Sony Xperia 5 II review

28 September 2020


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Anonymous, 02 Oct 2020The ONLY drawback on this phone is the screen brightness. I... moreYes because people nowadays prefer to stay outside under the bright sun. People don’t go inside the buildings or under any trees or roofs or shades, that’s why the screen of this phone really sucks. When it’s night time, people won’t use their phones, because there is no bright light that will make the screen of phones unusable. 🤦‍♀️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦

    I have used Sony Phones since very first ones that were then Sony Ericsson. And They have stubbornly pushed with the innovations that you didn't seen at the other manufacturers.It started with the cybershot Technology on then Symbian phones, waterproofing,side mounted finger scanner and power button (that Half-Apple is implementing now),4K recording,4K screen, super slomo,stubbornness not to produce notch phones... And build quality is superb. Not the one phone that i had (and like i said all of them were Sony) has had brake down other than battery deterioration over the time. I had Xperia Z5 that has lasted till this year since 2015. And that's why i will continue with Sony Phones until they make them

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      • Arte8800
      • mHH
      • 03 Oct 2020

      ada, 02 Oct 2020youre whining already about the screen.. when you actually ... moreYou tell him. Pathetic Troll, he is. Lol.

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        • Arte8800
        • mHH
        • 02 Oct 2020

        320 post , Wtf.
        Sony Xperia 1ii, generated 700+ posts i remember.
        O my, lot off Sony fans.
        Sony = make and believe
        Sony= Like no others
        Sony= why compromise

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          • ada
          • nUv
          • 02 Oct 2020

          Anonymous, 02 Oct 2020The ONLY drawback on this phone is the screen brightness. I... moreyoure whining already about the screen.. when you actually have not even used it... go back to youre hole :)

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            • Anonymous
            • xs9
            • 02 Oct 2020

            YouKnowIt, 02 Oct 2020The socket will outlive the life of the battery. This is given that they used a high-quality female port (LOOKING AT YOU NOKIA WITH YOUR 6 MONTH LIFESPAN), but yes, it will outlive the battery, where Qi charging kills the battery considerably faster because of the heat (except for airVOOC OPPO magic which I still want to know how it works because it seems to defy physics with surface-level info)

            Anyone have any info on whether the usb port is soldered to the main board on this or the 1 ii?

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              • Anonymous
              • mh4
              • 02 Oct 2020

              The ONLY drawback on this phone is the screen brightness. It is literally unusable in outdoor lighting. Doesn't even have to be sunlight outside, can still only barely see the screen.

              Source: I have phones with around the same brightness now. (Xperia 10 II, Pixel 4XL (before the brightness update), Lumia 950 and Honor Magic 2)

                Anonymous, 28 Sep 2020Great phone, but the lack of wireless charging is a major d... moreThe socket will outlive the life of the battery.

                  "The European Image and Sound Association (EISA) has announced the winners of the best mobile phone award in 2020. OnePlus 8 Pro, Huawei P40 Pro, Oppo Find X2 Pro, Galaxy Z Flip, and the Sony Xperia 1 II were some of the phones highlighted."

                  Well, seeing that OP8Pro was rewarded as best overall, and Xperia 1 II awarded best multimedia phone, Xp 5 II having same amazing batterylife, a headphone jack, SD card slot, shutter button and better more compact build, , but no qi wireless that OP has....
                  Each one is lacking in sth, but IMO OP8Pro is lacking more of essentials such as the 3.5 jack and SD slot.

                  Yes, indeed, enough reasoning to seriously consider Xperia 5 II as top competitor against OP8Pro for best overall smartphone released in 2020.

                    Android.Master, 30 Sep 2020First of all I am not using the Find X2 pro personally as a... moreI'm fine with you adoring your Oppo Find X2 Pro all the time and I do admit that's a great phone. But the constant dragging on Sony from you yearlong when they did improve more than they ever did and build one of the most complete-package flagships smartphone in 2020 on Xperia 5 II alongside Xperia 1 II (especially when 1 II Android 11 updates covered FHD+@120Hz screen option enable + 240Hz touch sampling, enabling 4K@120fps recording,etc.), makes me wonder about your perspective...:
                    "Even when Sony already moved to a very niche market that doesn't even bother people like you, but rather their fans & some professionals, you still trying to downplay Sony's improvements on smartphone efforts because they need to be mainstream like your Oppo did. Did Sony live in your mind rent-free for the longest time because of those past uninteresting Xperias you countered all along?"

                      Anonymous, 29 Sep 2020So much hype by Sony fans yet not one Sony Xperia 1 II user... moreWell, probably because you can always just search it on the web - https://forum.xda-developers.com/sony-xperia-1-II/help/bootloader-unlock-rooting-t4110829

                      You can unlock it but Sony warn that there are some features that will be missing.

                        Twentysix, 30 Sep 2020Where's the IR-Blaster? It's essential.I know right? IR blaster is essential, especially when you can discreetly turn off a tv in a local cafeteria when everyone is watching live football match when a player is about to score a goal. The look on their faces is priceless.

                        But then again that is probably the reason why a lot of manufacturers omit this feature. lol

                          Anonymous, 30 Sep 2020How does it light up then without backlight?Displays like in TCL's NXT paper uses ambient light/ light in the surrounding

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                            • Anonymous
                            • 8Kf
                            • 02 Oct 2020

                            Anonymous, 01 Oct 2020Exactly. There are different phones for different people�... moreThey do not like metal phones, because they need to move nfc to front.
                            Like X series.
                            Glass is fancy.

                            Compare iphone 7 and 8.
                            8 looks more premium because of glass.

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                              • Anonymous
                              • B{0
                              • 01 Oct 2020

                              To me this is sadly a camera, with added phone functions. It should be primarily a phone, the emphasis and hence feature balance is wrong. Not all of us need super high end cameras or use a phone for gaming. I won't part with my xz Premium for this piece of kit.

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                                • Anonymous
                                • nEV
                                • 01 Oct 2020

                                This is an exciting phone. Been stuck with my S8 for a while now because there was nothing compact and feature rich enough to consider upgrading until now. This ticks just about every upgrade box except for software capabilities which I am gonna miss if I decide to upgrade...

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                                  • Anonymous
                                  • xs9
                                  • 01 Oct 2020

                                  BliTTzZ, 01 Oct 20201). Lack of updates. Sony is one of the most consistent com... moreExactly. There are different phones for different people's needs. Many people don't need a flagship. A small percentage of people need a flagship camera. Many people are just way too into raw specs and neglect every QoL thing that will matter for extended use.

                                  The main camera sensor itself is quite literally the best 12.x MP phone camera on the market, and still "better" than the vast majority of higher MP phone cameras. You can just look at low light photo noise output and color accuracy for that. The difference is the software is focused differently than other phones, which makes other phones better for other people. There is no need to shit on this phone (or other phones) just because they don't fit someone's personal usecase, which too many people do.

                                  For me, this is one step below perfect: a 765G, 90 Hz screen, and an aluminum back (no wireless charging anyway) for $100-$150 less and it would be gold for my specific case. I mean, this phone also has IP65 AND IP68 which even samsung/Google/Iphone's top of the line phones don't have.

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • xs9
                                    • 01 Oct 2020

                                    Ali Bashir, 01 Oct 2020So many people debating about the screen brightness level &... moreGood point. Back when I had my iPhone 5S, I could use it outside just fine without the brightest display, swapped to a few android phones and they are barely usable outside despite having around the same nit display.

                                    Also polarization angle made the phones I tried after only visible with sunglasses horizontally where the iphone was only visible vertically. Very different in terms of real-world usability that no reviews ever touch on.

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                                      • pan
                                      • I@H
                                      • 01 Oct 2020

                                      Ali Bashir, 01 Oct 2020So many people debating about the screen brightness level &... moretrue... reminds me of my n9, definitely not the brightest display, but certainly readable... it has anti glare screen... while higher nits may help, at certain angle it would still be a struggle to use it outdoors...

                                        So many people debating about the screen brightness level "nits" and nobody is mentioning anything about the legibility, because the nits level does not represent the screen performance but there is another more important factor which is the type of coating of the glass which identify the amount of light the screen reflects and the more it is reflective the less legibility and efficiency you get, the moral of this the nits level doesn't represent the real life performance of the display.

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