Skip to main content

Sony Xperia 5: Everything you need to know about Sony’s smaller flagship phone

The Sony Xperia 5 is coming to the U.S. in November for $800

Georgina Torbet/Digital Trends

Sony took to IFA 2019 to announce a whole host of new devices, and among them was a neat new flagship smartphone, the Sony Xperia 5. While Sony’s smartphone division has struggled to stand out in the last few years, Sony is likely hoping a new focus on its strengths — including support for the PS4’s wireless controller, and an odd new feature that uses a photo of your ear to optimize your sound — will prove successful when combined with flagship specs and a triple-lens camera. Here’s everything you need to know about the Sony Xperia 5.

Design and display

First things first — the looks. The Xperia 5 looks a lot like the Xperia 1. There, we said it. Sony’s design language tends towards the boxy, and it is certainly unique. The front of the Xperia 5 is dominated by the display, with only slim bezels at the top and bottom. Like most recent Xperia phones, the Xperia 5’s display is rocking a super-wide 21:9 aspect ratio and Sony is working with various games and content creators to really bring that aspect ratio into its own. That long aspect ratio and a smaller overall size should mean the Xperia 5 is easier to handle than the larger Xperia 1. However, it’s not the return of the Compact range — it’s just smaller than Sony’s massive flagship.

The display itself is impressive. It’s a 6.1-inch OLED display running a 2520 x 1080 resolution, with support for HDR (and automatic conversion of SDR content to HDR), 10-bit tonal gradation, and DCI-P3. The phone should sound good too, with support for Dolby Atmos and stereo speakers.

Flip the phone over and you’ll see some key differences to the larger Xperia 1. The back is covered with Gorilla Glass 6, but the triple camera module is now placed at the top left of the phone’s rear. As is Sony’s tradition, you’ll find the fingerprint on the side of the phone, perfectly placed for your thumb.

Camera

The rear camera module is comprised of three 12-megapixel lenses, including the main lens with an f/1.6 aperture, a 2x telephoto lens with an f/2.4 aperture, and a super-wide lens with an aperture of f/2.4. The camera has optical image stabilization and is powered by Sony’s Eye AF software that can identify and hold focus on the human eye, helping to take photos with better focus. You’ll find an 8-megapixel selfie lens around the front.

The camera’s not just for taking snaps though, it can also be used to personalize your audio experience. Called 360 Reality Audio, Sony boasted you’ll be able to customize your sound profile with headphones by taking a picture of your ear with the Xperia 5. Your ear shape is analyzed in the cloud, and sound profiles are altered to fit your unique ear shape. It’s an odd feature, but an interesting one. We’ll be looking into this more, but it is not currently clear whether this feature will be available on launch, and whether it only works with Sony’s headphones.

Specifications and battery

Georgina Torbet/Digital Trends

The Xperia 5 is a flagship phone, so it gets some suitably flagship-level specs to match its price.

Key Specs

  • CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
  • RAM: 6GB
  • Storage: 128GB
  • MicroSD storage: Yes, up to 512GB
  • Screen size: 6.1 inches
  • Resolution: 2520 x 1080 pixels
  • Dimensions: 157.5 x 66 x 7.6 mm
  • Weight: 5.8 oz (166.9 grams)
  • Water-resistance: IP65/68
  • Battery: 3,140mAh
  • Operating system: Android 9.0 Pie

The Xperia 5 is powered by the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, which will provide more than enough power for most users. However, with Sony’s emphasis on mobile gaming — including the ability to use a PS4 controller on your smartphone, no less — we’re disappointed to not be seeing the more powerful Snapdragon 855 Plus. While the Snapdragon 855 is extremely powerful, serious gaming phones like the Asus ROG Phone 2 have already moved to the 855 Plus.

That strong processing power is backed up by 6GB of RAM — again, more than enough for most — and a decently large 128GB of onboard storage. If that’s not enough for you, it can be boosted by up to 512GB through MicroSD card. The battery could be a weak point. At 3,140mAh, it’s on the smaller side for modern flagships and may not hold up to sustained gaming and media use. However, Sony’s loaded the Xperia 5 up with its usual battery saving features, so it may last longer than we initially expect.

Software and special features

The Xperia 5 also launches with Android 9.0 Pie — another slight disappointment. Android 10 just launched, and we hoped a new flagship would come with Google’s latest operating system. Hopefully, it’ll see a speedy update after release.

However, you’ll find Sony’s usual broad range of special features loaded into Android. There’s the support for PlayStation wireless controllers as well as Remote Play with the PS4. If you’re the owner of a Sony Alpha camera, then you’ll also be able to use your Xperia 5 as a remote display using Sony’s Imaging Edge app.

Release date and price

The Sony Xperia 5 is launching in European markets and will be released in October 2019 in Europe, and in November 2019 in the U.S. at Best Buy, Amazon, B&H Photo & Video, and other retail stores. Prices will start at $800, which puts it into direct competition with the iPhone XR, Samsung Galaxy S10e, and OnePlus 7 Pro at $750. That’s some seriously strong competition.

Pre-orders will kick off next week in select European markets and will come bundled with Sony’s WF-1000XM3 Noise Canceling headphones.

Updated on September 5, 2019: We’ve added more details about the Xperia 5.

Editors' Recommendations

Mark Jansen
Mark Jansen is an avid follower of everything that beeps, bloops, or makes pretty lights. He has a degree in Ancient &…
Android 12: Everything you need to know
Android 12

The newest version of Google's flagship operating system, Android 12, is officially live for all supported Pixel phones, starting with the Google Pixel 3, and it ships out of the box for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.

Here's everything you need to know about Android 12.

Read more
Sony Xperia 5 III is a $1,000 flagship in 2022 with hardware from 2021
sony xperia 5 iii

Sony is finally bringing the Xperia 5 III to the U.S. market, eight months after the phone was officially introduced to the world. Sony phones and delayed releases have been somewhat of a recurring theme lately. The $2,500 Xperia Pro 5G was launched in February of 2020 but only arrived in January of 2021. The Xperia 1 II flagship also took a few sweet quarters before making it stateside.

The latest case of a delayed Sony phone is the Xperia 5 III. It’s not a bad phone. Actually, far from it. It just doesn’t belong to the year 2022, especially with that handsome $1,000 asking price. It will be available unlocked from authorized retail partners, but only in its Frosted Black trim. If you’re eyeing the stunning green color, only the official Sony online store has it.

Read more
Sony’s $1,800 Xperia Pro-I phone shares features with RX100 VII compact camera
Xperia Pro-I phone

The Sony Xperia Pro-I is the latest smartphone from the company for the camera-features-focused niche Pro audience. The $1,800 phone sports a 1-inch stacked CMOS sensor with built-in memory and phase-detection autofocus. It is the same as the one inside Sony's RX100 VII compact camera which we proclaimed one of the best point-and-shoot cameras in our review. The smartphone comes with a dedicated shutter button on the right edge, and Zeiss Tessar calibrated optics.

In the name Xperia Pro-I, the "I" stands for Imaging. It features a 6.5-inch 4K HDR (3840 x 1644 pixels) OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate, a 21:9 aspect ratio, and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut. It is powered by the Snapdragon 888 chipset, paired with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage, which is expandable up to 1TB. It packs a 4,500mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging.

Read more