Sony Xperia 5 IV review: specs, battery & used prices

Summary

The Sony Xperia 5 IV is Sony's 2022 compact flagship: a 6.1-inch 120 Hz OLED, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, and a triple 12 MP camera system with 4K/120 recording in a 172 g body. It listed at $999; 8/128 GB units now sell for around $219 with a fourteen-sale sample — the deepest and most liquid used market of any compact flagship we track.

Display and design

The 6.1-inch OLED runs at 120 Hz — screen quality 59/100 on our axis — in a flat, symmetrical 172 g body with compactness at 96/100, among the best in the catalog, and IP68 sealing. The 3.5 mm headphone jack survived here after most rivals dropped it.

Performance

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 brings its generation's split personality: gaming 27/100 with warm stretches under sustained 3D, everyday responsiveness at 77/100. For video capture — the Xperia mission — sustained-recording stability is the metric that matters.

Camera

The camera system keeps 12 MP across main, ultrawide, and telephoto, all stabilised, with video to 4K at 120 fps and Sony's manual apps inherited from Alpha. Our camera score of 34/100 reflects our stills-first scale; the point of this phone has always been the video and control layer on top.

Battery and charging

The 5,000 mAh battery scores 40/100 on battery life, a notable capacity for a phone this size, while 30 W charging scores 12/100 — Sony's conservative routine.

Verdict

At around $219 used with fourteen sales of depth, the Xperia 5 IV is the safest compact-creator bet in the catalog: pocketable, IP68, headphone jack, and pro video tools, with resale tracking at 74/100. Slow charging and Gen 1 thermals are the accepted trade-offs. The Xperia 5 V simplified the camera but enlarged the battery; the Xperia 1 IV is the same platform with the taller 4K screen.