Sony Xperia Z5 unboxed and second look

After 5 generations of the Xperia flagship series, we think Sony has done a terrific job at making the Xperia Z5 its best smartphone to date. In the last 5 iterations, it still retained its design DNA since the first day and the Z5 still closely resembles that unique look of the Z1, down to the glass on glass body and the IP68 rating.

Check out our unboxing video and second impressions in this clip:

It’s thin at only 7.3mm on the side with a matte polished metallic frame that retains the same IP68 rating for dust and water resistance of up to 1.5 meters for as long as 30 minutes at a time.

The Z5 also features the same back-to-back glass design, but only this time, they used frosted glass at the back to give it a that refined look and smooth texture that is not as slippery and a smudge-magnet as the glossy finish of the older models. The result is an elegant look that’s both functional and beautiful.

The single water-proof flap on the left side protects the nano-SIM card and micro SD card trays. The right side is the volume rocker, a dedicated camera shutter and that signature power button that also doubles as a fingerprint scanner.

At the bottom end is the micro USB port which is exposed but Sony managed to make them water proof as well. Beside that is a provision for a landyard strap.

Up top is the 3.5mm port which is exposed but also water resistant. That also includes the two front-facing speakers.

Sony did a good job at making the large power button on the right as a fingerprint scanner. This works well when you are holding the device with your right hand and your thumb is pressing against the power button comfortably. However, it feels awkward if you are holding the phone with your left hand. If you are a leftie though, you can actually still use your index or middle finger and register it with the scanner as that’s the most accessible to the button.

The scanner is pretty accurate and fast though you will need some time to get the hang of it. The phone allows you to register up to 5 different finger prints.

The 23-megapixel rear camera has phase detection auto focus which is really fast and can record videos up to 2160p at 30fps or do some slowmo shots at 720p with 120fps. Sony also boasts of a 0.03-second auto-focusing capability. Photos look great as well as the videos — crisp and clear. Same goes with the stereo speakers at the front — very loud and crisp.

The Snapdragon 810 processor paired with 3GB of RAM did wonders for the performance of the Z5. Even our initial Antutu benchmarks gave a top score of over 59,000. This makes the over-all experience smooth and fluid, even with multi-tasking and playing graphics intensive games. What we noticed though that the device tends to get warm pretty quickly though it’s nothing near uncomfortable levels.

The Z5 comes with 32GB internal storage but with only 21GB of it is usable. However, that can be extended up to 200GB via the microSD card expansion slot.

With a built-in battery of 2,900mah, we’re expecting pretty good battery life in our tests. The Z5 also features QuickCharge 2.0 which boost charging to 60% in just 30 minutes.

Sony Xperia Z5 specs:
5.2-inch IPS LCD @ 1080×1920 pixels, 403ppi
Qualcomm MSM8994 Snapdragon 810
ARM Cortex A53 1.5GHz quad-core, ARM Cortex A57 2.0GHz quad-core
Adreno 430 Graphics
3GB LPDDR4 RAM
32GB internal storage
Up to 200GB via microSD
LTE Cat. 6 Single SIM, Dual-SIM
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, DLNA
NFC
Bluetooth 4.1, A2DP, apt-X ANT+ support
GPS with aGPS, GLONASS/Beidou
IP68 certified
23MP rear camera, autofocus, LED flash
5.1MP front-facing camera
Fingerprint Sensor
FM Radio Tuner, RDS
microUSB v2.0 (MHL 3 TV-out)
2,900mAh Li-Ion battery
Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
146 x 72 x 7.3mm (dimensions)
154 grams (weight)

Over-all Sony made a really great improvements with the Xperia Z5. It’s gorgeous, powerful and has great camera with water resistance to boot. The Z5 is available in White, Graphite Black, Gold and Green and retails for Php35,990.