Sony Xperia E5 review: Nice ’n easy

Unboxing

The Sony Xperia E5 comes with a set of peripherals that match the phone's price point. The company includes a microUSB cable and a plain A/C adapter, which doesn't support fast charging.

The Xperia E5 box covers the basics

However, the box itself is quite stylish, with a much more expensive feel. Note that Sony packages phones differently based on region (there may even be differences between carriers in the same country).

Sony Xperia E5 360° spin

We broke out the ruler and the Xperia E5 checked in at 144 x 69 x 8.2mm. That's a fairly okay size for a 5" smartphone, albeit a bit on the tall side. At the very least, bezels are only going slimmer over generations of E-series smartphones.

It sounds like a fairly thick handset but that's only on paper. In hand, the Xperia E5 feels just right with a weight of 147 grams.

Design and handling

The plastic build of the Xperia E5 should come as no surprise. Sony hasn't really tried to reinvent the wheel with this one, nor did they have to. The Xperia E5 follows the design principles set by the company's flagships of old, most notably the Xperia Z5.

The sides are subtly curved, the edges nicely rounded. At the back, the Xperia E5 has a slight curve around the edges, giving it a great feel when it rests in hand.

There's no unibody design here - the Xperia E5 isn't cast into a single piece of polycarbonate. The non-removable back cover has a miniature gap all along where it meets the sides. The choice of a polycarbonate finish is solid nonetheless, as it's not prone to fingerprints and is pleasantly soft to the touch.

The Xperia E5 in the hand

What feels a little off-putting is that the glass above the display doesn't smoothly meet the polycarbonate edges. As a result, horizontal swipes feel a little odd.

Other than this, the front has sizable top and bottom bezels, considering there are no hardware controls.

Above the display sits the earpiece, a 5MP selfie camera, proximity and ambient light sensors and a status LED (invisible when off, positioned in the top left corner).

The front of the Xperia E5

Similarly to the Xperia XA, the company's entry level smartphone has its speaker and microphone behind a grille at the bottom right corner with the microUSB port in the center. The secondary, noise canceling mic is at the top next to the 3.5mm headphone jack on the left.

The speaker grille at the bottom • 3.5mm jack at the top

The only controls - volume rocker and power/lock keys - are on the right. The microSD slot and SIM card compartment are near the top on the left side, covered by a shared flap.

The card slots on the left • Controls are on the right

The back is pretty clean as the 13MP camera sits comfortably in the top left corner teamed up with a single-LED flash below it.

Below the glued up polycarbonate back lies a 2,700mAh battery.

It would've been nice if the back and sides are one piece