Sony's latest smartphone is the Xperia 5, it has announced at the IFA 2019 tech show in Berlin. It follows on from the Xperia 1 that was unveiled earlier this year, but this time there's a more compact form factor for those who prefer smaller smartphones.
The Xperia 5 isn't all that small though: 6.1 inches, corner to corner, with a 21:9 aspect ratio, 2,520 x 1,080 pixel resolution OLED display (with HDR support). Dolby Atmos sound support is included too, so like previous Xperias, this should show off movies and other videos rather well.
Around the back you've got a triple-lens (12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP) camera, which Sony is promising will take care of wide-angle and low-light shots with aplomb. It also features 2x optical zoom and 4K movie recording – again this is an area where Xperia phones usually shine, so we'll take Sony's word for the camera quality. An 8 MP camera sits on the front.
Under the hood there's a Snapdragon 855 CPU, the processor of choice for Android flagships this year (including the Xperia 1), plus 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory which you can add to via a microSD card. The battery has a capacity of 3,140 mAh, which should get you through the day, and a fast charging system that can reach 50 percent capacity in 30 minutes.
Finally, you've got IP68 water and dust resistance here, which is good to see. There's also built-in support for PlayStation Dualshock 4 controllers – a feature also being rolled out on the Xperia 1 – so that should make gaming on the go a little more intuitive.
"With Xperia 5 we've brought what our customers loved from Xperia 1 into a smaller design with the latest award-winning technology from Sony," said Mitsuya Kishida, President of Sony Mobile Communications in a press statement. "Xperia 5 continues to bring uncompromised performance and leading experiences to a smartphone, only possible with Sony."
This really is a shrunken Xperia 1, which has a 6.5-inch screen – a lot of the other specs match up exactly. As for the rumored Xperia 2 upgrade, we'll have to keep waiting, perhaps until next year.
The Xperia 5 phone goes on sale in Europe in October but as yet we don't have a US release date. Prices start at €799 (about US$885) and there are black, blue, gray and red colors to pick from. For more of an idea of what you get with the Sony Xperia 5, and how it looks in use, check out the official promotional video below.
Source: Sony