Announced today. Sony took the wraps off their newest flagship phones. The Z5, Z5 Premium, and Z5 Compact.
Sony is first to market with a 4K display on a phone. The Z5 Premium will sport the Qualcomm 810 with 3GB of RAM, 32GB of built in storage, and the ability to add more via Micro SD card. Quite a feat shrinking that resolution down to a 5.5″ screen.
The bread and butter Z5 shrinks down to a 5.2″ display and reduces the resolution to 1080p, but retains largely the same overall experience.
The 4.6″ screened Compact also returns, continuing Sony’s track record of producing a smaller form factor phone which matches most of the specs found in their larger flagships. Always happy to see a smaller premium phone rather than gimped “mini” budget phones.
For all three, Sony’s hard edge rectangular design retains the Xperia feel we all understand. Water resistance seems to be improves ala Samsung, where ports no longer require awkward flaps.
Sony produces most of the top tier camera sensors found in competing phones, so it makes sense they would save “the good stuff” for themselves. Their newest sensor is a half inch 23MP beast with an f2 lens aperture, and they’re touting the world’s fastest smartphone auto focus. Combined with OIS, it should make for a solid competitor to the current crop of flagship phones.
Lastly, the side mounted power button gets upgraded to include a fingerprint sensor, a fairly ingenious design, providing one action for turning the phone on and unlocking, without resorting to a hardware Home button or rear mounted scanner.
The family of Xperia Z5 phones should be shipping in October, with country and pricing info to follow. You can catch Sony’s full press release below.
Berlin, IFA, 2nd September 2015 – Sony Mobile Communications (“Sony Mobile”) today unveiled its next-generation Xperia Z5 and Xperia Z5 Compact, and the world’s first 4K smartphone Xperia Z5 Premium – each engineered to make everyday experiences better.
“Smartphones are part of people’s lives” said Hiroki Totoki, President and CEO at Sony Mobile Communications. ”Since users already create, share and enjoy most of their content on the go – we’ve set out to bring Sony’s latest innovations in camera, design and display to ensure the Xperia Z5 series is the best possible lifestyle and entertainment platform.”
A mobile camera experience unlike any other
Xperia Z5 features Sony’s brand new large 1/2.3 Exmor RS™ for mobile 23MP sensor and F2.0 G Lens – it’s Sony’s first completely re-imagined smartphone camera module since Xperia Z1, designed with Sony’s interchangeable lens camera αTM technology for clear, vivid imagery every time.
The camera is capable of the fastest autofocus in a smartphone, a powerful blend of speed and accuracy to capture split-second moments with ease. It delivers a ground-breaking speed of just 0.037 seconds – faster than the blink of a human eye (average 0.1 – 0.4 s), so whether you’re jumping for the frisbee in the park, diving into the pool or catching air on the vert ramp, you’ll have the power to preserve spontaneous action in real-time.
A combination of the large 23MP Exmor RS™ for mobile sensor and advanced processing software lets you get close to subjects; whether it be a landmark, architecture or other objects of interest, with 5x clear image zoom with minimum loss of quality. And, advancements in low-light photography mean you can capture clearer photos at night or in darker surroundings with less noise and blur – perfect for capturing a sunrise or night skyline.
With the continued popularity of content capture for social media, Xperia Z5 series brings
significant advancements in the evolution of Sony’s SteadyShotTM with Intelligent Active Mode for video. Further improvements mean you’ll be able to continuously capture action smoothly, such as riding a bike or skateboard, free from jolts or shudders. It also features better low-light performance without blur.
Designed for life, with the same flagship experiences in a choice of form factor
Designed by leading creatives at Sony’s Creative Center studios in Sweden and Japan, Xperia Z5 presents a svelte continuous plate form, with a metal frame and frosted glass back. It’s striking, comfortable to hold and waterproof for everyday convenience. With a 5.2” display, sleek looks and Fall 2015 fashion and interior design cues, colours range from elegant to expressive for any personal style or taste; White, Graphite Black, Gold and Green.
For those who prefer a compact smartphone, Xperia Z5 Compact brings the same great camera technology and features in a pocket-friendly compact device. It delivers uncompromised performance in a beautifully compact design with a 4.6” display, perfect for one-handed use. And, Z5 Compact let’s you express personal stylewith fresh, vibrant colours including Yellow and Coral, in addition to White and Graphite Black.
Both devices represent iconic Sony craftsmanship with premium materials throughout, including frosted glass finishing to the rear and a subtly etched Xperia logo side engraving, as well as capless USB for quick efficient connection and charging.
To the side, a new integrated fingerprint sensor power button means each device is personal, protected and easily unlockable with a simple pick up and press in one natural movement. It will also support the FIDO standard; authentication via fingerprint for online payment services – with news on first partners shared closer to launch.
Powerful performance that meets demands
Xperia Z5 and Xperia Z5 Compact are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, featuring octa-core CPUs, 64 bit capabilities and ultra-fast 4G LTE speeds, letting you reach new levels of performance for video, photography and gaming. Whether you’re multi-tasking over Wi-Fi or the latest 4G network, both devices deliver the speed you need. Download email with attachments in seconds and enjoy video streaming with no delays or unwanted buffering.
Powerful smartphone features demand smart power management, Xperia Z5 and Xperia Z5 Compact are equipped with Sony’s incredible up to two-day8 battery stamina and innovative power-saving technology, which gives you superior long-lasting battery performance. With Qualcomm® Quick Charge™ 2.0 enabled on the new devices, you can get 5.5 hours usage with just 10 minutes of charging with a certified Quick Charge™ 2.0 charger, such as the Quick Charger UCH10 (dependant on market variants)9.
Sony’s 4K leadership now in a mobile device – Xperia Z5 Premium, the world’s first 4K smartphone
Xperia Z5 Premium is the world’s first 4K smartphone with a sharp, vivid 5.5” 4K TRILUMINOS™ Display for mobile and IPS, where breathtaking detail is depicted with pinpoint accuracy for the most natural images, at four times the resolution of Full HD.
Xperia Z5 Premium will upscale your favourite content to 4K, enhancing any native or third party videos or photos so you can view Netflix, YouTube or your holiday shots in rich, vibrant 4K detail. And, Xperia Z5 Premium is built to allow you to get creative by capturing in 4K and immediately enjoying the content on Z5 Premium, with the option of preserving any moment as an 8MP quality image.
And, why not port the memory card from Sony’s 4K Action Cam FDR-X1000V to Xperia Z5 Premium to enjoy your footage immediately – or simply connect to the big screen either wirelessly via DLNA or with MHL 3.0 to enjoy your content on a 4K TV.
Xperia Z5 Premium is designed from the ground up as a high-performance mobile device, also powered by the Snapdragon 810 processor. A high capacity 3430 mAh battery lastin
g for up to two days, with quick charge capability eliminates the need 
for regular charging.
Xperia Z5 Premium features a large 32GB internal memory, with the capability to take a 200GB external microSD card, which offers extra room for 4K videos and movies, and images too. Xperia Z5 Premium also features Sony’s innovative memory on display feature – the data transfer between processor and device is optimized so Xperia Z5’s display memory technology remembers the display of images seen on your smartphone and caches the image or video so that you don’t need to reload the full image each time you view it – preserving battery power in the process.
A flagship series powered by an entertainment and content ecosystem
Across the Xperia Z5 series, Sony’s rich expertise in audio technologies lets you enjoy sound in incredible detail and clarity. High-Res Audio reproduces high frequency sound for a studio quality experience. DSEE HXTM upscales the audio fidelity of your existing MP3, AAC or Spotify tracks to near High-Res Audio quality. And for high quality wireless music listening, Sony’s LDAC™ codec transmits data three times more efficiently than legacy codec over Bluetooth.
And now for the first time, Sony’s new High-Resolution Audio Headset MDR-NC750 allows you to enjoy combined Hi-Res Audio music with Digital Noise Cancelling – your tunes as they were intended to be heard, with ambient background noise reduced by up to 98%.
Keep playing your favourite PlayStation®4 (PS4™) games wherever you are in the home with PS4 Remote Play10. Simply connect your Xperia Z5 series device to your PS4 via home Wi-Fi and use the DUALSHOCK®4 Wireless Controller to ensure you never miss a minute of the action – whatever room you are in.
And to ensure you continue to enjoy the best experiences that Sony has to offer, all Xperia Z5 series users will benefit from access to Xperia Lounge Gold – delivering the world of Sony entertainment at your fingertips. Get access to exclusive competitions and offers; be among the first to try out new apps; and enjoy the latest movies, TV episodes and music included with your device.
Smart style, with new accessories
A range of stylish and protective Style Cover Window cases will be available for each Xperia Z5 series model at launch, in respective corresponding device colours – each will let you access your favourite smartphone widgets through a smart window.
Stereo Bluetooth® Headset SBH54 is versatile headset with a doubling handset function, designed for users who want a convenient companion device to a large screen smartphone, allowing you to take and make calls, see messages, play music and enjoy FM radio.
Availability and specifications
Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact will launch globally from October 2015, and Xperia Z5 Premium from November 2015 – Xperia Z5 and Xperia Z5 Premium will be available in both Single SIM and Dual SIM variants¹¹.
For the full specifications please visit:
http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/phones/