Sony Xperia 5 V Review: A quirky small phone to compete vs Pixel 8, Xiaomi 14 & Samsung Galaxy 24

The Sony Xperia 5 V was launched in September 2023 and is one of the few high-spec Android phones on the market.

With a 6.1-inch 21:9 OLED display, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, versatile triple camera system, and large 5000mAh battery, the Xperia 5 V aims to deliver a premium Android experience for those who prefer smaller handsets.

It is not a phone that you hear about often and it faces stiff competition from newer phones such as the Pixel 8, Samsung Galaxy S24 and the Xiaomi 14. So, does it still stand out as a good choice in 2024?

Related Reviews

• Xiaomi 14 Review
• Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review
• Pixel 8 Pro Review

Specification

• Display: 6.1 inches, OLED, 120Hz, 1080 x 2520 pixels, 21:9 ratio
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm)
• RAM: 8GB
• Storage: 128GB + microSDXC slot
• Rear Camera:
  • 48 MP, f/1.9, 24mm (wide), 1/1.35″, 1.12µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS
  • 12 MP, f/2.2, 16mm (ultrawide), 1/2.5″, dual pixel PDAF
• Front Camera: 12 MP, f/2.0, 24mm (wide), 1/2.9″, 1.25µm
• Audio: 3.5mm headphone jack, 24-bit/192kHz Hi-Res audio
• Battery: 5000 mAh
• Charging: 30W wired PD3.0 + wireless
• Dimensions: 154 x 68 x 8.6 mm
• Weight: 182 g

Design

For better or worse, Sony has chosen to ignore all the trends in phones in recent years. This is not to my personal taste, as I prefer larger phones, but I can appreciate how Sony’s choices will appeal to many people who dislike the modern styles of phones, which are increasingly large, many with curved displays, tiny bezels, and punch holes for the selfie camera.

The Xperia 5 V maintains Sony’s distinctive design language from its previous phones with its tall 21:9 aspect ratio and angular edges.

The phone measures 156 x 67 x 8.2 mm and weighs 168g, making it one of the most compact Android flagships on the market.

Gorilla Glass Victus protect the front and back, while the frame is made of aluminium. The phone has an IP65/IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

The right side houses the volume rocker, a power button with an integrated fingerprint sensor and a dedicated shutter button for the camera.

MicroSD & 3.5mm

One of the standout features of the Xperia 5 V is the inclusion of a microSD card slot and a 3.5mm headphone jack, both of which have become increasingly rare in flagship smartphones. The microSD slot supports cards up to 1TB, allowing users to significantly expand the phone’s storage capacity.

In the UK, it seems that Sony only sells the 128GB model, so you may find that the microSD is a necessity. I personally think 128GB is too small for a phone at this price point, but out of the small phones on the market, only the Xiaomi 14 offers 512GB storage as standard. Pixel and Samsung also start at 128GB.

The headphone jack enables the use of wired headphones without a USB-C adapter, which is a welcome addition for audiophiles and those who prefer the convenience and compatibility of wired audio devices.

Display

• 6.1 inches
• 1080 x 2520 pixels
• 21:9 ratio
• 83.0% screen-to-body ratio

The Xperia 5 V features a 6.1-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2520 pixels, resulting in a pixel density of 449 ppi.

There is no punch hole selfie, you instead get a thicker bezel at the top.

The phone’s 21:9 aspect ratio makes it tall and narrow, and it feels smaller than it is. However, I can imagine it is good for people with small hands, as you should be able to hold it comfortably and use it with one hand without too much issue.

For me, it took quite a while to get used to typing on the phone because the onscreen keyboard was so small.

The display supports HDR10 and has a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling and animations. It also features a 240Hz touch sampling rate for responsive gaming. The display is calibrated to deliver accurate colours and wide viewing angles.

Biometrics

• Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
• No facial unlock

The Xperia 5 V opts for a side-mounted fingerprint scanner integrated into the power button, which is fast and reliable. However, the phone lacks facial recognition, which may disappoint some users who prefer the convenience of face unlock.

Camera

• 48 MP, f/1.9 1/1.35″ Exmor T for mobile sensor
• 12 MP, f/2.2 1/2.5″ Exmor RS for mobile sensor#
• Photography Pro, ZEISS optics calibrated specifically for Xperia 5 V, ZEISS T Coating
• 120 fps read-out speed
• Up to 30 fps AF/AE burst
• Up to 60 times per second continuous AF/AE calculation
• Real-time Eye AF(Human, Animal)
• Real-time Tracking
• OIS photo, Photo flash, Photo light, Hybrid zoom 6.0x (based on Wide camera 24 mm), AI Super Resolution Zoom, HDR (High Dynamic Range) photo, Night shooting function, Creative look

The Xperia 5 V boasts an impressive camera system developed in collaboration with ZEISS. The main camera uses a 48MP 1/1.35″ Exmor T sensor with an f/1.9 aperture and OIS. It’s accompanied by a 12MP ultra-wide camera and a 12MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom.

The camera system features advanced technologies such as real-time eye AF for humans and animals, real-time tracking, and up to 60 times per second continuous AF/AE calculation.

Much like the rest of the phone, the camera experience is very different compared to other brands. Sony has designed the app to work more like a proper camera. The controls are very different than other phones, where you often stay within the auto mode and only change the zoom.

The phone has a basic mode, which is like your normal mode on phones, but if you switch to auto , the UI switches to something similar to a digital camera. You then also have to use the dedicated shoot button on the side of the phone.

This is great for experienced photographers who want much more control over the camera than many competing brands, but it is a little intimidating for people like me who mostly rely on the all the automatic processing features of phones.

As you would expect, the image quality is excellent, with good detail, dynamic range, and colour accuracy that is much more natural than competing options that tend to exaggerate colours.  

Low-light performance is also strong thanks to the large sensor and OIS. The telephoto camera delivers sharp images with minimal loss in quality compared to the main camera.

Performance and Benchmarks

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm)
• 8GB GB RAM
• 128GB Storage
• microSD support

The Xperia 5 V delivers excellent performance thanks to its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and 8GB of RAM, but, of course, this is no longer the flagship chipset. The Xiaomi 14 has the superior Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and the Samsung Galaxy S24 has the Exynos 2400, which should, in theory, be better. From my experience, even though the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is older than the Google Tensor G3 on the Pixel 8, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is a much better chipset.

The phone handles demanding tasks such as gaming, video editing, and multitasking with ease. Apps launch quickly, and the user interface remains smooth and responsive even under heavy load.

The 128GB of UFS 4.0 storage ensures fast read and write speeds, while the microSD card slot allows for easy expansion if needed.

Benchmarks Results

In benchmarks, the Xperia 5 V achieves similar results as other Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-powered devices with scores a touch higher than most.

It achieves single-core and multi-core scores of 2026 and 5393, respectively, in Geekbench 6

In AnTuTu V10, it achieved 1493668, putting it ahead of the 1367374 I achieved with the Honor Magic5 Pro, but 23% behind the 1945797 that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was capable of on the Honor Magic6 Pro.

In the 3Dmark Wildlife Stress Test, it achieved a high score of 13216 and a low score of 10248, giving it a stability of 77.5%.

The battery depleted 11%pts, which works out at around 750mAh, which is on the higher end of the spectrum, but it explains the slightly higher results than other phones with the same chip.t

Battery

• 5000 mAh
• 30W wired PD3.0 charging
• 50% in 30 min
• Wireless

The Xperia 5 V packs a large 5000mAh battery, which is impressive given the phone’s compact size. This translates to excellent battery life, with the phone easily lasting a full day of heavy use and often stretching into a second day with more moderate usage.

The phone supports 30W wired charging via USB Power Delivery 3.0, which can charge the battery to 50% in just 30 minutes. Wireless charging is also supported, although at a slower rate compared to wired charging.

Sony’s Adaptive Charging and Battery Care features help prolong the battery’s lifespan by intelligently controlling charging speeds and preventing overcharging.

Android 13

• Android 14 is not available on my device yet
• Reddit users have reported issues upgrading to Android 14

This is where Sony has dropped the ball a bit. They start off incredibly well, Sony has minimalist customisations on top of Android, and during the set-up process, you are asked if you want to install additional software. This means the phone has no bloatware at all, which is, sadly, something I can’t say about many competing phones. Xiaomi is particularly bad for bloatware, but Honor has some, and Samsung OneUI has been heavily modified with a lot of Samsung apps added.

The Xperia 5 V runs Android 13 out of the box, which was expected as it launched one month before the Pixel 8.

They have rolled out Android 14, but for some reason, my phone doesn’t give me the option to upgrade.

Looking online, it looks like many people experienced problems with the initial update stating problems with battery and freezing animations, though subsequent updates seem to have resolved this.

Sony has only committed to update this to Android 15 with three years of security updates. So, two major updates, but they launched the phone just before Android 14 was released, so you are not really getting two generations of updates.

I think this is a big weakness of the Xperia 5 V. It is clearly aimed at enthusiasts who will likely be more demanding of regular updates and long-term support. Samsung and Pixel are offering seven years’ worth of updates, and the Xiaomi 14 will get four years of updates with five years of security patches.

Price and Alternative Options

The Sony Xperia 5 V has an RRP of £749. This phone is also available on contract, and you can get it for £793 total cost via Three with unlimited 5G data or £731 with 300GB of data

At this price point, the Xperia 5 V faces stiff competition from other compact flagships.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro is £849, and the Pixel 8 is £600.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 is £799.

The Honor Magic6 Pro is not a small phone,, but it is a lot of phone for the money. Its RRP is £1100, but you can still get it for £850 using the HiHonor voucher.

Overall

I like the Sony Xperia 5 V, and Sony deserves credit for doing something a bit different rather than following the crowd.

I think the relatively high price and overall design and specs make this quite a niche device, but it seems like it will be very appealing to those with specific needs for a device, and there is not much in terms of competition.

Mainly, this is one of the only devices with close to flagship specs that has a 3.5mm headphone jack and microSD expansion.

I was also very impressed with the lack of bloatware and general Android experience, though this is somewhat tarnished by still being on Android 13.

The camera is a big selling point. While its features are less user-friendly than those of competing brands, it is better for photography enthusiasts who want to tweak the settings and not rely on heavy artificial processing.

Finally, you have a small 6.1-inch phone but a large 5000mAh battery.

All this adds up to a phone that appeals to a very discerning user.

That said, phones like the Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro will likely be more appealing for most people thanks to their better software support, excellent user-friendly camera, lower price point (for the Pixel 8), or better camera specifications on the 8 Pro.

Overall, the Sony Xperia 5 V is a niche device that caters to specific needs and preferences. It may not be the best choice for everyone, but it is a compelling option that deserves consideration for those who value a compact design, expandable storage, wired audio, and a capable camera system.

James Smythe( Editor-in-chief )

I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.

As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.

In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.

I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.