Sony Xperia 5 III: Compact 5G Smartphone Review

Sony Xperia 5 III (English Detailed Specifications)

The Sony Xperia 5 III is a premium compact 5G smartphone announced on April 14, 2021, and released on October 8, 2021, as part of Sony’s Xperia 5 series, focusing on a 21:9 CinemaWide display, advanced triple – rear cameras with dual – focal – length telephoto, and flagship – level performance. It is also available as the dual – SIM variant Xperia 5 III Dualソニー.

Basic Information

Release Date: Announced April 14, 2021; released October 8, 2021
Model Numbers: XQ – BQ52, XQ – BQ62, XQ – BQ72, SO – 53B, SOG05
Form Factor: Bar – shaped with a side – mounted fingerprint scanner (integrated into the power button), 21:9 CinemaWide display ratio
Dimensions & Weight: 157 x 68 x 8.2 mm, 168 g
Color Options: Frosted Black, Frosted Silver, Green, Pink
Build: Corning Gorilla Glass 6 on both front and back, aluminum frame; IP65/IP68 water and dust resistance

Hardware & Display

Category	Details
Display	6.1 – inch HDR OLED CinemaWide touchscreen, 2520 x 1080 pixels (FHD+), 449 ppi, 120 Hz refresh rate, 240 Hz touch sampling rate, 10 – bit color, 100% DCI – P3, X1 for mobile engine, Cinema Pro support
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G (octa – core: 1×2.84 GHz Cortex – X1, 3×2.42 GHz Cortex – A78, 4×1.80 GHz Cortex – A55), Adreno 660 GPUソニー
Memory	8 GB LPDDR5 RAM; 128/256 GB UFS 3.1 internal storage; expandable up to 1 TB via microSDXC card (dedicated slot)
Battery	Non – removable Li – Ion 4500 mAh; 30W wired fast charging, 15W wireless charging, 5W reverse wireless charging

Camera System

Rear Triple Camera (Zeiss Optics)

Wide – angle: 12 MP Exmor RS sensor, f/1.7 aperture, 24 mm, 1/1.7″ sensor size, 1.8 µm pixels, dual – pixel PDAF, OIS
Ultra – wide: 12 MP sensor, f/2.2, 16 mm, 120° FOV, 1/2.5″ sensor size, 1.4 µm pixels
Dual – focal – length telephoto: 12 MP sensor, f/2.3 (70 mm) / f/2.8 (105 mm), 1/2.9″ sensor size, 1.22 µm pixels, OIS, 3x–4.4x optical zoom, 12x digital zoom

Video Features: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@120fps, 720p@960fps slow – motion, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, SteadyShot with Lock – on AF

Front Camera

8 MP Exmor R sensor, f/2.0 aperture, 24 mm, 1/4″ sensor size, 1.12 µm pixels, 1080p video recording, HDR, face detection

Software & Connectivity

Software

Original OS: Android 11; officially upgradeable to Android 13 (no further major updates)
Pre – installed Apps: Photo Pro, Cinema Pro, Walkman, Album, Movies, PlayStation App, Xperia Lounge, Google Mobile Services

Connectivity

Network: 5G Sub – 6 GHz & mmWave (varies by region), 4G LTE Cat24, 3G HSPA+, 2G GSM; dual – SIM (hybrid) support
Wireless: Wi – Fi 6 (802.11 ax), Bluetooth 5.2 (LDAC, aptX HD), NFC, GPS/GLONASS/Beidou/Galileo, FM radio
Ports: USB Type – C 3.2 (USB4/DisplayPort Alt Mode), 3.5 mm headphone jack

Audio & Extra Features

Audio: Hi – Res Audio (LPCM, FLAC, ALAC, DSD), LDAC, DSEE Ultimate, 360 Reality Audio, Dolby Atmos, full – stage stereo speakers, 3.5 mm jack
Sensors: Side – mounted fingerprint scanner, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Extras: Dual – SIM variants, Google Cast, OTG, stereo recording, gaming enhancer mode

Market Positioning

The Xperia 5 III targeted premium users seeking a compact 21:9 flagship with flagship performance, a versatile triple – lens camera with dual – focal – length telephoto, and top – tier audio. It was praised for its display, camera versatility, and audio features but criticized for the Snapdragon 888’s heat issues and the lack of major OS updates beyond Android 13.