Sony Xperia 5 II - Everything you need to know about this compact powerhouse - Android

Sony revealed the Xperia 5 II in September, a second-generation version of its “premium mainstream” phone. The Xperia 5 II follows last year’s Xperia 5 and sits below the Xperia 1 II in the Sony family tree.

Sony is making lots of bold claims about the Xperia 5 II, which are centered on its speed and size. The company is aiming squarely at photography, gaming, and media buffs as the Xperia 5 II’s prime customer segment. Can it find an audience in these multimedia lovers?

We have all the basics handled in this Android Authority buyer’s guide to help you form an early opinion.

Sony Xperia 5 II: What is it?

The Sony Xperia 5 II is Sony’s second take on an affordable flagship. The company revealed the original Xperia 5 in September 2019 and thus this sequel arrives right on time for the 2020 holiday shopping season. It’s a slim, average-sized phone that proffers to deliver all the power of a flagship in an easy-to-use piece of hardware.

Sony says the Xperia 5 II was “built for speed” and “made compact.” More specifically, it was built for gaming speed, imaging speed, and performance speed, and made for “perfect hand and pocket fit.” In order to meet these marketing milestones, Sony gave the phone a top processor and specs. It cut very few corners and made every effort to make the phone a totable tower of power.

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Sony spared no superlative when announcing the phone, but last year’s Xperia 5 was not the beast phone Sony hyped it to be. We found it to be less than compact and not as fully featured as the more powerful Xperia 1 series. Has Sony found the right mix in the Xperia 5 II? Let’s dive into the specifics.

What are the Sony Xperia 5 II’s features?

Sony centered the Xperia 5 II around three tentpoles: imaging, gaming, and performance.

The phone is a slim, tall slab. Sony markets the phone as compact, but we disagree. It’s the exact same dimension as last year’s Xperia 5, which we called “not so compact” in our review. It’s certainly smaller than many of today’s uber flagships, but it’s not a dainty device, either. That said, the 5 II is a Gorilla Glass 6 and aluminum sandwich that carries an IP68 rating, offers a headphone jack, and supports expandable microSD storage. You’ll find dedicated camera and Google Assistant buttons, as well as a USB-C port, stereo speakers, and a pleasing piano black finish.

Sony likes to borrow imaging tech from its Alpha line of cameras and this year is no different. The Xperia 5 II adopts a triple 12MP system for its standard, wide, and telephoto lenses. The focal lengths mimic those of certain types of lenses, such as a 16mm wide-angle, 24mm standard, and 70mm telephoto. They all rely on Zeiss lenses with real-time eye autofocus for both humans and animals. The sensor is much bigger than last year’s phone at f/1.7, which allows it to perform better in low light. The camera relies on Sony’s Bionz engine and has the ability to shoot bursts at 20fps with continuous autofocus tracking. The phone can shoot in RAW+JPEG mode for the ultimate in editing flexibility.

The phone is no video slouch. Sony paired with CineAlta so the phone can shoot at the 21:9 cinema ratio with advanced color reproduction. Moreover, it can handle 4K video capture at speeds up to 120fps for ultra-smooth slow motion. New USB tethering allows owners of the Sony A7S III camera to send files via USB-C to the phone for FTP upload.

What about gaming? Well, let’s start with the display. The screen measures 6.1 inches across the diagonal and has a 21:9 aspect ratio — something Sony pioneered with last year’s Xperia 1, 10, and 5 phones. Sony has upped the game (pun intended) by jumping to a 120Hz refresh rate with 240Hz sampling rate. That means scrolling and other on-screen action will be smooth, while the screen will be more responsive to touch input. The screen is available in two modes: standard mode for gaming and media consumption, and creator mode for photography and videography. The latter mode is more accurate with respect to color so creators can see exactly what their content will look like as a finished product.

Whether you use headphones or the built-in speakers, you can expect top-notch sound from the device, says Sony. Sony goes on to extol the virtues of its sound processing, which should deliver balanced stereo sound from the speakers, as well as upscaled goodness from just about any audio codec. We’ll reserve judgement until we hear for ourselves.