The Sony Xperia 5 IV was launched in the already distant September of 2022 and, despite the Japanese manufacturer no longer selling its smartphones officially in Europe, this did not stop TechSmart from doing a brief hands-on of the device.
With the typical design of a Sony device, the Xperia 5 IV has been drawing the attention of the public abroad for delivering a good set. An example of this is that it has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and praised cameras.
Without further ado, scroll down or, if you’re in a hurry, take a shortcut in the table of contents.
- design and accessories
- screen and hardware
- Software
- cameras
- First impressions and price
The Sony Xperia 5 IV has a design characteristic of the Japanese manufacturer, which usually follows a somewhat cohesive visual line. In addition, its narrow format also benefits one-handed use, something that has become somewhat complicated these days with increasingly larger smartphones.
Of course, you have to like the 21:9 aspect ratio, and Sony has taken care to soften the edges to make the Xperia 5 IV look sleeker, but that made the device a little more slippery.
The fingerprint reader is not on the screen, but on the side next to the volume and camera shutter buttons. This is also a top of the line that has a P2 port for wired headphones.
The USB-C port is at the bottom next to the speaker grille and SIM card drawer, which can be removed without a special key. The device still has Gorilla Glass Victus protection on the front and back, as well as IP68 certification that makes it waterproof.
Finally, the Sony Xperia 5 IV has no charger in the box. That is, the set has only the basics, such as manuals and charging cable.
The screen of the Sony Xperia 5 IV is a 6.1-inch OLED that has FHD Plus resolution and supports 120Hz refresh rate content. Of course the biggest highlight here is the 21:9 aspect ratio, something that is widely used by Sony.
The panel employed by the Japanese is good and now manages to reach a high level of brightness, which makes the Xperia 5 IV comfortable outdoors and facilitates viewing content.
However, it must be remembered that the Xperia 5 IV does not have LTPO technology for adaptive refresh rate. In reality, the company uses a dynamic rate that alternates between 60 Hz and 120 Hz.
Thus, multimedia content is displayed at 60 Hz, but the interface is at 120 Hz all the time. As for the experience of watching videos, it is excellent. The Sony Xperia 5 IV has two speakers that work together at the same volume level, something that delivers a distortion-free experience.
The Sony Xperia 5 IV processor is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and this may end up being one of the problems of this smartphone, since Sony has made an effort to reduce the heating of the chipset and this ends up killing its performance in long hours of gaming, for example.
To close the set, the Sony Xperia 5 IV has 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB of internal storage, 5G connection and NFC for payments by approximation.
The battery has a capacity of 5,000 mAh and the total autonomy can reach up to 6 hours of active display and this guarantees a whole day away from the socket.
But when you go to recharge, despite having support for 30W fast charging, the Xperia 5 IV does not have the accessory in the box. Finally, we have wireless and reverse charging.
- 6.1-inch OLED screen with FullHD+ resolution, HDR and 120 Hz refresh rate
- Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Platform
- 12 GB of RAM
- 128 internal storage
- microSD support
- 12 MP front camera
- Three rear cameras:
- 12MP main sensor (24mm, f/1.7,)
- 12 MP ultra wide angle sensor (16mm, f/2.2)
- 12MP telephoto sensor (60mm, f/2.4)
- 5G connection, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC and IP68 certification
- 5,000 mAh battery with 30W charging support
- android 12
- Dimensions: 156.1 x 67 x 8.2 mm
- Weight: 187 grams
Sony didn’t want to work too hard in this department and simply put near-stock Android on the device. With that, we have a simple launcher that doesn’t have a lot of customization and the transitions are dry.
Another point that draws attention is that Sony’s own application icons are stuck in the Android 10 era, even if the Xperia 5 IV comes out of the box with Android 12.
Anyway, some apps are useful, like Music Pro. It lets you record audio and even edit it, with automatic post-production thanks to the use of Artificial Intelligence.
Regarding cameras, the Pro app has a basic mode that corresponds to what all manufacturers deliver. But the auto mode activates a completely different interface, designed for horizontal use, and the user gains the option to edit the white balance, exposure compensation, activate the flash and select the lens with which he wants to shoot.
We also have P mode which activates other features, S mode to adjust the shutter speed and M mode which is the same as S with added ISO control.
The second application is Video Pro and it is much more complete, even allowing you to record in 4K resolution at 120 fps, something that is not available in the normal photo app.
Finally, there’s the Cinema Pro app, which gives you all the Pro video controls and adds looks and other color enhancements, even allowing for correction in post-production.
The quality of the cameras is more than good for external and well-lit environments, since the records are sharp and have vivid colors.
The saturation and contrast are as expected, something that guarantees really good photos. However, the shutter is a little slow and this ends up creating blurry photos at times.
This happens because the software tries to recognize the scene and many times the user doesn’t have much patience to wait. In a way, there is good consistency in the records made by the three 12 MP cameras.
Only the telephoto ends up having some small problems with the exposure, but nothing too serious. The ultrawide lens has automatic autofocus, but it is not exploited for macro shots, since the minimum distance is 7 to 8 centimeters.
The Sony Xperia 5 IV’s biggest problem is in the night shots, since it doesn’t behave like a smartphone. Thus, the software raises the exposure time and the result is blurred photos at various times.
It lacked a night mode similar to the Pixel to compensate for this problem and use Artificial Intelligence to deliver more agile photos. We should also mention that HDR is almost absent in night shots.
Overall, the Sony Xperia 5 IV has good camera settings and the number of apps is excellent for enthusiasts. But for ordinary users this level of detail can be a big problem.
Finally, in videos, the Xperia 5 IV has 4K recording at 30 fps in the common camera application and the records are great, but in the Pro app it is possible to reach 120 fps.
Costing 1,049 euros, that is, something around 5,800 reais, the device has a price worthy of a top-of-the-line smartphone. And it really is, even deserving an 8 for the set it delivers. It is clear that we are not talking about a perfect smartphone and some details could be better.
Perhaps if Sony had waited a little longer to get the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, the Xperia 5 IV would be even better. Furthermore, this confusion between various camera apps is good for enthusiasts, but not for the average user.
The Xperia 5 IV also lacked an LTPO panel, but those are things Sony must address in future generations. At least that’s what we expect from the Japanese manufacturer.
Finally, this is a worthy smartphone, it has good hardware, manages to deliver good autonomy and has a format that does not harm your hand.
That is, the Xperia 5 IV can be a good choice for many users, less so for Europeians, since it only remains the path of import and there are many much more interesting flagships in the same price range over here.
The Sony Xperia 5 IV is not yet available in Europeian stores. To be notified when it arrives click here.
