Sony Xperia Z5 Hands On: Sony’s Gone and Done it Again

Sony’s gone and done it again – less than six months after the last handset we’re here looking at a new phone from the Japanese company. And sadly, once again, not much has changed.

Specs: Sony Unveils Xperia Z5 And Z5 Compact Plus A 4K Monster: 5.5-Inch Z5 Premium

As for the actual phone, it’s much the same in the design department. The glass back of the previous iterations has been dropped for a metallic feel in gold, black (which looks more like grey) and a silvery white colour as well.

The corners are much improved upon on this version by rounding them off a little so it’s not as sharp on the palm of your hand. The power button is also moved down a little which may help those with the smaller hands that find this a little unwieldy (but you’re more likely suited to the Xperia Z5 Compact).

On the front is a Full HD 5.2-inch display – the same we’ve seen on all the phones since the Xperia Z1. It may be time for the phone to up it to 2K but we assume this is going to be a lot less of a drain on the battery and there’s always the 4K Xperia Z5 Premium if you need more pixels. We’ll have a hands on of that one later.

Under the hood is the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor the Xperia Z3+ featured – that overheated quite a bit – and 3GB of RAM alongside 32GB of internal storage and 200GB of microSD space.

The extra microSD space will suit some who really want to fill it up with media. This time is the first time Sony has included a fingerprint sensor on their phone as well – so it’ll be compatible with Android Pay when it launches in the near future.

As for the battery there’s a 2900mAh sensor inside that we hope will have good life but we haven’t managed to test it properly yet and the Xperia Z3+ didn’t really impress in the battery life stakes.

Sony has upped the camera quite a bit by including a 23MP sensor for the first time with a new autofocus technology that means it shoots much quicker and is less likely to look blurry.

The front of the phone even comes with a 5MP front facing camera that can shoot 1080p video whilst the rear one has the ability to shoot in 4K as well.

There’s lots of choice in the Xperia Z5 range and if you’re looking for a large but not phablet size Sony phone this is your phone. If you’re after something a little different though, check out the Xperia Z5 Premium, which we’ll bring you impressions of shortly!

Our newest offspring Gizmodo UK is gobbling up the news in a different timezone, so check them out if you need another Giz fix. [clear]


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