Sony Xperia 5 V review

Many issues go into constructing a superb cell phone. The best parts, efficiency and options; a display with good color, distinction and brightness; a digicam that provides you dependable photos in lots of conditions; good cellular sign and Wi-Fi reception; and effectively thought-out techniques, apps and interfaces.

One of the vital is the bodily design of the cell phone – this can be a gadget you carry in your pocket all day, and in your hand for a number of hours on daily basis. So it needs to be effectively tailored and designed for that.

The Sony Xperia 5 V just isn’t. Regardless of retaining the compact, elongated dimensions that Sony’s Xperia 5 telephones have turn out to be recognized for, it’s one of the uncomfortable telephones to carry that I’ve tried in a very long time.

They’ve by no means been very ergonomically rounded with flat surfaces and straight edges within the body throughout, however what Sony’s designers had been considering here’s a thriller.

There are double sharp edges on each the back and front the place the body transitions to a very flat glass floor with a transparent seam. It chafes my fingers and palm once I generally have to grip it extra firmly, and is annoying once I make swipe gestures on the display from the perimeters.

Within the Xperia 1 V, comparable edges labored higher, because it was designed extra for two-handed use and had ribbed sides for a agency grip.

Excessive efficiency – at first

With Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 underneath the hood, it’s laborious to complain about efficiency. Every little thing from video games to heavy apps and multitasking runs easily.

For brief-term high-intensity duties, it’s one of many quickest cellphone I’ve seen. Evidently the speedy warmth dissipation from the processor cores is especially efficient.

Sadly, this additionally signifies that your entire cell phone turns into uncomfortably scorching to grip if the excessive processor and graphics load lasts for greater than 5 minutes. Then there will also be important throttling: in a stress take a look at of the graphics it loses nearly 40% efficiency in 20 minutes.

You get 8GB of RAMand 128GB of storage on the one mannequin accessible. The latter received’t be sufficient for most individuals, however it’s broaden with extra storage, as there’s a micro SD card slot within the SIM card slot. You’ve gotten room for a bodily nano SIM card and the cellphone additionally has help for eSIM.

Connections utilizing both Wi-Fi 6E or 5G are secure and quick, although it’s not clear if the cellphone will ever be up to date to help the most recent (on the time of writing) Wi-Fi 7 commonplace.

Basic Xperia options

You may select between three colors for the cellphone: matte black, mild gray and a muted grey-blue mannequin.

There’s not a lot to say concerning the look, it’s just about nameless, and not one of the color decisions stand out. On the again, a Sony brand is etched into the glass floor, and within the prime left nook, a comparatively small two-lens digicam physique stands proud an additional millimetre.

You’ll discover a number of typical Sony particulars elsewhere on the cellphone. On the prime, you’ll nonetheless discover the basic 3.5mm audio jack for wired headphones. On the underside, the SIM card slot that may be pulled out and not using a pin.

And on one lengthy facet small quantity buttons, plus a fingerprint sensor constructed into the ability button. There’s additionally a separate shutter button for the digicam.

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The entrance can also be very Sony. The unusually huge 21:9 display has neither softly rounded corners nor selfie digicam holes, not like nearly each different cellphone today.

Whereas the bezels are slim, there must be room for each a selfie digicam and front-facing stereo audio system both facet of the display. This makes the cellphone even longer than it might in any other case be, although nonetheless simpler to make use of one-handed than most handsets.

Sensible interface, few updates

Sony’s software program right here is identical as in different 2023 Xperia telephones.

Its Android 13 pores and skin is similar to the inventory Google model, however there are some bonus navigation options, equivalent to a wise and easy-to-use split-screen or floating window multitasking system. Nonetheless, the latter works higher on the Xperia 1 V, the place you could have a bigger display space.

Sony spices issues up with a number of of its personal apps and companies. One known as Bravia Core, which offers entry to chose movies from the Sony Photos catalogue, and one other is Music Professional, a multi-track audio recorder linked to an AI and cloud-based mixing and mastering service that you must pay further for. What

Sony isn’t so beneficiant with its Android updates. Solely two years of system updates and three years of safety updates are assured, which is effectively behind many of the competitors.

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However picture high quality is a key power of the Xperia 5 V. There’s the identical top quality of colors right here as within the Xperia 1 V, with a BT.2020 (also called Rec. 2020) color gamut that’s even higher than DCI-P3.

Alongside 10-bit color depth and HDR optimised video, it makes for a tremendous movie expertise with the appropriate content material. Or, as wonderful as it may be on such a small display.

The brightness of the display is concurrently good and unhealthy. Primary brightness, which you’ll regulate manually, is as much as nearly 800 nits, which is unusually excessive. And for essentially the most half, that’s ok for each indoor and outside use.

However with auto brightness turned off, it’s very clearly missing depth, and struggles in direct daylight.

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Wonderful digicam, however the zoom is lacking

A current pattern is for cell phone producers to “borrow” credit score for his or her cameras by collaborating with well-known digicam producers. Sony doesn’t have to do this, basing its cellular cameras by itself Exmor sensors and importing options from its personal Alpha system digicam platform. Nonetheless, Sony makes use of Zeiss optics in its mobiles, which is written in wonderful print underneath the principle sensor.

The Xperia 5 V has acquired the identical digicam improve because the Xperia 1 V, with a brand new Exmor RS sensor in the principle digicam for this yr, with 48Mp as a substitute of the earlier 12. The distinction is that it’s then only a wide-angle digicam, and also you don’t get the highest mannequin’s telephoto for optical zoom.

That makes it a bit of extra restricted in use, however something that doesn’t contain zooming makes the Xperia 5 V simply nearly as good. A large dynamic vary, pleasantly pure color replica, quick and correct autofocus and good low-light capturing capabilities. It maintains color stability and dynamics with minimal noise.

If I shoot at a large angle, I don’t must rethink my strategy – the color, mild and dynamics work the identical method, even when the low-light pictures are a bit noisier and the element just isn’t as sharp.

The digicam app, which convincingly imitates a Sony Alpha system digicam, nonetheless pretends I’ve an optical zoom and in handbook mode makes it change between three mounted focal lengths or zoom with a easy slider.

3 ways to movie

Sony additionally desires you to be glad to movie loads together with your Xperia. Along with video within the digicam app, you could have two separate video capturing apps.

Video Professional offers you some further instruments for issues equivalent to easy zooming, object monitoring, extra ISO management and even reside streaming functionality. Cinema Professional mimics an actual professional digicam for cinematographers, providing the likes of color grading filters, detailed FPS management and full handbook management of the shutter. All of it feels a bit extreme for a cell phone, and I might have preferred to see Video Professional baked in as a mode within the digicam app as a substitute.

With the identical 5,000mAh battery because the Xperia 1 V, however a smaller display space and decrease decision show, battery life must be improved. A 120Hz refresh price can dynamically regulate relying on what you’re doing actually helps this.

And sure, this can be a step up from the Xperia 1 V’s merely acceptable battery life to one thing actually good. There’s additionally 30W wired charging and help for Qi wi-fi charging, although the wattage of the latter isn’t specified.

Neither wired nor wi-fi chargers are included, so that you’ll have to search out one with the appropriate energy and charging commonplace. Fortunately I had that accessible, and with it I can fill the battery to only underneath 50% in half an hour. A full cost then takes an extra 50 minutes.

It’s not a dealbreaker for most individuals, however not on par with many different prime telephones that cost a lot sooner. You don’t have the power to shortly plug in for 5 minutes earlier than working to the bus, after which have sufficient energy for a number of hours on the go.

Mattias Inghe

Specs

• Product title: Sony Xperia 5 V
• System: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
• Reminiscence: 8 GB
• Storage: 128 GB
• Show: 6.1 inch amoled, 1080×2520 pixels, 120 Hz
• Cameras: 48 megapixel + 12 megapixel huge angle with led rear, 12 megapixel entrance
• Communications: 2g, 3g, 4g, 5g, wifi 6e, bluetooth 5.3, gps, nfc
• Connections: Usb 3 gen 2 sort c, 3.5 mm headset
• Working system: Android 13 with Xperia UX, 4 years of updates
• Different: Twin-SIM, facet fingerprint reader, waterproof (ip65/ip68)
• Battery: 5,000 mAh, 22 hrs video streaming (max brightness, 60 Hz), 14 hrs 72 min combined use (Pcmark Work 3.0, 200 cd/m2 brightness), approx. 38 hours of calls (4g)
• Battery charging: 30 W usb (pd3.0, pps), 0-26% in 15 min, 0-47% in 30 min, wi-fi charging (qi), charger not included
• Dimension: 15.4 x 6.8 x 0.86 cm
• Weight: 182 g

This text was initially printed in Swedish on M3.