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Is Sony’s $1,000 Xperia 5 IV Worthy Competition for Apple and Samsung?
The mobile phone market is a competitive place and can feel like a heavyweight championship bout at times. Giants like Samsung and Apple dominate the market, leaving little room for competition, so it may be a bit of a surprise to see electronics legend Sony is still plugging away. Granted, other companies have been able to do so – Motorola and Google – but there are some that have just flat out abandoned the space – think LG and HTC. Does Sony’s Xperia 5 IV stand a chance?
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Sony Xperia 5 IV | Image: Sony
Sony makes no qualms about who it’s focusing on. It seems that the whole intention behind the Xperia 5 IV is content creation and consumption, as it focuses on features that other phones no longer use, such as headphone jacks and microSD cards. The phone features a 6.1 inch FHD+ 120 Hz OLED display and while it’s about as long as others on the market, Sony’s new device is much thinner.
Sony has also upgraded the rear camera system over the previous Xperia 5 III. All the lenses of the Xperia 5 IV are capable of 120 fps slow-motion video in 4K. They also feature Eye AF in video and real-time tracking, as well as 20 fps burst in HDR. Those headphone jacks will let you use your favourite headphones, which will come in handy with Xperia 5 IV’s Music Pro support. This upgrade lets you record tracks on the go as well as enjoy the Sony Music tuning that the phone comes with.
Sony Xperia 5 IV | Image: Sony
The phone offers Hi-Res Audio transmission so you can have more immersive sound with 360 Reality Audio. In addition, the Xperia 5 IV includes DSEE Ultimate upmixing and Dolby Atmos support. And if you’re a gamer away from your computer, you’ll appreciate Xperia 5 IV’s game streaming capabilities. This feature allows you to stream games via PS Remote Play at 120 Hz with 240 HZ motion blue reduction and 240 Hz touch scanning rate.
The Sony Xperia 5 IV is built around the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform and offers 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Sony claims the 5,000mAh battery offers multiple days of power. It also comes with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus display protection and it earned a IP65/68 dust and water resistance rating. It doesn’t come cheap though—you’ll pay from USD$800 to USD$1,000, depending on where you buy it.
Sony Xperia 5 IV | Image: Sony
Sony Xperia 5 IV Technical Specs
| Sony Xperia 5 IV | |
| Display: | 6.1 inch OLED |
| Resolution: | 1080 x 2520 pixels |
| Processor: | Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (4 nm) |
| Weight: | 172 g |
| Dimensions: | 156 x 67 x 8.2 mm |
| Camera: | 12 MP, f/1.7, 24mm (wide), 1/1.7″, 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS, 12 MP, f/2.4, 60mm (telephoto), 1/3.5″, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS, 12 MP, f/2.2, 124˚, 16mm (ultrawide), 1/2.5″, Dual Pixel PDAF |
| Price: | $999 |
Mr Mark Jessen
Mark Jessen studied English at Brigham Young University, completing a double emphasis in creative writing and professional writing/editing. After graduating, Mark went to work for a small publisher as their book editor. After a brief time as a freelance writer, Mark entered the corporate world as a copywriter. These days, his hours are spent mostly in proofing and editing, though he continues to create content for a wide variety of projects. In 2017, Mark completed UCLA's Creative Writing Certification. A prolific writer, Mark has over 20 years of experience in journalism.
