Sony is one of the Android manufacturers that you don’t hear much about throughout the year, but has managed to consistently produce decent high-end devices for several years now. Last year’s Xperia Z3 was a great option for someone after a well-built handset with excellent battery life, while the Z3 Compact was a solid alternative in a smaller form factor.
This year Sony has released the Xperia Z5, which brings a collection of updated hardware to the company’s flagship Android device. While technically a successor to the limited-release Xperia Z4, Sony is positioning the Xperia Z5 as a worthy upgrade over the year-old Xperia Z3, or the Xperia Z1 from 2013 for those on two-year release cycles.
In many ways the Xperia Z5 has, on paper, everything you’d want from a high-end smartphone. There’s a 23-megapixel camera on the back with “Hybrid Autofocus”, allegedly allowing it to focus in as quick as 30 milliseconds. There’s also a 5.2-inch 1080p display powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC, giving a mix of performance and energy efficiency. Sony claims two days of battery life from the Z5’s 2,900 mAh battery, which is squashed into a 7.3mm thin water resistant body.
