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| The bland Z5 Premium is redeemed by a genuinely jaw-dropping display |
A FRUSTRATINGLY mediocre flagship smartphone – with a world class Ultra HD 4K display.
Sony's flagship Xperia Z5 Premium has an unbelievable Ultra HD 4K display. Unfortunately it's about the only thing about it that is.
The Z5 Premium has a build quality worthy of its name, but its classic Sony design is starting to look a little dated, especially in a year when Samsung unveiled the staggeringly beautiful Galaxy S6 Edge.
NewsNewsBlog.blogspot.com tested the jet-black Z5 Premium, which is especially dull – and lacks the wow factor of other flagship smartphones.
Fortunately the Z5 Premium is redeemed by its truly awesome display.
The 5.5inch screen packs four times the resolution of a standard Full HD screen. And the result is jaw-dropping.
4K footage looks pin-sharp and vibrant on the phablet-sized display, which packs 806 pixels per inch.
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| The beautiful 4K Ultra HD display on the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is truly awesome |
It's by far the best display currently on the market, however there is an issue and that's content.
Unfortunately, aside from a number of hit shows by on-demand video firms like Amazon and Netflix – but who is going to stream those to a 5.5inch smartphone? – Ultra HD video is still frustratingly sparse.
However the eye-popping 4K display on the Z5 Premium means you're future-proofed as more and more content is released for the ultra-sharp format.
And until then you can shoot your own footage, since the rear camera on the Z5 Premium is capable of filming 4K video at 30fps.
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| Place the 4K Xperia next to a 1080p smartphone display and you can really see the difference |
Sony has included a brilliant 23-megapixel camera on the Z5 which can produce some stunning snaps.
In fact, a number of high profile industry tests have singled-out the rear camera on the Z5 Premium as the camera to beat.
Pictures are clear, crisp and – coupled with the world’s fastest autofocus – you are almost guaranteed to capture a decent photos every time you hit the dedicated shutter button.
Sony also bundles a ton of extras with their camera including multi camera, virtual reality and face in picture modes, which all add a bit of fun to your photography.
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| Sony has finally ironed out the over-heating problem its 4K mobile cameras had experienced |
The technology firm has also finally solved the overheating issues that dogged its 4K smartphone video recording on previous releases.
Hi-Res audio playback and a hassle-free waterproof design are another great win for Sony with the Z5 Premium.
Sony promises two-day battery life with the Z5 Premium – and it comes close.
Alongside its standard Android battery saving mode, the Z5 Premium has some clever tech which powers down the CPU when there's a static image on the screen.
side from gawping at the Ultra HD screen, this is easily our favourite feature on the Sony flagship smartphone.
Battery life is still a major issue for smartphone manufacturers and Sony's decision to sacrifice a svelte design for a 48 hour battery is a good one.
The Z5 Premium is powered by a fast 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor and 3GB of RAM.
Hi-Res audio playback and a completely waterproof design are another great win for Sony with the Z5 Premium.
Unfortunately the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium only ships with 32GB of internal storage, which will quickly fill-up if you record all your home videos in 4K.
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| Sony has baked its fingerprint sensor into the small power button on the side of the smartphone |
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| The Xperia Z5 Premium is completely waterproof, which should appeal to clumsier phone fans |
The Z5 Premium does support expandable storage, something Samsung has ditched in its stunning new Samsung S6 Edge, which allows smartphone owners to add a massive 200GB of extra memory.
Another neat feature on the Z5 is the inclusion of a fingerprint scanner. Whilst this is nothing new, Sony has managed to squeeze it onto the side of the device which makes it incredibly easy to use.
Sadly, there’s no Android Marshmallow on the Z5 Premium, so don't expect to get any of the new privacy, battery management or Google Now functionality.
Marshmallow is sorely missed and could push Android fanboys towards the excellent Nexus 6P over Sony's latest.
The Xperia Android skin is also clunkier than many of its peers.
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| The Xperia Android Skin is clunkier than other third-party alternatives |
Out of the box, the flagship smartphone has a number of preinstalled apps from the likes of Amazon, Facebook, Vine, TV SlideView and Kobo.
Sony's own Shazam-like TrackID app and Playstation apps also make an unwelcome appearance.
There is one final complaint and it's one of the most frustrating aspects of the Sony Xperia – the volume switch position.
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| Sony has placed the volume rocker BELOW the power button - which makes the smartphone cumbersome |
Sony has placed the volume rocker underneath the power button, on the right-hand side of the device.
Right-handed smartphone owners will find the volume controls naturally nestle into your palm, which makes adjusting the volume an infuriating exercise in thumb gymnastics.
Final Verdict
Sony has always built solid smartphones with a great camera and the Z5 Premium continues that proud tradition.
Unfortunately Sony's smartphone design is starting to look a little tired and dull – coupled with a slippery glass back and infuriating volume buttons, the Z5 Premium is truly cumbersome to use.
The waterproof design and expandable storage are great but the lack of Android 6.0 Marshmallow is a glaring omission.
Android Lollipop is still a great operating system, although the Xperia Skin's plethora of unnecessary bloatware and unattractive software design does its best to help you forget that.
Sony Z5 Premium is clearly a great smartphone but it lacks the excitement of some of the competition.
It feels like Sony has played it too safe. As a result, the idea of spending the next two years with the Z5 Premium as our smartphone is far from appealing.
Avid Xperia fans will no doubt love the specs upgrades, but Sony probably hasn't done enough to convince the Samsung, Google Nexus and Apple faithful to ditch their trusted devices.
- Sony Z5 Premium will set you back £629 sim-free, contract prices start from around £36 per month
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