Sony Xperia 5 III Review
Verdict
The Sony Xperia 5 III earns a identify as a worthy rival to about of 2021'southward best flagship phones, offering competitive specs to primal handsets including the Galaxy S21 Plus and OnePlus 9 Pro. Just its high price and a few missing features make it a good alternative to, rather than an like shooting fish in a barrel recommendation over, most similarly priced Android phones.
Pros
- Reliable rear camera
- Well laid out Pro photographic camera app
- Decent battery life
Cons
- Screen's atypical aspect ration causes some apps to look weird
- A petty expensive
Availability
- Uk RRP: £899
- Usa RRP: $1439
- Europe RRP: €999
Key Features
- Pro camera mode Manual customisation features and UI inspired by Sony'south A-serial cameras
- Atypical 21:9 screen aspect ratio The screen is longer and thinner than nearly other phones'
- Powered by to stop parts The Xperia 5 Iii runs using Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 888 chipset, which makes it a beat for gaming and photo editing
Introduction
The Xperia five 3 is the little brother to Sony'due south fifty-fifty more expensive Xperia 1 III. Withal, its price makes it more akin to Samsung's Milky way S21 Plus than the cheaper Galaxy S21, and places it in the lower echelon of the flagship phone market.
Every bit a handset it retains a lot of the perks seen on the Xperia i III, with highlights including an atypically thin 21:ix design and custom "Pro" photographic camera app.
These perks, plus a solid spec sheet make it a compelling alternative to about of the best Android phones we've tested this twelvemonth. And with existent world use I institute plenty to like nearly the phone, with information technology offering surprisingly long bombardment life and wonderfully accurate camera performance.
The simply downside is that it's missing a few primal features, which cement its place as a good telephone that matches, just doesn't necessarily beat 2021's best phones.
Design and screen
- The Xperia 5 Iii has an atypically tall and thin design
- The screen can run at 120Hz, but it doesn't have a variable refresh rate
- The telephone is IP68 water resistant
Visually the Sony Xperia 5 3 looks a lot like its large brother. It shares the same pattern philosophy as pretty much every Sony phone I've seen over the final few years. This means it's got an atypically tall and thin mixed metal design that pairs slightly curved sides with a distinctly flat back.
Some people may bemoan the lack of design flourishes, and there'due south no denying it'due south tall and narrow trunk tin feel a petty weird at first. The metal and glass finish also becomes fairly slippery when even moderately wet and I had more than than a couple of near misses using the phone outdoors when it was drizzling.
Merely as handsets get it feels like a premium, well built telephone. The tall rear photographic camera housing is likewise suitably discrete. Generally, if y'all like phones that don't draw unwanted attention, the Xperia 5 3 is i of the all-time looking available.
I practise have some foibles with the design, all the same. For starters, the forepart camera is still housed in a noticeably big blackness bezel on the screen's elevation. This makes it look very old-school in a globe where iPhone 13-esque notches and Galaxy S21-style hole dial photographic camera housings are the norm.
The phone'due south button placement is as well a picayune off if, like me, you're a southpaw. The phone has three physical buttons on its long right side: a book rocker about three quarters up its side, a power push but below it and a photographic camera shutter push button at its bottom. The problem I experienced stemmed from the fact the power button also features an integrated fingerprint scanner and has clearly been positioned to sit where a correct handed user's thumb would naturally autumn.
The scanner works well when used this fashion. I had no issues with its speed or accuracy. But, belongings it in my left manus, the scanner proved a niggling as well accurate with every accidental brush of my index finger being detected, leading to it registering "too many attempts" to be used to unlock the phone in the space of time it took me to have it out of my pocket on several occasions.
Large chin and forehead bated, the screen is more often than not excellent. Sony's loaded the Xperia 5 III with a 6.i-inch, 1080 x 2520 resolution, 21:nine ratio OLED screen.
The resolution ensures images and icons look sharp, even if it doesn't match the 4K offering on Sony's flagship and the OLED panel ensures blacks are wonderfully inky, giving films, especially in HDR, wonderful dial.
I'm likewise a big fan of the wealth of screen settings on offer. Out of the box it runs in standard mode, which is the equivalent of the "vivid" setting plaguing nigh Milky way handsets. This is the showroom floor setting that overcooks colours in a bid to brand the screen look as punchy and vibrant as possible, at the expense of accuracy.
I'yard a much bigger fan of the creator setting, which focuses on colour accuracy over vibrancy. I found with the creator mode on, colours were much more natural, and generally more pleasant to wait at. The setting also targets creatives that want to have reward of the telephone's "pro" camera functionality, working to ensure what you lot meet on screen is what is actually beingness captured.
If, for some reason, you want to have a mix of both, the telephone also lets you set the Xperia 5 Three to only switch to creator way in certain apps, though honestly, I'd recommend just having it on all the time.
My only minor bug with the screen are that dissimilar Milky way S21 Plus, the Xperia 5 III'due south display doesn't accept a variable refresh rate and its attribute ratio can make some apps look a little odd.
A variable refresh rate lets a screen intelligently accommodate how many images per second are displayed. This lets it max out its refresh rate when at that place's a benefit, like gaming and then lower it to save battery when running processes where there's no benefit. The tech is a primal selling signal for the Galaxy S21 line, OnePlus 9 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro/Pro Max.
Because the Xperia 5 Iii'due south price information technology would have been a nice addition. Without it, all you tin can do is choice between 60Hz and 120Hz modes in the screen settings.
The aspect ratio is designed to permit the Xperia 5 III play modern movies as they are mastered. If you watch modern epics this does ring truthful and you'll get a full screen feel. Merely on older content, and most Television set shows, there are noticeable blackness borders.
Performance
- The Xperia 5 3 is a powerhouse phone that uses cutting edge parts
- Games run smoothly, even in 120Hz
- Though it does heat up with prolonged use
The Xperia 5 III is powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G bit seen in most of 2021'south Android flagships. Paired with 8GB RAM this makes it a powerhouse device.
Using the Xperia 5 3 as my primary work and personal handset, I didn't have any real performance issues. The device blitzed through basic picture editing in Photoshop Express, opened applications in milliseconds and ran demanding games, like PUBG with its graphics maxed with zero outcome.
The but pocket-size problem is that the device'southward back did on occasion get noticeably hot to the touch, though this only happened when running demanding processes, or recording video for prolonged amounts of time, which is hardly a deal billow.
My real world feel rang true when I synthetically benchmarked the Xperia 5 III. You tin see how it performed confronting key rivals, similar the Galaxy S21 Plus, in the table below.
| Geekbench 5 single-core | Geekbench 5 multi-cadre | 3DMark Wildlife | |
| Xperia 5 3 | 1132 | 3672 | 4890 |
| Galaxy S21 Plus | 1006 | 3218 | 5701 |
Photographic camera
- The photographic camera doesn't take any killer features
- Merely it is surprisingly authentic with colours in auto mode
- And features a powerful Sony Pro setting for serious photographers
The Xperia 5 Iii features a triple sensor rear camera setup that combines 12 MP, f/1.7, (wide), 12 MP, f/2.three, (telephoto), and 12 MP, f/ii.ii, 16mm (ultrawide) parts. Upfront there's a single eight MP selfie camera.
Unlike a lot of phone cameras from 2021 information technology doesn't try and entice users with a flashy characteristic, like 100x zoom, or a custom "cinematography" mode that adds a bokeh result to video, ala iPhone 13.
For me this isn't a bad matter, equally in its identify Sony has focussed on getting all the fundamentals right. Every bit a result, the auto setting produces photos that are in my mind, superior to what yous'll get on most competitively priced phones. Putting it caput to caput with the Galaxy S21 Plus the Sony Xperia five Three offered more than realistic shots.
This is largely considering Sony appears to have taken a much more muted arroyo to postal service-shot processing. Colours don't appear quite every bit punchy every bit those taken on the S21 Plus and shots on the Sony have pleasingly realistic colours. They also aren't oversharpened to an extreme.
The photographic camera's ultrawide too performed well when taking cityscape shots and bokeh effects were suitably accurate during testing. Bokeh is an event where the foreground subject area is in focus while the background is blurred.
The only fourth dimension the auto setting struggled to compete was in low calorie-free. Here images were universally usable, exterior of pitch blackness, merely those taken on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus and Pixel v were slightly less noisy.
Thankfully this is hands fixed in the camera's Pro mode. This is the aforementioned custom camera mode Sony's loaded onto virtually of its peak end phones. Information technology finer gives you a wealth of camera setting options for key things like aperture, white balance and focus zones in a similar UI to what you'll observe in Sony's A-series mirrorless cameras. It's a little daunting to utilize if you don't know what y'all're doing, but in experienced easily I institute information technology'south possible to have fantabulous, significantly nicer shots.
The front camera is very by the numbers, being no better or worse than what you'll find on an iPhone 13 or Galaxy S21 Plus. It tin accept usable selfies in decent calorie-free, just struggles in dim conditions and is more than than good enough for Zoom calls.
You can see a pick of photos taken on the Xperia 5 3 below.
Battery life
- The Xperia 5 Three will last a total day'south regular employ
- Information technology'll charge in just over an 60 minutes, if you accept the right kind of plug
Sony's phones oasis't ever offered the best stamina, with past flagships' 4K resolutions, or fancy video modes proving outright power hogs. But I'm pleased to written report this isn't the instance on the Xperia five III.
I've found the phone easily lasts a total day'south use, fifty-fifty with the 120Hz refresh rate screen setting on.
This entailed regularly checking incoming messages and social media feeds, taking and making calls (Zoom and regular) throughout the workday, an 60 minutes'south streaming on YouTube/Netflix and a quick GeForce Now gaming session before bed.
Yet, like all the phones I exam, more intensive tasks do put a bigger bleed on the battery.
Streaming video at 120Hz, the phone discharged an boilerplate of viii-10% of its accuse per hour. Gaming put an even bigger 12-15% drain.
If you want to y'all can besides radically extend the battery by setting it to 60Hz. Here the phone lost an average of five-6% streaming video and eight-10% gaming.
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Should you buy it?
You lot like Sony phones and desire a solid all-around handset: The Xperia 5 III doesn't have a single killer characteristic, like the S21 Plus or iPhone xiii, but past getting nearly all the nuts right it ears a place as one of 2021's best all-rounders. The only real omission is the screen's lack of a variable refresh charge per unit, which is odd at this cost.
You desire the very all-time Android has to offer: The Xperia 5 III is good at near things, but it's not the best telephone at anything. The Galaxy S21 Plus has a better, variable refresh rate screen and rivals, such as the Pixel v beat its camera in low light.
Last Thoughts
The Sony Xperia 5 III is an splendid Android telephone that will encounter 99% of users' needs. It offered solid battery life, a reliable rear camera and a wonderfully make clean install of Android.
How we test
We test every mobile phone we review thoroughly. Nosotros use manufacture standard tests to compare features properly and we apply the telephone as our main device over the review flow. We'll always tell you what we notice and nosotros never, always, have money to review a product.
Used as our master handset during test period
Camera tested in variety of situations with all modes
Tested with synthetic benchmarks and real earth use
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FAQs
Does the Sony Xperia 5 Three take a variable refresh rate
The Xperia v 3 does not have a variable refresh rate, it is locked to run at either 60Hz or 120Hz.
Does the Xperia v III come with a case?
The Xperia 5 III does not come with a case included in the box.
Is the Xperia 5 3 waterproof?
The Xperia v III is IP68 certified, which means it can survive brusque submersions, but is not fully waterproof.
Trusted Reviews examination data
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Geekbench v single core
Geekbench v multi core
1 hour video playback (Netflix, HDR)
xxx minute gaming (calorie-free)
1 60 minutes music straming (online)
3D Mark – Wild Life
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Full specs
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U.k. RRP
United states of america RRP
EU RRP
Manufacturer
Screen Size
Storage Capacity
Rear Photographic camera
Front Camera
Video Recording
Battery
Fast Charging
Size (Dimensions)
Weight
ASIN
Release Date
Commencement Reviewed Appointment
Model Number
Resolution
HDR
Refresh Rate
Ports
Chipset
RAM
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Jargon buster
HDR
HDR stands for High Dynamic Range and refers to contrast (or deviation) between the brightest and darkest parts of an image. HDR content preserves details in the darkest and brightest areas of a picture, details that are often lost in old imaging standards. HDR10 is mandated to be included on all HDR TVs. It's also supported by 4K projectors.
Refresh Rate
The number of times the screen refreshes itself per second.
mAh
An abbreviation for milliampere-hour and a way to limited the capacity of batteries, especially smaller ones in phones. In near cases the higher the mAh, the longer the battery volition final but this isn't ever the case.
Nits
The brightness level of a brandish. 300 nits is regarded as the minimum target for high-cease screens.
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