The Sony Xperia 5 V is a compact flagship phone with a tall 6.1-inch screen. Sony announced it on September 1, 2023, at IFA in Berlin. Sales in Europe began in late September 2023, and Japanese carriers followed in October. In Europe, it launched at €999, and in the UK at £849. Sony does not sell it in the US. It was the last model of the Xperia 5 series, since Sony never released an Xperia 5 VI.
Design and display
The phone measures 154 x 68 x 8.6 mm and weighs 182 g. Gorilla Glass Victus 2 covers the display, and the back is glass with a matte finish. It is rated IP65 and IP68 for dust and water. Sony sold it in Black, Platinum Silver and Blue in every market.
The 6.1-inch OLED panel uses a 21:9 shape with a resolution of 2520 x 1080 pixels. It refreshes at up to 120 Hz and supports HDR. There is no notch or punch hole, because the selfie camera sits in the top bezel. A fingerprint reader is built into the power button on the right side.
Performance
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 powers the Xperia 5 V. It is a 4 nm chip with a 3.2 GHz top core and an Adreno 740 GPU. Every version has 8 GB of RAM. Europe gets 128 GB of storage, while 256 GB is offered in Japan and parts of Asia. A microSD slot accepts cards up to 1 TB.
Cameras
The rear setup has two cameras. The main one uses a 48 MP Exmor T sensor in the 1/1.35-inch size with an f/1.9 lens. Sony crops this sensor for a 2x view at 48 mm. The second camera is a 12 MP ultrawide with a 16 mm lens. Compared with the Xperia 5 IV, the dedicated telephoto camera is gone. Video reaches 4K at 120 frames per second, and the front camera has 12 MP.
Battery and charging
A 5,000 mAh battery sits inside. Sony says a 30-minute charge with its own charger reaches 50%. The phone supports USB Power Delivery and Qi wireless charging. Battery Share lets it top up other devices. There is no charger in the box.
Software and updates
The Xperia 5 V shipped with Android 13 and a near-stock interface. Sony promised two Android version upgrades and three years of security updates. Both upgrades, to Android 14 and Android 15, have arrived. It also has a 3.5 mm headphone jack and stereo speakers. Connectivity covers NFC, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 and USB-C 3.2.
Should you buy the Xperia 5 V?
- It suits buyers who want a narrow phone that is easy to use with one hand.
- It keeps features many rivals dropped: a headphone jack, a microSD slot and a two-stage shutter button.
- The update promise is short, so security support ends around the fall of 2026.
- Shoppers in the US would need to import it, since Sony never sold it there.
