Sony Xperia 5 III review

Introduction

    Announced way back in April, the Xperia 5 III is finally here with us, though you will need to wait several more weeks until you can score one yourself. Such is the reality of chips supply amidst a pandemic. While anticipating the small-ish Sony to hit the shelves, you'd be wise to sift through the following pages to get an idea of the things it does right and the ones that will need to wait for Mark 4 to address.

    For the third year in a row, the smaller Xperia 5 model tries to keep up with the true flagship, the Xperia 1, in terms of hardware - not something you necessarily get from the other makers. Most prominently, the 5 Mark 3 gets the 1 Mark 3's camera system, including the dual focal length telephoto - on a Galaxy or an iPhone it's only the Ultra or the Max that get the ultimate cameras, the others make do with lesser bits. Sure, the ToF module didn't make it on the 5 III, but that's not a loss we'd be lamenting.

Most fields in the side-by-side specs comparison look the same too, so let's go over the few differences beyond the obvious size and weight. For one, the Xperia 5 III uses Gorilla Glass 6 for the protection of the display, as opposed to the Victus on the 1 III. It's also not a 4K resolution display - that remains an Xperia 1 exclusive, but the 1080p resolution is plenty for the 6.1-inch diagonal, and you get the 120Hz refresh rate and HDR support.

Xperia 5 III (left) next to Xperia 1 III

If you must have 12GB of RAM, you'll need to look at the Xperia 1 III because the 5 III only comes with 8GB, and storage options are 128GB and 256GB (256GB and 512GB on the bigger model). And then comes the one principal difference that might bug some - there's no wireless charging on the Xperia 5 III, while the 1 III does have that covered.

The rest of the specs are the same between the two sizes of high-end Xperias. That includes core components like the top-tier Snapdragon 888 chipset and secondary stuff like the stereo speakers, headphone jack, and microSD slot, plus the external monitor functionality. Somewhat unusually, the smaller phone even has the same battery capacity.

Sony Xperia 5 III specs at a glance:

Body: 157.0x68.0x8.2mm, 168g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass 6), glass back (Gorilla Glass 6), aluminum frame; IP65/IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins).

Display: 6.10" OLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, HDR BT.2020, 1080x2520px resolution, 21:9 aspect ratio, 449ppi.

Chipset: Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm): Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4x1.80 GHz Kryo 680); Adreno 660.

Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM; UFS 3.X; microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot).

OS/Software: Android 11.

Rear camera: Wide (main): 12 MP, f/1.7, 24mm, 1/1.7", 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 124˚, 16mm, 1/2.6", Dual Pixel PDAF; Telephoto: 12 MP, f/2.3, 70mm, f/2.8, 105mm, 1/2.9", Dual Pixel PDAF, 3x/4.4x optical zoom, OIS.

Front camera: 8 MP, f/2.0, 24mm (wide), 1/4", 1.12µm.

Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@24/25/30/60/120fps HDR, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps; 5-axis gyro-EIS, OIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps, 5-axis gyro-EIS.

Battery: 4500mAh; Fast charging 30W, 50% in 30 min (advertised), USB Power Delivery.

Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); NFC; 3.5mm jack; Native Sony Alpha camera support.

Design

We won't hold it against you if you can't tell the Xperia 5 III apart from the Mark 2 - it takes more than a casual glance to spot the differences. And if you've read here before that this is simply Sony's way of doing design, that's because we've written than on numerous occasions.

Xperia 5 II (left) next to Xperia 5 III

The one thing that makes the new-gen Xperia 5 recognizable from the previous one is the rectangular-ish opening for the periscope lens - Mark 2 has a conventional circular one. That's hardly a design decision, but more of a form following function type of outcome.

Xperia 5 III on top, 5 II below

That's in contrast with the Xperia 1 III, which does switch things up a bit, coming from the 1 II. Hardly a dramatic change, the move to a matte back panel does make the new phone look and feel different than the old one. No such thing on the 5.

That's a good place to mention that Sony is sticking with the rounded frame on the Xperia 5 III, while the 1 adopted flat sides from Mark 2 on. Perhaps a flat design here would have made for a more consistent look between the two models, but if the back is different within the same generation, they might as well keep the frame different too.

Glossy Xperia 5 III (left) next to matte Xperia 1 III

The back of the Xperia 5 III is made of Gorilla Glass 6, same as the 1 III's, even if they're finished differently. The frame, too, is aluminum on both handsets.

Similarly, both feature an IP65/IP68 rating, so your Xperia should be fine with submersion up to 1.5m, as well as water jets if your phone was to encounter water jets for whatever reason.

The front of the phone is protected by Gorilla Glass 6 too, and that's one area where the 5 III is trailing the 1 III - the bigger phone has Gorilla Glass Victus.

GG6 on the front of the Xperia 5 III (left), Victus on the 1 III

The 6.1-inch display of the 5 III has been carried over from the previous generation, and the face you'll be looking at on a daily basis is no different either. You get symmetrical bezels top and bottom - hardly minimal, but... acceptable, let's call them. Official specs list the Mark 3 as being 1mm shorter than Mark 2, but it's not something you can see in real life.

The space above the display is home to a lot of functional bits. That includes the selfie camera, earpiece (itself also the left channel loudspeaker), ambient light and proximity sensors, and even an RGB status/notification LED.

The bottom bezel doesn't have all that much going for it in terms of hardware, but the front-firing bottom speaker and the symmetry argument do make its size well warranted.

 
Front-firing bottom speaker • Earpiece and a bunch of other things up top

The control layout on the Xperia 5 III is the same as on the 5 II, and that's one area where the 1 III played catch up this year. The 5 III has a lot of buttons - top to bottom, there's the volume rocker, power button/fingerprint reader, Google Assistant key, and two-stage shutter release button.

The fingerprint reader comes with the usual caveat for a side-mounted unit - you may be activating it inadvertently with any skin that touches it while handling the phone, so when you finally attempt to use it, you will frequently find its unsuccessful attempt limit maxed out. Sony doesn't offer an option to require a press to engage the reader instead, so you have no way of circumventing the issue.

That perk aside, the sensor worked very well, and it unlocked quickly and reliably without discriminating between the left index finger and right thumb. The location of the button/sensor is also equally convenient for either digit.

The tour of the frame continues with the card slot on the left - a classic Sony no-pin-required tray that you pry out with a fingernail.

The Xperia 5 III we reviewed has dual nano-SIM support, and the second slot can alternatively be used for a microSD card, but you can't have all three inside at the same time. A single SIM variant of the phone also exists.

With the bottom being free from loudspeaker duty, it's only home to the USB-C port and the primary mic.

The top, on the other hand, features another mic and the 3.5mm headphone jack.

  
Card slot on the left • USB-C port and a mic on the bottom • Another mic and 3.5mm jack up top

One of the Xperia 5 III's main claims to fame is its relatively compact size - it measures 157x68x8.2mm. While that's no Xperia Compact like we had a few years ago, it's 3mm narrower than a Galaxy S21 5G and that makes it easier to reach across with your thumb, though the height of the 5 III (5mm taller than the Galaxy) means there's no way you'll be accessing the top without using your other hand or applying finger gymnastics of some sort.

The Zenfone 8, meanwhile, is as narrow as an Xperia 5 III and even shorter than a Galaxy S21 5G, so if you're eyeing the Xperia for its perceived pocketability, perhaps a look at the Zenfone is a good idea.

Sony Xperia 5 III unboxing

There are no surprises with the presentation - the Xperia 5 III arrives in the typical understated white box Sony's been shipping for a few years. The contents aren't extraordinary either - other than the phone, we received the 30-watt USB PowerDelivery adapter (XQZ-UC1 Sony calls it) and a USB-C cable to go with it. Just note that retail units may differ in terms of bundled accessories, and there could be a regional variation on top of that.

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