Sony Xperia 5 II
Price: £799 (inc VAT) from fave.co/36kBTo2
After almost three years of steady decline, Sony’s smartphone sales have finally begun to stabilize. In the three months to the end of September 2020, the company shipped around 600,000 Xperia phones, roughly on par with Q3 2019.
Nonetheless, this still accounts for a tiny fraction of the global smartphone market. It would seem a curious failure for the company behind one of the most in-demand consoles in history, a brand which is recognized globally for its TVs and audio equipment.
For its 2020 phones, Sony has taken inspiration from another of its key revenue streams – mirrorless cameras. As such, the successor to last year’s Xperia 5 is known as the Xperia 5 II (or mark 2). It looks like a big upgrade on paper, but how does that translate to real-world usage? Here’s our full review.
DESIGN
The design of the Xperia 5 II is unlike any phone I’ve tried this year, which is impressive going. It’s something of a fusion of old and new: legacy features such as the 3.5mm headphone jack and notch-less display combine with a gorgeous screen and premium build quality. It works as a complete package in my opinion, and is satisfying to hold.
The phone feels a lot more compact
