Sony unveils Xperia Z5, Z5 Compact, and the world’s first 4K smartphone Xperia Z5 Premium
Sony today made it official: the Xperia Z5 lineup is real, and it comes with three different devices to appeal to a wide group of different people. On tap are the Sony Xperia Z5, Sony Xperia Z5 Compact and Sony Xperia Z5 Premium.
The names should be straight forward in expectations: these devices are all pretty similar in both beauty and brawn. They feature a continuous plate metal unibody build, covered with frosted glass on the back for a very nice premium look and feel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG2JLelx5qA
Inside each device is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 chipset, which hasn’t been the most celebrated chipset ever by the company, but shouldn’t be so bad that it keeps you from buying the Xperia Z5. The phones also share the same 32GB of internal storage (microSD expandable), though they differ in RAM (2GB for the Compact, 3GB for the other two).
For camera, we have Sony’s 23 megapixel Exmor RS sensor, a next generation sensor with super fast autofocus and 5x “Clear Zoom.” Sony’s touting best-in-class low light performance with this thing. Many make that claim and come up short, but camera is one of the Japanese company’s many areas of expertise and we’re surely giving them the benefit of doubt. The early sample shots do look promising, so there’s not much to worry about in the early going.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGqfFQdSbIw
The front camera should also be plenty enough for selfie lovers with a 5-megapixel shooter there. One last thing: there’s a dedicated camera button, which alone might be worth the cost of admission to many photo enthusiasts.
Also new on this phone are fingerprint scanners. These are the first of Sony’s kind to have them, and they’re also the first of any phone to chuck them onto the side instead of the front or back. The fingerprint scanners are embedded within the device’s standard power button, so unlocking and authenticating is expected to remain an intuitive process.
So that leaves us to the display on these three phones. The Sony Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact come in industry-typical sizes and resolution: the Z5 sports a 5.2-inch 1080p display, while the Z5 Compact comes in at 4.6 inches at 720p. That should be more than enough pixel density on either model to ensure a crisp experience.
The Xperia Z5 Premium is where things really get crazy: this thing is boasting the claim of the world’s first phone with a 4K display. That’s a very big deal, folks, even if there’s practically little reason to have so many pixels on such a small display. It comes in at a size of 5.5 inches, which means there’s an eye-bleeding pixel density of 806ppi. Absolutely… incredibly… insanely nuts.
There are questions to be had with such a sweet display, though: will it negatively impact performance? Today’s smartphones are already trying their darndest to push as many as 2560 x 1440 pixels, so it’s interesting to ask the Snapdragon 810, of all chipsets, to go well beyond that mark.
And how much battery will it take to make sure the display isn’t sucking up juice like a thirsty baby? Sony says the 3,430mAh pack inside is enough to keep it going for up to 2 days of typical usage, which is the sweet spot they like to hit for all their smartphones. Whether those expectations will translate to actual results remains to be seen, but it’s mighty impressive if they’ve managed to maintain optimal battery and performance with so many pixels to push.
Those questions and more will be answered once the device has found its way into the hands of many, but for now we’re just going to sit back, smile and feel good about how far technology is coming. The Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact will launch globally starting October 2015, and Xperia Z5 Premium from November 2015, though Sony has yet to confirm any specific availability details for any region.
We also have early pricing information for those in the UK — £599.00 for the Sony Xperia Z5 and £699.00 for the Xperia Z5 Premium. That should give you an idea of how much coin to save up if you’re planning to snag one of these once they’re officially available for sale. You buying one? Let us know with a comment straight ahead!