Starters
If you’ve been following our blog from the get go and start-up, you’ll know that we have a bias sweet spot when it comes to Sony. You might even know that the Sony Xperia Z2 is my everyday smartphone, incidentally the first phone we invested in for our YT unboxing video was the waterproof Sony Xperia M4 Aqua. This go’s to show without any doubt that I’ve always personally believed in Sony’s Xperia Smartphone Range. The choice came down to technological innovation and mobile technology in the long run. Sony were a little late in the game, but have been selling portable electronic’s for donkey’s years since 1979 with the world changing ground breaking Sony Walkman. Three years beforehand in 1976, Apple was just a little squirt with the world’s first Apple PC knocked up together by Steve Job’s and Wozniak, financed with a $500 calculator and Job’s only means of transport a VW Microbus. Humble beginnings of the now cute tyrant, who could have predicted the rise of Apple? Sony had such a head start, but somehow missed the point of revolution, loosing ground in innovation when it came to the age and birth of the Smartphone.
The Sony Xperia Z5 Family Range
World’s First
When Sony made the Walkman the world took note and followed suit, when Sony made a waterproof phone, everyone shrugged and raised an eyebrow. This time, Sony blow the competition out of the water and rock your sock’s off! all whilst knocking your eyeball’s from the socket! Surely this time someone will notice? Someone will lead a figurehead wedge and charge, shattering Apple complacency and superiority forever? Rest assured not everyone will agree or see eye to eye, but today Xerxes draws blood and Sony was the Protagonist and Leonidas to get the job done.
A Question Of Display
We covered Sony’s back at IFA 2015 in Berlin, when they revealed their new smartphone and airtight family range, including the slimline smaller (4.6 inch) display of the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact, and the (5.75 inch) display of the Sony Xperia Z5. Both screen’s boast high rich accurate colour for their range. The smaller Z5 Compact features a similar 720 x 1280 pixel screen which you’d find on Sony’s Xperia M4 Aqua, albeit without the key-scratch protective oleophobic coating, or the triluminos display and higher PPI of 323 versus 294 on the minutely larger yet inferior Aqua M4 model. The Z5 Compact’s display for its price range is impressive, impressive still further is the flagship. The ultra slimline Sony Xperia Z5 features 1080 x 1920 pixels on it’s triluminos display, again with a more than adequate high pixel density upon the screen. The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium takes the biscuit and business of display to a whole new level in the industry. Introducing the unbelievably sharp and detailed 4K display to the Smartphone. We covered the 4K innovation of Sony fully at the IFA 2015 and feel this quote sums up how we feel about 4K Resolution!
“The new benchmark record-breaking display gives the Z5 Premium the most advanced and in-depth resolution ever seen beforehand, on a smartphone at 3840 x 2160p (Probably better than your TV) furthermore packing (806) of those tiny detailed compressed pixels per square inch of the display! Nothing else compares or even comes close to matching this to date. Not even the Quad HD of the Samsung Galaxy S6 (577 PPI) or the LG G4 (538 PPI) Sony just blew the competition out of the water in terms of bubbling, glowingly sharp crystal clear tear-inspiring viewing pleasure!
Is 4K Overkill?
There’s an argument here that needs to be swept under the red carpet rug. Once and for all the critics will say the 4K display is an overkill, they’ll say it’s a battery power drainer and stress, in fact, they’ll work very hard at persuading why you don’t need 4K, the trouble is, it’s all smoke and mirror’s. You do need 4K and the Smartphone does too and here’s why? Apple can pretty much lead the market in any way they want, they don’t need to sit down and play chess games with Sony. I’m putting all my eggs into one basket and stating it outright, Apple won’t imitate with their own 4K display. They’re already too busy pushing forward with their own animated ‘Live Photos’, which incidentally takes up double internal storage space, as well as iCloud data. This is partially why the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus should usually come with a sensible and hefty data package on contract, and why the 16GB variant of the iPhone 6s isn’t much to roll with on a day out!
To Be 4K Or Not To Be? That Is The Question!
Many of the Premium range flagships come fully working and ready to either film or take pictures in 4K. The problem you literally don’t even notice is when it comes to viewing the pictures or rich 4K video. It’s impossible to do on your phone, the resolution isn’t compatible, you can have a looksie and it looks good enough, but it’s still not being viewed at it’s high intended and original form. Not until you throw the image or film to 4K Laptop or TV does it work it’s magic, only then you can see the crowning glory of photographic creativity!
Upscaling Chores
How many people actually go through the trouble of all that? I’m willing to bet, not many, and those that do are probably Photoshop professionals. This doesn’t render the matter moot. Sony uses their own 4K upscale technology, meaning the phone will render at 1080p for browsing and normal tasks but will automatically adjust to 4K viewing pleasure for Youtube, photos and compatible apps. Wisely saving on power consumption. The 5.5 inch 4K screen of the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is the best display on the market, best for gaming, best for movies. More importantly, you won’t need to go through the trouble of viewing any 4K on a larger screen, It’s all directly on the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium plain as day.
Any Hardware Problems?
Now that’s out of the way and the argument under the rug, what else can I tell you about the Z5 Premium? The Base body of the phone keeps to tradition, profiling Sony’s slate-like Kubic monolithic look. The Waterproof flaps have scarpered never to return again and keeping up with the times the power button doubles as a fingerprint sensor for security and NFC payment services. Underneath the cold slate surface there’s an Octo-Core processing system. With a feat in engineering Sony opted to utilise the Snapdragon 810 GPU. This is a troublesome chip many manufacturers have failed to use without heating problems. Sony worked it out and even with it’s Guinness book of records demanding 4K display, the phone doesn’t overheat. Sony’s Stamina mode and battery like a bunny stays energised for days!
Processing Power
The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium carries a kick of processing power threaded together with an Octa-Core processing system. We have one set of Quads calculating at 1.5 Ghz and the opposite set wielding the Contex-A57 at 2GHz. There’s 32GB of internal memory with MicroSD space at a phat extra 200GB if needed. Three gigabytes of RAM keep everything running smoothly on Android Lollipop Vr 5.1.1 without hiccup whatever you throw at it. Sony keep their Xperia Family Range up to date with regular software releases, the Z5 trio have a planned upgrade to 6.0 Marshmellow.
Verdict?
The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is the be all and end all. It does everything you’ll ever need to do on a smartphone. It’s IP68 dust proof and water resistant for the shower and bath. It’s got the world’s only 4K crystal sharp, tear jerking display, letting you view picture and video from the palm of your hand originally intended as it should be. Both front and back camera can film in HDR and the primary rear captures 23MP @ 5520 x 4140 promising impressively detailed flicks. The Z5 Premium is a serious device worthy of it’s own self edification. If you want the best of the best we’d recommend Sony’s latest creation all day everyday!
Alternative Sony Xperia Z5 Premium Tariff’s