Sony launches compact Xperia 1 II: Meet the Xperia 5 II.
Sony has announced a smaller, more compact, version of the flagship Xperia 1 II. The Xperia 5 II retains almost all of the flagship features, and adds a 120Hz display.
The cheaper, and slightly smaller, Xperia 5 II comes with the same camera setup as the top-end Xperia 1 II (you can see some photo samples below, or check out my camera group-test) so hopefully the camera quality will be every bit as good.
It still has the excellent real-time Eye autofocus feature, that maintains perfect focus even with 20fps burst shooting, and also gains the world’s first 4K HDR 120fps slow-motion video recording.
While the Xperia 5 II loses the 4K display, even a Full HD+ resolution is likely going to be absolutely fine – especially with HDR support and, now, the addition of a 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz motion blur reduction, and 240Hz touch-sampling rate.
The 6.1-inch 21:9 ratio display also delivers excellent colour accuracy with the Creator Mode that adjusts everything to display photos and video exactly as the content creator intended.
The phone now has equally balanced, minimal, bezels top and bottom to give the perfect movie-watching experience in landscape mode.
The Xperia 5 II retains the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset with 5G, Wi-Fi 6 support and a 4,000mAh battery with fast USB-PD wired charging. Unlike the Xperia 1 II, there’s no wireless (Qi) charging here.
Other features include a professional camera and video app, to emulate professional camera equipment and allow complete and total control of every camera feature, high-resolution audio support and front-facing stereo speakers, plus a 3.5mm headphone socket!
“Sony’s heritage has been rooted in technology and engineering, and our portfolio has expanded to include the field of entertainment from music, movies, games and much more,
“With this unique background, Xperia smartphones are feature-packed with Sony’s advanced technologies in a compact body, with a profound passion to push the boundaries of what is possible.”
Mitsuya Kishida, President of Sony Mobile Communications
A new gaming mode feature includes turning off battery charging when connected to a wired charger. To reduce heat, you can opt to simply power the phone instead.
And talking of gaming, connect a PlayStation 4 wireless controller and you can enjoy Android games like using a game console.
Pricing and Availability
The Xperia 5 II will be available in the autumn for £799 SIM-free, available in a choice of black or blue.