GSMArena.com GSMArena.com

Tip us

1.7m
126k
RSS

EV

Merch

Log in

Login

I forgot my password
Sign up
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Videos
  • Featured
  • Phone Finder
  • Deals
  • MerchNew
  • Coverage
  • Contact
ADVERTISEMENT
GSMArena team, 16 September, 2015

Changing swim lanes


Sony Xperia M5 review: Changing swim lanes

  • Comments (147)
  • Xperia M5
  • Xperia M5 Dual

6. Phonebook, telephony, messaging
  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Design and build quality
  3. 3. Display, battery life, connectivity
  4. 4. User interface
  5. 5. Performance
  6. 6. Phonebook, telephony, messaging
  7. 7. Multimedia - gallery, players, FM radio, audio quality
  8. 8. Camera: features, image and video quality
  9. 9. Web browser and other apps
  10. 10. Conclusion
  11.  
  12. Sony Xperia M5 specification
  13. Sony Xperia M5 Dual specification
  14. Review comments (147)

Sony Android

Great phonebook

The contacts app uses a tabbed interface, consisting of Contacts, Favorites and Groups. It is no longer bundled with the phone app, but you can still quickly jump to it from the dialer. The contact list has a dedicated search filed plus it offers a very nicely animated alphabetical scroll bar.

Sony Xperia M5 Sony Xperia M5 Sony Xperia M5 Sony Xperia M5
Phonebook

If you are using two SIM cards, every time you want to make a call you'll be asked to choose which SIM card to use.

Editing a contact is pretty straight-forward and the Xperia offers a wide variety of additional fields you can append to your acquaintances.

Sony Xperia M5 Sony Xperia M5
Edit contacts

Linking contacts is available, the quick contact feature is here too.

Telephony

The Sony Xperia M5 was able to hold onto signal very well. Calls remained uninterrupted and the sound quality was okay. Voices came out loud enough. Clarity was also quite good.

The dialer supports smart dialing, so you can seamlessly search for a number or a name using the corresponding keypad buttons.

The noise cancelation system is also pulling its own weight ensuring pretty good background noise suppression, as reported by the other side.

Sony Xperia M5 Sony Xperia M5
Dialer with smart dialing

The Sony Xperia M5 isn't particularly loud and scored a Below Average mark in out loudspeaker tests. The score was achieved with Sony's Clear Audio optimization turned off, as it does take away some of the loudness.

On a positive note, however, the speaker is conveniently located on the bottom frame of the phone, so accidentally covering it shouldn't be an issue.

Speakerphone testVoice, dB Pink noise/ Music, dB Ringing phone, dB Overall score
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua 60.2 57.2 64.5 Below Average
Xiaomi Mi 4 62.0 62.1 66.6 Below Average
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 62.9 61.7 67.7 Below Average
LG Nexus 5 65.0 64.8 65.8 Below Average
Sony Xperia M5 (ClearAudio) 64.9 68.3 63.6 Below Average
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua (Clear Audio) 67.5 60.7 69.0 Below Average
Sony Xperia M5 65.6 68.9 64.0 Below Average
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact 65.9 62.1 73.5 Average
Samsung Galaxy Alpha 66.6 61.7 75.7 Average
Samsung Galaxy A7 64.8 66.3 73.5 Average
HTC One (M8) 65.8 64.7 75.7 Average
Huawei Ascend Mate7 66.7 65.7 75.7 Good
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 66.1 66.0 76.0 Good
Samsung Galaxy S5 70.7 66.6 78.0 Good
LG G3 70.2 66.6 80.2 Good
Meizu MX5 75.7 73.5 79.5 Excellent


Messaging

Messaging hasn't really changed and is the same familiar Xperia experience (yeah it does sound weird), but now with a prettier Material design interface. Text messages and MMS use standard thread layout. Adding multimedia (photos, videos, sounds, etc.) will convert the message automatically into an MMS.

Sony Xperia M5 Sony Xperia M5 Sony Xperia M5
Messenger

Naturally, the Gmail client and the default Email apps are onboard. Gmail can sync only with (multiple) Google accounts, while the generic Email app can handle POP and IMAP and offers a Combined inbox.

Sony Xperia M5 Sony Xperia M5 Sony Xperia M5 Sony Xperia M5
Gmail and email

Text input

As for text input, the Xperia M5 offers a customizable full QWERTY keyboard. You can choose a different layout (keypad, QWERTY, QWERTY with extra symbols), add/remove the coma and period button, the smiley and voice input buttons and also enable things like bilingual word suggestions if you have more than one language enabled. Different keyboard skins are available too.

Sony Xperia M5 Sony Xperia M5 Sony Xperia M5 Sony Xperia M5
Xperia keyboard

You can also try the so-called Gesture input if hitting those keys individually doesn't give you the desired typing speed. It's similar to what Swype offers, and even if you've never used a Swype-like input before, you'll quickly get used to it.

Single-hand size keyboard is available too. If enabled, it squeezes the onscreen keyboard to the left or right side of the screen so it gets more comfortable for single handed text input.

Next Page » 7. Multimedia - gallery, players, FM radio, audio quality
6. Phonebook, telephony, messaging
  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Design and build quality
  3. 3. Display, battery life, connectivity
  4. 4. User interface
  5. 5. Performance
  6. 6. Phonebook, telephony, messaging
  7. 7. Multimedia - gallery, players, FM radio, audio quality
  8. 8. Camera: features, image and video quality
  9. 9. Web browser and other apps
  10. 10. Conclusion
  11.  
  12. Sony Xperia M5 specification
  13. Sony Xperia M5 Dual specification
  14. Review comments (147)

Reviews Sony Xperia M5 reviewPage 6
  • Comments (147)
  • Xperia M5
  • Xperia M5 Dual

Phone finder

  • Samsung
  • Apple
  • Huawei
  • Nokia
  • Sony
  • LG
  • HTC
  • Motorola
  • Lenovo
  • Xiaomi
  • Google
  • Honor
  • Oppo
  • Realme
  • OnePlus
  • vivo
  • Meizu
  • BlackBerry
  • Asus
  • Alcatel
  • ZTE
  • Microsoft
  • Vodafone
  • Energizer
  • Cat
  • Sharp
  • Micromax
  • Infinix
  • Ulefone
  • Tecno
  • Doogee
  • Blackview
  • Cubot
  • Oukitel
  • Itel
  • TCL

All brands Rumor mill

ADVERTISEMENT

Related articles

  • Sony Xperia 1 VI and 5 VI to offer a digital signature feature to combat fakes
  • Sony Xperia 10 V gets Android 14 update
  • Sony sees slumping revenues despite strong PS5 demand
  • Sony Xperia 1 V gets Android 14 with Video Creator, improved Bokeh mode
ADVERTISEMENT

Popular reviews

Samsung Galaxy A54 long-term review
Samsung Galaxy A54 long-term review
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE review
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE review
Poco F5 / Redmi Note 12 Turbo long-term review
Poco F5 / Redmi Note 12 Turbo long-term review

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Volkswagen introduces bidirectional charging in Europe Volkswagen introduces bidirectional charging in Europe China accuses the US of violating trade rules in electric car battery battleTesla adds Apple Podcasts in Holiday Update 2023
ADVERTISEMENT

Home News Reviews Compare Coverage Glossary FAQ RSS feed Youtube Facebook Twitter Instagram

© 2000-2023 GSMArena.com Mobile version Android app Tools Contact us Merch store Privacy Terms of use Change Ad Consent Do not sell my data