For the past couple of years, Sony has stuck to giving consumers three primary Android phone lines, which come with different specs and features with corresponding prices. These include the Xperia 1 flagship series, the Xperia 10 budget phones, and the midrange Xperia 5 handsets. With regards to the latter, the Japanese electronics giant recently took the wraps off its latest 5-series phone, the Xperia 5 V (yes, there are technically two fives in there).
Revealed via a live-streamed video on Sony’s official YouTube page, the Xperia 5 V comes with a set of features and price tag that puts it up against other non-pro flagship devices like the Samsung Galaxy S23, iPhone 14, and Pixel 7, although admittedly it is a bit more expensive than its competitors. Does its feature set justify the price? Let’s find out.
External Design and Screen
Like a lot of smartphones in its price bracket, the Sony Xperia 5 V comes with a design that combines glass and metal, which makes for one premium-looking (and premium-feeling) Android phone. An aluminium frame stretches around the sides of the phone, which features a matte glass panel on the rear, in addition to a Gorilla Glass Victus 2 panel on the main display. The frame also houses the volume rocker, charging port, 3.5mm headphone jack, and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.
For the phone’s display, the Xperia 5 V features a 6.1-inch 120Hz OLED panel, which comes with an FHD+ resolution. The screen is flanked by bezels on the top and bottom which house the speakers, and depending on your preferences regarding phone bezels, this is very much a subjective affair. With that being said though, the screen does look good thanks to the OLED tech and high refresh rate on board. The phone does come with IP68 dust and water resistance, which adds some much-needed durability for daily usage.
Internal Hardware and Cameras
The Xperia 5 V is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, which is the same mobile SoC found in the Xperia 1 V (as well as a ton of other Android flagships that came out this year). The phone also packs an Adreno 740 GPU, 8GB of RAM, as well as 128GB of storage which users can increase via a microSD card. There’s also a slightly more expensive variant that features a larger 256GB storage capacity, although the RAM allotment stays the same.
The entire setup runs on a 5,000 mAh battery, a common sight on most Android phones these days. Thankfully, the phone supports a somewhat fast 30W charging speed, in addition to wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. One big change from its predecessor is the camera setup on the rear panel. Instead of a triple-camera array, the Xperia 5 V instead comes with a dual-lens system, consisting of a 52MP main sensor, in addition to a 12MP ultrawide shooter. The front of the phone meanwhile features a 12MP selfie camera.
Software and Availability
As for software, the phone will ship with Android 13, and will come with Sony’s suite of exclusive apps and software features, although the phone generally maintains a clean version of Android, similar to what you’d find on Pixels and Nokia phones. Priced starting at £849, the Sony Xperia 5 V will be available for buyers later in September. Sony also sells a first-party accessory in the form of a slim case, which easily snaps on the phone and even comes with a kickstand, which makes for convenient tabletop viewing sessions.
