Sony has gone from keeping its next 5G Xperia flagship a total secret to letting almost every precious detail about this high-end handset spill on the interwebs in less than 48 hours. That must be some kind of a record, although at least the company has also essentially confirmed earlier today that the Xperia 5 II is right around the corner, gearing up for an official post-IFA 2020 announcement on September 17.
While that was supposed to be the day's juiciest Sony Xperia 5 II revelation, the folks over at Android Headlines have somehow managed to get their hands on both a short promotional video showcasing the device from every angle and a nearly comprehensive spec sheet.
As presumed after checking out the unreleased phone's first high-quality leaked render, this is basically a cross between last year's original Xperia 5 and the early 2020-unveiled Xperia 1 II, borrowing the former's form factor and many of the latter's key features. But there are also a few big surprises to note:
A 120Hz screen, a hefty battery, and a headphone jack
We honestly couldn't tell you which of these three things is more unexpected, although for what it's worth, the presence of a good old fashioned 3.5mm audio port was already "confirmed" in that aforementioned previous leak. It's also important to highlight the Xperia 1 II brought the beloved jack back after the OG Xperia 1 and Xperia 5 snubbed the feature, so at the end of the day, maybe we shouldn't be so shocked that the 5G Xperia 5 II is set to follow the example of its Mark Two cousin rather than that of its forerunner.
In a way, it's not surprising to hear the phone will support 120Hz display refresh rate technology either, as almost every new Android flagship ticks that box nowadays. Then again, it's certainly unusual to see a device as costly as the Xperia 1 II overshadowed by one expected to be slightly more affordable.
Of course, refresh rate capabilities are not everything, and compared to the existing Xperia 1 II, the upcoming Xperia 5 II is tipped to sport a smaller and less sharp screen with a diagonal of 6.1 inches and a Full HD+ resolution presumably matching the 2520 x 1080 pixel count of 2019's Xperia 5.
Unsurprisingly, the 5G Xperia 5 II appears to look pretty much identical to its predecessor on the outside, with almost unchanged overall dimensions of 158 x 68 x 8mm. Incredibly enough, that actually means the new phone could be ever so slightly thinner than the Xperia 5 while packing a 4,000mAh battery.
That may not sound gargantuan by, say, Moto G9 or Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra standards, but it would easily surpass the 3,140mAh cell capacity of the Xperia 5, as well as match the battery size of the considerably larger Xperia 1 II. Now that's a far more impressive achievement than trimming the chin or drilling a hole into the 120Hz screen, which Sony is still not a big fan of.
Three familiar cameras, a powerful SoC, and plenty of memory
They say you shouldn't try to fix what ain't broken, but while the triple rear-facing camera system of the Xperia 5 definitely made a great impression, Sony is ready to push the envelope even further by... xeroxing the three "main" shooters on the back of the Xperia 1 II.
These are not radically different from what the Xperia 5 has going for it, mind you, retaining the 12 megapixel count across the board, adding Zeiss optics into the equation, jumping from 2x to 3x optical zoom, and upgrading the ultra-wide-angle lens from f/2.4 to f/2.2 aperture, among others.
The Sony Xperia 5 II is also prepared to share a Snapdragon 865 processor, 8GB RAM count, and a microSD card slot with the Xperia 1 II while ditching the fourth 3D Time-of-Flight rear camera and going down from 256 to 128 gigs of internal storage space. With standard 5G connectivity (hopefully, accessible on at least one major US wireless service provider), the handset is unlikely to be as inexpensive as the Xperia 5, although we should probably wait before making any firm predictions.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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