Sony Xperia 5 II: Release date, price and everything you need to know

Sony has announced a new member of the Xperia family, the Xperia 5 II. Following the pattern of the 2019 releases, the Xperia 5 is a slightly more compact verison of the Xperia 1 II that launched earlier in 2020.

That brings appeal because it's slightly smaller, but it doesn't sacrifice the power, very much sticking to the trend of Xperia Compact devices that Sony was once known for. 

Here's everything you need to know about the new handset. 

Release date and price

• 17 September 2020 announcement
• Available mid-October
• £799/€899

Sony revealed the Xperia 5 II on 17 September via an online event. The new handset is not expected to be available until the middle of October, but exact prices and dates are still to be confirmed for different regions.

In terms of price, the Xperia 5 cost $799 in the US and £699 in the UK, but given the move to 5G the new model is now a little more expensive. It will cost £799 in the UK and €899 in Europe.

Design

• 158 x 68 x 8.0mm
• IP65/68 water and dust resistant
• Glass and metal design

The Sony Xperia 5 II gets a little softer in its curves than the previous version of this phone, but packs itself into a fairly slim frame. It offers IP65/68 waterproofing as you'd expect from Sony Mobile, with Corning Gorilla Glass 6 on the front and back.

There's a run of controls down the right-hand side of the phone, including a dedicated shutter button and a Google Assistant button, along with the volume and fingerprint scanner. Sony has decided not to offer a punch hole camera, instead sticking to bezels top and bottom of the display. 

There's a 3.5mm headphone socket and dual stereo speakers, supporting Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio. The looks overall reflect those of the Xperia 1 II - this is very much a compact version of that device.

Display

• 6.1-inch, Full HD+
• 120Hz, OLED
• 21:9 aspect ratio

The Xperia 5 II gets a 6.1-inch display with a Full HD+ resolution. But wanting to appeal to gamers, the phone is equipped with a 120Hz display. On top of this, Sony is offering a motion blur reduction feature which will take things up to 240Hz, aiming to make everything sharper and clearer. That's combined with a 240Hz touch sampling panel for super-speed responses.

The panel sticks to Sony's preferred 21:9 aspect ratio and it's an OLED panel, powered by the X1 Mobile engine, designed to make everything look fantastic. It supports HDR too.

Specs and hardware

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 5G
• 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, microSD (TBC)
• 4000mAh, fast charging

The Sony Xperia 5 II is running on Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 5G. This is said to be supported by 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, along with microSD support for storage expansion, but these specs are yet to be confirmed by Sony.

The battery capacity is 4000mAh and 21W PD fast charging is also  on board. There is no wireles charging, because Sony opted to use a graphene heat dissipation pad in the back of the phone instead to keep it cool.

Cameras

• Triple rear camera
  • 12MP ultra wide, 16mm
  • 12MP wide, 24mm, 1/1.7in 1.8µm pixels, f/1.7
  • 12MP telephoto, 70mm

Sony has equipped the Xperia 5 II with a triple camera system. It's a familiar selection, as Sony is sticking to photography basics here, saying that all photographers need a 16mm, 24mm and 70mm lens in their bag. So that's what you get on the back of the phone. In layman's terms that's ultra-wide, wide and telephoto and it's the same basic arrangement we've seen on other Xperia devices. 

The main camera is designed for quality, but sticks to a large sensor with 12-megapixels, and large pixels they are too, designed to capture more light for better low light shooting. Sony also says that using this sensor means that the data can be accessed faster than some of the higher resolution sensors, and Sony says that's behind the fast features on offer. 

The headlines will be taken by the 20fps burst shooting to capture those perfect moments in fast action, with real-time eye autofocus for people and animals, so the subject is always in focus. Shifting over to video, Sony's "world first" in this device is the ability to capture 120fps 4K HDR slow motion.

All the lenses are Zeiss T* coated to reduce reflection and glare. Of course, there's more to a camer than just the hardware and we'll be sure to test the performance as soon as we can get our hands on one.

Sony Xperia 5 II rumours: What's happened so far?

Here's everything we have heard so far about the Sony Xperia 5 II. 

7 September 2020: Evan Blass leaks a promo video for the Xperia 5 II

Evan Blass has shared a video of the forthcoming Sony phone, confirming a number of the previously-leaked details.

2 September 2020: Sony Mobile confirms 17 September product reveal on Twitter

Sony has tweeted from its official Twitter account that a new Xperia product will be unveiled on 17 September. It hasn't said it will be the Xperia 5 II but that's what is expected.

Something exciting is coming… Visit our official YouTube channel on September 17th to find out more: https://t.co/RlpauS8l5i pic.twitter.com/B3hfNrDavr

— Sony UK (@SonyUK) September 2, 2020

1 September 2020: Sony Xperia 5 II could get Android 13

Rumours suggest the Sony Xperia 5 II could get upgrades up to Android 13, which would mean Sony is offering three years of software upgrades, like Samsung promised on the Note 20 series.

28 August 2020: Sony Xperia 5 II full press images leaked

Serial leaker Evan Blass published several images of the Xperia 5 II on his Twitter account. The images not only show full press renders of the device but what appear to be marketing images too.

Blass's Twitter account is private but below are a couple of the images he shared.

collection:

Sony Xperia 5 II - Evan Blass leak

28 August 2020: The incoming Sony Xperia 5 II has been totally revealed in huge leak

Android Headlines published a report revealing the design and specifications of the Sony Xperia 5 II. 

collection:

Sony Xperia 5 II - Android Headlines leak

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