Sony Xperia 5 V vs Xperia 1 V: What’s the difference and which should you buy?

The latest Sony Xperia 5 series always arrives a bit after the launch of its bigger brother, the Sony Xperia 1. With the Xperia 1 V launching back in May 2023, we knew it was only a matter of time before the Xperia 5 V followed. Now that it’s here we want to take a closer look at how the phone favors against its larger relative in this Sony Xperia 1 V vs Xperia 5 V comparison.

It’s not uncommon for compact phones to feature subpar specs compared to their larger counterparts. Thankfully, Sony always runs against this trend. The Xperia 5 V has almost all the same core specs as its bigger and older brother, but there are at least a few minor differences.

Let’s start with the biggest and most obvious difference: the display. While the Xperia 1 V packs a big and beautiful 6.5-inch 4K OLED, the Xperia 5 V display is a more modest 6.1-inch FHD+ screen. Both Android phones have the same 120Hz refresh rate.

Aside from the display, you won’t find a lot else different other than a small change to the camera configuration which we’ll circle back to shortly.

Although both phones have nearly identical designs, it’s easy to tell them apart from their size alone. While there are certainly larger phones out there, the Sony Xperia 1 V is pretty big when compared to its younger sibling. We’re talking dimensions of 165 x 71 x 8.3mm on the Xperia 1 V versus 154 x 68 x 8.6mm on the Xperia 5 V.

Sony’s latest compact flagship is a little chunkier than the 1 V but that’s because it is packing a lot of specs and a big battery into a much smaller frame. On the flip side, the Sony Xperia 5 V is lighter at 183g versus 187g.

The only other remaining aesthetic difference (other than the camera, which we’re getting to) is the colors offered. The Sony Xperia 1 V is available in Black, Khaki Green, and Platinum Silver. In contrast, the smaller Xperia flagship offers options of Black, Blue, and Platinum Silver.

While it wasn’t quite able to keep up with the top camera phones like the Google Pixel 7, Apple iPhone 14, and Samsung Galaxy S23, the Sony Xperia 1 V came pretty close in our review. Its photos had punchy colors and decent contrast. The exposure wasn’t bad, though a bit reserved. It also saw a major jump in quality from the 1 V’s predecessor, the Xperia 1 IV.

Of course, it wasn’t perfect either. Low-light photography could be hit-and-miss, as focusing in darker environments proved to be a challenge. Though some images looked quite good, others were pretty noisy. The Sony Xperia 1 V also has color accuracy issues with its ultrawide camera, and zoom quality that isn’t as good as you’d expect from its variable zoom camera.

Overall, it’s a solid camera and takes excellent photos most of the time, just be aware it isn’t without a few quirks. So why dive so deeply into the Sony Xperia 1 V camera? Because the Sony Xperia 5 V camera experience will be almost identical.

Sony’s latest phone has the same 52MP Exmor T main camera (1/1.35-inch, OIS) with a 48MP resolution. The 12MP ultrawide camera also makes its return. One thing that’s missing is that telephoto shooter. Sony ditched the telephoto lens this time around in favor of a 2X zoom option on the main camera. While this is a disappointing change, it likely helped save space in the design.

On the front, you’ll find a 12MP 1/2.9-inch selfie camera which is also lifted from the Sony Xperia 1 V.

We often see much smaller batteries in compact phones over their larger variants. This isn’t the case here, as the Sony Xperia 5 V battery is the same 5,000mAh monster packed into the Sony Xperia 1 V.

This is pretty awesome when you consider the Xperia 5 V has a smaller, low-resolution display, so it likely draws less power to begin with. We don’t have any firm numbers yet on performance, but based on the 1 5 V’s performance you should expect at least as good of battery life as the Xperia 1 V — and likely a little better. That means you can expect at least a full day’s life, and likely can press into day two with more moderate use.

You can also expect the same (not-so?) fast charging as the Xperia 1 V, which took around one hour and 34 minutes to charge up from empty as we noted in our review. That’s not exactly fast compared to phones from Samsung and the like, but the good news is it can hit 50% in just 29 minutes, which should be enough to get you through the rest of the day with light use.

The Sony Xperia 1 V is already on sale right now in several countries, including the United States. Unfortunately, you can’t get your hands on the Xperia 5 V just yet.

Sony has yet to reveal an actual release date though we imagine it won’t be too far off into the future and we’ll be sure to update this post as we learn more. When it does launch you can expect it to arrive in the US, UK, Europe, and parts of Asia.

Sony Xperia 1 V vs Xperia 5 V: Which should you buy?

The Sony Xperia 1 V and Sony Xperia 5 V both offer the same core specs and experience. The only major differences are the display and body size, the lack of a telephoto lens in the latter, and a few different color choices. That makes the decision pretty easy as it comes down to your personal preferences.

If you’re like me, you want a big phone and don’t mind the extra heft. Those who want something a bit lighter will be relieved to know they make almost zero comprises over the Sony Xperia 1 V. Don’t have a size preference? Honestly, we’d pick the Sony Xperia 5 V. You’ll lose the telephoto lens but you’ll also save a few hundred bucks.