Sony Xperia C5 Ultra Review

Table of Contents

Performance and Benchmarks

With an octa-core processor running at 1.7GHz, the C5 Ultra is able to deliver great performance. And thanks to its 2GB RAM, multi-tasking is also promising. Switching apps shows little to no lag, depending on your running applications. Common apps like Facebook, Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Docs runs smoothly. But thing are not perfect. Perhaps due to the MediaTek SoC inside, some of the applications incompatibility cause them to lag or even crash from time to time. An update might be able to fix this soon.

Of course, we did test the device’s performance using benchmarking tools available. Scores are impressive and can match other flagships from last year.

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774

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4520

3286

1969

1349

In terms of gaming, the new Need for Speed: No Limits runs smoothly on the device. That is due to the fact that a Mali-T760 MP2 gives power. The said GPU also supports OpenGL 3.1 for high-end gaming.

Call Quality and Connectivity

While the large display and selfie features are the device’s primary assets, let’s not forget that it is still a mobile phone that makes calls. We have to admit, using a large communicator attracts attention when in public, but you’ll get used to it since the call quality on the device is superb. The earpiece is loud and clear paired with noise-cancelling microphones for better voice capture even in noisy environments.

XperiaC5Ultra_back

Equipped with an LTE radio, the device can take advantage of your network’s speed, if available in your area. We were able to get up to 33Mbps download around Tagaytay using a prepaid LTE SIM card from Globe and up to 6Mbps in the same area using a different server.

Other connectivity features like GPS work fine with instant lock-on when in the open, and the Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n supports 5GHz band for uninterrupted connection especially when in your office. Also, the NFC works like a charm.

Battery Life

Packed with a 2,930mAh Li-ion battery, one can expect a decent endurance from the device. Using PC Mark battery test, it scored 7 hours and 6 minutes. And with our own battery test of looping a 1080p video at 50% brightness, airplane mode and zero volume, we were able to get 5 hours and 36 minutes. Not shabby for binge watching a TV series on the go, but for something this big, we expected more.

Conclusion

XperiaC5Ultra_cover

With its big display, great selfie camera and wide connectivity suite, the Xperia C5 Ultra is one of the decent phablets in the market today. Although, its price tag of Php 17,990 is not that attractive. If Sony could just lower its prices, especially when they now use MediaTek processors, maybe they can sell more smartphones.

Sony Xperia C5 Ultra specifications:

6-inch IPS LCD (1080 x 1920 pixels), 367ppi
1.7GHz MediaTek MT6752 octa-core processor
Mali-T760 MP2 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage, up to 200GB via microSD
13-megapixel rear camera w/ LED flash, 1080p@30fps
13-megapixel front camera w/ LED flash, 1080p@30fps
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.1 w/ A2DP
GPS w/ A-GPS, GLONASS
FM radio w/ RDS
HSPA / LTE
2,930mAh Li-ion battery
Android 5.0 Lollipop
164.2 x 79.6 x 8.2mm
187g

What we liked about it:

Great front-facing camera
Thin screen bezels
Sturdy build

What we didn’t:

Battery life could be better
Mono speaker
Stiff shutter button

Daniel Morial

This article was contributed by Daniel Morial, a film school graduate and technology enthusiast. He's the geeky encyclopedia and salesman among his friends for anything tech.

http://www.yugatech.com

13 Comments

IVM says:

9 years ago

I saw this in the mall. It looks great and build quality is ok. But why 18k for Mtek processor and 2G ram? That’s not gonna get you far! Before this year ends, with all the updates you sure will be receiving, those specs will fail you soon enough!
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C5 user says:

9 years ago

I was so excited when I purchased Sony C5 last October because of its superb features but a month after, the delay in auto rotate started til it finally wont rotate. Various problems came in, one after another; battery drains faster, back is extremely hot while watching video, jack rejects earphone plug . So I took it to Sony sevice center, there I found 2 other customers having almost same isue as mine. Also, my friend got one too and having issues also, sigh. I love Sony and it’s my fourth Sony phone but never had this issue before. I’m dismayed but I still believe in Sony, I hope they will fix it.
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Teeyoy says:

9 years ago

Dear C5 user, planning to get this for my wife (camera/selfie buff). Any updates on the service status? thanks

MhaskEdRider says:

9 years ago

Ganda ng spex…. mukhng mas mgnda sa hands on lolz
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kabebegirl says:

9 years ago

Anguapo naman ng phone na’to, parang yong author ng article lang hihihi *kiligmats*
- Reply

mac ho says:

9 years ago

Best Comment foe the author… reply naman jan author para di masayang ang effort ni KABEBEGIRL! hehehe

James says:

9 years ago

2gb ram and a mediatek cpu? Good luck Sony.
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Roni says:

9 years ago

Sony Pricing is its biggest problem. Some say it’s because they are more durable. From a c4 user I can say its not true.
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John E. Decena says:

9 years ago

Beautiful body and screen but with less than 10k specs…
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FIELDER says:

9 years ago

So ano ngang sub10K na phone ang itatapat mo sa C5?
John Decena says:

9 years ago

Its the inside that counts and not the brand, sony nga ganda ng design pero midrange lang ang loob, there are mediatek phones that are way powerful for a 10k price tag…you want the rel deal??? Get the sony premium flagship phones if the price doesn’t matter to you…
Fielder says:

9 years ago

Get out of here if you think this phone have less than 10K specs.

anong itatapat na phone mo dito worth 10k or less?

Sony phones are way overpriced but this is not a sub-10K phone.

IMO i think this should be somewhere around 13.5k-15K with official Sony warranty. Around 11-12K for grey units.