It's no secret that Sony's Xperia smartphones are ultra-expensive. Its last phone - the Xperia 1 IV - looks incredible on paper, but the $1,600 price tag was always bound to scare customers away. Today, the company is announcing the Xperia 5 IV, a pared-down model that keeps some of the best features from Sony's uber-expensive 1 series while bringing the price down to something people might actually consider.
From the jump, the Xperia 5 IV looks like a compact version of its predecessor, designed from the jump for creative types. It keeps the 21:9 aspect ratio from other Sony phones, shrinking the screen down to a 6.1" 1080p OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. That's not quite as impressive as the 4K display we've seen in the past, but it's an obvious cost-cutting measure when trying to make a more affordable smartphone. That display is paired with new stereo speakers enclosed in a structure that eliminates housing vibration when watching movies or listening to music.
Of course, if you're more of a content creator than a consumer, the cameras remain as impressive as you'd expect from Sony. Its array is similar to the Xperia 1 IV, with a group of three 12MP sensors. The two primary cameras are still a 24mm wide lens paired with a 16mm ultra-wide option. It's the telephoto that's different this time; unlike the adjustable optical zoom on the 1 IV, the 5 IV has a fixed 60mm telephoto lens. Thankfully, this setup is still capable of recording at 4K at 120FPS.
This is a Sony phone through and through, and the company holds true to some of its recent traditions. The first is avoiding a camera cutout on the front of the screen. The 12MP selfie cam avoids puncturing the display by keeping bezels along the top and bottom of the screen. It also keeps the 3.5mm headphone jack - one of the last remaining Android manufacturers to do so since LG left the market over a year ago.
Even if it's not as powerful as the 1 IV, this is still a flagship phone meant to compete with the best of Android, and it has the specs to prove it. It's running on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 - no 8+ here, unfortunately - with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It's IP65/68 water resistant, so it should survive jets of water and submersion alike. Finally, it uses a 5,000mAh battery with 30W fast charging (with an optional accessory) and wireless charging, the first 5-series phone to feature it.
The Xperia 5 IV is priced at $1,000, with pre-orders beginning today at 11 AM ET. As many of us have come to expect from Sony, it's an expensive price tag, albeit not nearly as costly as the $1,600 1 IV. All things considered, you aren't losing much between the two phones for a device nearly half the price. Plus, if you pre-order the device from Sony - available in black or a web-exclusive green - you'll get a free pair of its acclaimed WF-1000XM4 earbuds. Not too shabby as far as pre-order bonuses go. Sony says the phone will ship by the end of October.