Related Articles
As Sony’s marquee phone for late 2015, the Xperia Z5 Premium comes out swinging with a huge battery, a promising 23-megapixel camera and a jaw-droppingly high screen resolution. (Before you get too excited about that mammoth 4K screen resolution, read why we think it’s serious pixel overkill.)
See how the Z5 Premium matches up against today’s top phones, spec for spec.
Just one note: This chart includes the comparably sized iPhone 6 Plus , which Apple is expected to replace with a new version that the company will announce September 9. We’ll update this story after we learn more from Apple.
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium versus the competition
| Sony Xperia Z5 Premium | Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ | Apple iPhone 6 Plus | LG G4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 5.5-inch with 3,849×2,160-pixel resolution (4K) | 5.7-inch with 2,560×1,440-pixel resolution | 5.5-inch with 1,920×1,080-pixel resolution | 5.5-inch with 2,560×1,440-pixel resolution |
| Pixel density | 802ppi | 518ppi | 401ppi | 534ppi |
| Dimensions (imperial) | 6.1x3x0.31 inches | Galaxy Note 5: 6.03×2.99×0.29 inches; Galaxy S6 Edge+: 6.08×2.98×0.27 inches | 6.22×3.06×0.28 inches | 5.87×2.96×0.35 inches |
| Dimensions (metric) | 154.4×75.8x 7.8mm | Galaxy Note 5: 153.2×76.1×7.6mm; Galaxy S6 Edge+: 154.4×75.8×6.9mm | 158.1×77.8x 7.1mm | 149.1×75.3×8.9mm |
| Weight | 6.3 ounces (180g) | Galaxy Note 5: 6.03 ounces (171g); Galaxy S6 Edge+: 5.39 ounces (153g) | 6.07 ounces (172g) | 5.4 ounces (152g) |
| Mobile operating system | Android 5.1 Lollipop | Android 5.1 Lollipop | Apple iOS 8 | Android 5.1 Lollipop |
| NFC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Camera | 23-megapixel | 16-megapixel | 8-megapixel | 16-megapixel |
| Front-facing camera | 5-megapixel | 5-megapixel | 1.2-megapixel | 8-megapixel |
| Processor | 1.5GHz and 2.0GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 | Exynos 7 Octa 7420 | A8 chip | 1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 |
| Storage | 32GB | 32GB and 64GB | 16GB, 64GB and 128GB | 32GB |
| RAM | 3GB | 4GB | 1GB | 3GB |
| Expandable storage | Up to 200GB | No | No | Up to 2TB |
| Battery | 3,600mAh | 3,000mAh | 2,915mAh | 3,000mAh |
| Price on-contract (US dollars) | TBA | Galaxy Note 5: $200-$250 (32GB), $350 (64GB); Galaxy S6 Edge+: $300-350 (32GB), $450 (64GB) | $300 (16GB), $400 (64GB), $500 (128GB) | $200 |
| Price off-contract (US dollars) | TBA | Galaxy Note 5: $670-$740 (32GB), $770-$840 (64GB); Galaxy S6 Edge+: $720-$792 (32GB), $815-$888 (64GB) | $750 (16GB), $850 (64GB), $950 (128GB) | $552-$630 |
| Price (UK pounds) | TBA | No Note 5 currently sold. Galaxy S6 Edge+: £750 (32GB), £830 (64GB) | £619 (16GB), £699 (64GB) | £390 |
| Price (Australian dollars) | AU$1,199 | Galaxy Note 5: AU$1,099; S6 Edge+: AU$1,199 (32GB); AU$1,299 (64GB) | AU$1,149 (16GB), AU$1,299 (64GB), AU$1,449 (128GB) | AU$929 |
Sony is also jumping into the fingerprint brigade, adding a fingerprint sensor that works, as it does on the iPhone 6 Plus and Galaxy Note 5 (and S6 , S6 Edge and S6 Edge+ ) as a security measure to unlock the phone, as well as to authorize mobile payments — both through on-phone transactions (like PayPal) and through real-world transactions, such as with Android Pay.
In addition to the Z5 Premium, Sony also announced two other, smaller smartphones, the Xperia Z5 and smaller Z5 Compact . All three share some base features, like water-resistant coatings and extremely fast auto-focusing on the camera.
Specs comparisons such as this are a handy indicator of the kind of performance we can expect, but there are so many intangibles that only emerge when you can compare devices side-by-side. We look forward to ferreting out where the Z5 family truly excels and where it merely shows up.
Catch all the electronics news from this week’s show in Berlin.
