Sony Xperia Z5 Comes to Singapore

Sony Xperia Z5 and the Z5 Compact will be available in Singapore in October, followed by the first ever 4K screen smartphone, the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium in November. It’s a strong attempt from Sony as they try to wrest back market share in this competitive market.

Key features: 4k screen option. 0.03 sec auto focus. New 23MP sensor. 2-day battery life.

The flagship Z5 Premium ($1098) squeezes a 4K screen into a 5.5 inch space, for those who demand the craziest specs today in a phone. It’s only slightly more expensive than the next in line, the 5.2 inch Xperia Z5 ($998) and the 4.6-inch Xperia Z5 Compact ($828). Like Apple, Sony is one of those who maintain similar hardware across the same series, which allows consumers to focus on buying the phone with the right fit, while not compromising on other aspects.

Look how compact it is. Feels weird to hold a small phone like this after having gotten used to phablet-like devices.

One of the key features in the Xperia Z5 this time around is the new camera. I’m quite impressed. The Xperia Z5 range uses a new Sony lens and include hybrid auto focus tech from Sony Alpha Imaging product line. It boasts a “faster-than-you-blink” 0.03 second focus with phase detection autofocus of 192 focus points. Sony gamely demonstrated the stellar performance of the camera (in a controlled setting), and also showed how the low light performance trumped similar models from Competitors “A” and “S”.

Sony also touts the promised 2-day battery life on the Xperia Z5 range. Performance and software optimizations might play a large part here. XDA did an article on how the Xperia Z5 Premium doesn’t render 4K if the content is only full HD. Instead it upscale the image, which saves processing power. It’s the same way computers and consoles have been working, and we should start seeing similar adoption from other manufacturers. Also, compared to the time I did the Xperia Z3+ review, there were no signs of overheating when launching the camera app.

Pre-Order Details

Pre-order available from 24 Sep to 11 Oct 2015 – get a Free Micro USB Charging Dock DK52 (RRP $58) (high speed charging) and there’s also a PWP promotion of the new High-Resolution Audio Headset MDR-NC750 at SGD$49.