Sony Xperia 5 V review: Compact premium smartphone with professional camera

Dwarven powerhouse. Sony’s Xperia 5 V is a strong camera phone for small hands: featuring a 48 MP dual camera, the slim 21:9 smartphone manages to replace three lenses. The 6.1-inch small Android 13 phone is also equipped with the lightning-fast Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and a 5000 mAh battery.

Manuel Masiero, 👁 Daniel Schmidt (translated by Jacob Fisher), Published 09/29/2023 🇩🇪

Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

Compared to the Xperia 5 IV, Sony has hardly changed anything in the design of its premium smartphone. The Xperia 5 V also makes use of an elongated case with a 21:9 aspect ratio and almost unchanged dimensions. The weight has increased from 171 to 182 grams.

Thanks to its slim build, the Xperia 5 V fits well in the hand and feels high-quality all around. Both the display and the back are protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and are connected to each other by a metal frame. The surface of the matte back cover is smooth, but offers some finger resistance due to its light rubber coating.

The side edges, which are slightly thicker than other upper-range devices, may not be appreciated by some. In return, the Xperia 5 V does without a punchhole or notch for the selfie camera, which is integrated unobtrusively into the display frame.

The microSD/SIM slot, which is equipped with a rubber seal, can be opened without tools. Available in black, blue and silver for US$909, the Xperia 5 V is IP65 and IP68 certified.

      Google Pixel 7 Pro       Samsung Galaxy S23+       Sony Xperia 5 IV       Sony Xperia 5 V       Xiaomi 13       Apple iPhone 14       DIN A6 {element.classList.add(‘hideEl’)});document.getElementById(‘showDeviceSizelabel_333210’).checked=false;document.querySelectorAll(‘#showDeviceSize_335209’).forEach(element=> {element.classList.add(‘hideEl’)});document.getElementById(‘showDeviceSizelabel_335209’).checked=false;document.querySelectorAll(‘#showDeviceSize_332577’).forEach(element=> {element.classList.add(‘hideEl’)});document.getElementById(‘showDeviceSizelabel_332577’).checked=false;document.querySelectorAll(‘#showDeviceSize_340608’).forEach(element=> {element.classList.add(‘hideEl’)});document.getElementById(‘showDeviceSizelabel_340608’).checked=false;document.querySelectorAll(‘#showDeviceSize_334376’).forEach(element=> {element.classList.add(‘hideEl’)});document.getElementById(‘showDeviceSizelabel_334376’).checked=false;document.querySelectorAll(‘#showDeviceSize_331902’).forEach(element=> {element.classList.add(‘hideEl’)});document.getElementById(‘showDeviceSizelabel_331902’).checked=false;return false;” title=”hide all”>❌

Sony offers the Xperia 5 V with 128 GB of internal storage. This can be expanded via the microSD slot, which holds cards up to 1 TB in size. The microSD card can also be formatted in exFAT file format.

Other interfaces include a 3.5 millimeter jack port, which is located on the top of the device. The OTG-capable USB-C port works at USB-C 3.2 Gen.1 speed and has a nominal transfer speed of 5 Gbit/s. NFC is also integrated.

Unlike its predecessor the Xperia 5 V no longer has a notification LED. What remains, however, is the optionally activated always-on display, which shows the date, time and battery status as well as new notifications.

We tested the transfer speed of the microSD port using our Angelbird AV Pro V60 microSD reference card. The sequential data transfers are mediocre and sometimes below those of the Xperia 5 IV. In the copy test, our test device is able to surpass its predecessor, but is still quite slow at 20.6 MB/s.

The smartphone performs better in the USB copy test. The Xperia 5 V achieves a USB transfer rate of 180.18 MB/s with the Samsung 980 Pro SSD in Asus’ ROG Strix Arion Case, which is connected via USB 3.2 Gen.2.

The Xperia 5 V runs Android 13, which Sony has largely left in its original state. But there are a few additional features on board.

The Side Sense feature allows the opening of one app in a pop-up window before another. Displaying two apps simultaneously in a multi-window view is also possible. Both functions are accessible via the Window Manager app as well as directly via a transparent, narrow button located on the right edge of the screen.

Another additional feature is the Game Optimizer, an app that launches automatically when you start a game and remains there as a small circular icon or alternatively as a pull-down bar. The Game Optimizer gives you access to the performance-, display- and streaming settings, and can hide notifications.

A few third-party apps such as Amazon, Facebook and LinkedIn also come preinstalled. Upon formatting the smartphone, only 94 GB of the 128 GB is free because the OS package takes up a whopping 34 GB. DRM Widevine L1 for HD streaming is supported.

Sony promises two Android upgrades and three years of Android security updates for its smartphone. This is not much compared to other upper-class smartphones, since manufacturers usually provide updates for 5 years in this price range.

The Xperia 5 V covers 24 4G and 11 5G frequencies and supports WiFi 6E in addition to NFC and Bluetooth 5.3. In tandem with our Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 reference router, the smartphone achieves fast and stable Wi-Fi transfer rates.

Overall, however, the Xperia 5 V falls short of its potential because it did not recognize the 6 GHz network in testing, which hindered even higher transfer rates. We hope Sony will improve this with an update.

Sony’s smartphone pinpoints its location via the GPS (L1), Glonass (L1), Galileo (L1), Beidou (B1, B1C) and QZSS satellite navigation systems. In testing, the Xperia 5 V was able to locate satellites quickly and at an accuracy of 3 meters both indoors and outdoors.

The Xperia 5 V passed our real-world GPS test with flying colors, proving its suitability for navigational tasks in everyday life. The Sony tracked our almost 10 kilometer long bike route almost as precisely as the Garmin Venu2 fitness smartwatch.

The Xperia 5 V delivers very good voice quality. During our test calls, all our call partners attested to clear sound that is largely free of background noise.  Sound quality remains good in hands-free mode.

In addition to VoLTE, the smartphone also supports Wi-Fi calls and dual SIM. Only a physical nano SIM card fits into the card slot, which can be opened without a SIM tool. Dual operation can then be set up using an eSIM.

The main camera of the Xperia 5 V uses the Sony Exmor T IMX 888 (1/1.35″, f/1.9, OIS), which is the same sensor used in the current Xperia flagship, the Sony Xperia 1 V. Our test unit also does not utilize the full 52 MP, but only a section of it with a maximum of 48 MP to simulate a 48 MP telephoto lens.

When taking photos, the main camera uses a focal length of 24 mm and creates 12 MP photos via 4x pixel binning. If you use the software at the standard setting of 2x, the main camera switches to a focal length of 48 mm and thus simulates an optical zoom with virtually no loss of quality. The digital magnification works in increments of 0.1 up to a maximum of 6x.

We recorded our test shots in the automatic mode of the standard camera software Photo Pro, which offers extensive setting options. Continuous shooting is possible at up to 30 frames per second, RAW shooting is supported, and the camera can automatically focus on and track the face or eyes of people and animals in portrait shots.

In our tests, the main camera delivers very good image quality. In daylight, photos are nice and sharp and fine details are clearly visible, even in darker subject areas. The images are also distinguished by a pleasantly natural coloration that is not as strong as in many competing models, such as Samsung.

The software telephoto zoom is also impressive at small zoom levels, but quickly reaches its limits at more than 2x magnification. The Xperia 5 V does a much better job than the Xperia 5 IV in night shots due to its larger main sensor.

The main camera records videos in convincing quality in 4K at 120 frames per second. However, users who want to use the software zoom have to lower the frame rate to 60 FPS. Sony provides two preinstalled apps for video editing: Video Pro and Camera Pro.

Apart from the main camera, the Xperia 5 V offers solid standard fare. Photos taken by the ultra-wide-angle camera are pleasing due to their neutral color representation and show a lot of detail, but are always slightly noisy, especially at the edges and corners, even in optimal lighting conditions. The 12 MP selfie camera takes good, sharp shots in daylight with an attractive bokeh effect and can record videos in 4K at 60 frames per second.

Image Comparison

Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.

Daylight photo 1Daylight photo 2Ultra wide angle5x zoomLow light

We took another close look at the main camera in the test lab. In optimal lighting conditions, the Xperia 5 V captures colors quite accurately (maximum Delta-E of 12.09) and displays the test chart sharply. At 1 lux residual light the chart is still completely visible, but also blurry.

Sony is very restrained in the Sony Xperia 5 V’s scope of delivery. Neither a power supply nor a USB cable are included. Only a quick start guide and a few other booklets with safety instructions and SAR information are provided.

Sony’s web store offers a lot of accessories for the smartphone. In addition to products such as protective cases, Bluetooth headsets, chargers and adapter cables, there is also a holder (including a mini-display) that allows content creators to use the Xperia 5 V as a vlogging device.

Sony offers a 24-month warranty for the Xperia 5 V in Germany. This may differ in other regions, so buyers should double check before purchasing.

The capacitive touchscreen of the Xperia 5 V works at a sampling rate of 240 Hz, responds very quickly to inputs and has excellent gliding properties.

The smartphone can be unlocked biometrically via the fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button, which also works smoothly when the display is turned off. The Xperia 5 V can remain unlocked via the Smart Lock function as long as you carry it with you or use it in a safe place such as your own home.

Due to the high display resolution of 2560 x 1080, icons, fonts and screen elements are displayed very sharply, but are also quite small. If necessary, the display size can be adjusted in 4 levels in the Android settings. The default setting is level 2, so there is still some room for improvement.

Another input aid is the one-hand mode, which makes sense for people with large hands because the Xperia 5 V is sometimes difficult to use with one hand due to its elongated 21:9 aspect ratio.

* … smaller is better

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

Screen flickering / PWM detected	274 Hz
The display backlight flickers at 274 Hz (Likely utilizing PWM) . The frequency of 274 Hz is relatively high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering. However, there are reports that some users are still sensitive to PWM at 500 Hz and above, so be aware. In comparison: 54 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18982 (minimum: 5 – maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

The OLED panel of the Xperia 5 V reproduces colors very naturally in the default picture mode, which can be further optimized with our display settings for the white balance (see screenshot). In the ColorChecker analysis with CalMan, there is only a larg outlier for a shade of green, but this does not detract from a very solid impression overall.

Display Response Times

↔    Response Time Black to White
1.74 ms … rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 0.854 ms rise
	↘ 0.882 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 3 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.9 ms).
↔    Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
2.09 ms … rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 0.9415 ms rise
	↘ 1.146 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.25 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 4 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (34.5 ms).

Sony’s Xperia 5 V makes a strong impression in outdoor use. Thanks to its high brightness, the viewing-angle stable OLED panel is easy to read, even in direct sunlight.

The compact Xperia 5 V is equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, one of the fastest SoCs for Android smartphones. Sony’s device thus performs at top tier level in testing and offers more than enough performance for everyday use. However, the same can be said for the Xperia 5 IV, which is anything but slow with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.

In the synthetic benchmarks, the Xperia 5 V is on par with the Xiaomi 13, which also uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Only the Apple iPhone 14 with its Apple A15 Bionic chip and the Samsung Galaxy S23+ are faster among the comparison devices. The latter because its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy works with a 160 MHz higher clocked prime core compared with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and thus has a small performance advantage.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’s Adreno 740 gives the Xperia 5 V plenty of GPU power. In the graphics benchmarks, the smartphone takes the top spot in the test field together with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 counterparts Samsung Galaxy S23+ and Xiaomi 13. Its 120 Hz panel gives it a clear lead in the onscreen tests over the Apple iPhone 14, which is limited to 60 Hz.

The Xperia 5 V loads websites very quickly and displays them just as quickly. This is reflected in consistently high scores in the browser benchmarks. However, current Apple smartphones such as the iPhone 14 are still a little faster than their Android colleagues.

* … smaller is better

Sony is somewhat stingy with the storage of its premium smartphone. Instead of UFS 4.0 storage, only UFS 3.1 storage is used. Its speed is high, but does not come close to that of other upper-range rivals in some cases. On the other hand, the Xperia 5 V clearly outdoes its predecessor.

With its Adreno 740 GPU, 120 Hz display and stereo speakers, the Xperia 5 V is best suited for gaming. Even demanding games such as Genshin Impact or PUBG Mobile should run smoothly at the highest detail settings. We tested this with Gamebench.

The Xperia 5 V is unable to utilize its 120 Hz display at the HD/Extreme setting of PUBG Mobile because the frame rate is limited to 60 FPS. We suspect that this is due to energy-saving reasons. On the other hand, the frame rate almost never drops below the 60 FPS mark – so more is possible here. The same happens in the graphically less demanding Armajet, which the Sony smartphone also effortlessly renders at a constant 60 FPS.

Due to both its compact case and powerful SoC, the Xperia 5 V doesn’t have an easy time efficiently dissipating waste heat during operation. We measured a maximum surface temperature of 45.7 °C after a 1-hour stress test with the demanding Burnout benchmark. This feels quite warm and is also a higher average temperature than the Xperia 5 IV, but thermally the smartphone is still within the green zone.

Internally, the Xperia 5 V throttles quite quickly under load, as 3DMark’s Wild Life stress tests show. After running the two test scenes 20 times, the performance almost halved in each case. Such an extreme scenario is unlikely to occur in practice. Furthermore, there is still so much power available that users shouldn’t notice any loss of speed in everyday life.

(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 43.9 °C / 111 F, compared to the average of 32.7 °C / 91 F for the devices in the class Smartphone.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 45.7 °C / 114 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 44.2 °C / 112 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 30.9 °C / 88 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.

The stereo speakers of the Xperia 5 V deliver very good sound by smartphone standards. The sound mix is very balanced across the mids and trebles and does not distort at higher volumes. Only basses are in short supply, just like in most other mobile devices.

In addition to Dolby Atmos certification, the speakers support 360 Reality Audio, which can generate a room-filling sound from normal music tracks via upmix. You can try out the 3D audio feature for 30 days with a trial subscription using the preinstalled Tidal app.

The Xperia 5 V is one of the few upper-class smartphones with a 3.5-millimeter audio jack (good signal-to-noise ratio of 81.1 dBFS). Audio devices can also be paired via Bluetooth 5.3. The Sony smartphone supports numerous current Bluetooth codecs such as SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive and LDAC.

Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)

The Xperia 5 V can be charged with a maximum of 30 watts. The smartphone does not come with a power adapter, so you either have to buy the corresponding adapter in the Sony shop or use a third-party device. The smartphone also supports wireless charging according to the Qi standard, which works with up to 15 watts.

It took about 1:50 hours to fully charge the Xperia 5 V with a 65-watt power adapter from Ugreen in our tests. 75 percent battery level was reached after 50 minutes and 90 percent after 1:25 hours. Depending on how warm or cold the smartphone is when you connect it to the chosen power adapter, the charging process may also be a little shorter or longer.

In terms of power consumption, the Sony smartphone is mostly inconspicuous. However, it consumes slightly more power under load than the competition. But this is primarily due to the burnout benchmark, which is more demanding than our previous stress test, which all of the competitors listed have gone through.

* … smaller is better

The small Xperia 5 V has a large battery, which has a capacity of 5000 mAh and enables the smartphone to achieve excellent runtimes. A whole day of intensive use is easily possible, and depending on the usage profile, it may only be necessary to recharge the smartphone every two or more days.

The Xperia 5 V achieves almost 16 hours of simulated web surfing and almost 25 hours of continuous video playback. This is similar to the runtimes of the Samsung Galaxy S23+ and the Xiaomi 13, which are also powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy in the case of Samsung).

Battery Runtime

Amazon US is offering the Sony Xperia 5 V at discounts of 16-17% in silver ($909.00) black ($909.00) and blue ($909.00).

Prices are as of 28.09.2023 and are subject to change.

Sony Xperia 5 V
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09/27/2023 v7

Manuel Masiero

Smartphone – Weighted Average

Transparency

The present review sample was made available to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or a shop for the purposes of review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review.

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My fascination for computers started with the C64. Since then, I’ve put everything that comes my way in terms of hardware through its paces. From the C64 to the Amiga 500 and the first PC with an 8088 CPU, my list of projects has grown increasingly longer. For more than 20 years now I have also turned my hobby into my profession and have been active in the mobile section of Notebookcheck since 2021. Before that, I worked as a hardware editor for IDG Media (tecChannel.de) and VNU Business Publications (PC professional), among others.

Translator: Jacob Fisher – Translator – 260 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2022

Growing up in regional Australia, I first became acquainted with computers in my early teens after a broken leg from a football (soccer) match temporarily condemned me to a predominately indoor lifestyle. Soon afterwards I was building my own systems. Now I live in Germany, having moved here in 2014, where I study philosophy and anthropology. I am particularly fascinated by how computer technology has fundamentally and dramatically reshaped human culture, and how it continues to do so.