Sony's Xperia smartphones do things a little differently from the rest of the Android crowd, making them some of the best phones for a handful of consumers, particularly those who use their free time to create content instead of consuming it.

At the top of Sony's hierarchy is the Sony Xperia 1 V, an all-singing, all-dancing flagship phone that comes at a hefty price. If you aren't willing to spend such an eye-watering amount of money, then its little sibling could be a better option, combining the 1 V's best features with a smaller price and a much smaller footprint.

Each new model of the Xperia lineup makes incremental changes to the device that came before rather than massive overhauls each time, and so the 5th generation of the phone feels like a natural evolution of its predecessor.

Sony Xperia 5 V

$800 $850 Save $50

The Sony Xperia 5 V packs flagship features, impressive performance, and an iconic Xperia camera system into a small package. Photography and videography enthusiasts will get on particularly well with it, but that's not all it has to boast about.

Pros

• All-day battery life
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor
• Includes a 3.5mm audio port and camera shuttter button

Cons

• Expensive
• The 6.1-inch screen can feel cramped
• Slow charging

$800 at Amazon $800 at Sony

Price, specs, and availability

Available to buy now in Europe and the UK, the Sony Xperia 5 V sits just below the flagship Xperia 1 V in terms of cost. It'll set you back around £849 or €999. Unfortunately, the Sony Xperia 5 V isn't available in the US.

As reported by Android Police, Sony confirmed it would not release the phone in North America in 2023 to focus its efforts on the flagship Xperia 1 V instead. There's no saying whether there will be a US launch in 2024 though.

The new model isn't too dissimilar from its predecessor, the Sony Xperia 5 IV. The design is largely the same, as is the 6.1-inch screen, charging capabilities, ports, and storage options. The phone features an upgraded Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and a switch-up in camera lenses. Sony removed the telephoto lens and added the Xperia 1's 52MP Exmor T sensor for mobile. Take a look at the table below to see more of the Sony Xperia 5 V's specs.

Design and screen

Sony's smartphones are easily recognizable -- they're smart, sharp, and narrow. The Xperia 5 V's 6.1-inch OLED panel has a 21:9 aspect ratio, which certainly divides opinion, and not only because the display is smaller than most other devices in the price bracket. I like the fact that the phone is long and thin because I have small hands, so I can reach both edges of the screen one-handed.

For others, it could feel a little too cramped to navigate, especially if you're coming from a larger phone. Even for me, it took a bit of time to get used to the keyboard because it's not as spaced out as elsewhere. But if you're fine with the small screen, this aspect ratio is well suited to streaming video, particularly blockbuster movies that stretch across the whole display.

Surprisingly, this phone feels quite thick to hold, despite measuring 154 x 68 x 8.6mm and weighing 183g. That's because the screen sits flat against the body of the phone and has quite sharp edges, there aren't any curves to make it feel more comfortable. Personal preference will dictate whether it is right for you or not, but you can't deny that it looks pretty sleek. It's also worth mentioning that the screen bezels are more prominent here than on other smartphones, making it look a little less modern.

1:02

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I can sometimes be a little clumsy, so I was pleased to find that the Sony Xperia 5 V features sturdy Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both the front and back of the device which should protect it from light drops and scratches. It's also IP65/68 water-resistant, which means it should survive being momentarily submerged in water.

On the back of the phone, the camera module has had a welcome redesign from the last model. Previously, it was a long, thin strip. Now, there's more space for the lenses, in part because the phone is missing one of the ones it had previously. Meanwhile, the selfie camera is placed out of the way inside the top bezel on the front.

Around the frame, you'll find the usual USB-C charging port and volume rocker, alongside a less standard shutter button for the camera, the power button that doubles up as a fingerprint sensor, and the 3.5mm audio port to connect to wired headphones or an external microphone.

The screen itself has a resolution of 2,520 x 1,080 pixels and in terms of quality, it's both clear and sharp with bold colors that don't look too oversaturated. Generally, I had a good view of the screen no matter what angle I looked at it from, though the screen felt like it wasn't bright enough when I used on sunny days. As expected at this price, the screen features a 120Hz refresh rate, which makes for super smooth scrolling and swiping, be that through the app menus or in mobile games.

The Sony Xperia 5 V's packaging is made entirely from a combination of bamboo, sugar cane fiber, and recycled paper, while the device itself is partly made from SORPLAS, a recycled plastic developed by Sony. You also won't find any little extras in the box. It doesn't ship with a cable or charger, which is fine for me given the hundreds I have at home, but that could be annoying for someone switching operating systems. You also won't get a SIM card ejector included because the SIM card tray can be pulled out manually.

Performance and software

Under the hood, the Sony Xperia 5 V has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, alongside 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. You can expand the phone's memory using an SD card too.

In my experience, the phone was speedy, and it could cope with all sorts of tasks, from photo editing to mobile gaming, without slowing down or heating up. File transfers were quick and apps opened almost instantly. It's a shame Sony doesn't offer a variant of the Xperia 5 V with more RAM because that would make tough tasks even easier, especially as the phone ages.

Battery for days, well hours...

Keeping this handset up and running through the day is a 5,000mAh battery which lasts from morning until night and even into the next day at times. For me, that meant I could endlessly scroll social media, watch a video here and there, play music, or answer messages without worrying about conserving battery life or carrying a charger around with me. When I downloaded and played an HD video, the phone lasted almost 20 hours before the battery dried up, placing it among some of the longest-lasting phones I've used.

The Sony Xperia 5 V supports 30W charging if you have the right kit. Using a 30W charger, it took me just over an hour to charge the phone from zero to 100% which is perfectly fine, even if it is a lot slower than some Android smartphones, like the OnePlus 11 which only takes about 25 minutes to charge using its 100W power adapter.

In terms of software, the Sony Xperia 5 V has Android 13 with Sony's interface over the top -- it'll recieve two major Android updates and three years of security updates after that. As with other Android phones, you can choose whether you'd rather have gesture or three button control. I'm a fan of the gestures, which were responsive and worked smoothly. The apps are displayed in a menu that you drag up from the bottom of the screen and so it was always easy to find what I was looking for. You get some of Sony's apps pre-installed when you first boot up the phone, like Music Pro, Video Creator, Game Enhancer, and the PS app, all of which are worth exploring if you buy this phone.

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Thanks to a new amplifier and direct front-facing drivers, the speaker system has had a decent upgrade, making for a loud, clear sound that is good enough for solo listening, whether that's a video on YouTube or a song on Spotify. I still find myself hooking it up to a pair of headphones or a separate speaker most of the time though, especially when listening to high-res audio, because the headphone jack allows for much better quality than Bluetooth.

Cameras

Let's talk about lenses. The Sony Xperia 5 V comes with a 52MP (48MP effective) 1/1.35in Exmor T main camera, a 12MP ultrawide lens, and a 12MP front-facing camera. Sadly, Sony decided to drop the telephoto lens found on the previous model. There's no optical zoom on the Sony Xperia 5 V, only digital zoom which crops the photo down as opposed to actually moving closer to the subject. Ultimately, that means that the closer you get, the more grainy the image becomes. At this price point, I found this off-putting, especially given the quality of the zoom in other flagship cameras I've tested out.

One of the main benefits of the Sony smartphone camera is the software that comes with it. Photography buffs will love the detailed manual controls on the Photography Pro app, like shutter speed priority, exposure, white balance, and so on. For videography, you get equal amounts of control over settings like ISO, auto exposure, and white balance. Because of that, combined with the fact that the lenses are capable of delivering excellent quality, both the photos and videos will be what you make them.

Photography buffs will love the detailed manual controls on the Photography Pro app, like shutter speed priority, exposure, white balance, and so on.

While I'm happy to play around with settings, most of the time I tend to point and shoot. I took a selection of sample shots on the Basic and Auto settings as well as a few using the more advanced controls. Using the Auto settings, the results were hit-and-miss and seemed to depend heavily on the lighting conditions. Sometimes the results were perfectly composed and looked somewhat professional, but others came out a little too dark, and the colors a little too dull. When I switched between camera modes and made a few adjustments to the settings, the shots came out a lot better, looking more true to life, with crisp details and plenty of depth.

Premium shutter response

The shutter response was quick and the dedicated button on the frame made it a lot easier to trigger, meaning I was less likely to miss a more time-sensitive shot. The ability to adjust the shutter speed also meant that motion shots were more likely to come out how I intended.

As with any Sony smartphone, the camera system is one of the Xperia 5 V's best features, although admittedly, it won't be for everyone. If you're a photography enthusiast who loves to tweak your camera settings to get the very best shot, then this is undoubtedly a fantastic choice. If you're an amateur, or you'd rather have speed on your side, then you may want to look elsewhere because it's not necessarily built to be a point and shoot. A lot of the latest phone cameras have all sorts of AI settings to deliver the best image possible, but here it's more down to you to compose your perfect shot.

Verdict: Sony's small phone is packed with flagship features

In short, I think the Sony Xperia 5 V is a great phone. It's fast, the battery lasts for ages, it's comfortable to use one-handed, the camera is top-tier, and it has a few features that are rare these days, like the shutter button, SD card slot, and the 3.5mm audio port. Having said that, it's not for everyone. You'll need to know your way around more complex camera settings to take the best photos possible, it is relatively slow to charge, the screen might be too small for some people, and despite being cheaper than the Sony Xperia 1 V, it's still quite expensive.

Weighing whether the Sony Xperia 5 V is a good buy or not will depend largely on how you use your phone day to day. Most importantly, whether you're into photography or videography, or whether you would like to learn. This will also be a good choice if you're looking for a small yet powerful handset, but less so if you're not necessarily looking for something more compact.

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