Sony Xperia 5 IV finally brings back wireless charging
Premium hardware, mainstream price
Sony has brought back a fan-favourite feature for the Xperia 5’s fourth generation. Wireless charging went AWOL on last year’s Mk III, but is present and correct for the Xperia 5 IV. The high-end handset slots in beneath the flagship Xperia 1 IV, borrowing a lot of its hardware but cramming it all into a (slightly) more compact package.
The 6.1in OLED screen keeps Sony’s now-signature 21:9 aspect ratio, and sticks to Full HD-and-a-bit instead of copying the Xperia 1 IV’s 4K panel. The firm has managed to boost brightness by 50% this time around, which should make all the difference for watching HDR content. A 120Hz refresh rate promises slick scrolling and the firm’s Creator picture mode makes a return to ensure streaming videos have the colour and contrast the director intended.
All the usual Sony hallmarks are present and correct, like a 3.5mm headphone port, microSD expansion and a physical shutter button for the trio of rear cameras.
Each has a 12MP sensor, with a choice of photographer-friendly fixed focal lengths. 16mm, 24mm and 60mm should keep most smartphone snappers happy, even if there’s no variable zoom telescope here like there is on the Xperia 1 IV. All three have 120fps readouts for rapid subject detection, 20fps burst shooting with HDR, and can shoot 4K HDR video.
Inside, power comes from a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU – not the newer, cooler 8+ Gen 1 variant doing the rounds elsewhere. It’s paired with 8GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. Given the Xperia 1 IV could run particularly hot, it’ll be interesting to see whether Sony has managed to tame the chip here.
The CPU choice could also have an impact on battery life, although at least here the 5000 mAh cell isn’t tasked with keeping a 4K screen juiced up. You have the choice of 33W wired charging or cable-free top-ups, with power share built in for juicing up other gadgets.
It runs Android 12, with an update to version 13 likely to land sooner rather than later and the promise of at least one more Android version to come, along with three years of security updates.
The Xperia 5 IV should be landing in the UK from late September onwards. Expect it to set you back £949, which puts on it directly against competition with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus and Apple iPhone 13 Pro.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor