Sony’s phones are increasingly catering to a small but vociferous market, and the Xperia 5 III is no exception.
This is a terrific bundle – probably even more tempting than the flagship Xperia 1 III. For those drawn to the odd aspect ratio, complicated camera features, and powerful display, it comes with severe limitations as well. The camera, in particular, is only useful if you know how to operate it properly. At this price, it’s a lousy point-and-shoot option.
Because of the anomalies, this phone is best suited for individuals ready to work on the camera or those in need of a small, yet flagship, Android phone who is willing to pay for it. If you fit this description, there’s a lot to love here.
The Sony Xperia 5 III has been delayed significantly since its April 2021 launch. It was released in the United Kingdom in September 2021, with an even longer wait for consumers in the United States, who received the phone in January 2022.
The default model, which comes with 128GB of internal storage, is priced at $798.00 / £695.90.
The Sony Xperia 5 III’s pricing places it alongside the iPhone 13 Pro and the OnePlus 9 Pro in terms of direct competitors.
The exceptionally tall and sleek form of the Xperia 5 III, like any modern Xperia phone, is likely to be the first thing you notice.
This is primarily due to Sony’s desire for a 21:9 aspect ratio display. It is designed to be great for watching movies. There are other reasons as well, not least because the narrow screen is considerably more comfortable to handle.
When you consider that the 5 III is effectively a smaller version of the flagship Xperia 1 III. It’s one of those increasingly uncommon beasts: a phone that’s truly small without sacrificing specs.
It also helps that it’s a high-end phone with an aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass 6 protection on the front and back. Depending on the country, it’s also available in green and pink.
The 5 III is unique in more ways than one. Its small profile isn’t the only thing that sets it apart. For starters, it still retains a 3.5mm headphone port, which is becoming increasingly rare in high-end gadgets.
Then there’s the matter of the buttons. The volume controls are ordinary. But the power button serves as a fingerprint sensor. There are dedicated Google Assistant and camera shutter buttons below that.
Even the water resistance is strange — Sony utilizes an IP65/68 classification. It indicates the phone can withstand two sorts of water damage: low-pressure jets and full immersion.
There’s also the fact that Sony has retained the selfie camera in a thick top bezel rather than a notch or a pin-hole camera. This gives you a continuous display, but it adds to the elongated appearance and makes it feel less modern.
Some small phones reduce their specifications to save money, but Sony’s 5 III takes a similar approach to Apple’s iPhone 13 Mini.
That implies you’ll receive the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G CPU with 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage.
Unfortunately, Sony doesn’t appear to have matched its cooling technology to the compact form factor here, and as a result. The Xperia 5 III gets hot while doing anything demanding – let alone when charging – and it’s evident that this is limiting performance.
Synthetic benchmarks show that the phone runs well. However, it lags behind some of its Snapdragon 888 rivals, such as the Xperia 1 III. In fact, its CPU performance is significantly lower than the Xperia 5 II from last year.
Benchmarks aren’t everything, and the phone still performs admirably in everyday use. So this shouldn’t be a major problem for the ordinary user. Power users and gamers, on the other hand, may want to seek elsewhere, as this will get hot and throttle, lowering performance.
At the very least, connectivity is clearly solid. In addition to 5G, there’s Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and, of course, NFC.
The Xperia 5 III has many advantages, but the battery is not one among them. That isn’t to imply it’s a flaw, but rather that it’s merely average.
The 4500mAh battery is a fairly standard size these days. Though given how compact the phone is, it’s at least welcome that the battery capacity isn’t similarly small.
At normal use, the phone can easily last a day and a half in 120Hz mode, while two days is a stretch. Even a very demanding power user should find that this is a device that can be used all day.
Charging is also on the average side. The 30W cable charging speeds are comparable to the Pixel 6 and slightly better than Samsung’s S21 phones or the new iPhones. They are far slower than the fast charging speeds offered by OnePlus, Oppo, or Xiaomi – the latter’s newest 11T Pro offers four times more power at 120W.
Even so, there may be diminishing gains in this case. Sony claims that the 5 III will lose half of its charge in half an hour. It is nearly identical to my results, which showed a 52 percent charge loss in that time. That’s half a day’s worth of power in half an hour, which I’m sure is fast enough for most people.
When compared to the 1 III, one notable missing is the lack of wireless charging. Even the cheapest competitors now offer some form of wireless charging, however slow, and have preferred to see the same here.
The display of the Sony Xperia 5 III is as recognizable as its appearance. It’s a 6.1-inch OLED with a resolution of 1080 x 2520 (FHD+) and a pixel density of 449 pixels per inch.
No, it doesn’t equal the Sony Xperia 1 III’s 4K magnificence, or even the QHD standard used by nearly every other Android phone at this price. However, it’s debatable how useful squeezing so many pixels into a 6.1-inch screen would be.
When compared to the Xperia 1 III on Sony’s Standard setting, the display is noticeably warmer, yet it is equally bright. You also get an optional Creator mode. It gives more accurate color reproduction for cinematic content, just like its big brother.
And on this flat, continuous, ultra-wide 21:9 canvas, the movie content looks fantastic. Sony’s unconventional approach to smartphone screens pays dividends in this area, especially with the company’s cinematic color science on board.
We liked the clearer tones of Standard mode in general, with Creator mode set to engage automatically when appropriate content appeared. While it works well for media material, it seemed a little warm and flat while speeding through menus and apps, so having the best of both worlds is nice.
You receive a 120Hz refresh rate, much like the Xperia 5 II. As is typically the case, you’ll have to enable it in the options menu. However, once you’ve done so, scrolling across site and app content is a delightfully seamless experience.
The 120Hz refresh rate was, of course, a key differentiator in last year’s model the Xperia 1 II. With the addition of this capability to the Xperia 1 III, the smaller device no longer has any display bragging rights.
After a long period of slamming Sony’s camera software, it’s only fair to accept that the corporation gets it right in other areas.
The Xperia 5 III ships with Android 11 out of the box, and like other Sony phones, it’s a version with minor Sony tweaks.
That means a clean, uncomplicated aesthetic and fluid performance. There are fewer pre-installed programs or bloatware, as well as fewer unnecessary functions and settings clogging up menus. For the most part, this is a fairly clean Android experience.
Of course, this means you won’t receive the extra features that some other Android skin makers include. Many of the innovations in Android version releases are first seen on Samsung, Xiaomi, or OnePlus phones. But Sony customers will have to wait for Google to catch up.
Sony hasn’t promised a particular number of Android upgrades for the 5 III but has stated that the Xperia 1 III will receive two major updates. So the same is likely to be the case here.
That should get you through Android 12 and 13, however, it’s unclear when they’ll be released. To be blunt, two upgrades are at the low end of the market and are basically the bare minimum, especially for a flagship – Sony should do better in this area.
You’ll also have to make some minor equipment concessions, as the Xperia 5 III, like its predecessor, does not support wireless charging. The Xperia 5 III is an excellent choice for those searching for a tiny high-end smartphone with a Snapdragon 888 SoC.
Wireless charging is available on the Xperia 1 III, but not on the Xperia 5 III. The Xperia 1 III, in particular, sports a bigger 6.5-inch 4K display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The 6.1-inch 1,080p display on the Xperia 5 III offers a 120Hz refresh rate.
The Xperia 5 III has a lot to offer. The display is excellent. The audio options are unrivaled, and the compact form factor is likely to appeal to some just because of its rarity. Especially for a phone with a premium chipset and camera.
However, with battery life and charging specs that are only acceptable at best. A software update guarantee that isn’t even that, the hardware’s lifetime is reduced. Even though the specifications appear to be top-notch on paper, the compact body has clearly created cooling issues, lowering its performance in practice.
But, in the end, the phone’s attractiveness will be largely determined by its camera. While the hardware is undeniably capable – and the shutter button is a rare delight. Sony’s software choices simply mean that this isn’t a good option for anyone looking for a point-and-shoot camera.
You’ll find better cameras that are easier to use. Elsewhere if you’re not eager to learn sophisticated settings and play with shutter speeds. And, more often than not, for less.
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