Sony Xperia 5 IV review: Pocket photography powerhouse

We had to wait slightly longer than usual, but we finally have our hands on the Sony Xperia 5 IV — the compact and slightly more affordable alternative to the flagship Xperia 1 IV. Distilling Sony’s expensive flagship formula down to a slightly more affordable and compact form hasn’t always struck the ideal compromises. So does the 2022 model manage to find the right balance? Find out in Android Authority’s Sony Xperia 5 IV review.

• Sony Xperia 5 IV (8GB/128GB): $999 / £949 / €1,049

Just like its bigger sibling, the Xperia 1 IV, Sony’s compact flagship focuses on winning over the content creator crowd. Between the Photo Pro, Video Pro, and new Music Pro apps, creators have plenty of toys to play with. Sony aims to appeal to the live streaming crowd too, with streaming straight to YouTube or an RTMP URL service via Sony’s Video Pro and Game Enhancer apps.

Ravenous content consumers are well catered to here as well. Bravia Core gifts customers five movies to redeem and 12 months of unlimited streaming of older shows, free of charge. Music lovers benefit from LDAC and LE Audio Bluetooth, as well as DSEE upscaling and 360 Reality Audio Upmix. Gamers can configure their experiences just how they like through Game Enhancer, with performance, charging, audio, and other options.

It’s not all copy/paste from Sony’s flagship Xperia 1 IV, however. The Xperia 5 IV misses out on the innovative 85-125mm variable focal length periscope camera. There’s also no 4K display here, as is typical of the Xperia 5 series. The RAM also drops from 12GB to 8GB. Still, the broader package remains very much a classic Xperia, complete with a IP65/68 rating, 4K 120fps HDR video recording, 5G networking, Wi-Fi 6E, and other modern Sony smartphone staples.

The Sony Xperia 5 IV is available in just three color options: Black, Green, and Ecru White. Your options are similarly limited for storage, with just one model offering 128GB of internal memory. Thankfully, the handset supports 1TB microSD cards, which somewhat offsets the lack of higher storage variants. If you need a second SIM, there’s eSIM support too.

You can buy the Xperia 5 IV in Europe at the time of this writing. Sony has set a late October release date for US availability, with estimated deliveries of October 27-28 for pre-orders. Some retailers (such as Amazon) are also offering a free pair of Sony WF-1000XM4 true wireless earbuds with each purchase, so you might want to shop around to find that bundle — they’re very nice buds.

If you love Sony’s monolithic design then you’ll be pleased to note that the Xperia 5 IV looks the same as the previous model and the one before that. The familiarity is a bit boring, but if Apple can get away with the same old look then Sony’s classy design can too.

There’s the same sturdy aluminum frame from its premium sibling that’s a major upgrade over the previous generation’s cheap-feeling plastic. The frame houses a snappy side-mounted fingerprint scanner, sturdy volume rockers, plus the camera shutter button. The Xperia 5 IV is also one of the few remaining phones with a 3.5mm headphone jack. The glossy Corning Gorilla Glass Victus front and back is a dust and fingerprint magnet, but hardy against scratches.

The Xperia 5 IV is wonderfully compact with a beautiful 6.1-inch HDR OLED FHD+ display that’s mostly unchanged from the Xperia 5 III. The panel is apparently 50% brighter at its peak, which does help ensure visibility outdoors. This supposedly plays in with Sony’s “Real Time HDR Drive” video exposure correction feature, but I couldn’t tell if/when this kicks in. Equally importantly, the 21:9 aspect ratio further plays to the slim feel in the hand, yet the phone doesn’t feel overly tall.

The Xperia 5 IV features front-facing stereo speakers, one at the bottom and another at the top. It’s a rarity these days and, as such, the handset’s sound stands head and shoulders above most other phones. A newly developed special enclosure reduces unwanted vibrations and helps the speakers sing when propped up on a table. Speaking of, I’d turn Sony’s Dynamic Vibration feature off, it takes the edge off the otherwise superb sound. Of course, the small speakers won’t rival a proper set at driving bass-heavy tracks, but the setup excels at sound separation and clarity for both music and film.

A familiar design doesn’t mean the internals haven’t changed, though. Sony finally squeezed Qi wireless charging into its smaller model, complete with battery share functionality to reverse wirelessly charge earbuds and the like. Wireless charging didn’t peak above 7.5W on the couple of docks I tested, so it’s pretty slow. Much like the 30W wired Power Delivery charging that takes 30 minutes to 50% but around 95 minutes to full (a modest improvement over the Xperia 5 III), but wireless capabilities are welcome nonetheless.

There’s no charger in the box so you’ll have to buy your own plug to provide enough power. But that does mean Sony’s box is 50% slimmer with no plastic inside and fewer carbon emissions. Thankfully, I didn’t encounter the same finicky cable and charger issues I had with the Xperia 1 IV. Sony seems to have fixed that particular bug; this phone charged nicely with the plugs and cables I threw at it.

Sony has packed a 5,000mAh battery into its smaller phone, so you won’t have to charge the phone often. The large battery will easily handle daily social and business tasks, as well as long video playback sessions, and even a decent amount of gaming. Expect a full day’s battery life and then some for all but the heaviest use cases.

As nice as Sony’s hardware package is, it’s not entirely cutting edge. The lack of variable refresh rate display tech means you’re stuck with the added battery drain of 120Hz or the jankier feel of 60Hz, the latter of which the Xperia defaults to out of the box — this helps explains the great battery life. Setting the phone to 120Hz should still provide around four hours of screen time for moderate use, thanks to the large battery capacity. Though that’s probably battery anxiety-inducing for all but the lightest of users. If you’re more of a power user, the smaller display makes this less of a multitasker than the 6.5-inch Xperia 1 IV anyway, and I struggled to make any meaningful use of Sony’s 21:9 Multi-window feature.

The inclusion of a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and not the newer, more efficient Plus version leaves the phone prone to heating during extensive gaming. We clocked a reasonable 9,626 run in 3DMark’s Wildlife, but this falls by nearly 50% to 4,975 by the end of a stress test. That said, the phone will survive a whole round of Apex Legends at a steady 60fps, so will still serve most gamers well enough. Just bear in mind that it does become warm during longer sessions.

Turning to software, I’m so-so on Sony’s take on Android 12. Despite sharing some of Material You’s aesthetics, you won’t find the same level of theming customization. Sony imbues the phone with added features like Side Sense, battery Stamina mode, and Ambient Display, which are all solid. It’s a small gripe, but the inconsistent app and menu theming, plus pre-installed junk like LinkedIn, doesn’t provide the same cohesive polish as the hardware package.

Likewise, I’m not sold on the value proposition of Sony’s niche Music Pro cloud-processing subscription. It only filters and upscales vocals and guitar for a start. But even then, serious musicians and producers will want more powerful editing tools and robust-sounding recording equipment. The microphones are clear enough to record a rough idea, but no phone can legitimately double up as a recording studio.

Sony’s update pledge of two OS and three years of security updates is the real disappointment, as it’s now firmly below average in the flagship and even mid-tier smartphone categories. That’s not great in anyone’s book, and especially not when Sony is charging top dollar for the handset.

Much like a lot of the internals, the Xperia 5 IV doesn’t switch up too much in the camera department. There are the same 12MP main and ultrawide cameras as the Xperia 5 III, complete with 20fps burst shooting. The previous gen’s switchable focal length camera is also replaced with a fixed 60mm shooter, which is a disappointing downgrade. However, Sony has brought its best-in-class 60fps eye autofocus, 4K 120fps recording, and AI-based object tracking to power up the latest 5 series model.

As we’ve come to expect from Sony smartphones, the Xperia 5 IV’s camera package excels at color accuracy, white balance, and natural details. Its results can look subdued compared to some other phones, but Sony balances accuracy with healthy saturation and, like the best camera phones, doesn’t rely on oversharpening. Most of the images I took with the phone look fantastic, and HDR is much improved in this generation. You can always go further with the Photo Pro app’s now staple A/P/S/M options for serious photographers.

There are some still lingering rough edges, though. Pay close attention, and you’ll sometimes spot HDR haloing, chromatic aberration on the ultrawide lens, and smudgy low-light environments. It’s also disappointing that the phone can’t do HDR and bokeh processing at once, and there are still no macro capabilities or night mode toggle — Sony relies on HDR processing and long exposures for low light. That said, the camera is plenty capable enough 90% of the time.

Sony’s Xperia 5 IV misses out on the variable focal length zoom camera of its bigger sibling, stepping back to a fixed 60mm (2.5x) telephoto lens. This setup is limited in its long-range applications, tapping out at about 4x of usable zoom distance while Sony caps it at 7.5x. This telephoto isn’t the most detailed, and there’s some desaturation versus the main lens. However, the 60mm focal length is quite nice for portraits, especially when paired with the artificial bokeh option.

In equally good news, Sony has finally fixed its selfie portrait feature. Gone is the separate menu, replaced with the same bokeh button used for the main camera. Edge detection is vastly improved and now competes with some of the best phones in the business. My only complaint is I don’t care for the fake bokeh halos Sony adds to highlights seemingly arbitrarily, and the bokeh mode has a habit of blowing out background highlights.

Selfie quality is decent in most lighting conditions, thanks to the new larger sensor. However, the camera can only handle so much dynamic range, which throws off the white balance in some instances. Overall, skin textures look great, but tones are hit and miss depending on the lighting, making the selfie experience subpar versus the rear camera package, even with the hardware improvements.

When it comes to video, you’re capped at 4K/30fps or 1080p/60fps in the main camera app but can obtain 4K/120fps from the slightly rejigged Video Pro app. Either way, the footage quality is excellent. Combined with excellent eye tracking and Video Pro’s powerful manual controls, budding videographers have everything they need here.

By sticking to the same price point and making some long-overdue tweaks to the 5 series formula, the Xperia 5 IV is certainly a worthy alternative to the ever-popular Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus ($849.99 at Amazon) and Apple iPhone 14 Pro ($999 at Best Buy). Sporting photography, charging, and multimedia capabilities that closely match and even exceed its rivals, albeit in a much more compact form factor. Sony’s all-camera eye autofocus and 4K HDR capture capabilities stand out for photographers and videographers, in addition to the brand’s long-standing reputation with audio and video enthusiasts.

The Xperia 5 IV isn’t quite a bargain like the Google Pixel 7 Pro ($899 at Amazon), even with all this tech onboard, but it’s close and much more palatable than the extreme price tag of the Xperia 1 IV, making it a solid pick for mainstream consumers who have their eye on Sony’s best-in-class features. That said, Sony doesn’t appear to be willing to match the long-term support offered by other leading manufacturers, making the Xperia 5 IV impossible to recommend to anyone looking for a phone that will serve them well past the three-year mark when security updates will cease.

Sony has a very tempting hardware and software package in the Xperia 5 IV, now it just needs to play with the big names in the update space as well.