Something feels different with the Sony Xperia Z5. After years of too-hasty handset updates from Sony with minimal enhancements (the Xperia Z3+ back in May was no exception), this finally feels like a worthwhile advance on the previous model.
The problem is, does anyone really need a new phone from Sony? The Xperia Z1only launched in 2013, the same year as the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. That’s not very long ago at all – one upgrade cycle for people stuck in two year contracts, who will now be getting a phone four iterations along the line if they stay Sony-loyal.
But the Xperia Z5 feels like a different tack from Sony, and after the mess of the Xperia Z3+ it’s good to see some real change.
Sony has also followed Microsoft’s Windows 10 example and skipped a number, for the non-Japanese market at least: the Xperia Z3+ was called the Xperia Z4 in Japan, a muddle that the company has now resolved by jumping straight to Z5.
Sony’s Xperia Z5 comes alongside the Xperia Z5 Compact and the Xperia Z5 Premium. The Xperia Z5 sits in the middle of the price scale and the same goes for its specs.
It’s had a pre-release price drop on Sony’s official store, from the original listing of £599 (about US$920, AU$1,249) to £549 (about US$843, AU$1,144). That may have been a placeholder price, but it seems more likely to be a revision of strategy as it tries to land in a very congested flagship smartphone market.