Sony Xperia 5 II
- Thread starter benparker
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Sad to say but mine is going back. I've got a couple of screen protectors going spare if anybody wants them. Just let me know and I'll post them out. If anybody's interested I've quickly set out my thoughts below.
I'm not convinced by the new screen ratio. Icons feel rather crowded, while text on websites / apps such as mail seems small - you just get more of it vertically. Increasing the font size improves things somewhat, but you've then got less text on the screen.
The phone does, however, feel good in the hand, and it feels brilliant when you actually use it as a phone. Call quality was great.
The screen itself I thought was...ok...but nothing amazing. Lovely and fluid, but I think it's let down by the smaller size. There's a lot been said about it not being bright enough, but I don't think it's an issue. 50 percent seemed plenty bright enough. What I did find though was that the auto brightness seemed to do some weird things, increasing and decreasing the setting at random. Maybe it was learning how I used the phone.
Sony's version of Android is close to stock, with a few nice additions. The phone flies through tasks and there's no lag anywhere. Double tap to wake, however, seemed very flaky on my handset, and didn't work probably one in five times. The phone also failed to go to sleep on a few occasions. Closing all my apps down sorted this, so I'm not going to blame the handset entirely.
The one thing though that I really didn't like was the fingerprint sensor. It worked most of the time, but not often enough. I also didn't really like it's placement. Combining it with a power button also has its drawbacks. Touching the fingerprint sensor will turn the phone on, unless you've only just turned it off, in which case it will simply activated the AOD. You then need to press the button again. It just didn't feel particularly fluid.
And finally, the camera. I know these things are subjective, but I just didn't like any of the pictures I took. They all seemed to have a sort of tint which did nothing for me. Anything my Pixel took just blew the Sony away.
The build quality of the phone was, however great. Headphone jack and SD card storage are both nice additions.
Fingers crossed some of the issues I found can be fixed with software updates, and maybe I should've stuck with the camera. But it just didn't feel like a device I wanted to spend the next two years using.
The above though is only my own experience, and a lot of what I've said is subjective. If you've got one, I hope you're enjoying it. Despite what I've said it's close to being a brilliant device - it just didn't do it for me.
I'm not convinced by the new screen ratio. Icons feel rather crowded, while text on websites / apps such as mail seems small - you just get more of it vertically. Increasing the font size improves things somewhat, but you've then got less text on the screen.
The phone does, however, feel good in the hand, and it feels brilliant when you actually use it as a phone. Call quality was great.
The screen itself I thought was...ok...but nothing amazing. Lovely and fluid, but I think it's let down by the smaller size. There's a lot been said about it not being bright enough, but I don't think it's an issue. 50 percent seemed plenty bright enough. What I did find though was that the auto brightness seemed to do some weird things, increasing and decreasing the setting at random. Maybe it was learning how I used the phone.
Sony's version of Android is close to stock, with a few nice additions. The phone flies through tasks and there's no lag anywhere. Double tap to wake, however, seemed very flaky on my handset, and didn't work probably one in five times. The phone also failed to go to sleep on a few occasions. Closing all my apps down sorted this, so I'm not going to blame the handset entirely.
The one thing though that I really didn't like was the fingerprint sensor. It worked most of the time, but not often enough. I also didn't really like it's placement. Combining it with a power button also has its drawbacks. Touching the fingerprint sensor will turn the phone on, unless you've only just turned it off, in which case it will simply activated the AOD. You then need to press the button again. It just didn't feel particularly fluid.
And finally, the camera. I know these things are subjective, but I just didn't like any of the pictures I took. They all seemed to have a sort of tint which did nothing for me. Anything my Pixel took just blew the Sony away.
The build quality of the phone was, however great. Headphone jack and SD card storage are both nice additions.
Fingers crossed some of the issues I found can be fixed with software updates, and maybe I should've stuck with the camera. But it just didn't feel like a device I wanted to spend the next two years using.
The above though is only my own experience, and a lot of what I've said is subjective. If you've got one, I hope you're enjoying it. Despite what I've said it's close to being a brilliant device - it just didn't do it for me.
Aspect ratio is strongly putting me off all these Sony phones.
I've been Sony for all my, and my wife's, smartphones (U, M, Z1c, Z5c, Xc, XZ1), but I can't see us replacing with another Sony.
I don't like the Samsung version of Android, based on my tablet owning experience, so will probably get a Pixel next
I've been Sony for all my, and my wife's, smartphones (U, M, Z1c, Z5c, Xc, XZ1), but I can't see us replacing with another Sony.
I don't like the Samsung version of Android, based on my tablet owning experience, so will probably get a Pixel next
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Yep, it's just too much. I've ended up going for a One Plus 8 Pro and that too has a slightly different aspect ratio. It's not as extreme as the Sony's though and the bigger screen is a joy to use. It's a big phone, but really doesnt feel it. So far I am massively impressed.
I appreciated your write up above and hope you have a better experience with the OP 8 cameras than I did, because it's a great phone otherwise. I also didn't like the dramatic screen curve, which made the usable area much smaller than 6.78". Nevertheless, a great device.
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Yeah, the curved screen is not ideal, but seems ok at the moment. I reckon it will be gone in next year's models. The camera is going to be the big test though. Looks like a nice day tomorrow so I'll be out taking pics with both phones to compare.
Soldato
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I personally love the aspect ratio of the screen, so no problems there.
I really like the Cinema Pro app too, I'm quite keen on video anyway so shooting on a phone at 24fps or 120fps 21:9 with all those settings and the Venice look is awesome!
Only problem I have is the low light photography, I'm yet to take a decent picture in low light. In sunny scenes or where there's lots of light the pictures are excellent but I'm struggling to find the right settings for low light.
I really like the Cinema Pro app too, I'm quite keen on video anyway so shooting on a phone at 24fps or 120fps 21:9 with all those settings and the Venice look is awesome!
Only problem I have is the low light photography, I'm yet to take a decent picture in low light. In sunny scenes or where there's lots of light the pictures are excellent but I'm struggling to find the right settings for low light.
Soldato
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If it's a 16:9 show or film you get black bars on the left and right but you can crop the top and bottom to fill the screen.
If it's a 21:9 then it fills the screen.
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Still got two screen protectors going spare if anyone wants them. If I don't here this weekend I'll just bin them.
That's so lame
Well I sold mine and gone back to my P20 Pro. The screen was impossible for me to use, as I need to make the text bigger and it ate the screen up.
I loved the screen and battery life, and am now stuck to what to try next. I need dual sim so am thinking P30 pro or Samsung S20 FE 5G for the snapdragon or maybe a Note 10/10+
Whats everyone's second choice?
I loved the screen and battery life, and am now stuck to what to try next. I need dual sim so am thinking P30 pro or Samsung S20 FE 5G for the snapdragon or maybe a Note 10/10+
Whats everyone's second choice?
Snapdragon model of the S20
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I moved to a OnePlus 8 Pro. Loving it so far. £612 on Amazon is a crazy price.
It's a shame the cameras are always average
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I think it's good. Not the very best, but very capable. The macro mode in particular is fantastic.