The Sony Xperia M5 is equipped with an IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels and the in-house Triluminos and Bravia tech to enhance colors and contrast by clever processing.
The Sony Xperia M5's IPS LCD has an RGB matrix and, although it doesn't look all that impressive on paper, our test revealed that it is a pretty decent panel, albeit not particularly bright. Viewing angles are superb, with almost no washout and only a slight loss of brightness.
The maximum display brightness is quite good (520nits), but interestingly, it's only achievable in manual brightness mode. The Auto mode can only deliver a brightness of up to 470nits or so. The achieved contrast ratio of 839:1 is not bad at all, but is far from stellar - probably hurt to an extent by the fairly bright blacks.
Display test
50% brightness
100% brightness
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Sony Xperia M5
0.08
110
1392
0.63
527
839
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
0.17
176
1012
0.74
828
1115
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
-
-
-
0.77
725
942
Samsung Galaxy S5
0.00
274
∞
0.00
529
∞
Samsung Galaxy Alpha
0.00
228
∞
0.00
456
∞
LG G3
0.14
109
763
0.72
570
789
Huawei Ascend Mate7
0.11
149
1428
0.37
530
1428
Samsung Galaxy A7
0.00
175
∞
0.00
349
∞
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
0.17
162
953
0.492
467.00
953
Meizu MX5
0.00
117
∞
0
346.00
∞
HTC One (M8)
0.20
245
1219
0.46
577
1256
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML
0.13
107
796
0.44
390
879
LG Nexus 5
0.31
298
948
0.54
526
967
Xiaomi Mi 4
0.17
164
940
0.73
679
929
Sunlight legibility is about average and it undoubtedly suffers from the lower contrast at full brightness. Still, it is slightly better than the M4 Aqua, but during our test, we did find it to be difficult to read outside.
Sunlight contrast ratio
Nokia 808 PureView 4.698
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ 4.615
Samsung Galaxy E7 4.485
Samsung Galaxy A3 4.241
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge 4.124
Samsung Galaxy S6 4.124
Samsung Galaxy Note5 4.09
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 4.033
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 3.997
Apple iPhone 5 3.997
Samsung Galaxy A5 3.895
Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor 3.879
Samsung Galaxy A8 3.859
Apple iPhone 6 3.838
Motorola Moto X (2014) 3.816
Samsung Galaxy Note Edge 3.799
Vivo X5Pro 3.706
Samsung Galaxy A7 3.679
Oppo R5 3.678
Samsung Galaxy K zoom 3.675
Nokia Lumia 930 3.567
Apple iPhone 5s 3.565
Samsung Galaxy S5 3.549
Nokia Lumia 735 3.547
Motorola Nexus 6 3.543
Alcatel Idol X+ 3.527
Apple iPhone 5c 3.512
Samsung Galaxy Alpha 3.509
Oppo R7 Plus 3.499
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 3.487
vivo X5Max 3.472
LG G Flex2 3.465
YotaPhone 2 3.453
Samsung Galaxy J7 3.422
Motorola RAZR MAXX 3.42
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 3.419
Meizu MX5 3.416
Samsung Galaxy S5 Active 3.406
Nokia Lumia 925 3.402
Gionee Elife S5.5 3.386
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 3.352
Oppo R7 3.32
Samsung Omnia W 3.301
Samsung Galaxy S5 mini 3.174
Samsung I9000 Galaxy S 3.155
Samsung Ativ S 3.129
Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini 3.127
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 3.118
Nokia N9 3.069
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL 3.065
Apple iPhone 6 Plus 3.023
Samsung Galaxy Note 2.97
Samsung Galaxy Premier 2.958
Sony Xperia Z1 2.95
HTC One S 2.901
Lenovo S90 Sisley 2.892
Samsung I8730 Galaxy Express 2.861
BlackBerry Q10 2.856
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II 2.832
Sony Xperia Z3+ 2.824
HTC Desire Eye 2.815
Gionee Elife S5.1 2.812
Samsung Galaxy S II Plus 2.801
BlackBerry Z30 2.79
Meizu MX4 Pro 2.765
Sony Xperia M5 2.69
Sony Xperia ZR 2.672
Huawei Ascend P1 2.655
Xiaomi Mi 4i 2.641
Sony Xperia Z3 2.618
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact 2.616
Sony Xperia T3 2.609
BlackBerry Passport 2.595
Microsoft Lumia 640 2.563
Nokia Lumia 900 2.562
Motorola Moto G 4G 2.546
HTC One Max 2.537
Nokia Lumia 720 2.512
HTC One 2.504
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua 2.503
Motorola Moto G 2.477
vivo Xshot 2.465
Sony Xperia Z 2.462
Xiaomi Mi 4 2.424
Samsung Galaxy S III mini 2.422
Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro 2.416
LG G Flex 2.407
Huawei Honor 7 2.406
HTC Desire 820 2.372
HTC One (M8) 2.371
Motorola RAZR i 2.366
Meizu MX4 2.366
Meizu m1 note 2.362
Sony Xperia ZL 2.352
HTC One M9 2.334
LG G4 2.317
Samsung Galaxy Note II 2.307
HTC One E9+ 2.305
HTC One (M8) for Windows 2.291
Oppo R1x 2.281
Oppo Find 7a 2.279
Alcatel One Touch Hero 2.272
Apple iPhone 4S 2.269
HTC Desire 600 dual sim 2.262
Nokia Asha 311 2.25
Sony Xperia C4 Dual 2.235
Xiaomi Mi Note 2.234
Motorola Moto G (2014) 2.233
LG Nexus 5 2.228
Huawei P8 2.196
Nokia Lumia 820 2.193
HTC One (E8) 2.185
Oppo N3 2.181
Nokia Lumia 920 2.17
Huawei Honor 6 2.169
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 2.166
OnePlus Two 2.165
HTC One X 2.158
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 2.149
LG Aka 2.145
Nokia N8 2.144
Nokia Lumia 620 2.142
Nokia 515 2.134
Archos 50 Diamond 2.134
HTC Desire 500 2.129
Sony Xperia C3 Dual 2.12
Sony Xperia acro S 2.119
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2.119
Nokia Lumia 1020 2.103
Oppo Find 5 2.088
Sony Xperia SL 2.078
Huawei P8lite 2.078
Nokia Lumia 630 2.056
BlackBerry Z10 2.051
Moto G 3rd gen max manual 2.026
Huawei Ascend Mate7 2.024
Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active 2.022
Apple iPhone 4 2.016
HTC One mini 2.003
Xiaomi Mi 3 2.001
Huawei Ascend P7 1.992
LG G2 1.976
Sony Xperia E4g 1.972
OnePlus One 1.961
Oppo R819 1.957
Sony Ericsson Xperia ray 1.955
Lenovo Vibe X2 1.952
Sony Xperia Z2 1.944
Sony Xperia E3 1.943
Nokia Lumia 1320 1.941
HTC One mini 2 1.94
Samsung Galaxy Camera 1.938
Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime 1.935
Sony Xperia J 1.932
Acer CloudMobile S500 1.931
ZTE Blade S6 1.927
LG Nexus 4 1.926
LG G Pro 2 1.922
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 1.913
Nokia Asha 308 1.911
HTC Butterfly 2 1.905
Sony Xperia T 1.894
Meizu m2 note 1.892
BlackBerry Leap 1.892
Nokia Lumia 830 1.887
HTC Desire X 1.878
HTC Butterfly 1.873
HTC Windows Phone 8X 1.873
HTC Butterfly S 1.867
Huawei Ascend P6 1.865
Huawei Ascend Mate 1.845
LG G2 mini 1.838
LG G3 1.82
Nokia Lumia 1520 1.813
HTC Desire 616 dual sim 1.797
Sony Xperia V 1.792
HTC Desire 816 1.783
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 1.772
HTC Desire 700 dual sim 1.769
ZTE Nubia Z9 mini 1.759
Sony Xperia U 1.758
Meizu MX3 1.754
LG Optimus G 1.753
Sony Xperia T2 Ultra 1.74
Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact 1.735
Acer Liquid Jade S 1.734
Sony Xperia SP 1.733
LG Optimus 4X HD 1.691
Oppo Find 7 1.691
HTC One V 1.685
BlackBerry Q5 1.682
LG Optimus Vu 1.68
Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen) 1.675
Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9 1.672
LG Optimus GJ 1.666
ZTE Nubia Z9 1.659
LG Optimus 3D Max 1.658
HTC Desire V 1.646
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 1.632
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 1.622
Microsoft Lumia 532 1.615
Jolla Jolla 1.605
Microsoft Lumia 435 1.598
Sony Xperia Z Ultra 1.578
Sony Xperia go 1.577
Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 I8160 1.566
Samsung Galaxy Core 1.563
LG Optimus G Pro 1.552
Motorola Moto E 1.545
LG Optimus 3D 1.542
Nokia Asha 302 1.537
Samsung Galaxy Core Prime 1.507
BlackBerry Curve 9320 1.488
Sony Xperia M 1.473
Oppo N1 1.47
Sony Xperia E4 1.467
Meizu MX 4-core 1.462
Nokia Lumia 610 1.432
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 1.4
Sony Xperia M2 1.393
Microsoft Lumia 535 1.393
Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo 1.393
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 1.38
Sony Xperia E1 1.372
Nokia Lumia 625 1.371
Gigabyte GSmart G1355 1.361
Sony Xperia L 1.351
Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 1.35
Xiaomi Redmi 1S 1.35
HTC Desire 510 1.34
Sony Xperia M2 Aqua 1.331
Sony Xperia miro 1.324
Samsung I9082 Galaxy Grand 1.321
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 1.315
Xiaomi Redmi 2 1.311
HTC Desire C 1.3
Nokia X 1.291
Sony Xperia C 1.283
Nokia Asha 503 1.281
Nokia Asha 501 1.27
LG Optimus L7 1.269
Nokia Lumia 510 1.268
Samsung Galaxy Fame 1.245
LG Optimus L9 1.227
Meizu MX 1.221
Samsung Galaxy Young 1.22
Sony Xperia E 1.215
Nokia XL 1.204
Sony Xperia E dual 1.203
Asus Memo Pad 7 ME176C 1.198
Samsung Galaxy Pocket 1.18
Nokia Asha 305 1.178
Nokia Asha 306 1.175
Sony Xperia neo L 1.169
Sony Xperia tipo 1.166
Nokia Lumia 520 1.161
Samsung S6802 Galaxy Ace Duos 1.148
Samsung Galaxy mini 2 1.114
Color rendering without image enhancements is fairly accurate (Avg deltaE 5.8 for the primary colors plus black and white), with the reds being the worse (deltaE 11.6). Color accuracy of course takes a hit as soon as you turn on any of the image enhancements.
The Mobile BRAVIA mode is not that bad at all, but as expected, the Vivid mode produces quite unrealistic colors and contrast.
As usual, display colors are a matter of personal taste and perception so if you don't need calibrated color output, you will probably be quite happy with the default settings of the Xperia M5 display.
You can fine tune the display color rendering to an extent as it gives you fine grain sliders for adjusting the Red, Green and Blue channel, but the UI is far from user friendly and unlikely to produce any serious results without a reference point sitting side by side with the display. Even worse, as soon as you start fiddling with those sliders, the maximum brightness goes down to about what you get in Auto Brightness mode.
Sony Xperia M5 battery life
Sony has a 2,600mAh battery inside the Xperia M5, which is some 200mAh more than the M4 Aqua, but the extra capacity may not be enough for the more powerful Helio X10 chip and the higher res screen. That said, a comparison would definitely be interesting between the M5 and the Snapdragon 615-powered M4 Aqua.
The battery pack itself is not user-removable, which is where the industry has been heading for some time now. At least, the M5 has a better reason than most for keeping a tight seal on the back.
We ran our battery test but the test results we got seem way out of check, so we promise to retest the battery once we get a retail review unit.
Connectivity
The Sony Xperia M5 comes in single and dual SIM flavors. Both the M5 and the M5 Dual offer quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE/HSDPA support, with the small exception of the single-SIM E5606 model, which supports five bands. LTE is enabled and Sony has multiple regional models to make sure the Xperia M5 will work with the most widespread 4G networks.
Local connectivity features dual-band Wi-Fi b/g/n and Wi-Fi Direct. There is also support for Bluetooth 4.1 with A2DP. Satellite navigation is also a given, with additional A-GPS and GLONASS support. The Xperia M5 also has an FM radio with RDS. It doesn't offer an IR port, but it does come with NFC.
There is a microUSB 2.0 port for charging and data connections and now, thanks to special coating, it is no longer covered by a flap. Media transfer mode is supported for accessing the phone's built-in memory and microSD card over the USB cable. USB host functionality is present, but requires a little more work than simply plugging in a device. There is a special menu under Xperia Connectivity in the setting that allows you to discover a plugged USB device.
The microUSB port doesn't have any wired TV-out, but if you own a compatible HDTV, you can output your phone's screen wirelessly via the Miracast protocol or Sony's Xperia Connectivity Throw option.
The app also lets you share your media over DLNA by creating a media server, as well as connect to a PlayStation DUALSHOCK 3 (or 4) wireless controller.
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