I've been using the Sony Xperia Z5 smartphone for the last month to find out how Sony's latest iteration on the Android smartphone handles itself in the real world. The Japanese company has been iterating its flagship smartphone over the last few years, and the Z5 is the current end result. Can it still be seen as a contender?
If you're looking for a more specs heavy review of this handset, check out my initial review which happily looks over the numbers and puts them into detailed context. In short, Sony once had a lead in terms of hardware choices, but that lead has eroded away over time. The Z5 will meet your expectations of a high-end device, but it won't surpass them. For that you'll need the larger Z5 Premium with the monster 4K screen.
One thing that a long-term test often shows up is the small niggles in the software that become apparent over time. It also offers the manufacturer a chance to get at least one bundle of patches and fixes out. That's certainly the case with the Z5 - issues with the slow user interface and app switching addressed, and improved fingerprint recognition included.
What's not clear is how long it will take until Android v6 Marshmallow appears. In the past Sony has been particularly slow to roll out major version updates to Android. While there's nothing fundamentally wrong with the software you get out of the box (after those all important patches) if you're looking to stay on the bleeding edge of Android, the Xperia Z5 may not be for you.
Sony has continued to use its OmniBalance styling on the Xperia Z5. This makes for a physically well-balanced device. The side bezels are reduced as much as possible, and the speakers, connectors, and cameras are all placed above or below the screen. It does make the top of the screen a bit of a stretch in use, but the narrower width does mitigate this.
One change on this handset to previous devices is the edge of the device is much more prominent than older models. Rationally I can understand why Sony has made this decision. With both the front and back of the Z5 covered in glass you want to keep it away from any potential damage, and lifting the surfaces up from the table where the phone is resting is a sensible thing to do. Many third-party cases do just that but it just feels inelegant.
The edges, while not sharp, are noticeable to the skin. Curiously, this makes the Z5 a good handset to hold on to. The smooth sides could have been designed to slip out of your hand, but the slight lip gives you some purchase when gripping the phone. In terms of compromises in design to get a practical experience, this is a perfect example.
Next page: Fingerprints, UI and Stock Android...
I'm less in love with the fingerprint sensor. Rather than be on the home key like many flagships (or MacGyvered into the back case under the camera lens in other cases) Sony has built it into the power button. Technically elegant, the slim nature of the sensor, built into a smooth sensor, halfway down a smooth edge, makes it hard to get the positioning of your finger. Does it need to read the central pad, the tip, one of the edges? Recording your fingerprint offers no advice, and while I tried to record a wide area, I find myself having to make multiple attempts to read my finger at least once a day.
Using a fingerprint to unlock a device is a great idea, but it needs to well implemented. I have to pick up my Z5 to unlock with my fingerprint because of the location of the sensor (smartphones with a sensor on the front do not have this issue), and I have to pick it up and hold it the same way each time to get an accurate reading. It makes for a frustrating piece of UI, where the focus is not on speed or accuracy, but in getting a sensor into the handset to future-proof it no matter what.
Finally, I wonder if anyone left-handed was involved in this design decision?
Unlocking issues aside (and don't forget you can still use a PIN to unlock the device) the Xperia Z5 feels good in the hand and is snappy in use. So it should be with the hardware under the hood, but the use of almost stock Android is also a benefit. Sony's branding on the handset does include some Sony styled widgets and wallpaper, along with a number of its own media applications (video and music, gaming, and your own film and photo gallery), but the operating system is left alone. It's not quite stock Android, but it's ninety-five percent similar and the changes that have been made are more from a style point of view than changing the way of doing things.
Existing Android users coming from any other device are going to find the Xperia instantly comfortable. I think there's a bit more of a learning curve to Android now than in previous iterations. The constantly expanding notification area over the space of three downward swipes shows Android's focus on notifications and instant access has overruled thinking about pathways and processes in design - but that's not just a problem with the Xperia, it's a problem throughout all of Android as it slowly picks up bloat through old age.
For me it's a relatively easy on-boarding process but I do wonder how a new user would find the Xperia experience.
Next Page: Waterproofing, Battery Life and Conclusions...
Sony's landmark feature for me remains the waterproofing. Samsung had this in the Galaxy S5 and then removed the IP rating from the S6. Apple has certainly hardened the internals of the iPhone 6S family against water damage but has not revealed just what it expects the 6S and 6S Plus to survive. Sony's IP68 rating on the Xperia Z5 makes it impervious to immersion in water, and it also picks up a dustproofing rating against.
There's just something practical in knowing that an expensive handset is not going to go on the fritz just because it's out in the rain or someone spills a pint over it in the pub. I wish that more manufacturers would follow Sony's decision.
As a company, Sony has invested heavily in camera components and you'll find its sensors in many rival handsets. It shouldn't be a surprise that the Xperia Z5 camera is exceptional. It gives you the choice of going for a larger image suitable for printing with the full 23 megapixels, or you can drop the resolution output to 8 megapixels and allow Sony's processing software to work on accurate colour reproduction and fine details.
The problem is that processing software takes forever after you have taken a picture. A shot-to-shot time of close to two seconds is far too long. The software does the job, but it does it too slowly. Another firmware update should take care of this, but right now it is a noticeable weak point of the package
The other feature that Sony has continued from previous models is the battery life of the Xperia handsets. The Z5 is frugal with its use of the 2900 mAh battery and will easily last a day of real world use, with enough in reserve to go into a second day.
That's using the battery without using any of Sony's low power code. Switch on Sony's Stamina mode and you can triple the battery life of the handset using the standard configuration. It does mean that you will have to wait a few seconds when you switch the display back on for the OS to connect to the Internet (either through Wi-fi or cellular) but I think that's worth it for the extra lifetime. I've left the Z5 in Stamina mode for the majority of my time using the device, and being able to forget about battery issues during a working day is actually a nice situation to be in.
And if that's not enough and you know you are going to be days away from a power source and really need to keep your phone alive, you have the Ultra Stamina mode. This reboots the handset and offers only a limited number of applications and features. Sony suggest that this will push the battery life out to almost twenty days of standby and nine days of use. Essentially it turns the Z5 into a rather basic feature phone, so it's not for me (except in an emergency), but it's nice to know that it is available.
When Sony debuted its power saving mode it stood out in the crowd, but advances in Android, a focus from Google on power saving and other manufacturers in creating similar modes means that this feature is now seen as 'standard' on high-end smartphones. What was once seen as a collection of unique selling points is now nothing more than meeting expectations.
I'm disappointed that Sony hasn't risked anything really new on the Xperia Z5. The fingerprint sensor is the only practical update over the Xperia Z4/Z3+ handset. The big 'whizz-bang' technology that the geekerati are looking for is NFC, and Sony's leading smartphones have been shipping with that communications hardware since the original Xperia Z. Sony's previous advantages have been eroded and the competition has caught up. With nothing new, the Xperia Z5 the handset will struggle to stand out in the way that previous handsets have done.
The Xperia Z5 did almost everything I asked and expected of it and no more. That gives the smartphone a feeling of a comfy pair of slippers. It fits into the demands of my digital life with little fuss and draws little attention to itself. That makes for a handset that is easy to recommend, even with some of the minor faults mentioned earlier, but it also makes for a handset that is going to struggle in the commercial marketplace to gain any acceptance or traction.
The Sony Xperia Z5 is the smartphone that does everything a little bit better than you would expect, but it doesn't do anything so well that it jumps to the top of anyone's 'Most Wanted' list. That's a shame, because the Xperia Z5 strikes a superb balance between form and function, power and performance.
Disclaimer: Sony's UK team provided a Sony Xperia Z5 for review purposes.
