Months after unveiling its latest Xperia 1 flagship, Sony has now officially announced the highly-anticipated Xperia 5 IV. The new flagship from the Japanese OEM offers top-of-the-line hardware in a compact form factor, making it a great option for those looking for a premium Zenfone 9 alternative.

Sony Xperia 5 IV: Specifications

Despite its compact form factor, the Sony Xperia 5 IV packs a substantial 6.1-inch FHD+ OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and Sony’s unique 21:9 aspect ratio. Like the Xperia 1 IV, the smaller device packs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC on the inside, paired with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage.

The Xperia 5 IV also comes with the same primary and ultra-wide camera as the Xperia 1 IV, but it has a different 12MP 60mm-equivalent telephoto camera and lacks the 3D iToF sensor. The 12MP triple camera setup is capable of 120 fps readout speeds, which enables 4K 120fps video recording on all three cameras. In addition, the device can shoot still photos at 20fps with autofocus, auto exposure, and HDR enabled. Over on the front, it has a new 12MP selfie shooter.

Rounding off the internal hardware is a 5,000mAh battery, which should offer impressive battery life thanks to the Xperia 5 IV’s smaller, lower-resolution display. Other noteworthy features include 30W wired fast charging support, wireless charging support, an IP68 rating, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, and stereo speakers.

Interestingly, Sony has also managed to cram a microSD card slot and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the Xperia 5 IV, which is quite impressive for a device this size. We hope more manufacturers take cues from Sony to offer these features on their devices. But it seems unlikely, given the recent rise in the popularity of TWS earbuds and phones with up to 1TB built-in storage.

In terms of connectivity, the Xperia 5 IV features a USB Type-C port, sub-6GHz 5G support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC. On the software front, the device runs Android 12 out of the box.

Pricing & Availability

The Sony Xperia 5 IV will be available for purchase in a single RAM/storage configuration starting October 27. It will be available in three color options — Black, Ecru White, and Green. The device will set you back $999, which is quite a bit more expensive than the Zenfone 9. But you do get a more capable camera setup and a bigger battery with Sony’s compact flagship. You’ll have to wait for our full review of the device to see whether that’s worth the $300 premium or not.

Would you pick the new Sony Xperia 5 IV over the Zenfone 9 despite the $300 premium? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments section below.