Sony Xperia Z5 Premium Review
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium Review
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium Review
Let it be known that 2015 is the year when we saw the first-ever commercially available smartphone with a 4K display. That's a 2160 x 3840-pixel resolution crammed in a 5.5-inch screen. Of course, as you probably know, the smartphone in question belongs to Sony's flagship Xperia Z line and is called the Xperia Z5 Premium.
Design
When bigger is not better
We often speak fondly of Sony's bold rectangular design – an elegant shape, with stark angles that manages to strike the balance between sense and beauty. It has worked great for the Xperia Z line so far, the Compact models included, but if we are to be honest, it looks a bit iffy with the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium.
Naturally, the increased size of the Premium's screen demands a larger phone body, and large dimensions do not go well with the good old rectangle. We can see how keeping an uniform look between the 2015 Xperia Z handsets helps to define the brand, but in our experience with the Xperia Z5 Premium, we found the phone's ergonomics to be sub-par. It would've definitely benefited from smaller bezels and softer corners in the back to make it easier on the palm.
On its back, the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium does not have the matte Frosted Glass that adorns the Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact, but a glossy, mirror-like finish. Described in one word – it's shiny! Place the phone screen-down on the bar, and everyone is going to know that you have something special there. But give us six words to describe it and we'll say it's an insane fingerprint magnet susceptible to scratching. And yes, we've complained about fingerprint smudges on devices before, but they are somewhat easy to live with when they're not too visible. Having a reflective surface will show all that grease your palm leaves on the device in its full glory.
On to the buttons, we have the new fingerprint-reading power key located on the right. It sits flush with the phone's frame, so looking for it by touch and pressing it is not the best of experience. As a biometric scanner, it's fairly fast and pretty consistent. However, if you choose to place a case on the phone to battle the smudges and potential scratches to the back, the power button becomes even harder to access, and the scanner becomes less accurate, as the skin on your finger gets deformed when you try to press through the case's opening.
The volume rocker is placed in an unorthodox manner as well, as it sits below the power button. This is a rather uncomfortable position, as it demands that we either adjust our grip to set the volume, or learn to use our ring finger for the task. In terms of feedback, it feels a bit spongy, but generally stable with a reassuring click behind it.
Of course, the Xperia Z5 Premium also rocks a dedicated two-step camera key. It doubles as a camera shortcut – just press and hold, no matter what state the phone is in, and the camera app will open. As far as use goes, we preferred not to rely on it, as it's a bit hard to press and would sometimes cause us to shake the device just as we are trying to take a snap.
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