Table of Contents
amazon SONY XPERIA 5 II reviews
Who is this phone for?
I have to admit that when Sony introduced a phone with a 21:9 aspect ratio, I was very skeptical of their decision like no other. An oddly oversized frame, many people scoff at it, or at least, the phone looks unnaturally long.
While the industry hasn’t officially acknowledged it, it’s been following a long-running trend quietly. More and more smartphone companies adopt the 20:9 or 20.5:9 long aspect ratio; some have launched phones with 21:9 screens.
And since it’s a ratio that’s long been recognized by the industry (21:9 is the cinematic ratio), it didn’t take long for content creators to adapt. In other words, Sony is the one who set the market trend this time, whether you can ignore it or try to deny it, but at least they saw what was to come.
Why do I say this? Because the Xperia 5 II is a phone with a consistent design that offers surprisingly premium features. If you want a flagship that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand, this is an extremely easy-to-use smartphone with comparable performance, but the flagship model has a larger screen.
Design and display
The Sony Xperia 5 II is a completely different “monster” from its predecessors. It doesn’t cut down on anything that might detract from the user experience. The 158 x 68 x 8mm dimensions aren’t that small, but narrowing the sides and elongating the width offers a huge benefit: a very comfortable grip.
It fits neatly in the palm of your hand, very comfortable to use. You don’t have to try to reach for the characters and symbols at the edge of the screen. You also don’t need to reach down to the bottom of the screen too much. Of course, because of the 21:9 aspect ratio, it is impossible to reach the top of the top half of the screen; however, now where to find a smartphone that can easily reach the top?
The overall size makes the device fit in hand and easily slips into the pocket. It is much more comfortable than many other smartphone models when traveling and driving daily.
As usual, the phone uses an industry-standard design of two panes of glass pressed into a metal frame. The frame is extremely sturdy, and the glass panels are also very seamless. Xperia 5 II also has the familiar IP68 water resistance standard.
The OLED screen has a 120Hz refresh rate, helping you scroll more smoothly than the traditional 60Hz. The touch sampling rate reaches 240Hz, making the operation respond almost instantaneously and especially ideal for gaming. What about actual use? I can guarantee that its experience is great. You get a bright screen and comfortable viewing angles, and two-color reproduction modes to choose.
Performance
In daily use, the machine runs quickly and smoothly as expected from the numbers on paper. There is no freeze, lag, or delay in operation. I played Asphalt 9 on the Xperia 5 II, and it was very smooth, there were no frame drops, and even the 21:9 aspect ratio made me look more comfortable.
With Game Enhancer software, Sony has developed optimized tools for gamers with everything from refresh rate to motion blur. In short, this is a “monster” in terms of performance features, and if you are a person with high gaming needs, you should consider it.
Battery life
The device has a 4,000mAh battery, although the size is even more compact than the Xperia 1 II. Sony says it has rearranged the internal components to be able to provide a larger battery. The experience proved that the optimal software and optimized hardware gave the dream results.
I regularly achieve more than 8 hours of onscreen per day, enough to use from after breakfast until bedtime. Usually, it will hold more than 25%, enough for me to last until noon the next day. With a 60Hz refresh rate, if you use 120Hz, you can see battery life decrease rapidly.
In my experience, 120Hz will reduce the usage time to nearly 7 hours, and at the end of the day, the device is just under 10% before going to bed. That’s still pretty good, enough for a long day.
As for charging speed, Sony offers 21W fast charging, but the bundled unit only stops at 18W. According to our testing, the machine reaches 50% in about 30 minutes. To fully charge 100% from a depleted state takes more than 90 minutes. A small note for you, the product does not support Qi wireless charging like Sony Xperia 1 II.
Software
Sony’s software is almost stock Android. You will only see a slight change in the wallpaper, a few other fonts, a change in the icons. Some proprietary applications of Sony, such as Game Enhancer, Photo Pro, or Cinema Pro, replace the old applications.
While Side Sense is not very useful, Sony has a mode to reduce the screen to make it easier to manipulate. The most interesting is the multitasking interface. It works extremely well on a long screen.
Camera
Sony often disappoints with smartphone cameras. On the Xperia 5 II, you’ll have two apps for taking photos; one is the regular camera, and the other is Photo Pro, which borrows the UI from the famous Alpha mirrorless camera line. Many first-time visitors will be overwhelmed and don’t know what to do.
Sony has maintained the regular camera app over the years, so it won’t take you long to get used to it. It offers two options for taking photos and recording videos, familiar settings like previous Xperia models.
As for Photo Pro, it will work effectively in the hands of those who are knowledgeable about photography, especially those who have been using Sony’s Alpha cameras. Photo Pro is a powerful app with fine-tuning tools, but you have to know what you’re doing and have photography knowledge to take advantage of them.
Overall, the overall image quality is quite good with the Xperia 5 II. There is such a thing as film, and it can be good or bad depending on your taste. I’m not bragging; I thought this was taken from Kodakchrome. Color and graininess led to that effect. The photo generally looks warm, with natural colors not being pushed up or oversaturated.
The white balance is slightly yellow, while sharpness is reduced. I like the way it looks like this. The HDR effect should have been a bit better. It didn’t pull as much detail in the bridge shots as I would have liked.
Regarding filming, if you are not too knowledgeable about the profession, you should use a traditional camera. Cinema Pro is complicated, and it’s not fun at all. It allows you to control all the shooting parameters, but you will not know what you are doing unless you are a professional videographer.
Fortunately, Cinema Pro has a feature called “Look,” which allows you to select eight color samples referenced by Sony based on their CineAlta VENICE cinema camcorder. I tried recording 1080p@60fps, and it was very good.
Conclude
Value for sale is the only problem the Xperia 5 II has. With a figure of 950 USD, it is equivalent to Galaxy S20 Plus, Note 20, etc. Of course, the product is great with such a cost, but the pressure to compete with such competitors is very fierce. I wish Sony would bring the price down a bit, like $900.
Xperia 5 II is a compact body but offers a flagship-like experience. It is superior to the OnePlus 8 or Motorola Edge Plus and completely on par with the Galaxy S20; Sony has made a great product this time. It’s not small, but it’s easier to handle and more comfortable to hold than any other high-end phone.
Excellent hardware, with an impressive display and trendy 120Hz refresh rate, water-resistant design with glass back, headphone jack. Performance is top-notch without a doubt, while battery life is absolutely fine. Simple, lightweight software, some interesting proprietary software for you to discover.
In conclusion, this is probably the best Xperia in Sony’s history, when almost every aspect is reached. The only problem is that you have enough confidence to spend money when placed next to other competitors, like Samsung, Oppo, OnePlus, in the same price range.
where can you get a SONY XPERIA 5 II online
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