Sony Xperia Z5 review

Sony Xperia Z5 review:

Fast, fabulous and long-lasting, the Sony Xperia Z5 mixes it with thebest handsets in the business

The Sony Xperia Z5 is the culmination of 18 months of incremental improvements for Sony's range of Xperia smartphones. However, while the  Z2, Z3 and Z3+ were all barely any different from each other, the Xperia Z5 represents - at last - a significant step forward.

First announced at the IFA trade show in September 2015, Sony’s flagship introduces a number of key changes, including a refined design, revamped camera technology and a fingerprint reader. Sony has also released two other versions of the Z5: the diminutive Z5 compact, and the slightly largerZ5 Premium, which is almost identical, somewhat superfluous 4K screen aside.

Design:

From a distance, the Xperia Z5 doesn't appear to be all that different from its predecessors. Sony has stuck with the design language that has stood it in such good stead over the past few years, so the phone keeps the trademark Xperia glass-slabbed front and back and squared off profile. Unsurprisingly, the Z5 is both water- and dust-resistant and certified to IP65 and IP68, just like the rest of the Xperia range.

It's when you look more closely that the changes begin to emerge. The aesthetic alterations are the subtlest: there's a new engraved Xperia logo on the left edge; the Xperia Z5's metal frame has been squared off ever-so-slightly; and Sony has swapped the glossy glass rear for a smooth-to-the-touch frosted glass plate. Surrounding the screen at the very edge, is a slightly raised lip this time, a design feature intended to prevent the phone slipping off inclined surfaces. And in each of the white, “Graphite Black”, gold and green colour options, it looks simply gorgeous.

Cameras:

The other big change for the Z5 is the camera, which sees its first hardware upgrade since the advent of the Xperia Z1 back in September 2013.

The new Exmor RS rear camera module bumps up the maximum resolution to 23-megapixels, the sensor size to 1/2.3in, and also incorporates SteadyShot optical image stabilisation (OIS) plus hybrid autofocus by adding phase-detect pixels to the image sensor.

Unsurprisingly, Sony claims its autofocus system is the fastest in the business, capable of focusing on your subject in as little as 0.03 seconds. It’s certainly quick, but it does hunt a touch, especially in low light and when you use the camera shutter, so you’re never quite sure if it’s locked on or not. It spoils the effect somewhat, and leads to the odd out-of-focus shot.

Performance:

The fingerprint reader and camera represent big enough improvements to warrant an upgrade from any previous Z-series smartphone, so it’s not a particular surprise to discover that the rest of the Z5’s specifications and features represent a much milder improvement.

Beneath the surface is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 v2.1 chipset, complete with an Adreno 430 graphics chip and a healthy 3GB of RAM. There’s 32GB of storage available, plus a microSD slot for expansion. This draws the Z5 level with the LG G4 in terms of overall flexibility, even if the battery isn’t user-replaceable.

Battery life:

The Z5 is equipped with a 2,900mAh battery, which Sony claims delivers up to two days of stamina. In general use, I’d say that’s achievable if all you do is browse the web, check your messages and listen to the odd podcast. Sony’s battery management schemes are pretty good, and contribute to excellent stamina in moderate use.

Do any gaming, audio streaming or video watching, however, and you’ll be looking at battery life of closer to a day. A comfortable day, with 20% to 30% of battery capacity remaining at bedtime, but a single day nonetheless.

Display

The display hasn’t seen an obvious upgrade. Despite the fact that Sony is lavishing a 4K screen on the larger Z5 Premium, the Z5 remains lumbered with a bog-standard 1,080 x 1,920-resolution IPS display, topped with unbranded tempered glass.

I say lumbered, but this apparently “low” resolution shouldn’t be anything potential purchasers should worry about. Despite the protestations of various manufacturers, a 1080p screen stretched across a 5.2in screen diagonal is sharp enough that most people won’t be able to discern the pixels from normal viewing distances.

More importantly, the quality is excellent, particularly when it comes to brightness. Push the Xperia Z5 up to its maximum level (with adaptive brightness turned off) and it reaches eye-searing levels of the kind that make it readable in the sunniest of conditions. Despite the fact that the phone uses a standard IPS panel, Sony’s X-Reality adaptations mean that colours really leap out at you – the effect is not dissimilar to the super-saturated colours you get on Samsung’s Super AMOLED screens.