Sony Xperia 5 II review

28 September 2020


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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • LHe
  • 29 Sep 2020

Android.Master, 29 Sep 2020Most people use a case for their glass sandwich design phon... moreNope. You can't shatter Sony that easy because it uses the most Gorilla Glass coating I've ever seen, just knock with your finger on the screen and hear it yourself, it has that deep glass sound. And more importantly Sony makes 2.5 screens that bevel at the edges so they are additionally strengthen. They do use very soft aluminum frames which dent as crazy.

    Stanley Kubrick, 28 Sep 2020"The 5 II gets a dedicated Google Assistant button, so... moreI think one can customize this button via root.
    Does Sony allow bootloader unlocking?

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • LHe
      • 29 Sep 2020

      Max brightness on OLED screen refers to just a portion of the screen that achieves that brightness at certain frame. That's marketing talk. Your screen doesn't do 800 nits across all the pixels all the time. All of the OLED phones work within 300-450 range 95% of the time and that's a good thing because it helps your display stay fully functional for a longer period of time. While OLED can turn off pixels, that is not recommended at all if some pixels are lit on the screen, that's why some manufacturers never turn off diodes unless display turns off.

        Anonymous, 29 Sep 2020All of that don't matter once you drop the phone. Sony... moreMost people use a case for their glass sandwich design phones.
        Any glass, curved or otherwise breaks upon falling and destroys all that precious IP68 rating.
        Case is a must.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • LHe
          • 29 Sep 2020

          Android.Master, 29 Sep 2020-Average loud speaker performance despite being front firin... moreAll of that don't matter once you drop the phone. Sony will survive with scratched frame, Samsung S20 and other curved screen flagships will not.

            MrGrumpy, 28 Sep 2020Great review as always, but please, for the love of God, st... moreIf it is narrower than 70mm, it is considered compact.
            Tall phone isn't too cumbersome to handle especially with software tweaks in the UI.

              -Average loud speaker performance despite being front firing.

              -Below par brightness of the display despite improvements in refresh rate.
              No refresh mode selector out of the box.
              No Netflix hdr support either as of now.

              -Ancient fast charging which takes 1hr 50 min to reach full charge for a 4000mah battery. Other manufacturers charge a 4000mah battery in around 30min all the while having superior battery charging technology.
              No wireless charging either.

              -Lack of Availability and high price.

              Looked good on paper.
              Upon further analysis, it is clear that this phone lacks in certain departments which is not acceptable given the 900 Euro price especially when competing phones are around 200-250Euros cheaper having already dropped in price.
              It's still a good well rounded device but most people will look elsewhere as the phone is a hard sell at that price.

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • LkB
                • 29 Sep 2020

                tom, 29 Sep 2020Yeah, they do coz if you drop the phone without the case, i... moreMy xperia has had 13 accidents.
                Even on sidewalk.

                Gorilla 4 + protector on screen/ dragon tail on rear panel .
                No cracks in 4,5 years.

                Ppl that pay $1000 on cellphone can buy whatever case they want.
                No need to get one cheap that will get yellow for free.

                  • A
                  • Aleman88
                  • 8ya
                  • 29 Sep 2020

                  Perfect size!!

                    Anonymous, 28 Sep 2020Ppl who are willing to spend $900, $1000, $1200 or even $14... moreyeah many people thinks like that... I personally wouldn't mind a free case but I'd buy a $20 rugged one to protect that $1000 investment :D

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • uFn
                      • 29 Sep 2020

                      It seems a very good phone indeed but not up for the price to my opinion. I hate Sony for skipping on Wireless charging. It's quite old and cheap tech to implement and to keep on $950 phone with glass back. And it's a deal breaker for me as I use Wireless charging for years. 3.5mm audio jack is the thing of the past for me, don't need it at all since I have a nice pair of wireless buds plus awesome usb-c earphones for backup. Also I wish Xperia 5 II have one universal photo app like Huawei for instance.

                        • t
                        • tom
                        • ntk
                        • 29 Sep 2020

                        Anonymous, 28 Sep 2020Ppl who are willing to spend $900, $1000, $1200 or even $14... moreYeah, they do coz if you drop the phone without the case, it breaks. The issue is that sony is not particularly well-selling brand nowadays and if you go into any store, chance are that you won't find a case for it. So you usually have to import one, which is a PITA coz it's not just the extra cost of shipping, often times being more expensive than the case itself, but also that now you have a $1000 phone that you have to use without a case a couple of weeks or more

                          • S
                          • Smudge Grizz
                          • 0Td
                          • 28 Sep 2020

                          @GsmArena: That battery life at 120 Hz is, in case of OLED Sony phones, just a number that does not make much sense. Assuming you decrease the brightness to standardised 200 nits out of the max brightness (350/550), you might reach lower PWM than 120 Hz and the refresh rate would then go down as well to prevent rendering when the LEDs are off, so you're no longer having 120 Hz when testing.

                          Of course, I might be wrong, but IMHO testing high refresh rates with low brightness on OLED panels don't make much sense. Either you test it at full brightness and check the ratios at 60/120 Hz or put a PWM measurement next to it.

                          Needless to say that PWM is very harmful to your eyes.

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • LkB
                            • 28 Sep 2020

                            Nick Tagataka, 28 Sep 2020If you crop 64MP sensor 2x then you will get 16MP to work w... moreNo matter how many MP you have. You go to 4K 16:9 video mode, camera already restricts everything to 3840x2160. All the other pixels are "put to sleep".

                            Then you apply digital zoom and will cut even more pixels from all four sides.

                            Easy test. Grab your phone and record 30s of 4K. Then you put 3x digital zoom and record more 30s. Check on your computer the quality of both. Not the same.

                            This is why gimbal and tripod are better than EIS.
                            Because EIS applies 1.1 or 1.2x crop and decreases quality.
                            Now imagine crop 3x.

                            3x digital zoom and we have 3840/3 x 2160/3 = 1280 x 720

                            That is why real cameras do not use digital zoom beyond the max physical FL like those tiny pocket cameras.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • LkB
                              • 28 Sep 2020

                              Anonymous, 28 Sep 2020xiaomi budget phones have included tpu case and sony does n... morePpl who are willing to spend $900, $1000, $1200 or even $1400 on cellphone need free $10 case included?

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                                • Wertzius
                                • dNc
                                • 28 Sep 2020

                                Have you all missed the message that the 1 II gets an update for 120Hz when not in 4K mode?

                                Nice phone, a reason to finally go back to Sony.

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • Tui
                                  • 28 Sep 2020

                                  xiaomi budget phones have included tpu case and sony does not for this price ? my god so cheap....

                                    • h
                                    • hubbard
                                    • dZY
                                    • 28 Sep 2020

                                    Sammy, 28 Sep 2020I was a big fan of Sony since the Sony Ericsson days but sw... moreMore worried about samsung/iphone lacking 3,5 mm jack.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • LkB
                                      • 28 Sep 2020

                                      vrvly, 28 Sep 2020What talking about, 64mp or 16mp is enough for 4K, we talk ... moreWith 64MP 28mm you cannot record 4K at 70mm.

                                      64MP 28mm can record 4K @ 28mm, but only HD after 3x digital zoom.

                                      Duh !!!!!

                                        • T
                                        • The Albion
                                        • pKm
                                        • 28 Sep 2020

                                        Sammy, 28 Sep 2020I was a big fan of Sony since the Sony Ericsson days but sw... moreWhat's the big deal re wireless charging ?

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