Sony has announced that two of its new flagship phones — the Xperia Z5 and Xperia Z5 Compact — will be launching in Australia next week, with the bigger Xperia Z5 Premium following in November.
The Z5 Compact sports a 4.6-inch, 720p screen while the standard Z5 has a 5.2-inch screen at 1080p. The Z5 Premium's 5.5-inch screen can display content natively at 4K, a first for a smartphone. Other than dimensions, screen size and resolution the phones are largely identical in terms of specs.
At a launch event in Sydney on Thursday night, Sony pointed to several technological innovations in the phones it hopes will help the Xperia brand claw back some mindshare from its competitors.
The phones' camera has been built from the ground up for the Z5 family, and Sony says it's the most advanced it's ever built (a bold claim since it makes the imaging sensors for most of its competitors). The 23 megapixel camera can focus or re-focus in .03 of a second, no matter whether the subject is in the centre of the screen or not, and it also features advanced image stabilisation.
The phones support playback of high-res audio files, and they can upscale standard MP3s to high-res as well. Digital noise cancellation is built in to all three phones, and the Premium will come packaged with a noise cancelling headset. All three phones feature a small fingerprint sensor on the power button that sits on the side of the device, to unlock the phone instantly.
As with previous Xperia Z handsets, the Z5 phones are IP68 waterproof and dust tight, and claim a two-day battery life. The phones can also connect to a PlayStation 4 to act as a wireless screen.
The Z5 Compact will be available outright from Sony or JB Hi-Fi from next week at a recommended retail price of $849. The Z5 will be available from the same stores for $999. If you want either phone in a colour other than black or white (the Z5 also comes in green and gold while the Compact also comes in pink and yellow), you'll need to get it through Sony. Telstra, Optus and Vodafone will all offer the Z5 on plans, while Telstra will also carry the Z5 Compact.
When it launches in November, the Z5 Premium will cost $1199 outright in chrome, black or gold.
