Sony Xperia 5 V review

1 September 2023


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  • acidtoyman
  • tPk
  • 03 Sep 2023

Anonymous, 02 Sep 2023Reasons to pick samsung over sony: Samsung is way more p... moreThen why aren't you using Apple instead of Samsung? Dumb comment of the day ...

    Anonymous, 02 Sep 2023Reasons to pick samsung over sony: Samsung is way more p... more"Samsung is way more popular, everyone picks samsung, popular means good, right? Why should you pick some obscure brands than a well known brand?"

    This is NOT a reason to pick Samsung lmao, you could have other reasons like software support

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • nZ6
      • 03 Sep 2023

      Tyas, 01 Sep 2023microsd, 3.5 jack, screen without notch or holes, clean android?"clean" android, as in "free from bloatware"?

      Or Google's vision of Android? e.g.
       •  big ugly bubbles,
       •  big ugly widget titles (calendar title is 30% of the widget at 3x2 on a 5x6 grid),
       •  palette-restricted pastel colors (and when not pastel, bright ones like LIME),
       •  ridiculous animated squiggly line on the dropdown media control widget,
       •  date/time pickers that are less usable than previous generations (selecting the minute on an analog clock is bad, on the digital clock's wheel of fortune showcase showdown widget is even worse, and pressing to type should just be the default method like it used to be),
       •  everything overrounded and overspaced,
       •  checkboxes and toggles nested inside of selectable elements that are too small for fingertips so you press the selection outline instead of the checkbox/toggle (lookin' at you, Gmail and Philips Hue apps!),
       •  not being able to disable screenshots on the lockscreen so a 5 minute bicycle ride results in 138 new screenshots of the lock screen,
       •  Stupid easter eggs in the system menu instead of more bugfixes (Last month saw over 100 fixes for the long-released Pixel 6),
       •  a phone app that CALLS THE PERSON BACK WITHOUT DELAY when you press the main button for that call instead of showing the call details, which is a different one of those "too small to push" button-in-a-button... (I'm sure a lot of people wishing to avoid an unsavory, persistent person in their life REALLY appreciate this "feature" /s)
       •  either a terrible "unified" volume slider or a nearly full screen window for adjusting call/ring/alarm volumes,
       •  a dozen clock faces on the home screen and they all look like circus or Halloween decorations,
       •  goofy shapes that pop out when you type your PIN;

      think about this: Some developer team is getting paid to put stupid animated stars and rounded polygons instead of improving the reliability, safety, and functionality of the ONE, MAIN tool people rely on to get or keep them out of sticky situations---calling emergency services away from home (hey, that bug was ONLY last year!), finding your way in the wilderness/on the road/in any new place, letting friends know your whereabouts, keeping track of work/family/health, staying social and informed, accessing schoolwork, and everything else people do with their phones besides gaming.

      Honestly, with how awful the initial feedback is on each generation of Pixel since Rick Osterloh led this team, I would not trust that the stock Android experience is a goal you want to have as a handset maker.

      On the bloatware front... This thing is 1000 dollars. If it's like its big brother, the 1 V, it is gonna have Amazon Shopping or Prime Video, Tidal, Facebook, some video games, LinkedIn, Netflix, Audible, and a bunch of other things to uninstall. A few of those might even require adb to de-list and root to uninstall. If you are going to count vendor apps (like Samsung's Bixby or Oppo's Game Center) then you also should consider Game Enhancer or some of the Sony creator apps (especially the new subscription one) to be bloatware. If you gave the phone to your favorite average senior citizen, are they likely to appreciate the paid music creator app more than a free, basic, "single red button" recorder app? You think gramps will ever mess around with Game Enhancer?

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • nZ6
        • 03 Sep 2023

        Ottonis, 01 Sep 2023Other brands will charge you much more than 300 Dollars whe... moreDo you get your money back when you realize the Sandisk SD card you bought from Amazon is a fake?

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • 0p}
          • 03 Sep 2023

          $960 in HK.
          As gift , the WF-C700N

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • nZ6
            • 03 Sep 2023

            PhoneFreak45, 01 Sep 2023Orrrrr it's expensive because it uses the bleeding edg... moreApple is about to release a similar sensor to the Exmor T, and they probably will go all the way to 1TB storage. Sure, it's not removable space, but it will be fast and reliable.

            Nokia has a few SD + 3.5mm offerings with longer OS/security support plus a reputation for indestructible handsets, all 30 to 50 percent the price of the Sony.

            Motorola has a recent SD + 3.5mm + 1/1.5" OIS sensor at almost-compact size.

            Zenfone (all the recent ones) have jacks and go up to 512GB storage plus double the RAM of the Xperia. Diss the camera sensor on this all you want... because it's a Sony.

            At least one of vivo's phones is SD, 3.5, and 50+% of the specs of the 5 V for 20% of the price.

            Literally no smartphone review site has Sony 1 V at the head of the pack when it comes to photography. Android Authority has them "in the top 8", Digital Camera World had a stroke and put only the Xperia 1 III at #9, crickets on xda-developers/Android Police (although they note that the Xiaomi 13 Pro uses a Sony IMX989), nothing on CNET, nothing on Tom's, nothing on the [definitely biased/shill] New York Times... Trusted Reviews has them listed under "Best for pro shooting" where they praise the Exmor T *plus the impressive telephoto*.

            Just like the Wright Brothers made the airplane and Chinese made gunpowder and everyone else took those inventions and made them much more effective, someone else is gonna take the Sony sensor and turn it into a good handset.

              Nah we dont use mainstream boring phone. We need something else that offer unique taste. Sorry.

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • 0p}
                • 03 Sep 2023

                Better wait 1 vi ..

                All exmor T : 1/1.35" + 1/2.9" ( equal to 1/2") + 1/3.2" ( equal to 1/2.5").
                16gb ram
                5150mAh
                33W

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • LH6
                  • 03 Sep 2023

                  Luc, 02 Sep 2023100% agree. The subtile pattern around the clock is just 1 ... more2x zoom kills texture on every single image. I guess they want to kill upscaling artifacts so in that process they kill the texture, you get the similar results by using image upscale apps such as photozoom pro and others.

                    The 2x 'zoom' samples look exactly like the same quality I get from my iPhone 12 mini when I use the 2x digital zoom. That is, they are not very good as they are excessively sharpened to compensate for the inevitable lack of details. Having said that, they are good enough for social media and such.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • K1I
                      • 02 Sep 2023

                      Fa14bi, 02 Sep 2023Larger camera sensor than S23, better portrait mode than S... moreReasons to pick samsung over sony:

                      Samsung is way more popular, everyone picks samsung, popular means good, right? Why should you pick some obscure brands than a well known brand? Why should you pick something different than what everyone uses, even if they have the same features if not better?

                      You can even flex your samsung galaxy s23 and everyone will be impressed rather than trying to flex some obscure brands people didn't know still exist.

                        Disappointing. The V III periscope is why I have one. Fortunately it looks good for the next iteration or two till Sony recover their senses.
                        "Lossless" 2x focus with the limitations of a wide angle lens doesn't give the same optical performance as a real longer focus narrow angle lens.

                          • k
                          • kek
                          • GBh
                          • 02 Sep 2023

                          Nick Tegrataker, 02 Sep 2023Remember, everything I will be writing here is stuff that I... moreIn the end, physics ends up winning.

                          The bigger the sensor, the more light it gathers and the more likely chance you will have of getting a good pic.

                          The problem with most QB sensors is that they use tiny pixels (0.8) and in most cases, they end up behaving like a common 12 mp sensor, so the added resolution ends up being meaningless.

                          There are some good QB sensors out there, tho, but the cheaper ones are terrible.

                            • L
                            • Luc
                            • 4Sb
                            • 02 Sep 2023

                            Anonymous, 02 Sep 20235v zoomed samples are sharpened, giving you impression of m... more100% agree. The subtile pattern around the clock is just 1 color for the V while the IV shows smaller patterns within.

                            Sadly gsmarena missed it but no surprise that digital cropping is always worse than equivalent 2x focal length lens (1 pixel never fully resolves anywhere close to 1 pixel detail):

                            "The 2x zoomed photos are identical in quality to 2.5x zoomed ones from the Xperia 5 IV's telephoto camera."

                              Anonymous, 02 Sep 2023Exactly. Holy smokes these ratings are absolutely insane. T... moreLarger camera sensor than S23,
                              better portrait mode than S23,
                              comparable telephoto because sensor size advantage on the Sony tele, a centwr crop to 3times on the Sony is still almost identical than the 3 times on Samsung. (1/9 of Sony main sensor = 1/4.05 at 3 times vs 1/3.91).

                              Also of course better 2 times than S23
                              4k 120 existing
                              higher bitrate Video than S23
                              better raw files than S23
                              better audio quality than S23
                              headphone jack + SD
                              less system ram occupied by UI
                              longer battery lifespan in general
                              the capability to use it as a Monitor for your DSLR
                              the capability to make your dslr able to livestream it's footage


                              For Samsung there is longer software support and higher screen brightness.


                              Ah, and the Sony can do Full sized 12MP shots at 30per Secound. If you need to capture a very specific moment, like an insect taking off, a wave water splash, a bird passing by....

                              The phone can also put on colour filters in games


                              There are many many tiny reasons to take it over the S23... and two big reasons to take the S23 over the Sony.

                              Always depends on what the person really wants.

                              And even if it is just some people who care about what the Sony can do, I want them to keep doing those little alternatives to your average phone.

                                • D
                                • AnonD-1114487
                                • CbG
                                • 02 Sep 2023

                                UltraHD, 02 Sep 2023Wtf are you talking about? I have S23 right now and nothing... moreHe's talking about the hole punch :)

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • 8uS
                                  • 02 Sep 2023

                                  Phones fan, 01 Sep 20234.4 stars are overrated, 4.0 stars rating is more accurate.Exactly. Holy smokes these ratings are absolutely insane. There is exactly zero logical reason to pick it up over S23 or Xiaomi 13. I know some people like their SD card slot and headphone jack but cmon...

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • 0p}
                                    • 02 Sep 2023

                                    Anonymous, 02 Sep 2023Are there any samples to download for 4k120fps video or 48m... moreIt does not take 48mp photos.
                                    Locked, just like pixel.

                                      Anonymous, 02 Sep 2023Everything considered, 5iv is a better phone than this in e... moreExcept chipset which means, energy efficiency, how much it overheats, battery life.

                                      Also the larger sensor means better low light performance, and it also has much better software for bokeh. The 5 IV is slightly better in tele.

                                        • J
                                        • Jimbob
                                        • 7@F
                                        • 02 Sep 2023

                                        If I cant use it with one hand then its not compact.. Sony stuck on this screen size for the last 4 years... bring it down already

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