Online Since 1999 Site Secure
Sony Xperia Z5 Review: First Impressions

The Sony Xperia Z3+ was a fairly minor upgrade on the Sony Xperia Z3, hence the lack of a new number, but despite a quick turnaround Sony has graced the Xperia Z5 with a number upgrade.

So is it deserving of one? And more importantly is it fit to compete with the best flagships of 2015? Read on for our first impressions.

Screen

While the Sony Xperia Z5 is set to impress in many ways its screen arguably isn’t one of them.

It’s not that it’s bad, just that it’s basically the same as other recent Sony flagships and at 1080 x 1920 with a pixel density of 428 pixels per inch it’s also not as sharp as a lot of high end phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S6.

It’s a good size though at 5.2 inches and it’s bright, providing strong outdoor visibility. So it’s not as flashy as some rivals, but really you don’t need more than 1080p at this size and if it was much bigger it would be a phablet, which doesn’t suit everyone, so while it could be more exciting the Sony Xperia Z5 actually has a pretty good screen.

Design

Sony Xperia Z5 Review: First Impressions

There’s not much to get excited about on the design front either, as the Sony Xperia Z5 looks a lot like the Sony Xperia Z3+ or indeed any number of other Sony handsets. It is a premium look though, with a metal frame and a frosted glass back.

It’s also durable, thanks to being IP68 certified dust and water resistant, allowing it to be submerged up to 1.5 metres deep in water for up to 30 minutes.

It’s also fairly slim at 7.3mm thick, though we can’t shake the feeling that the other dimensions (146 x 72mm) could have been shrunk down a little, as it’s got sizeable bezels.

Power

Sony hasn’t skimped on power, equipping the Xperia Z5 with an octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor, which has four cores clocked at 2.0GHz and four running at 1.5GHz. That’s alongside 3GB of RAM, so the Sony Xperia Z5 can compete with the most powerful phones around, although a few handsets are now starting to include 4GB of RAM.

Camera

Sony Xperia Z5 Review: First Impressions

The camera was one of the focuses for the Sony Xperia Z5 and it’s a good thing too as while past Sony flagships have had pretty good cameras the company has been using the same sensor for a while now, so it was due an upgrade.

This time around there’s a 23 megapixel snapper on the back, capable of taking sharp, detailed photos. It’s also been engineered to work well in low light and it’s speedy, with an autofocus which can lock on in just 0.03 seconds.

It also supports 5x digital zoom and 4K video has made a return, so you can shoot super sharp movies.

The front-facing camera is a 5.1 megapixel one, which isn’t a super exciting spec but is more than enough to capture crisp and clear selfies.

Features

Sony Xperia Z5 Review: First Impressions

The big new feature of the Sony Xperia Z5 is its side-mounted fingerprint scanner built into the power button. That’s meant a redesign of the button- a change from the iconic circular one to a longer oblong shape.

It perhaps doesn’t look quite as good but that’s a minor compromise for all the benefits a fingerprint scanner affords. It’s a good one too, speedily and accurately recognising fingerprints.

Older extras like PS4 Remote Play and Hi-Res audio support are also included, so whether you’re into games or music the Xperia Z5 has you covered.

Battery life, memory and connectivity

Sony phones tend to have long battery life and the Xperia Z5 looks set to be no exception with a 2900 mAh juice pack and promises of up to two days of life. It also supports Quick Charge 2.0, so you can power it up again quickly.

The phone only comes in one size- 32GB, but if you need more space it also has a microSD card slot with support for cards of up to 200GB, giving you plenty of room to grow.

Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G, Bluetooth 4.1 and NFC.

Early verdict

With the exception of the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium the Sony Xperia Z5 is the most ambitious phone Sony has made in a long time.

While it still feels a little more familiar than we’d like there are substantial upgrades to the camera and a major new feature in the form of a fingerprint scanner, plus all the old bells and whistles we expect from a Sony flagship, like a premium, water resistant build and long battery life.

We’ll reserve final judgement for our full review but on first impressions the lack of changes to the screen or design make it tough to justify an upgrade if you have another recent Sony flagship, but there’s enough good stuff here that the Sony Xperia Z5 should be mentionable in the same breath as other 2015 flagships, like the Samsung Galaxy S6, HTC One M9 and LG G4.

Sony Xperia Z5 Specification

  • Dimensions: 146 x 72 x 7.3mm
  • Weight: 154g
  • Screen size: 5.2” IPS LCD (1080 x 1920)
  • Screen Resolution: 1080 x 1920 display resolution
  • Pixels Per Inch (PPI): 428
  • Processor: Octa-core application processor
  • RAM: 3GB
  • On-board Memory: 32GB
  • Camera: 23MP (rear) 4K video, (5 megapixel front-facing)
  • Operating system: Android 5.1.1
  • Ultrafast / 3G / 4G LTE: Yes/ Yes/ Yes
  • Bluetooth / NFC: Yes/ Yes
  • Battery capacity: 2900mAh
  • Colours: White, Graphite Black, Gold, Green
  • Launch Date: October 8th
  • Price: £549

Newsletter

Be the first to hear about the latest devices and get news of breaking deals before anyone else.