Sony Xperia Z5: 4K screen and huge camera upgrades hope to revive Sony’s mobile ambitions

Screen’s super-high resolution makes it the first to reach the milestone – but it might be unlikely that anyone can use it

Sony has revealed its new flagship phone, the Xperia Z5, hoping to build back up its mobile division’s momentum with a super-high resolution display and an upgraded camera.

The phone’s design looks almost identical to the previous four Xperia flagships. But the company showed a huge set of internal upgrades – primarily new camera and display technology, though also a long lasting battery and hi-res audio – is enough to mark it out from previous models.

The phone comes in two models: the flagship Z5 Premium and the smaller Z5 Compact. The two have mostly similar looks and specifications, though the bigger handset is the only one with the 4K display – the first phone to reach that HD milestone.

That screen was described as being the “ultimate viewing experience” on a mobile phone. But it prompted questions about how useful that will be to many viewers – many companies don’t even provide their films and TV at such a resolution for TVs, and phones will require a huge amount of bandwidth to download such detailed content.

Sony focused heavily on the camera’s capabilities as it launched the phone. Those include a fast auto-focus, for taking pictures quickly; a larger sensor that will take 23-megapixel photos; and SteadyShot optimization that will get rid of shaky videos.

It also emphasised the battery life, which it said was “far superior” to those of competitors.

Like its predecessors, the Z5 is waterproof and dust-tight.

As with previous Xperia handsets, Sony is using the phone to showcase the variety of its different technologies. That includes the Premium’s 4K display – borrowed from its TVs – and the camera technology that the company stressed had been worked on with its photography division.