The big picture: Not long ago, people used the term ‘phablet’ when talking about phones with massive screens, but nowadays, most phones seem to fit in that category. Luckily for those who prefer something a bit more pocketable, Sony’s Xperia 5 IV bucks the trend by having a narrower form factor that should be easier to use one-handed.
Sony just unveiled the Xperia 5 IV, a more compact version of its flagship phone released earlier this year. It’s not tiny at 156mm x 67mm x 8.2mm, but it is smaller than most modern phones, making it a great alternative to the Samsung Galaxy S22 or the Asus Zenfone 9.
Up front, there’s a 6.1-inch 1,080 x 2,520 OLED display sitting underneath a pane of Gorilla Glass Victus. It has a 120Hz maximum refresh rate and can reportedly get up to 50 percent brighter than the previous Xperia 5 series.
Also improved is the battery capacity, which at 5,000mAh is quite a bit larger than other similarly-sized phones. Sony claims it can charge up to 50 percent in 30 minutes using a 30W charger (not included in the box) and even supports wireless charging.
On the back, the Xperia 5 IV has three 12-megapixel sensors — a 24mm-equivalent 1/1.7-inch primary camera with OIS, a 16mm 1/2.5″ ultrawide, and a 60mm 1/3.5″ telephoto with OIS. It’s disappointing that Sony decided to stick with a fixed 2.5x magnification instead of its flagship’s continuous optical zoom camera.
All three cameras can shoot 4K 120fps video and include features from the company’s excellent Alpha lineup of mirrorless cameras, such as Eye AF and Object Tracking. The selfie camera also got upgraded to a larger 12MP 1/2.9″ sensor.
Powering it all is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC paired with 8GB RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage. The handset also has a microSD card slot and 3.5mm headphone jack, features other manufacturers have long abandoned on high-end phones. Rounding out the package are stereo speakers and an IP68 dust and water resistance rating.
The Sony Xperia 5 IV will begin shipping on October 27, with pricing starting at $999. It will be available in Black, Green, and Ecru White.