Very nice design and tactile sensations. There is a place for attaching a lanyard on which you can hang the phone around your neck. The battery charges quite quickly.
Good camera, two SIM card slots
Fast. Bright. Nice building. Instantly picks up Wi-Fi. The call is loud. The speakers and microphone are high quality. A good camera – both photo and video. Video in 1080/60 format is generally excellent in quality - clear, juicy, no lags or sagging. It holds a charge for a long time if you use it only for conversations.
A good camera, with good lighting, generally clear pictures are obtained.
A year ago
I've been a Sony fan since push-button phones. However, it was last phone, which I bought from this manufacturer. I've never written any reviews, but it really boiled over here. The phone was purchased in the fall of 2016 with the hope that it would last at least 3-5 years. At that time it cost 37,000 rubles. And at that moment everything was fine; shortcomings began to emerge later.
A year ago
A chic device I took not PCT in intelligence for 16 k everything works well. excellent sound in the ears excellent camera handles all heavy games does not heat up the assembly is Taiwan.
2 years ago
Updated to Android 7. Beautiful, fast, Fire camera! Overall an excellent flagship.
2 years ago
not bad for the money
2 years ago
Big screen, 2 SIM cards, bright display
A month after the purchase, the corners began to fall off, after another 3 months it began to reboot on its own and in the middle the screen stopped working, and after another 3 months the screen began to peel off, the battery does not last even a third of the day. The phone is terrible
Almost immediately the plastic corners of the frame flew off. The phone started to look a little sloppy. The battery runs out quickly. it saddens me that Android version not the last. suddenly (“by itself”) the rear window cracked
The case heats up when active work/ games discharge very quickly
Heats up under any load. It heats up instantly - to the point that it hurts to hold it. Video in normal quality - you can’t shoot longer than five minutes - it cuts off due to overheating. The battery drains very quickly under any heavy load. The power key is hidden flush into the body and is not as easy to find as in previous models. The connector for connecting the docking station has disappeared. Once a week it freezes completely.
It gets hot when used for a long time on the Internet; the camera does not take very good pictures in the dark.
A year ago
I had to do a general reset several times already. There was a glitch that Speakerphone It turned on by itself, there were still some glitches. Now point by point. 1. It often reboots itself. 2. A year later, some stains appeared on the camera, which caused nice photos you can forget. Everything is like a fog, everything is blurry. 3. The flashlight is very weak. So much so that it's almost useless. 4. Terribly glitchy phone. One or the other bugs pop up. 5. It gets very hot. Sometimes for no apparent reason, and at such moments the battery runs out right before our eyes. 6. The location of the buttons is not convenient. In particular, you constantly touch the camera button with your fingers during the photography process itself, which is why the focus mode is turned on, and because of this it is impossible to take a photo. Do not use this button itself
A year ago
The battery would be a little more powerful
2 years ago
The battery would be more powerful
2 years ago
Akum is like most Sony products, but this time Akum heats up even without special loads, which affects performance and durability, the sensor is also dull periodically, the screen goes out during a conversation and there is no way to interact with the phone, problems also arose with the matrix when the screen was turned off for several seconds the time and date are displayed in red, the camera is also not of excellent quality; periodically the pictures are of poor quality and do not correspond to the declared ones, but in service center DNS said that they don’t exist and can’t exist, in general, Sony went downhill in my opinion
2 years ago
Battery, freezing
Mobile phone Sony Xperia Z5 Dual (black)
STOP A MOMENT, YOU'RE PERFECTWith Sony Xperia Z5 Dual you'll never miss a great shot. Featuring a remarkable camera and hybrid autofocus, this smartphone will amaze you with its speed and clarity. And thanks to the 23 MP matrix and 5x zoom, you can capture even the most fleeting moments - clearly and on the first try.
HYBRID AUTOFOCUS
The Sony Xperia Z5 Dual camera has ultra-fast autofocus (0.03 sec.), which is achieved through a combination of contrast and phase focusing technologies. The first is responsible for accuracy, and the second for speed. Focus points are located throughout the viewfinder, so you can focus on a subject anywhere in the frame in less than a second.
HIGH-CLARITY SCALING
With 5x zoom, you can get closer to your subject without sacrificing image quality. This is made possible thanks to the powerful sensor, lens and Sony's exclusive Clear Image technology. To enlarge the image up to 5 times, just swipe your fingers across the screen in different directions. Even when enlarged, the image will be clear and detailed, and the usual zooming noise will not appear.
DARKNESS IS NOT AN INTERFERENCE
Xperia Z5 Dual will help you capture the unique magic of the night in your photos. It uses a new generation of light-sensitive Exmor RS CMOS sensor, with which your photos will always be bright and without color noise. And with special backlight technology and advanced image processing, even in low light conditions, pictures will turn out clear and detailed.
BEAUTY, PLEASANT TO THE TOUCH
The Sony Xperia Z5 Dual is a pleasure to hold in your hands. Metal frame with engraving, smooth, simple shapes And back panel made of frosted glass are eye-catching.
I CAN'T EVEN RAIN
If you get caught in the rain, accidentally drop your smartphone in the sink, or spill coffee on it, don't despair - the Xperia Z5 Dual is waterproof and IP68 rated. He doesn't care about such troubles.
A SMARTPHONE THAT KNOWS ITS OWNER
The power button on the Sony Xperia Z5 Dual has a fingerprint reader built into it. The button itself is located on the side panel of the smartphone so that you can quickly unlock the screen with one motion.
DO MORE
One Charge Xperia Z5 Dual lasts up to two days of work. This means you can listen to your favorite music and chat with friends for even longer without worrying about the charger. If this is not enough, a device for fast charging: After just 45 minutes, the battery will have enough energy to last for many hours.
"Don't rock our boat!" - Sony engineers and designers are sending a stern message to lovers of change with the release of the next flagship of the Z line. The Xperia Z5 smartphone - like Daniel Craig in the role of “007” - is strict from film to film, reliable as a rock, invulnerable and therefore... a little boring...
Specifications
- Operating system - Android 5.1.1
- Display - 5.2 inches, Full HD 1080x1920, IPS Triluminos, 424 ppi
- Processor - 64-bit 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (MSM8994) + Adreno 430 graphics accelerator
- RAM - 3 GB
- Built-in memory - 32 GB + card slot
- Camera - 23 MP, 1/2.3-inch Exmor RS sensor, f/2.0, hybrid autofocus (0.03 s), flash, 4K/30fps video + 5 MP front camera
- Other – two nanoSIM cards, LTE, GPS/GLONASS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM tuner, dustproof and waterproof (IP65/IP68)
- Battery - 2900 mAh, non-removable
- Dimensions - 146x72.1x7.45 mm, 156.5 grams
- Colors - graphite black, white, gold, emerald green
Design and Features
Every manufacturer that has been producing a line of its own flagships under “numbered” names for several years is faced with a choice. You can pamper the consumer with surprises, like Samsung - the S5 was plastic, waterproof, with a replaceable battery and a card slot, and the S6 became a glass sandwich, afraid of everything in the world, without the ability for the user to influence the memory and battery... Truly a surprise... You can, like Sony, take the second path - their flagships of the “Z” line demonstrate such a high level of design stability and consumer qualities that they manage to irritate even loyal fans. Sometimes the predecessor and the successor are so similar inside and out that it is extremely difficult to understand the purpose of the generation change... One way or another, we have the Z5 in the dual-SIM version - another bucket of oil for the souls of traditionalists who love the Z line precisely for its consistency in design and properties!
The Z5's body exudes a sense of confidence and security, with an aluminum frame engraved with "Xperia" and top and bottom covered with scratch- and grease-resistant glass on the screen and back cover. The device is strong, solid, and not subject to twisting, although it is afraid of falls on a corner or glass surface, like all its relatives.
The key layout is traditional. Under the thumb of the right hand is the power button (large, not the aluminum “pimple” as before), which makes a muffled click with a tasty sound and pleasant tactile feedback. Below it is a volume rocker and a two-stage camera button. The left side is empty, on the top there is a headphone jack, on the bottom there is a charging socket (fortunately, not the newfangled Type C!) and, attention... a hole for a rope :)! Lovers of traditions can rest easy - the Xperia Z5 is still the only flagship smartphone from the first-tier manufacturer community that still has the ability to be worn on a neck lanyard!
The cover of the single compartment hides slots for a memory card and two SIM cards. Both SIM cards are installed in one slot - on a common pull-out tray.
And most importantly, the device is still waterproof, for which, in fact, many value the flagships of the Z line!
Sony Xperia Z5 Dual:: Review:: Display
I love the high brightness of the display, and when I turned on the Xperia Z5 for the first time and adjusted it to maximum, I was unpleasantly surprised - has Sony really returned its line of smartphones to the displays of two years ago - dim and lackluster?! Ugh, damn - just in the usual place on the menu quick settings There is no checkbox to activate the light sensor - it is only available in the settings menu in the “Display” section. The sensor was active by default, turning it off and turning the brightness control to maximum, I was amazed again, this time pleasantly - I haven’t seen such high screen brightness in a gadget for a long time! Direct sunlight significantly reduces the readability of the Z5 display compared to many expensive smartphones, and by displaying a white image on the screen (even an empty browser window), you can make a very powerful flashlight out of the Z5!
I remember in 2012 I tested the LG Prada smartphone, which at that time was declared to be the brightest in the world - its brightness was 800 nits (nit is a unit of brightness equal to one candela per square meter). The Xperia Z5 has a declared brightness of 700 nits - this is a very good indicator. And, of course, no one obliges the owner to use this resource to its fullest, burning the battery - maximum brightness is only relevant outdoors on a sunny day.
Among other interesting things, the display has the ability to wake up with a double tap, enable increased sensitivity for operation with gloves, and adjust the color balance to suit your preferences.
Sony Xperia Z5 Dual:: Review:: Fingerprint
Actually, this option has been present on a number of phones for several years now, so it may seem strange to give it a separate section in the Z5 review. However, for Sony this is an innovation; no smartphone in the Xperia family has had such a feature before... However, if it were implemented like Samsung’s, it would hardly be worth paying such close attention to it, but the fingerprint scanner in the Z5 is made in a very unusual and interesting way - in a thin SIDE unlock key that rests your finger comfortably and automatically.
Subscreen samsung button Galaxy and iPhone, LG V10 button and ring sensor Google Nexus 5 located on back covers– all of them require either not the most natural or frankly unnecessary movements. The Z5 button is much more logical - your finger appears on it by itself, and with one click you can both wake up the phone and unlock it.
Sony Xperia Z5 Dual:: Review:: Interface and menu
Unlock and Home Screen:
Applications as they are out of the box:
Settings menu:
Menu of quick settings and running applications:
Proprietary two-window mode - active “small applications” on top of the main ones:
Sony Xperia Z5 Dual:: Review:: Camera
The device has a camera module with a 1/2.3-inch matrix, 23 megapixel resolution, f/2.0. The camera has so-called hybrid autofocus with a focusing speed of 0.03 s and SteadyShot stabilization - but this is not optical stabilization, but electronic.
The main control of the camera menu is a switch of 4 icons - the main modes, located along the right edge of the screen.
1 - Super-auto mode (main, intelligent-automatic)
2- Camera applications (panorama, combining images from the main and front cameras in one frame, 4K video, slow-motion video, AR effect animation, etc.)
3- Manual mode
4- Video shooting
Hybrid autofocus Z5 uses a combination of phase and contrast focusing principles. It is stated that the camera focuses in 0.03 seconds, but in practice it was not possible to feel a noticeable difference in focusing speed - everything is subjective, like with other flagships...
At maximum resolution (23 megapixels, 5520x4140 pixels), the camera takes a “square” frame in a 4x3 ratio. Therefore everything test shots made in a wide format 16x9 version - the maximum available resolution for it is 20 MP. Actually, due to the fact that shooting “square” is unlikely to interest many, the number of megapixels, in fact, remains the same as in the early predecessors of the Z line, which had 20.7 megapixel matrices.
I must say, the Z5 camera left a mixed impression. The main advantage of top-class smartphone cameras is the speed of focusing and burst shooting, in which they have long surpassed point-and-shoot cameras - I remember the Xperia Z3 delighted me with its rapid autofocus speed, which allows you to quickly shoot moving people with virtually no blur. It's just that the quality of these kinds of pictures hasn't really improved since the Z3. It’s not bad, but even without complaints about the lack of optical stabilization, I would like to see at least some tangible progress...
Photos of people in motion:
Night shots:
Against the light:
Close-up:
The device has a physical two-stage shutter button. Why it is not very clear... As already mentioned, the speed of processor processing of data from cameras is flagship smartphones in the last couple of years is so great that they no longer need to pre-focus, as it was before - by holding the screen button before releasing or double-pressing the physical key... Let's say, devices Galaxy lines S6xx shoot with excellent focus with one touch of the screen or pressing the volume button - why the archaic double-action button on the Z5?! Actually, checking the button in action showed that it doesn’t do anything useful... Shooting in dynamics with it slows down - you can shoot moving objects only by using the instant on-screen button or the volume button in shutter mode. The latter, by the way, is much more convenient in terms of holding the device if you are doing “reporter” shooting without advertising it.
One way or another, the main criticism of the Z5 camera is the lack of OIS optical stabilization. And this is a regular reproach - not for the first Z-flagship. Megapixels are growing, their size is decreasing, and their susceptibility to blurring vibrations is increasing... Why does OIS stubbornly not appear in the Xperia Z? Perhaps because the example of competing camera phones, such as the Galaxy S6, Lumia 950, Huawei Nexus 6P and most others, shows that to introduce optical stabilization, the camera module has to be made thicker - either separately or simultaneously thickening the entire body. In this case, the design of the Xperia Z THIN “sandwich” made of two identical sheets of glass will undergo changes. This will likely cause headaches for engineers and designers when it comes to waterproofing, which is why Sony can't seem to figure it out...
Examples of frame scaling from Sony Xperia Z5 and Samsung Galaxy S6. In the Z5 images, due to the lack of OIS, a slight “soap” and excess contrast caused by the processing algorithm are clearly visible.
Sony Xperia Z5 Dual:: Review:: Performance and Power
The device is built on the powerful Snapdragon 810 chipset - MSM8994. This is a 64-bit 8-core (4 ARM Cortex-A57 2.0 GHz cores + 4 ARM Cortex-A53 1.5 GHz cores) processor with an Adreno 430 video core. The same “hot Qualcomm”. In benchmarks it is not among the top ten leaders, which, however, does not prevent it from having higher degree decent performance - especially considering that many of those who are ahead of him often have the same hardware... (And you yourself understand - Chinese manufacturers smartphones are much closer and dearer in every sense to the most popular “parrot-meter” developer AnTuTu - Chinese, yeah...)
The gadget is really very productive and powerful, but the thermal mode of the device requires a separate discussion. The device gets very hot - after starting something resource-intensive, you can wear it in severe frost with mittens, warming your hands! The Xperia Z5 successfully competes in this sense with the catalytic gasoline heater GK-1, popular among fishermen and tourists... Everything would be fine, but warming up the processor noticeably affects its performance. Here's what the results of a popular benchmark look like, carried out three times in a row without pauses - for comparison, screenshots of the Samsung Galaxy S6, where the same three-time procedure reduces performance much less noticeably:
Let's conduct a simple and visual test, which I traditionally use to comparatively assess the efficiency of battery use - charge the battery to 100%, reboot the device to clear the memory of clogging programs, turn off all wireless interfaces except cellular communication, set the screen brightness and volume to maximum. We launch a movie in AVI format, lasting 1 hour 23 minutes and weighing 1.45 GB. After finishing the movie, look at the remaining battery charge.
77%. Not enough... One and a half days is enough, but this essentially means one day, since hardly anyone wants to look for an outlet for tomorrow's lunch.
Sony Xperia Z5 Dual:: Review:: Conclusions
At the time of review, the cost of the Z5 Dual was almost 45,000 rubles. The amount, it must be said, is serious – especially against the backdrop of the economic recession. And this amount needs to be considered, of course, not spherically in a vacuum, but in comparison, because the status of Sony’s flagship has long since given the Z line smartphone the crown with its designation alone... For example, for 40-42 thousand you can buy a dual-SIM Samsung Galaxy S6 Duos - it will not have moisture protection, but it will have twice as much flash memory. For 38-40 thousand, for those who like experimenting, there is an option to try to get Meizu Pro 5 and absolutely “the best from everywhere” - a processor and AMOLED from the Galaxy S6, a 21-megapixel camera from the same Sony, as much as 4 gigs of RAM, 64 memories, and at the same time more anti-aliasing “parrots” and more capacious battery... In general, it is obvious that the main strategic advantage of the Sonya flagship is still the ability to swim, which not a single flagship of its competitors can do so far. This is, of course, a lot in itself, it is more than enough for regular fans of the brand, but isn’t it enough to attract new ones?..
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The world's first smartphone with a 4K screen
At the autumn IFA 2015 exhibition in Berlin, the Japanese company Sony Mobile Communications (“Sony Mobile”) presented the fifth generation of its family of flagship smartphones: Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact, as well as the world’s first smartphone with a 4K display, the Xperia Z5 Premium.
The “basic” smartphone of the new line, the Xperia Z5, we already have, now it’s time for the most technically interesting model of this trinity, a device with an extremely high screen resolution, which the developers themselves call “4K”. We will consider the screen, which is of great interest, in detail in the corresponding section, but otherwise it is worth noting that the Z5 Premium differs quite little from the main Z5 model, but there will still be some differences, including even in the appearance of the new product. We’ll probably start with them and the main characteristics.
Key features of Sony Xperia Z5 Premium (model E6883)
| Sony Xperia Z5 Premium | Sony Xperia Z5 | Huawei Nexus 6P | Samsung Galaxy Note 5 | LG V10 | |
| Screen | 5.5″, IPS | 5.2″, IPS | 5.7″, AMOLED | 5.7″, Super AMOLED | 5.7″, IPS |
| Permission | 3840×2160, 806 ppi | 1920×1080, 424 ppi | 2560×1440, 515 ppi | 2560×1440, 518 ppi | 2560×1440, 513 ppi |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (4x Cortex-A57 @2.0 GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @1.5 GHz) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (4x Cortex-A57 @2.0 GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @1.5 GHz) | Samsung Exynos 7420 (4x Cortex-A57 @2.1 GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @1.5 GHz) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 (2x Cortex-A57 @1.8 GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @1.5 GHz) | |
| GPU | Adreno 430 | Adreno 430 | Adreno 430 | Mali T760 | Adreno 418 |
| RAM | 3 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| Flash memory | 32 GB | 32 GB | 32/64/128 GB | 32/64 GB | 64 GB |
| Memory card support | microSD | microSD | — | — | microSD |
| operating system | Google Android 5.1 | Google Android 5.1 | Google Android 6.0 | Google Android 5.1 | Google Android 5.1 |
| Battery | non-removable, 3430 mAh | non-removable, 2900 mAh | non-removable, 3450 mAh | non-removable, 3000 mAh | removable, 3000 mAh |
| Cameras | main (23 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP) | main (12.3 MP; 4K video), front (8 MP) | main (16 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP) | main (16 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP) | |
| Dimensions and weight | 154×76×7.8 mm, 181 g | 146×72×7.3 mm, 154 g | 159×78×7.3 mm, 178 g | 153×76×7.6 mm, 168 g | 160×79×8.6 mm, 196 g |
| average price | T-12840934 | T-12741399 | T-12911818 | T-12788838 | T-12918504 |
| Sony Xperia Z5 Premium retail offers | L-12840934-5 | ||||
| Sony Xperia Z5 Premium Dual retail offers | L-12840990-5 | ||||
- SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, 8 cores: 4x2.0 GHz (ARM Cortex-A57) + 4x1.5 GHz (ARM Cortex-A53)
- GPU Adreno 430
- operating room Android system 5.1
- Touch display IPS 5.5″, 3840×2160, 806 ppi
- Random access memory (RAM) 3 GB, inner memory 32 GB
- SIM cards: Nano-SIM (1 or 2 pcs.)
- Supports microSD memory cards up to 200 GB
- GSM networks 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
- WCDMA networks 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz
- Networks LTE Cat.6, LTE FDD (Band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20, 28)
- Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2 bands) MIMO, point Wi-Fi access, Wi-Fi Direct
- Bluetooth 4.1, NFC
- Micro-USB 2.0, OTG
- DLNA, Media Go, MTP, Miracast, MHL 3.0
- GPS/A-GPS, Glonass, BDS
- Direction, proximity, lighting sensors, accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, magnetic compass, fingerprint sensor
- Water and dust protection (IP65 and IP68)
- Camera 23 MP, Sony Exmor RS, autofocus, LED flash
- Camera 5 MP, Sony Exmor R (front)
- Battery 3430 mAh, non-removable
- Dimensions 154×76×7.8 mm
- Weight 181 g
Appearance and ease of use
In general appearance and design as a whole, the Z5 Premium version is almost exactly the same as its brother in the line. Both models differ from their predecessors with a flatter side frame, this difference is striking since all previous Xperia Z smartphones had a much more convex and rounded frame.
Here the frame is made of metal, and, as Sony reports, it’s not even aluminum, but real steel. The most noticeable difference between the new product and the regular Z5 is in the back surface of the case: while the Z5 used frosted glass with a coating, the Z5 Premium uses the usual transparent glass with a mirror backing.
This has both its pros and cons. There is no doubt that smooth glass makes fingerprints more visible. And at the same time, the Z5's matte finish is much more slippery to hold in the hand; the Z5 Premium does not have such problems.
Pictured: Sony Xperia Z5 Premium (left) compared to the regular Z5
However, the Premium version has noticeably grown in size, including in the thickness of the case, although with such dimensions the thickness of 7.8 mm still seems quite small. Traditionally, there are no complaints about the quality of materials and assembly; Sony gives no cause for concern in this regard. The smartphone is very well built, looks and feels like a monolithic and reliable product; in the corners there are familiar inserts made of painted polycarbonate to absorb impact energy when dropped.
The only complaint is traditionally related to these same corners: in Sony devices they are very slightly rounded in plan, so the smartphone takes up more space in pockets and sometimes rests unpleasantly on the body, although there is no technical need for such sharp corners, this is a purely design decision. They can be rounded more strongly, as most manufacturers do - then the overall shape of the case would become more interesting than such a simple rectangle drawn along a ruler.
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Otherwise, no noticeable differences from previous ones Sony models No. The card slots are usually covered with a cover with a rubberized gasket, since the device is assigned a protection class of IP65/68. As before, this does not mean that you can swim and take pictures underwater with your smartphone, since the official signature on the company website reads verbatim: “The device is prohibited from being completely immersed under water, or exposed to contact with sea, salt, chlorinated water and such liquids.” like alcoholic drinks."
SIM cards are installed in the side slot, sliding into it on a plastic tray, which is equipped with compartments for two Nano-SIM cards. Another separate slot is for a microSD memory card. As with the regular Z5, the Z5 Premium comes in single and dual SIM versions.
The hardware buttons are located on the opposite side, traditionally three of them, as Sony continues to support the idea of needing a dedicated photo button. Two buttons are ordinary, protruding beyond the body and, it should be noted, quite hard, but the third is completely flat, you can’t feel it blindly. The fact is that the new generation of the Xperia Z family has introduced such a convenient and now standard unlocking tool as a fingerprint scanner. It also supports the FIDO standard - fingerprint authentication for making online payments. True, the scanner area is limited by the width of the power button, embedded in the side edge, so you will have to get used to working with a scanner of such an unusual shape at first.
The front panel is usually covered with some kind of “tempered glass”, the manufacturer of which Sony traditionally does not disclose. The glass has two narrow cutouts at the top and bottom for sound output from the speakers, which feature proprietary S-Force Front Surround technology.
Also on the front panel at the top there are sensors, a front camera and an LED event indicator. The operation of the indicator is regulated by the user in the sound section of the system settings. There are no touch-sensitive hardware buttons at the bottom below the screen.
The back side, as usual, is reserved for the camera module, which, unlike many modern flagships from other manufacturers, does not protrude beyond the surface of the body. Nearby is a flash, which Sony for some reason is in no hurry to make double - again, unlike most other manufacturers.
At the bottom there is a familiar Micro-USB connector that supports the USB 2.0 specification and a unique way to connect external devices USB mode OTG, which must first be initiated by independently searching for devices and connecting manually. Nearby there is a very rare in modern times, but useful strap mount.
The top end traditionally contains only a headphone jack, and nothing else. I would also like to see an infrared transmitter for controlling home appliances in Sony devices someday; this can be very useful.
As for the body colors, this time there were no bright or unusual colors. Sony Xperia Z5 Premium comes in three color versions: light gray (“mirror chrome”), completely black, and gold, among which, oddly enough, gold looks the most impressive. It should be noted that in the case of the light gray version, only the color of the back wall and sides changes, while the front panel still remains black.
Screen
The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium smartphone is equipped with touch screen IPS. The physical dimensions of the display are 68x121 mm, diagonal - 5.5 inches. At the same time, the screen resolution is 3840x2160, the pixel density is approximately 806 ppi. Sony says this pixel density is 10 times higher than Full HD TVs and twice as high as most smartphones. Compared to Full HD, the resolution of 4K (Ultra HD) is twice as high on each side, that is, there are four times more dots in such a screen. Note that some tests, including AnTuTu, determine that the Xperia Z5 Premium screen has a resolution not of 4K, but of Full HD (1920x1080).
The frame around the screen looks standard: its width is only about 3 mm on the sides and 16 mm on the top and bottom. With such large overall dimensions of the case, such a frame certainly cannot be called wide.
The display brightness is automatically adjusted based on the light sensor. There is also a proximity sensor that blocks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear. Multi-touch technology allows you to process 10 simultaneous touches. Operating modes with gloves and wet fingers are supported.
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A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections, Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are slightly better than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photograph in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens of both devices (Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, as you can easily determine, is on the right; then they can be distinguished by size):
Both screens are dark, but the Sony screen is still a little darker (its brightness in the photo is 105 versus 108 for the Nexus 7). The tripling of reflected objects in the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium screen is very weak, this indicates that there is no air gap between the outer glass (also known as the touch sensor) and the surface of the matrix (OGS - One Glass Solution type screen). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better under strong external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, even better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a lower speed than with regular glass.
When manually controlling the brightness and displaying the white field in full screen, its maximum value was about 605 cd/m², and the minimum was 4.6 cd/m². The maximum value is very high, and, given the excellent anti-glare properties, in bright daylight and even in direct sun the image on the screen should be clearly visible. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. Works automatic adjustment brightness by the light sensor (it is located to the right of the logo on the front panel). In automatic mode, as external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. The operation of this function depends on the brightness adjustment position. If it is at maximum, then in complete darkness the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 22 cd/m² (normal), in an office illuminated by artificial light (approximately 400 lux) it sets it to 400 cd/m² (high), in a very bright environment (corresponds to the lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) increases to 610 cd/m² (even slightly higher than with manual adjustment). If the brightness slider is at half the scale (it is very non-linear - after 50% the brightness goes up sharply as the setting value increases), then the screen brightness for the three conditions indicated above is as follows: 13, 210 and 520 cd/m² (suitable values). If the brightness control is set to minimum - 7, 18, 440 cd/m² (only the average value is greatly underestimated). As a result, the auto-brightness function works absolutely adequately, and it is possible to adjust the nature of the brightness change to the user’s requirements. Only at very low brightness levels does there appear to be significant backlight modulation, but its frequency is high, around 2.3 kHz, so even then there is no visible screen flicker (but could possibly be detected in a stroboscopic effect test).
This screen uses an IPS type matrix. The microphotographs show a typical IPS subpixel structure:
For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.
However, the subpixels themselves are arranged in an unconventional way - typical columns run in the horizontal direction, but in each column the triads of subpixels are shifted vertically by one subpixel, first up, and after three columns down. Note that we have already seen a similar arrangement of subpixels in the case of Lenovo K3 Note. As a result, the ratio of horizontal columns to vertical triads is 3 to 2, the actual vertical resolution is 1/3 less than horizontal. Here and below we mean landscape screen orientation. That is, the dots (RGB triads) on the screen are actually only 3840 by 1440. At the same time, the manufacturer writes about the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium: “4K UHD display (3840×2160).”
Additional tests have shown that, in principle, not every application is capable of displaying images in this conditional 4K resolution. For example, MX Player, FIV, Google Photos output exclusively in Full HD resolution, that is, 1920 by 1080 pixels (the smartphone itself scales to the screen resolution), and only Sony’s own image demonstrator displays images in 4K resolution (possibly the standard video player Sony can do this too). This is such a limited “4K”, not for everyone. Okay, we found the program, let’s look at the output features using the example of vertical and horizontal worlds with black stripes one pixel thick through a white gap also one pixel wide. The original test image is available at this link, with the world in the center. Here is its fragment:
Everything is fine with the vertical (on the right side) stripes - clearly, pixel by pixel. With the horizontal ones (on the left side) everything is worse, since the dark gaps are only one subpixel thick and visually the world is seen simply as a gray field. On a vertical one, if desired (and with the help of a magnifying glass), you can see the stripes. In addition, at the bottom at the beginning of the horizontal world, instead of a strip, some kind of mess is displayed - an error in converting to the resolution of a strange matrix. However, formally, a black-and-white resolution of 3840×2160 pixels is still implemented. Is there a horizontal black stripe? Eat! It will no longer be possible to sue Sony for deception, and no one has explicitly promised to implement color resolution at the level of 3840x2160 pixels. However, these are all nitpicks; the screen resolution is still prohibitive.
The screen has good viewing angles without inverting shades and without significant color shifts, even with large viewing deviations from perpendicular to the screen. For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the screens of the Nexus 7 and Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to approximately 200 cd/m² (across the white field in the entire screen), and the color balance on the camera was forcibly switched to 6500 K. White field perpendicular to the plane of the screens:
Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture:
The colors on the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium's screen are oversaturated, skin tones are heavily red-shifted, and the color balance is noticeably different from the standard. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen:
It can be seen that the colors did not change much on both screens, the contrast remained at a good level. And a white field:
The brightness at an angle for both screens has noticeably decreased (by at least 5 times, based on the difference in shutter speed), but in the case of the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium the drop in brightness is slightly greater (brightness according to photographs is 232 versus 235 for the Nexus 7). When deviated diagonally, the black field does not lighten very much and acquires a purple tint. The photographs below demonstrate this (the brightness of the white areas in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the screens is the same for the screens!):
And from another angle:
The black field on the Nexus 7 is still a little darker at the corners. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is excellent:
The contrast (approximately in the center of the screen) is high - about 1060:1. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 26 ms (16 ms on + 10 ms off). The transition between halftones of gray 25% and 75% (based on the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 35 ms. Constructed using 32 points with equal intervals according to the numerical value of the shade of gray, the gamma curve did not reveal a blockage in either highlights or shadows, and the index of the approximating power function turned out to be 2.40, which is higher than the standard value of 2.2, however, this has no values, since the real gamma curve noticeably deviates from the power-law dependence:
This is due to the presence of aggressive dynamic adjustment of the backlight brightness in accordance with the nature of the displayed image (in dark areas the brightness decreases). As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) does not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential display of shades of gray on almost the entire screen. For this reason, we carried out a number of tests - determining contrast and response time, comparing black illumination at angles - when displaying special templates with a constant average brightness, and not monochromatic fields in the entire screen. In general, such a non-switchable brightness correction does nothing but harm, since reducing the brightness in dark images reduces the visibility of gradations in the shadows under ambient light conditions, and constant jumps in brightness are very annoying. That is, there is zero benefit from this function, only harm.
The color gamut is noticeably wider than sRGB:
Let's look at the spectra:
They are very atypical for top mobile devices Sony. Apparently, this screen uses LEDs with a blue emitter and green and red phosphor (usually a blue emitter and a yellow phosphor), which, in combination with special matrix filters, allows you to obtain a wide color gamut. The red phosphor apparently uses so-called quantum dots. Unfortunately, as a result, the colors of images - drawings, photographs and films - oriented to the sRGB space (and these are the vast majority) have an unnatural saturation. This is especially noticeable on recognizable shades, such as skin tones. The result is shown in the photo above.
The balance of shades on the gray scale is mediocre, since the color temperature is much higher than the standard 6500 K, and the deviation from the spectrum of an absolutely black body (ΔE), although not very large, varies noticeably from shade to shade. But at least the color temperature variation is small. (Dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)
This smartphone has the ability to adjust the color balance by adjusting the intensities of the three primary colors.
That's what we tried to do, the result is data signed as Warm in the graphs above. As a result, we adjusted color temperature and at least on the white field they reduced ΔE. This is a good result, however, the ΔE variation has increased, and the brightness (as well as contrast) has decreased significantly - from 600 to 380 cd/m². And this correction did not reduce the oversaturation of colors. If someone still finds the image on the screen of this smartphone not “bright” and “colorful” enough, then you can turn on the proprietary mode X-Reality for mobile.
The result is shown below:
Saturation and contour sharpness are enhanced by software, and distinct tonal gradations in the area rich colors gets smaller. But the picture, yes, has become brighter. There is also extreme Extreme brightness mode, in which the trend of image “enhancement” reaches its peak. Here's what we got:
Let's summarize. Brightness adjustment range of this screen very wide, excellent anti-glare properties, which allows you to comfortably use your smartphone both on a sunny day on the beach and in complete darkness. It is permissible to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works absolutely adequately. The advantages also include a very effective oleophobic coating, the absence of an air gap in the layers of the screen and flicker, moderate black lightening when the gaze deviates from perpendicular to the screen surface, and excellent uniformity of the black field. The disadvantages are aggressive dynamic brightness adjustment. Color rendering is very bad, colors are oversaturated (skin tones especially suffer), color balance is poor. The presence of appropriate adjustments allows you to slightly correct the balance, but at the expense of a very strong reduction in brightness (and contrast). Nevertheless, taking into account the importance of characteristics for this particular class of devices (and the most important thing is the visibility of information in a wide range of external conditions), the quality of the screen can be considered high. It’s better not to watch movies and photographs and not show them to anyone, but text or, for example, maps will be clearly visible.
Sound
The sound of the new product seemed to us less impressive than that of the same Xperia Z5, although perhaps this is a drawback of a particular test sample - after all, this is not a serial smartphone from a store. In any case, the sound of the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium cannot be called impressive. Two stereo speakers are located at the top and bottom of the front panel, the sound output is realized through two barely noticeable slits, due to which it is possible to realize surround sound, called here S-Force Front Surround. The sound is not bad, clear, but still somewhat muffled and not powerful and loud enough - this is due to the waterproof gaskets.
The sound is better in headphones, but it clearly does not reach the quality of the same Oppo ones. The sound is bright, loud, but still does not have the full breadth of the frequency spectrum, nor does it have crystal clarity. Impurities extraneous noise are audible, the maximum volume level is not excessive, it is barely enough for comfortable listening, there is no desire to lower the slider lower.
To play music, the device uses its own proprietary player, which suddenly stopped being called a Walkman. Otherwise, everything is familiar here: the user is traditionally given a choice between manual adjustment and automatic optimization all sound parameters using the comprehensive ClearAudio+ function. It includes a lot of different technologies; you can read more about this on the page dedicated to the sound technologies used in all modern top-end smartphones from the manufacturer.
There is an FM radio in the smartphone, automatic recording telephone conversations from the line using regular funds not provided.
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Camera
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is equipped with the same two digital camera modules with a resolution of 23 and 5 megapixels as the regular version of the Z5. The front 5-megapixel Exmor R module is equipped with a 25mm wide-angle G Lens lens with f/2.4 aperture and fixed focus; it does not have its own flash. The front camera, like the main one, can be operated manually and automatic modes shooting control. The developers especially emphasize that there is a SteadyShot electronic stabilization function with Intelligent Active Mode for video. The camera also supports HDR mode, can detect a smile and add a “soft skin effect”. The camera does a good job of taking selfies.
The main camera is equipped with the same latest 23-megapixel Sony module Exmor RS for mobile devices with 1/2.3″ sensor and wide-angle G Lens (24 mm) with f/2.0 aperture, hybrid autofocus and single-section pulse LED flash. Autofocus is fast, using hybrid autofocus technology that combines the capabilities of contrast and phase focusing technologies: the first is responsible for accuracy, and the second for speed. And with focus points located throughout the viewfinder, it takes significantly less than a second (0.03 seconds) to focus on a subject anywhere in the frame.
The Bionz image processing processor has also been improved for low-light shooting, resulting in better quality photos without distortion or blur at night or in the dark. All Xperia Z5 series smartphones receive an updated version of SteadyShot stabilization technology with Intelligent Active Mode, which provides smooth stabilization without distortion. And, of course, we shouldn’t forget that Sony is practically the only manufacturer that still installs a separate hardware camera control button in its smartphones.
In manual shooting control mode, you can set ISO, white balance, and change the focus type. There is a five-fold digital zoom using Clear Image zoom technology.
In addition, the settings traditionally contain a lot of additional modes, including entertainment ones, such as, for example, an augmented reality mode called AR effect, which makes it possible to combine real pictures with animation. Recently, the choice of options for AR has been greatly expanded. Some shooting settings can be transferred for management third party applications via Camera2 API, but recording in RAW is not supported.
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The camera can shoot video in a maximum resolution of 4K, and also has a shooting mode at 60 frames per second. By the way, you can select your favorite frames from your videos shot in 4K format and save them as 8-megapixel photos. It looks something like this:
The camera copes well with shooting video in all of the above modes, while recording sound cleanly and efficiently, and the noise reduction system copes with its tasks adequately. SteadyShot technology with Intelligent Active Mode makes shooting on the go super smooth, truly one of the most strengths mobile cameras Sony.
- Video No. 1 (34 MB, 1920×1080 @60 fps)
- Video No. 2 (129 MB, 3840×2160 @30 fps)
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The license plate of the closest car is not visible. |
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White balance is periodically lost, and blurred areas appear in the corners. |
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Excellent sharpness in the center of the frame, but it falls off towards the corners. |
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Good detail in the background in the central part. |
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Excellent sharpness and detail. |
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Good sharpness across the field and plans, it falls a little in the corners. |
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The camera copes with macro photography. |
We also tested the camera on a laboratory bench using our method.
As already noted, the Premium version is not much different from the regular Z5. This also applies to the camera. Despite the shortcomings listed above, the camera is the same as in the Z5, but do not forget that its best qualities are revealed when shooting at 8 megapixels. In this case, you can avoid blurry corners and improve the overall sharpness of the photo. However, the central part looks good even in 20-megapixel photographs, and sometimes the camera manages to process the entire field quite well.
Some roughness inherent in the first firmware of new Sony smartphones can still be found here, but they practically disappear when you switch to shooting at 8 megapixels. The laboratory test does not allow us to prove the identity of the Z5 and Z5 Premium cameras, but the firmware of the latter clearly does not look final, which is why some artifacts appear in the pictures, which make such a difference. As a result, we can conclude that the camera will cope well in a variety of scenarios.
Telephone and communications
The smartphone can operate in most bands of 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, and also has support for fourth-generation LTE Cat.6 FDD networks, that is, this device provides theoretical download speeds of up to 300 Mbit/s. At the same time, the smartphone has support for all three of the most common LTE bands among domestic operators (B3, B7 and B20). In practice, with a SIM card from the MTS operator in the Moscow region, the smartphone was confidently registered and worked in 4G networks. The quality of signal reception is not satisfactory; the device confidently maintains communication indoors and does not lose the signal in areas of poor reception. The list of the main frequency ranges supported by the device in Russia is as follows:
- LTE FDD: 800/850/900/1800/2100/2600 MHz
- WCDMA: 850/900/2100 MHz
- GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
The device also supports Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, supports two Wi-Fi bands (2.4 and 5 GHz) and 2x2 MIMO speed mode, Wi-Fi Direct, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. The Micro-USB connector supports the USB 2.0 specification and connecting external devices in USB OTG mode, but for this you need to manually search for devices through a special item in the settings.
The navigation module works with GPS (A-GPS), Glonass and Beidou (BDS). There are no complaints about the operating speed of the navigation module; the first satellites are detected during a cold start within the first tens of seconds. The smartphone is equipped with a magnetic field sensor, on the basis of which the compass of navigation programs operates.
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The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing phone number A search for contacts is also carried out immediately. Text input is supported by continuously sliding from letter to letter (Swype), and can also be reduced in size and brought closer to one of the edges of the display virtual keyboards for easy control with the fingers of one hand. Traditionally for Sony smartphones, the type and organization of the keyboard itself can be chosen from several possible options. The so-called “small applications” mode allows you to display some standard programs, such as a calculator, timer, calendar and even a browser, in the form of separate small, resizable windows. You can open several of these windows, that is, in essence, this is a multi-window mode, but not for any applications.
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The smartphone supports working with two SIM cards, but you can only link the data transfer function to a specific card, and for voice calls and text messages You must select a SIM card in the appropriate interface each time when sending. In general, this does not cause irritation at all, but some may miss such obvious functionality as the initial binding of certain functions to specific cards.
The connectors for SIM cards are equivalent in their capabilities, high-speed data transmission in 3G (4G) networks is supported by the card in any slot, switching is carried out directly from the menu without the need to physically change slots. Work with two SIM cards is organized according to the familiar Dual standard SIM Dual Standby, when both cards can be in active standby mode, but cannot work at the same time - there is only one radio module.
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OS and software
In terms of software platform, differences from regular version There are no Z5s. Here as operating system the same fifth is used Google version Android (Lollipop 5.1.1) with its own shell. The shell is well known from previous generations of Sony smartphones; there are no noticeable differences from model to model, although some small things do change. For example, here, as in the regular Xperia Z5, the usual sliding navigation panel on the left in the application menu suddenly disappeared. The leftmost work screen now contains a large widget called What’s New, offering announcements of the most interesting (according to the developers) programs and games. Small applications menu, called up in the same place as the recent menu open source software, remained in its place, but appearance it has changed, although the functionality remains the same. In general, Sony developers are not introducing fundamental changes to their interface so that the owner of any of the older models of the flagship Xperia series can easily “switch” to a newer model.
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Performance
The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium hardware platform is based on the familiar 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC. This 64-bit SoC is made using a 20 nm process technology and includes four powerful 64-bit ARM Cortex-A57 cores with a frequency of up to 2 GHz, which are complemented by four simpler 64-bit Cortex-A53 cores with frequencies up to 1.5 GHz, providing high energy efficiency or performance depending on specific tasks.
The Adreno 430 video accelerator is responsible for processing graphics in the SoC. The smartphone's RAM capacity is 3 GB. The user initially has about 21 GB of free flash memory available out of a total of 32 GB. Memory can be expanded by installing microSD cards with a capacity of up to 200 GB, in practice, our 128 GB Transcend Premium microSDXC UHS-1 test card was reliably recognized by the device. It also supports connecting external devices to USB port in OTG mode, but for this you need to manually search for devices through the section in the settings.
Nevertheless, the top-level Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 platform is quite capable of competing with other modern flagship alternative solutions such as HiSilicon Kirin 935 and MediaTek MT6795. In graphics tests, the Snapdragon 810 GPU demonstrates results no less good than those of the listed SoCs. At the same time, the Snapdragon 810 is quite a bit inferior in everything to the currently leading Exynos 7420 (presented in the tables Meizu smartphone Pro 5).
Anyway Sony smartphone The Xperia Z5 Premium's performance is at the level of modern flagships, and its hardware capabilities will definitely be enough to perform any tasks, including demanding games, within a couple of generations.
Testing in latest versions comprehensive tests AnTuTu and GeekBench 3:
All the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the most latest versions popular benchmarks, we have summarized them in tables for convenience. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that at one time they passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions test programs.
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Testing the graphics subsystem in gaming tests 3DMark, GFXBenchmark and Bonsai Benchmark:
When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).
| Sony Xperia Z5 Premium (Qualcomm Snapdragon 810) |
LG Nexus 5X (Qualcomm Snapdragon 808) |
Meizu Pro 5 (Exynos 7420) |
Huawei Mate S (HiSilicon Kirin 935) |
LeTV 1s (Mediatek MT6795T) |
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| 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme (more is better) |
Maxed out! | Maxed out! | Maxed out! | 6292 | 10162 |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited (more is better) |
25898 | 18840 | 25770 | 12553 | 16574 |
| 1171 | 1149 | 1340 | — | 542 | |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Onscreen) | 53 fps | — | 52 fps | 16 fps | 26 fps |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Offscreen) | 56 fps | — | 57 fps | 12 fps | 27 fps |
| Bonsai Benchmark | 4210 (60 fps) | 3950 (56 fps) | 4130 (59 fps) | 3396 (48 fps) | 3785 (54 fps) |
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Browser cross-platform tests:
As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.
Thermal photographs
Below is a thermal image of the rear surface obtained after 10 minutes of running the battery test in the GFXBenchmark program:
The heating is highly localized in the upper part of the device, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. According to the heat chamber, the maximum heating was 45 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), this is significantly higher than the average value in this test for modern smartphones.
Playing video
To test omnivorousness when playing video (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, for example subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Web. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a single table.
According to the test results, the test subject was not equipped with all the necessary decoders that are required for full playback of most of the most common multimedia files on the network. To successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player. True, it is also necessary to change the settings and manually install additional custom codecs, because now this player does not officially support the AC3 sound format.
| Format | Container, video, sound | MX Video Player | Standard video player |
| DVDRip | AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| Web-DL SD | AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| Web-DL HD | MKV, H.264 1280×720 3000 Kbps, AC3 | The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹ | |
| BDRip 720p | MKV, H.264 1280×720 4000 Kbps, AC3 | The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹ | The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹ |
| BDRip 1080p | MKV, H.264 1920×1080 8000 Kbps, AC3 | The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹ | The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹ |
¹ sound in MX Video Player was played only after installing an alternative custom sound codec; The standard player does not have this setting
Tested video output features Alexey Kudryavtsev.
Additionally, the MHL interface was tested. Apparently, only Sony still supports image transmission via a wired connection (support for MHL 3.0 is declared), since the number of devices that can output images via MHL or Mobility DisplayPort is rapidly decreasing. To test MHL we used a monitor ViewSonic VX2363Smhl, supporting direct MHL connection (in version 2.0) using a passive adapter cable from Micro-USB to HDMI. In this case, output via MHL was carried out at a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels at a frequency of 60 frames/s. Regardless of the actual orientation of the smartphone, the image is displayed on the smartphone and monitor screens in landscape orientation with the connector on the smartphone to the right. In this case, the image on the monitor fits exactly within the boundaries of the display area and replicates the image on the smartphone screen one to one. The exception is start screen and, apparently, windows of programs that, in principle, do not support landscape orientation. They still appear in portrait orientation, on the monitor - with wide black margins on the sides:
Sound is output via MHL (in this case we used headphones connected to the monitor) and has good quality. In this case, sounds are not output through the loudspeaker of the smartphone itself, and the volume is not adjusted using the buttons on the smartphone body, but is turned on/off. In our case, a smartphone with a connected MHL adapter, judging by the charge indicator, it was charging.
Next, using a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Method for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”), we checked how the video is displayed on the screen of the smartphone itself. Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied: 1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels and frame rates of 24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps. In the tests we used the MX Player video player in the “Hardware” mode. The results of this (block entitled “Smartphone Screen”) and the next test are summarized in the table:
Note: If in both columns Uniformity And Passes Green ratings are given, this means that, most likely, when watching films, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and frame skipping will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems related to the playback of the corresponding files.
According to the criterion of frame output, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is very good, since frames (or groups of frames) can output with a more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without skipping frames. The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to standard range 16—235—all gradations of shades are displayed in shadows and highlights. When playing video files with a resolution of 1080p (1920 by 1080 pixels), the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the edge of the screen in the original Full HD resolution.
With connected by MHL monitor When playing a video, an exact copy of the smartphone screen is displayed on the monitor, that is, output is carried out in true Full HD resolution in the case of 1080p files.
The brightness range displayed on the monitor is the same as that displayed on the screen of the smartphone itself. The results of the monitor output tests are shown in the table above in the “MHL (monitor output)” block. The output quality is good, and even 60 fps files are output perfectly smoothly, without jerking. Let us remind you that traditionally, to control playback from a smartphone, you can use the remote control from the TV (apparently, Sony).
The conclusion is typical: an MHL connection can be used for gaming, watching movies, surfing the web and other activities that benefit from a larger screen size.
Battery life
The capacity of the built-in battery installed in the Sony Xperia X5 Premium is 3430 mAh. Even though a high resolution screen and a demanding platform, the device demonstrates very decent time in all scenarios battery life. As it has already turned out, not in all cases the smartphone uses full 4K resolution, so the similarity of the results with the Huawei Nexus 6P with almost the same battery capacity turns out to be quite justified.
| Battery capacity | Reading mode | Video mode | 3D Game Mode | |
| Sony Z5 Premium | 3430 mAh | 16:20 | 7 hours 50 minutes | 4 hours 30 minutes |
| Huawei Nexus 6P | 3450 mAh | 15:00 | 8:30 a.m. | 4 hours 30 minutes |
| LG Nexus 5X | 2700 mAh | 14:30 | 6:00 am | 4:00 am |
| LG G4 | 3000 mAh | 17:00 | 9:00 a.m. | 3:00 am |
| OnePlus 2 | 3300 mAh | 14:00 | 11:20 am | 4 hours 30 minutes |
| Huawei Mate S | 2700 mAh | 12:30 pm | 9:00 a.m. | 3 hours 20 minutes |
| Samsung Note 5 | 3000 mAh | 17:10 | 10:40 a.m. | 5:00 a.m. |
| Google Nexus 6 | 3220 mAh | 18:00 | 10:30 a.m. | 3 hours 40 minutes |
| Meizu Pro 5 | 3050 mAh | 17:30 | 12:30 pm | 3 hours 15 minutes |
Continuous reading in the Moon+ Reader program (with a standard, light theme, with auto-scrolling) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted almost 16.5 hours until the battery was completely discharged. When continuously watching videos from YouTube in high quality (720p) with the same brightness level through the home Wi-Fi network The device lasted almost 8 hours. In 3D gaming mode the device worked for 4.5 hours.
The device supports the Qualcomm Quick Charge 2 fast charging function. The smartphone came to us for testing without a complete set charger, and with the help of a third-party charger with an output current of 2 A, the initial charging is carried out with a current of 5.1 V 1.5 A, but as charging progresses, these values naturally decrease, and as a result, the smartphone battery is fully charged in approximately 3 hours.
Bottom line
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is a rather unique mobile device, a kind of “exhibition” smartphone with top-end hardware “not for everyone.” Why, for example, should the average consumer overpay for four times the number of pixels on the screen if he still won’t see the difference without a microscope? Moreover, in reality, the screen does not always and not in all applications display the image in the same 4K resolution, and this resolution turned out to be not quite 4K. As for the rest, we are so accustomed to the huge dimensions of such “pocket devices” that we no longer pay attention to them, having finally given manufacturers a free hand in this regard. True, even in comparison with most flagships of similar positioning, the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium turns out to be one of the heaviest modern smartphones, the weight of which has managed to exceed 180 grams.
And yet, the hero of the review actually differs very little from the usual flagships of the Sony Xperia Z series. This is practically the same Xperia Z5, only with a slightly larger screen and, accordingly, dimensions. Sound system, hardware platform, set of communication modules, assembly, materials - everything here is the same or almost the same, and does not cause any special complaints. And the decent level of autonomy in the Xperia Z5 Premium was frankly pleasing; we, of course, expected a worse result. I am also very impressed by the fact that Sony, unlike most modern manufacturers, does not abandon the topic of water resistance of mobile devices and does not limit the possibility of simultaneously installing a memory card with SIM cards. For this alone, Sony is supposed to add points to its karma.
With all this, Sony equipment, including mobile equipment, has always been and remains one of the most expensive. To be honest, you can now find quite a few smartphones on the market at a price lower than the Xperia Z5 Premium, but with similar characteristics. Take, for example, the same Huawei Nexus 6P, the price for the 32-gigabyte version of which in Svyaznoy is already 9 thousand rubles lower than that of the Z5 Premium version with a similar memory capacity. And yet, the Japanese brand still has enough fans; there will probably be those among them who are ready to pay 59 thousand rubles for the model described today - this is exactly what they are now asking for a certified Sony Xperia Z5 Premium in Russian retail.
In conclusion, we suggest watching our video review of the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium smartphone:
Smartphone for the most wonderful memories! Sony Xperia Z5 pleases with a stylish, thin matte glass body and rich content, in which the 23-megapixel camera with instant focusing stands out especially clearly. The smartphone is available in full-size, Compact and Premium versions.
Impressive mobile camera
Many innovations have found their way into the main camera of the new Z5 series models. In addition to 23 megapixel resolution, the camera boasts support for 5x Clear Image high-definition zoom, as well as hybrid autofocus technology: it is now ready to capture what's happening in just 0.03 seconds. You will never miss the right moment again!
A case that will withstand a lot of testing
The smartphone is “dressed” in noble materials: the frame is made of aluminum, the back panel is made of frosted glass, the front panel is covered with glossy shockproof glass with an oleophobic coating. Despite its aristocratic subtlety and grace, this smartphone is not easy to break; it is not afraid of dirt and does not get wet even when immersed in water.
Fingerprint scanner for error-free identification
First time in the line Xperia smartphones a model with a built-in fingerprint scanner appeared. Just touch the side power button - your smartphone recognizes the owner and instantly unlocks the screen.
Reliable battery
Z5 series smartphones last up to two days without recharging thanks to powerful battery and special energy-efficient technologies that prevent device components from wasting energy.
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