Sony Launches Xperia Z5, Z5 Compact and Z5 Premium at IFA 2015

Sony has unveiled its latest flagship smartphone lineup, the much-rumoured Xperia Z5. Featuring three different handsets, Sony’s Xperia Z5 Premium becomes the world’s first smartphone to feature a 4K resolution display. The Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact will launch globally in October 2015, while the Xperia Z5 Premium will launch in November 2015. Both the Xperia Z5 and Z5 Premium will come in single- and dual-SIM variants.

The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium features a 5.5-inch TRILUMINOS display with Sony’s X-Reality engine on an IPS panel, with 4K resolution. Display response time on the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is improved by Sony’s ‘Memory on Display’ technology, which enables it to remember the images that are once incident on the screen, thereby loading them faster in the next reload. The smartphone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 SoC, and has 32GB of internal storage (expandable up to 200GB via microSD cards). The Xperia Z5 Premium can also upscale video content to 4K, and houses a 3430mAh battery. The camera has a 1/2.3-inch 23-megapixel Exmor RS image sensor, teamed with a Sony f/2.0 Sony G lens. Sony has claimed a hybrid autofocus response time of 0.03s in the “first completely reimagined smartphone camera module”, which also features Sony’s SteadyShot image stabilisation and Intelligent Active Mode for videos. Sony’s LDAC codec for wireless transmission claims three times more efficient data transfer over its previous versions, which should improve bluetooth audio capabilities. The smartphone also has Ingress Progression waterproofing rating of IP65/IP68. A DSEE HX audio chipset is included to provide high fidelity audio. It also comes with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 capabilities.

The Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact take most of their cues from the Xperia Z5 Premium, with the display panels being the most notable difference in them. The Sony Xperia Z5 has a 5.2-inch display size, with a screen resolution of 1080×1920 pixels. The Xperia Z5 Compact, on the other hand, has a 4.6-inch display with 720p resolution. Both are powered by the Snapdragon 810 SoC, and have 32GB of internal memory (although, the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact may ship in a 16GB memory variant in certain markets). Sony has put in efforts to make its flagship a standout ‘premium’ device, with facets like frosted glass rear panel, etched Xperia logo engraving on sides and integrated fingerprint sensor with power button, to aid usability and add finesse to its smartphones’ appearance. The Sony Xperia Z5 will feature White, Graphite Black, Gold and Green colour finishes, taking ‘Fall 2015 fashion and interior design cues’. The smaller Z5 Compact will have Yellow and Coral finishes, in addition to White and Graphite Black.

The Xperia Z5 lineup also has FIDO standard authentication for fingerprint-verified online payment services, details of which will be disclosed closer to its launch. It confirms a large number of speculations surrounding it, and becomes the first major announcement to come out of IFA 2015.