Xperia 5 III has graphene heat dissipation in place of the wireless charging coil. So it'll feel hot because it is dissipating heat more efficiently than other phones with wireless charging coils. It's by design and that's why even if it feels hot, the games will not stutter, unlike other phones that stutters once you feel it heating up
I was an Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra user (I bought this in 2017, the time you reviewed it in Recombu) since July 2021 and wanting to get another Xperia but there are so much competition in the budget realm of phones. Plus having their handsets pulled out from the Philippines, making it even more difficult to get one. I moved to using Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro. Very satisfied with this phone.
@@flaziola I've noticed battery occasionally draining faster than expected but it doesn't seem to happen if I close my apps when not using. Not noticed it getting hot
Awesome review! I am still holding out for the next Sony XZ2 Compact....I just can't seem to find anything that is as small other than the iPhone 12 mini...the Sony boggles the minds of my friends and family....they can't believe how small it is and also thick...heavy. Keep up all the amazing work mate! Just incredible videos.
@@paulgraves7949do you get software updates? Which OS are you running? And what about the heat and throttling issues? I'm considering buying one in 2024.
I’m sorry to say but in this instance I think it is warranted. The asking price for this phone is astronomical, especially for the specs and design. You can literally find either the same specs or better on phones that were released 6 months to a year ago and are now selling for a fraction of the price this phone costs. Nevermind other more current alternatives.
Chris, With your reviews on the Sony Xperia line, I have a decision to make, do I go with the Pixel 6 Pro, or the Xperia I Mark III? The two years of updates compared to five or six years is a big question mark. Has Sony provided any more information about refreshes and updates? I may just wait to the end of the year, and let more of each phone go out, and then see we are at. Thanks as always.
Xperia is a part of open devices forum. You can change the OS to Pixel experience yourself whenever you want. So you can install the software updates manually and get latest software on your phone.
Although Sony doesn't commit to any specific schedule, typically at least 3 years of security updates. Too early to know the Pixel 6 Pro capabilities or price, but cameras looks promising and probably will have a brighter display. Sony advantage will be the headphone jack, expandable storage dedicated shutter, and camera pro app.
It's more like one year of major updates. By the time the xperia 5 III releases the android 12 will be already out. So you are buying a phone with a year old OS for 1000€/900£. This is really bad and from what I have seen sony doesn't have a very active xda community.
@@xicofir3737 Exactly. Because not many people interesting to buy (or rather import) so flawed and expensive device. No everyone is biting on a brand name anymore.
Thanks for the review. I am very interested in knowing more about the heat problem of the snapdragon 888. For normal use such as social media, watching youtube, playing Spotify and taking photos or recording short videos does it also cause annoying heat so it is not comfortable to hold?
@@dnegel9546 I loved my Z5 compact. I changed it for an S8 and later an S10e after Sony pushed one too many wonky update which killed my bluetooth for a frew months. The compact niche is really untended now. Appart from the iPhone 13 mini, there's really nothing at all. The Zenfone 8 and 5iii are still chonkers in my opinion. Maybe this year will be the one I leave Android over this.
Good review if I was going to buy a Sony this would be one. Its interesting that pretty much every review I've seen, the camera seems far better than the so called flagship 1 iii
I usually change my phone every 2 years. I got myself the original Xperia 5 and now I am getting Xperia 5 III... Xperias are becoming quite hard to actually get here where I live lately. When I first got into smartphone market most carriers had them bundled on discount with 2-year contracts, but in last few years none of them have Xperia phones on offer. And stores usually have Xperia 10 phones on stock, while 5 and 1 get very small number available. I just ordered mine 11 days ago and even then I have to wait for full 10 working days for them to even send it to me because they are only getting them from supplier after order is placed. But still, got a nice one bundled with WH-H910N/B headphones (which are also going to be my first headphones with active noise canceling) so I think it will be worth the wait. Xperia 5 II can't even be found here where I live anymore.
@@kihu14 It's problematic. Some reviewers measured 1300+ nits, some just slightly above last year's model, and some actually below. It's like every country gets a different screen, and I won't be getting the US model where I live, so... I don't know what to expect.
A late comment; I do have the Xperia 5ii and I'm very happy with it; I got it on the black Friday for 599€; an upgrade doesn't make sense for me Waiting for an eventual 5IV. Great review as always and greetings from Germany.👍
@@mattshifu I think that the camera of the iPhone is better but the first of September Sony presents the 5IV; it is worth waiting because it will surely be very good.
I like the Xperia phones alot but being able to get a basically new OnePlus 7 Pro for around $250 or less on OfferUp or FB marketplace if you shop around is just the best deal going right now. 8gb ram, 90hz fluid AMOLED display, Snapdragon 855 chipset, pop up camera so full display, can't beat it.
@@paulgal It doesn't matter how cool Xperia camera hardware and software are. The results are more important. And I can't see that Xperia photos are miles ahead of OnePlus in terms of quality.
@@diddymies technically it's waterproof to an extent but they just don't pay for the rating, also software is Android 11 right now and besides Sony no other flagship phones have headphone jacks, just the budget phones.
@@HDUnfatalLife You forgot about LG V60 which costs a fraction of Xperia price. Yes it has "only" Snapdragon 865" onboard (which is cooler by the way) but eventually it will get Android 12 too.
I'll stick with my Xperia 5 II for quite a while longer. So far the upgrades for the 5 III are minimal. Plus, I don't think a hardware upgrade will fix Sony's slow camera processing
@@TheHpsauce37 would be sending some clear mixed messaging if they included wireless charging, as it nukes the battery. By not including wireless charging, sony is nearly sending a definitive stance with battery care and long-term device care. It is one i agree with but its just my opinion. However, its better than omitting a charger in the box.
@@CerealforProtein many mid range phones have wireless charging these days and it needed something more definitive to set it apart from the 5 iii. However I've come to find this phone has some much bigger problems than missing features, namely the pocket dialling/activation issue which has happened to many times to mention and does not seem to matter what combination I have the lockscreen/ambient display set too. I suspect the mk iii will have the same issue also.
Don't get both. Both has sd888 so they heat a lot. Not good for long term usage. Wait till next year or buy last year phones. Like the person above me said 5ii is better choice. And it's cheaper now
One handed mode is a complete admission that phones are badly designed and completely awful to use. Sony need to bring back the compact line of phones.
@@silva_br1 XZ2c had a bad design. The Z3c had the best design and the XZ1c the best Hardware. Had almost every compact from Sony... Still using XZ1 compact.
The camera is incredible - you just have to know how to shoot manually. If you're more of a point and shoot person, there are better phones that can do that (hint *iphone).
I just let it cool off for few seconds, before slipping it back into my jeans pocket so it didn't toast my marshmallows 🤣 Best tech reviewer ever, keep it up with the funny jokes man 👍
Has Sony sorted the crossover from external to internal memory on this one? All my previous Sony handsets flatly refused to cooperate with music or pictures on the expanded memory. It made the card slot virtually pointless.
I waited till the Xperia 5 IV was out and was totally disappointed. I got the Xperia 5 III and thoroughly enjoy the fourth camera. All things considered I'm happy with the 5 III.
@@AzimBaluch1984 I'm still stuxk on what to do. I think I'd prefer the size of the 5iii, but I'm not sure. It's the height of the 1iii that pits me off. The width is ideal. I do mess up typing a bit on the S10e I'm currently using. I never had an issue with the S10+ I had before it, other than it was too wide, but typing 2 handed was easy. I'd love to know when the 5iii was coming out. A release date would be nice.
Love that it has not punch hole nor notch! I'd wish Samsung would do that in their cellphones. I don't get Sony smartphones because the experience of their products (headphones, cameras, laptops, etcetera) seems geared towards serious companies than to users that want fun with their devices.
Just swapped the mk2 for the mk3 as a free upgrade...thank you Vodafone! Only had it couple of days so far very happy! Spanker of a review as usual mr spurt!! Peace 🇺🇦
@@Mr.Wilsin Vodafone offered a free upgrade! Only had the 5ii for 9 months(24 month contract) and the new deal was £4 a month cheaper and got unlimited mms for free! No brainer of a decision.
Do you show RU-vid provided ads on your videos? If yes I'll happily watch them. If not and if YT is putting them without your permission, I'll gladly avoid them.
I own the mark2, I was planning to upgrade to mk3 but now I'm not sure I will. I thought they greatly improve the audio/speakers over the mark2? I have a feeling this wont sell so well, unless the mark2 becomes quickly out of stock everywhere.
i wouldnt do it. sony also makes their phones for long term use. so its not really meant to buy the 5iii i think. i got the 5ii too and for its almost perfect phone, but hey i come from a 2017 midranger so i guess everything is good then hahaha
I had the same issue with the fingerprint sensor but now it has completely stopped working. The fingerprint settings also disappeared from the menu! What a bummer!
Had the Xperia 5 II for a quite a while and decided I wanted a larger phone and got the Oneplus 10 Pro mainly for a larger display for games and media consumption, honestly I regret it and wish I had gotten the 5 IV instead.
Trying to choose between the Sony Xperia 5 II and Samsungs more budget friendly A52 5G, what do you think I should pick considering that some of my hobbies are photography and slight film making but not really too deep into it. Love your vids btw!
sony. it will take some time to learn the best settings but its nice after that. will make you feel better and better in it and make you feel like your accomplish something and its making you a photographer. for the rest 5ii has sd card slot. perfect for photography
Battery life sucks. I have seen so many reviews. None mentioned the poor battery life. My ZTE Axon 10 was 3 years old, had a bigger screen, smaller battery and still lasted 2 days. With Xperia 5 iii I barely make it through the day and I don't game, ain't on social medias too much. Just casual browsing and listen to music. Plus the phone heats upp just by doing the above. LTE connection is much worse than my Axon 10 that I used to have. Camera app a bit tricky to learn and night-time photos are dark. But, this camera shoots what you see with the naked eye, which I like. Very natural images, great telephoto. Excellent audio with headphones though I am a bit disappointed with the audio from the speakers. My wife's Xiaomi 10 beats it by far. All in all I wouldn't say it is worth 900-1000 dollars, this phone should cost 600-700. It was a choice between Asus ZenFone 8 and this phone. I chose this because of the reviews that said that the Zenfone had even worse battery and overheating. Issues that I have with mine: 1. Battery 2. Overheating, can't even shoot videos more than 5 minutes and the phone shuts off camera due to overheating. 3. LTE connection is week and very poor as soon as I am inside, sometimes I can't go online inside a building with mobile internet. People can barely hear me during calls. 4. Selfie camera is worse than I thought, especially for the price. Maybe it is too tricky to make a compact phone with the specs of a flagship?
Although Verizon is CDMA you should still be able to use GSM phones since 4G/LTE and 5G are both on GSM, plus Verizon themselfs will be removing their CDMA network.
sucks that they are still forcing unwanted apps down your throat. I also wish that they gave it the design of the 1iii (square sides and frosted backs)
Hi, I bought an xperia 5iii in china and it doesn't even have a playstore, is it possible to put the rom of the international version? Where do I go down?
Personally speaking, I think it's the best phone on the market. Only an iphone 12 max can compete across the board. The camera on this thing is nuts (if you know how to shoot manually). The sound through headphones is mind-blowing, it's actually better than my expensive hi-fi. The movie experience on the Xperia 5 iii is unsurpassed on any phone I've used. The expandability option....tick. Quite literally, the only problem I have with it is the bloatware. But it's not enough for me to downgrade it, the list of positives are vast. It's pretty much perfect. Apple should have made this phone.
I've had to wait so long that I had no choice but to buy a Samsung. I'm not happy. Even though it's the best, top of the range flagship Samsung phone (S21 Ultra). The user experience is terrible. Nothing beats a Sony phone in terms of user experience. And I've tried Samsung a few years ago when my phone broke and couldn't afford another one. I also tried an iPhone. Not good phones in my opinion.
Love my Xperia 5 ii! I got headphones because I pre ordered so I use the phone to watch Netflix, Disney and amazone prime to watch movies because they use the whole screen 😁 get perfect sound through my Sony xm3 headphones
The only issue for me is the sd888. Thermals are pretty bad. They should've gone with sd870 or dimensity 1200. It would've brought down the price too. I'll wait for the next one
People bash Pro for having 865, but ask 870 that is 865 with more clock? Mediatek chips are weak and do not support all features Snapdragon has. Cheaper CPU does not mean OEM would sell for cheaper price.
@@silva_br1 I didn't bash it. Why r u telling that to me I know 870 is just an overclocked 865. Sd888 has heating issues and it shows. This phone can't sustain performance after a few minutes. It starts heating up and lagging. A sd865 is more than enough for any game rn. Heck even a properly cooled 855 would murder sd888. I don't mind if it sells for the same price. Why pay more and get poor performance.
Since Asian and International versions not compatible with US 5G networks and the US version does not exist (and Sony doesn't want to comment on it) I'd say 5 iii is a waste of money. Might as well get 5 ii and save some serious money.
Hey. Doubt you will really answer but i have a question. Xperia 5 II had that one issue that when you played something from the speakers on full volume the phone vibrated at certain frequencies. And i don't mean the dynamic vibrations, it was just a bad speaker design. And i want to ask if this issue is still there.
I've just upgraded from the Xperia 5 to the 5 iii and be honest there's not alot of difference between them. Obviously the mk3 is faster and quicker to boot up but other than that they have removed the album/galley and you now have to download your own. And you now have to use 2 hands to take a screenshot which sucks and the speakers sounds muffly and again the torch is still very poor which even my Mrs old iPhone 6s is alot brighter. And the camera... Well I don't find it that good and if you don't know how to set it up then it's very difficult to use
How come you don't do any 5G connection and speed tests on these phones? I cant seem to find any video that covers this important topic as I'm desperately trying to make a decision on which of the Sony phones should I purchase that works with T-Mobile here in the states.
My mk2 has the ear proximity problem where when making a call the screen doesn't go blank and your ear mutes calls puts the torch on and whatever. It,s really annoying does anyone know a fix as the net and sony doesn't?
Either the sensor got wrong, got some dust or the screen moved a bit and cover the sensor... I had the same problem when I changed the screen on my z3compact -it got some dirt or whatever- so i had to reassemble and clean the sensor that what fixed it. Send it back if you have warranty on it.
They think only samsung and apple have right to ask more than $850. Other have illusion that lower price would suddenly increase sales by 20-30%, which is just insanity.
Gsmarena says mark iii have a very bad throttling problem, and this results seems in line with many benchmark from other publication. I think 5 mark ii is more reliable and you probably wont miss out much
Snapdragon 888 is the worst processor they ever released. Every phone its fitted in has heating issues. They forced adreno 660 instead of 650 into it to compete againt apples bionic chipset. Hope they sort out this mess in the next cycle.
Hi love your videos. Could you compare the Sony Xperia 1 îii and the song Xperia 5 îii. I can't work out which is best! Which should I buy.? Where does the Xperia 10 îii come in to it.
i'd even say the Mark II is the far better deal - that's why i bought it some weeks ago. The 865 is the soc that fits better to the 5. It is no gaming phone in my opinion and the 865 does the daily job better (cooler). There is no real upgrade (except for heat and a little power), seems like the display could even be worse than the great one of the Mark II.
Also a 5ii user here. I've been using for 2 months now and indeed I agree with you. The 865 doesn't throttle as much on the 5 chassis as 888, due to better thermal cooling. Just Android 11 draining its battery faster than Android 10. I wonder what if Sony used 870 on the 5iii, will be even better than the 888? But well 888 is the flagship so.... And I heard the 5iii display is even dimmer on full brightness :'(
Don't understand, how much Sony will cost to have a wireless charging feature? It is just a simple thing to eliminate another reason for haters to speak out. Even though they profited last year with Xperia 1ii & 5ii, but the strategy is still not good enough. I ordered Xperia 1iii back in July, it was then delayed three times all the way to Oct1st, 2021. Rediculous. Then four months later, they will announce 1 iv, and waited another year to get it. They always compete with the yesterday's tech to the current flagship.
My plan, after seeing this review, was to get the Xperia 5 Mk. 2. When I went to order it online, it costs the same as the Mk. 3. So no way to save a few crowns for the older version. Very annoying!
@@sepdioenriquez702 I haven't played any heavy games on it yet, so can't comment on that. I think 95% of mobile games are trash, so I don't play a lot of mobile games. I've mostly used it for everyday phone stuff so far, and I think it's great for that! Updated it to Android 12, installed Niagara Launcher, get great phone reception/quality with voice over wi-fi, enabled 5G, and haven't had any issues with it. The screen could be brighter in direct sunlight, and the speakers could be louder, but I knew about both these things before I bought it, and it's not a big problem for me.
my mk3 overheated so much that it started warning me and this was during the setup when apps were updating, it's ridiculous, the screen also seems off to me really faded colors
