Sony bets on small format smartphones for the start of the school year

Although less present on the smartphone market than giants like Apple or Samsung, Sony is back in the game with its new Xperia, a compact and high-end smartphone optimized for the creation and consumption of content.

As part of the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (IFA), the high technological mass of the new school year, Sony has unveiled a new Smartphone, the Xperia 5 IV. It completes the Xperia range, which was already enriched with two models at the beginning of the summer, the Sony Xperia 1 IV and Xperia 10 IV.

Equipped with a 6.1-inch OLED panel in an atypical 21:9 format, which is unique to it and gives it a long look, the Xperia 5 IV measures 156 x 67 x 172 mm for a weight of 172 grams, this which makes it a more compact smartphone than the most high-end model, the Xperia 1 IV. These features have the merit of making it easier to handle for people with small hands and of allowing the device to be carried comfortably in a pocket. The phone is expected to be rugged, as it will be protected by Gorilla Glass Victus window coating and will have IP65/68 certification, which means it will be waterproof.

Unlike the Xperia 1 IV, which offers 4K resolution, the Xperia 5 IV is content with Full HD + (1080 x 2520 pixels), with a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. The panel will support HDR (according to the ITU-R recommendation BT.2020) in real time. Sony promises 50% more intense brightness than the previous generation, which remains to be confirmed. Hi-res files and 360 Reality audio are supported and the stereo speakers match the Dolby Atmos standard.

The Xperia 5 IV has a high-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Soc, associated with 8 GB of RAM (where the flagship has 12), which will ensure great fluidity, both in video games and in multitasking.

It has three Exmor RS photo sensors on the back: a main module (12 Mpx) with wide-angle optics (f / 1.7), an ultra wide-angle (f / 2.2, eq. 16 mm) and a telephoto lens (f / 2.4, eq. 60 mm), both also 12 Mpx. All allow shooting in 4K at 120 frames per second, in HDR and with AF and AE autofocus tracking modes. However, we lose the continuous optical zoom function of the Xperia 1 IV. The front camera is also 12MP.

The smartphone is equipped with a large 5000 mAh battery and an accumulator compatible with fast charging limited to 30 W (where the competition sometimes reaches 100 W). Sony touts it as a voluntary choice to save battery power and claims it’s possible to recover to a half charge in 30 minutes.

The Xperia 5 IV will go on sale for €1049, where its big brother, the Xperia 1 IV, reaches €1399. That’s a price hike over the equivalent model of the previous generation, the Xperia 5 III, which was only €1,000. Three colors will be offered: black, green and off-white.

By Antoine Danhier.

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