-
Sony Xperia 5 V
A decent upgrade
The Sony Xperia 5 V is here to replace the Xperia 5 IV as one of the best small smartphones on the market. Sony made some intelligent upgrades that make it worth a look, but it’s not reinventing the wheel for people who already own the previous phone.
Pros- Improved point-and-shoot photos
- Long battery life
- Better heat dissipation
Cons- Still pricey
- Minimal upgrades over 5 IV
-
Sony Xperia 5 IV
Still worthy of keeping
Despite being about a year old, the Sony Xperia 5 IV is still a fantastic phone. For compact phones, it remains one of the best you can get your hands on, and it’s worth hanging onto if you already own one, as the Xperia 5 V doesn’t quite do enough to require an immediate upgrade.
Pros- Battery life
- improved portrait selfies
- Compact design
Cons- Runs a little warm
- Some photography skills needed
The Sony Xperia 5 V is here! The latest high-end smartphone has arrived from Sony, so it’s time to look at how it compares to the Sony Xperia 5 IV. Does it feature small, incremental changes, or is it an actual upgrade? When we reviewed it last year, we were mostly happy with the Xperia 5 IV, so the new model has some pretty large shoes to fill.
It wasn’t without flaws, though, so there’s some room for Sony to step up its game. Let’s look at everything both models bring to the table to decide if it’s worth getting the new model or if the existing Xperia 5 IV is a better investment, especially if you can find it at a discount.
Price, specs, and availability
The Sony Xperia 5 IV is readily available from almost any retailer you can purchase a phone from in most regions, including the UK and the US. As of this writing, the Xperia 5 IV still starts at $1,000, but we expect there to be price drops and deals as the Xperia 5 V becomes more widely available. As of this writing, the Xperia 5 V is available for €999 or £849, depending on where you are.
Sony Mobile
Sony hasn’t yet revealed plans to release the Xperia 5 V in North America, so Sony fans in that region must wait until the company announces more information. The Xperia 5 IV eventually launched in the region, so we’d expect the same from the newer model, but a timeframe is unknown at this time.
You can see in the table below how similar the specs are between the older and newer models.
-
Sony Xperia 5 V Sony Xperia 5 IV Brand Sony Sony SoC Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Display 6.1in, OLED, 2520 x 1080, 120Hz, 21:9 6.1-inch, OLED, 2520 x 1080, 120Hz. 21:9 Battery 5000mAh, Fast Charging, Wireless Charging 5000mAh, Fast charging, Wireless charging Ports USB C, 3.5mm USB C, 3.5mm jack Operating System Android Android Front camera 12MP, 1/2.9in 12MP Rear cameras 52MP (48MP effective) 1/1.35in Exmor T main, 12MP ultrawide 12MP main, 12MP ultra-wide, 12MP Telephoto Dimensions 154 x 68 x 8.6mm, 183g 156 x 67 x 8.2mm, 172g IP Rating IP65, IP68 IP65, IP68 RAM and Storage 8GB, 128GB 8GB, 128/256GB, microSD up to 1TB
Design
The phones have very similar designs, with only some moderate visual changes occurring year-over-year. It’s almost impossible to tell from the front whether you’re looking at the Xperia 5 IV or V. The back is where you can see some evolution, as Sony has made the camera bump much more compact despite vastly improving the lenses contained within. Which one you prefer will come down mostly to preference, but I like the look of the camera system on the Xperia 5 V much better than the longer, thinner strip found on last year’s model.
The two phones have a slight size difference, but it’s very marginal. The Xperia 5 V is 154 x 68 x 8.6mm and 183g, while the Xperia 5 IV is 156 x 67 x 8.2mm and 172g. They’re both among the smaller phones on the market, and we’re talking about a millimeter here and a gram there, so the size really won’t be much of a determining factor between the handsets.
Dust and water resistance has remained unchanged between generations, with both offering IP65/IP68 ratings, which means they’re well-protected from both liquids and solids. If you’re curious why Sony lists two IP ratings, here’s why.
Display
Sony
Sony didn’t exactly break the display mold because these phones have almost the same screen. You get a 6.1-inch OLED with a 2520 x 1080 resolution on both. Each screen is 120Hz, as well. The aspect ratio is the same at 21:9, which makes sense with them having the same resolution. We’ll be able to better assess the differences between the screens once we review the Sony Xperia 5 IV, but looking purely at the specs, it seems exactly the same as last year’s.
Hardware and Specs
The only noticeable change from a specs perspective is the newer processor. You get the bump from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 to Gen 2 processor. There’s definitely a noticeable difference between the two, with the Gen 2 featuring clock speeds of 2 – 3.2GHz compared to the Gen 1’s 1.8 – 3GHz. The newer chip also has a larger 8MB L3 Cache than last gen’s 6MB. On the GeekBench 5 benchmark, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1’s average score is 1231 compared to Gen 2’s 1466, according to NotebookCheck. They’re both great chips, but there are some worthwhile improvements between them.
Outside of the chips, both phones have 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, so you won’t see any differences there. They both support 5G connectivity, NFC, and all the other stuff we’ve come to expect from flagship smartphones.
Cameras
Cameras are the one place where Sony made a noticeable upgrade year-over-year. The Xperia 5 IV had three cameras – a 12MP main, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 12MP telephoto. The new model drops the telephoto lens but replaces the main camera with a 52MP Exmor T sensor for mobile, the same one found on the larger (and pricier Xperia 1 models). It maintains the 12MP ultra-wide, though. This is a substantial sharpness difference that people who take many photos will notice immediately, and it’s the main reason to consider buying the newer Xperia 5 over the original.
Sony Mobile
While the loss of the telephoto lens sounds like a drawback, the main lens can support a 48mm focal length, which is equivalent to a 2X optical zoom. So, in the end, you’re not losing anything but gaining a vastly superior main lens with enough versatility to make the telephoto lens unnecessary.
Another major selling point of the cameras for the new model is an improved bokeh mode. Background blur has become an important part of smartphone photography, and it looks like the Xperia 5 V builds on the improvements we already noticed in our Xperia 5 IV review.
Conclusion
In the end, Sony made some incremental upgrades to the Xperia 5 V. It’s a better phone, especially in the camera and processor department. Still, you’ll have a hard time spotting the differences elsewhere. If you don’t currently own the Xperia 5 IV, you’re better off getting the newer model since the camera upgrade is sizable, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 does offer some serious gains.
Sony Xperia 5 V
Our top choice
The Sony Xperia 5 V does just enough to make it a worthwhile purchase for people who don’t own the previous generation. It falls short of being a must-buy for Xperia 5 IV owners, though.
If you already own an Xperia 5 IV, it’s hard to recommend spending the money to upgrade now. We haven’t seen what kind of deals are available on last year’s model as of this writing. If you can find it for 30-50 per cent off, you should consider it, because it’s still a great phone.
Sony / Pocket-lint
Sony Xperia 5 IV
Still a good choice
If you already own this phone, keep it! If you can find it on sale, it’s worth picking up, as the upgrades made to the new one are incremental, and this is still a great phone.
Trending Products
