 true wireless noise-canceling earbuds. It’ll cost 950 British pounds in the U.K. and availability will start earlier on September 23.
