While
Samsung, Google, LG etc have graduated their top smartphones' screens
from Full HD (1080x1920p) to 2K (1440x2560p) panels, Sony has skipped
right to 4K (2160x3840p) displays with the launch of its Xperia Z5
Premium. This is a bold move, especially considering the lack of 4K
content available worldwide much less in India.
Oh, and Sony Xperia Z5 Premium (at asking price of Rs 62,990) is the only smartphone in India that is priced more than iPhone 6S.
So, the question really is whether the world's first smartphone with 4K screen worth the price tag. We find out in our Sony Xperia Z5 Premium review...
The 4K display
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium sports a 5.5-inch display with 4K resolution, but that doesn't mean that all pixels are fired up all the time. No, the 4K screen comes into action only when you view images and videos in Sony's preinstalled Albums and Movies apps only. The rest of the time, the display only works in Full HD resolution. This means that most of the time, you get a screen that offers the same clarity as any other flagship smartphone out there.
Next point: where do you get the 4K content to view on your smartphone? Well there is very little content shot natively in 4K resolution, so your best bet is capturing videos and photos from your Sony Xperia Z5 Premium itself. The only other option we could find (that works in India) is YouTube, but there are very few videos that are shot in 4K.
Thankfully, Sony has been smart about the implementation of its 4K display technology. Whatever content you have on your phone will be upscaled to 4K resolution automatically. The catch, you ask? Well, the content will be upscaled only if you open it in the Albums and Movies apps. So opening a video in an app like MX Player won't help you much.
How's the experience you ask? Well the videos we viewed on Sony Xperia Z5 Premium showed more detail than they do on HD and Full HD smartphones, but the change was not as great compared to a 2K smartphone like Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+.
If you are a movie buff, you will love the gorgeous display of Sony Xperia Z5 Premium.
Same ol' design
Xperia Z5 Premium is Sony's flagship smartphone, so it came as a surprise that the company has used the same design that it has been using for the past two years on it. The Sony's OmniBalance design language, in any case, looks good but you would expect something more refreshing in a phone priced so high.
What we miss the most, though, is the frosted glass back panel that Sony used in Xperia Z5 Premium. The new frost glass design looked very nice, but Sony has used the plain old glass back in its top smartphone.
Other than that, you get a smartphone that looks very similar to Xperia Z5, which we reviewed recently. The device has a metal frame with corners tipped with nylon to protects the smartphone from damage in case you drop it. Similarly, you get the fingerprint sensor integrated in the Power button, front-facing speakers, water-resistant body with capless design for the microUSB port and earphone jack, and sim as well as microSD card slots hidden under a flap.
Due to the big screen and blocky design, Sony Xperia Z5 Premium can be a little difficult to operate with one hand for most people.
Hardware & software
When it comes to the rest of the internals, Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is almost the same as Xperia Z5, except for the bigger battery.
Octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor
3GB RAM
32GB internal storage, 200GB microSD card support
23MP rear camera with LED flash
5.1MP front camera
4G support
3,430mAh battery with QuickCharge 2.0 technology
The software skin used in Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is the same one we saw in Xperia Z5. So you get a clean interface with a number of preloaded apps. Thankfully, you can uninstall most of these apps expect the ones developed by Sony. The company's Android skin is light and the phone has pretty powerful hardware, so you won't have much of a problem in using the smartphone.
Performance
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is a flagship smartphone and it shows in the performance. The smartphone is capable of handling whatever you throw its way, but then so do most other smartphones that cost Rs 10,000 less (LG G4 and Samsung Galaxy Note5 come to mind especially).
There are no overheating issues with Sony Xperia Z5 Premium either, something we were a little concerned about due to the experience we had with Xperia Z3+. The phone did get a little warm when we were shooting 4K videos, but there were no instances of the camera app shutting down because of overheating.
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is an excellent multimedia device, what with its 4K screen and front facing stereo speakers. You get great-looking videos and clear sounds on the smartphone and will be delighted if you plan to watch a lot of movies on the handset.
All this talk of 4K videos must mean poor battery life, innit? Not as much as we thought, thankfully. The smartphone offers battery life of almost a day and a half with moderate usage (which includes watching 4K videos for 30 minutes). However, the smartphone delivered battery life of less than 12 hours with heavy internet usage. So if you are a road warrior, keep a powerbank with you.
Camera
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium features a 23MP Exmor sensor with 6-element lens, hybrid autofocus that can zero in upon the object in 0.3 seconds, and improved SteadyShot stabilization. In terms of image quality, the smartphone is right there on top with the rest of them... offering detailed shots with great colour balance and white balance.
Here are a few photos we took with Sony Xperia Z5 Premium:
Verdict
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is a powerful smartphone offering a big screen that is great for watching videos, excellent camera, stupendous performance and decent battery life. Buy it if you are a video buff, otherwise there are plenty of other options that cost a lot less available in the market today.
Oh, and Sony Xperia Z5 Premium (at asking price of Rs 62,990) is the only smartphone in India that is priced more than iPhone 6S.
So, the question really is whether the world's first smartphone with 4K screen worth the price tag. We find out in our Sony Xperia Z5 Premium review...
The 4K display
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium sports a 5.5-inch display with 4K resolution, but that doesn't mean that all pixels are fired up all the time. No, the 4K screen comes into action only when you view images and videos in Sony's preinstalled Albums and Movies apps only. The rest of the time, the display only works in Full HD resolution. This means that most of the time, you get a screen that offers the same clarity as any other flagship smartphone out there.
Next point: where do you get the 4K content to view on your smartphone? Well there is very little content shot natively in 4K resolution, so your best bet is capturing videos and photos from your Sony Xperia Z5 Premium itself. The only other option we could find (that works in India) is YouTube, but there are very few videos that are shot in 4K.
Thankfully, Sony has been smart about the implementation of its 4K display technology. Whatever content you have on your phone will be upscaled to 4K resolution automatically. The catch, you ask? Well, the content will be upscaled only if you open it in the Albums and Movies apps. So opening a video in an app like MX Player won't help you much.
How's the experience you ask? Well the videos we viewed on Sony Xperia Z5 Premium showed more detail than they do on HD and Full HD smartphones, but the change was not as great compared to a 2K smartphone like Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+.
If you are a movie buff, you will love the gorgeous display of Sony Xperia Z5 Premium.
Same ol' design
Xperia Z5 Premium is Sony's flagship smartphone, so it came as a surprise that the company has used the same design that it has been using for the past two years on it. The Sony's OmniBalance design language, in any case, looks good but you would expect something more refreshing in a phone priced so high.
What we miss the most, though, is the frosted glass back panel that Sony used in Xperia Z5 Premium. The new frost glass design looked very nice, but Sony has used the plain old glass back in its top smartphone.
Other than that, you get a smartphone that looks very similar to Xperia Z5, which we reviewed recently. The device has a metal frame with corners tipped with nylon to protects the smartphone from damage in case you drop it. Similarly, you get the fingerprint sensor integrated in the Power button, front-facing speakers, water-resistant body with capless design for the microUSB port and earphone jack, and sim as well as microSD card slots hidden under a flap.
Due to the big screen and blocky design, Sony Xperia Z5 Premium can be a little difficult to operate with one hand for most people.
Hardware & software
When it comes to the rest of the internals, Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is almost the same as Xperia Z5, except for the bigger battery.
Octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor
3GB RAM
32GB internal storage, 200GB microSD card support
23MP rear camera with LED flash
5.1MP front camera
4G support
3,430mAh battery with QuickCharge 2.0 technology
The software skin used in Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is the same one we saw in Xperia Z5. So you get a clean interface with a number of preloaded apps. Thankfully, you can uninstall most of these apps expect the ones developed by Sony. The company's Android skin is light and the phone has pretty powerful hardware, so you won't have much of a problem in using the smartphone.
Performance
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is a flagship smartphone and it shows in the performance. The smartphone is capable of handling whatever you throw its way, but then so do most other smartphones that cost Rs 10,000 less (LG G4 and Samsung Galaxy Note5 come to mind especially).
There are no overheating issues with Sony Xperia Z5 Premium either, something we were a little concerned about due to the experience we had with Xperia Z3+. The phone did get a little warm when we were shooting 4K videos, but there were no instances of the camera app shutting down because of overheating.
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is an excellent multimedia device, what with its 4K screen and front facing stereo speakers. You get great-looking videos and clear sounds on the smartphone and will be delighted if you plan to watch a lot of movies on the handset.
All this talk of 4K videos must mean poor battery life, innit? Not as much as we thought, thankfully. The smartphone offers battery life of almost a day and a half with moderate usage (which includes watching 4K videos for 30 minutes). However, the smartphone delivered battery life of less than 12 hours with heavy internet usage. So if you are a road warrior, keep a powerbank with you.
Camera
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium features a 23MP Exmor sensor with 6-element lens, hybrid autofocus that can zero in upon the object in 0.3 seconds, and improved SteadyShot stabilization. In terms of image quality, the smartphone is right there on top with the rest of them... offering detailed shots with great colour balance and white balance.
Here are a few photos we took with Sony Xperia Z5 Premium:
Verdict
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is a powerful smartphone offering a big screen that is great for watching videos, excellent camera, stupendous performance and decent battery life. Buy it if you are a video buff, otherwise there are plenty of other options that cost a lot less available in the market today.
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