Sony Xperia Z5: News and rumors

The last few Sony flagships have been minor revisions on what came before and while they've all been good they've also been a little too samey for our tastes.

We're hoping for big changes in the Sony Xperia Z5. Coincidentally, big changes like those in the TechRadar Sony Xperia Z5 concept we've cooked up.

We're talking pull-out high resolution speakers, delivering audio like you've never heard on a smartphone when needed and safely hiding out of sight when not to keep the new Z5 looking slimline.

We're all about full waterproofing this time around too so you can dive deep and with the ability to keep on using the phone properly while it's submerged.

And we want a slim and rounded ergonomic design that looks good and feels great in the hand. This iss we've had with Sony over the years is that it's a brand that LOVES bezel far too much, when in reality it needs to be thinking about something that looks good.

The screen is larger at 5.5-inches, but with a resolution boost to QHD - while we're not going to keep harping on about more pixels, Sony's excellent battery management means it's insane that this brand hasn't jumped up to the improved pixel density - if anyone can make it work, it's Sony.

Good enough for James Bond even, given there's no way he'd be using the Xperia phones when they look the way they do now.

We may not see much of this but we live in hope, because Sony can't keep iterating on the same thing over and over again - it might be too late for this year, but there's always the Z6...

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The next flagship device from Sony in the Xperia Z line.

• When is it out? Later this year, rumoured to be September at IFA in Berlin

• What will it cost? One of the more expensive handsets – probably the same price as the Xperia Z3+, currently available for $400, £485 AU$849

Sony Xperia Z5 release date

Nothing is certain right now, not even the name of the phone. Sony recently released the Xperia Z3+ but in Asian markets it's called the Xperia Z4.

Sony may opt to call the new handset the Xperia Z4 to avoid confusion for US and UK customers but all the rumours seem to suggest it may just do a Microsoft and jump up a notch to the Xperia Z5.

Various rumours are suggesting it'll be launching the next version of the Xperia Z at IFA 2015 in Berlin.

That event kicks off from September 2 so we could expect to see it launch there – much like the Xperia Z3 did – alongside a new version of the Xperia Z3 Compact.

Sony also has a new James Bond movie coming out in October and rumours suggest the Xperia Z5 will launch alongside the film. The last film, Skyfall, made over $1 billion so it's a smart way to tie into a film launch and new images suggest the phone is "Made for Bond".

Expect Spectre to be full of Xperia Z5 handsets with Moneypenny screaming "BOND!" into them a lot.

Design

Without any good leaked photos of the Xperia Z5 we don't really know what the phone looks like right now. A tipster tweeted that it will sport a new design/identity, while a very rough render that may be of the phone and was posted by @upleaks shows an almost edge to edge screen.

If it's true we can expect more of the same design with sharp corners and a premium feel glass back. It's also expected the phone will still be waterproof with its flap system over the phones ports.

Another image supposedly showing the back of the Xperia Z5 has also been leaked, this time on Weibo. It doesn't show much but does look disappointingly similar to existing Xperia designs. Though we may at least get a USB Type C port as this was mentioned alongside the photo.

There's also a report which points to two handsets dubbed the Xperia S60 and Xperia S70 (which we're guessing are codenames for the Xperia Z5 and Xperia Z5 Compact).

According to this rumor the S60 will come in white, black and yellow, with the S70 launching in white, black, gold and green and prices will apparently be between around £540-£600 ($843-$937 / AU$1138-AU$1264).

Sony Xperia Z5 screen

As for the screen we've heard mumblings that it's set to be enlarged for this generation. Each Xperia Z handset has had a 5.2-inch 1080p display on the front but it looks like this time it's going to be turned up to 5.5-inch with the same resolution on it.

That'll work out at 401ppi – not great when you consider the likes of LG and Samsung have broken the 500ppi mark on their new handsets.

It isn't quite clear whether the handset will be bigger to accommodate the new screen or whether it'll just narrow down those Xperia bezels.

OS and power

Sony dedicated site Xperia Blog has discovered some user agent profiles for the Xperia Z5 that suggest the new phone will launch with the MSM8955 Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipset on board.

The Xperia Z3+ has suffered from some overheating problems so it looks like Sony has instead jumped onto the second version of the chipset, a much more reliable option.

Rumours also suggest the Xperia Z5 will have 3GB of RAM on board. As for the OS we can predict it'll launch on Android 5.1 Lollipop but there's no official word on what software it'll support.

Camera

Sony always likes to make a big deal out of its 20.7MP sensor but the competitors are starting to create images just as good – if not better – so it may be time for an upgrade.

The latest rumours suggest the camera won't change though. It's only news of the sensor though, the software may be in for big changes.

The same source seems to think the front-camera will be upped to an 8MP sensor though meaning your selfies are set to be extra clear.

Other features

Possibly the biggest change to the Xperia line will be the addition of a fingerprint sensor. Before Sony hasn't seemed interesting in adapting in a fingerprint sensor to the Xperia phones but the new rumours suggest it's coming on the new handset as the option has proved popular on Apple, Samsung and OnePlus phones.

In fact, it's something Sony's rivals have almost all introduced now so it may be time do it. Each fingerprint sensor has started off pretty rubbish on the first phone though so if history has taught us anything it's not to expect a kickass version this time.

Sony Xperia Z5 cost

We don't know anything officially yet but we can expect it to cost a similar amount as the original Xperia Z3+. The phone is currently available for $400, £485 AU$849.

• Read our hands-on review of the Xperia Z3+.

Sony Xperia Z5: What we want to see

What we want to see

1. Pull-out Hi-Res speakers

Sony already does smartphone speakers better than most. Like HTC it packs dual front-facing speakers into its flagships and it puts a big focus on audio quality, with support for lossless formats.

But it's time for Sony to take sound a step further, so in the Xperia Z5 we want to see pull-out Hi-Res speakers, letting you make the most of lossless audio even without headphones.

They should produce louder, crisper sounds than even the Sony Xperia Z3+ or HTC One M9 and when you're not using them you can push them back into the body, so they don't ruin the look of the phone.

2. Improved waterproofing

The Sony Xperia Z3+ is waterproof to a depth of 1.5 metres, which is fine for surviving a splash or a shower, but we'd feel a bit iffy about taking it into the sea or diving into the deep end of the pool, so we want to see the Sony Xperia Z5 go further.

The further the better really, but waterproof to a depth of 10 metres like in our concept would be a great start and should be more than enough for anyone other than deep sea divers.

3. Underwater glove mode

Taking the Xperia Z5 deep underwater is one thing, but it would be nice if we could properly use the thing while we're down there. Water plays havoc with touchscreens, so we'd love an underwater glove mode that makes it possible to fully operate the phone even when submerged.

4. An ergonomic design

We don't see Sony massively changing the overall look of its flagship line for the Xperia Z5, though we wouldn't complain if it did, but it could certainly at least refine the existing design, with an even slimmer build and rounded edges to make the phone ergonomic.

The resulting device should not only look good but be comfortable to hold at any angle for any length of time. Well, not any length of time, but the length of your daily commute at the very least.

5. A QHD screen

So far Sony has stuck with 1080p displays on its flagships and while that still just about cuts it we'd really like to see an upgrade, especially with rivals like the Samsung Galaxy S6 and LG G4 now packing QHD screens.

That would also help it stand out from the Xperia Z3+ and leave it looking less like yet another minor update.

6. The best battery life around

One thing Sony does right is battery life. Its flagships fairly consistently have long life and that's not something that we want to change, but we want to see the Xperia Z5 go even further.

The Sony Xperia Z3 could just about stretch to two days of life and if Sony could somehow make the Xperia Z5 stretch to three then everyone else might as well pack up and go home.

7. A fingerprint scanner

Everyone is jumping on fingerprint scanners these days. Everyone except Sony that is, so adding one to the Sony Xperia Z5 would probably be a good thing.

The only problem is that with no home button in Sony's current flagship design there's no ideal place for a fingerprint scanner to be situated, but there's plenty of empty space on the back which could house one.

8. An improved camera

Sony packs some fairly accomplished snappers into its phones, but there's a sense that it's starting to trail behind the likes of Samsung and Apple a little, so hopefully it will pull out all the stops on the Xperia Z5.

Adding optical image stabilisation would be a good start and a faster autofocus would help too. Beyond that the sky's the limit, or the size and price constraints inherent to a smartphone are anyway.

9. Fewer pre-installed apps

Sony has pre-installed at least ten apps on the Xperia Z3+ above and beyond the Google offerings and standard phone applications.

The majority are likely to be of minimal interest to most people and while it's not that hard to ignore them it would be better if they just weren't there, allowing buyers to instead choose exactly which apps they do and don't want on the phone.

The good news is that this may well happen, as Sony is testing out a new 'Concept for Android' UI, which appears to be closer to stock Android and likely means fewer pre-installed apps.

• Want something smaller? Check out the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact.

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