The Sony XPERIA Z5 Premium has been around for some time already and the guys over here have just finished their full review, which you can find here. Sony Xperia Z5 Premium review | Android Central
Of course, the main headline is that it's the world's first smartphone fitted with an eye-popping 4K display. That's 3840x2160 pixels all crammed into a 5.5-inch phone, with PPI of an absurdly high 806PPI. It's going to get a lot of attention from that one headline alone, but unfortunately, as you'll find out below and in the AC Review, it's all-hype and little substance.
First, a little thing to talk about. 4K is still a maturing technology. 4K TVs and monitors are getting cheaper and cheaper, but 4K content is still extremely limited. Furthermore, 4K is incredibly taxing on components when it comes to rendering. Remember the LG G3? When the phone first came out, the constant rendering at 1440p taxed the Snapdragon 801 quite heavily and also made battery life suffer. Also, frankly speaking, a common argument is that you can't see the difference above a certain PPI, which is usually around 330PPI.
Of course, you have to take into account viewing distance as well. I hold my phone at around 8-11 inches from my face. I compared detail with 3 phones; my personal LG G4, the regular Z5 and the Z5P. Result? At my viewing distance, in terms of detail, they all look the same. By getting closer, I can see miniscule bit of pixelation on the Z5 but none on the G4 and Z5P. So I practically put my eye to the point where it can't keep a sharp look and blurs out for a final test. Guess what? I still can't see the difference. Bear in mind that I used 4K content on all 3. The scenario where I saw a difference was when I used a magnifying glass.
Of course, that's the most common argument, but there's more to that. Remember when I said 4K is taxing on hardware? Sony knew about that and that's why the full 2160p resolution is not used until the phone loads 4K content in the Gallery. It runs at 1080p at other times. That works really well in the performance department, with the phone getting solid (but not outstanding) battery life and great overall performance. Unfortunately, it also reflects the main part of this post.
Putting a 4K display on smartphones now is too soon as the tech on a phone is too far ahead
The Z5 Premium basically offers very little from the regular Z5, and considering that the Z5 is around $560 on Amazon and that the Premium costs $100 more (some go up to over $700), the premium is just not worth it, unless you need a larger display. To me, it just looks like a "Just because we can" phone, as that 4K display is there mainly for marketing and offers almost zero real-world benefits, since it is basically a bigger XPERIA Z5, with only the display being the upgrade, which functions just like one in the normal Z5 due to hardware constraints.
Now, I'm not saying that 4K on phones offers absolutely no benefits somewhat, but at this time, it offers very little benefits and a lot of drawbacks. While I applaud Sony for making this feat possible, I think it's far too soon to be implementing 4K on phones as we have a lot of other things to improve, like battery life.
If you just want a short summary, here it is. 4K on phones is still a technology that's too far ahead to be used in the present. If you're looking for an XPERIA Z5, unless you need a larger display, go with the Z5 or Z5C instead, since they offer practically the exact same experience for much less cash.
(NOTE: Before you say "They did it for VR", note that the only app that enables the Z5P's 4K resolution is the Gallery. YouTube and other VR apps run in 1080p, meaning that the VR experience in those apps using something like Google Cardboard in the Z5P may actually be worse than a phone like the Note 5, which runs in 1440p every time.)
Of course, the main headline is that it's the world's first smartphone fitted with an eye-popping 4K display. That's 3840x2160 pixels all crammed into a 5.5-inch phone, with PPI of an absurdly high 806PPI. It's going to get a lot of attention from that one headline alone, but unfortunately, as you'll find out below and in the AC Review, it's all-hype and little substance.
First, a little thing to talk about. 4K is still a maturing technology. 4K TVs and monitors are getting cheaper and cheaper, but 4K content is still extremely limited. Furthermore, 4K is incredibly taxing on components when it comes to rendering. Remember the LG G3? When the phone first came out, the constant rendering at 1440p taxed the Snapdragon 801 quite heavily and also made battery life suffer. Also, frankly speaking, a common argument is that you can't see the difference above a certain PPI, which is usually around 330PPI.
Of course, you have to take into account viewing distance as well. I hold my phone at around 8-11 inches from my face. I compared detail with 3 phones; my personal LG G4, the regular Z5 and the Z5P. Result? At my viewing distance, in terms of detail, they all look the same. By getting closer, I can see miniscule bit of pixelation on the Z5 but none on the G4 and Z5P. So I practically put my eye to the point where it can't keep a sharp look and blurs out for a final test. Guess what? I still can't see the difference. Bear in mind that I used 4K content on all 3. The scenario where I saw a difference was when I used a magnifying glass.
Of course, that's the most common argument, but there's more to that. Remember when I said 4K is taxing on hardware? Sony knew about that and that's why the full 2160p resolution is not used until the phone loads 4K content in the Gallery. It runs at 1080p at other times. That works really well in the performance department, with the phone getting solid (but not outstanding) battery life and great overall performance. Unfortunately, it also reflects the main part of this post.
Putting a 4K display on smartphones now is too soon as the tech on a phone is too far ahead
The Z5 Premium basically offers very little from the regular Z5, and considering that the Z5 is around $560 on Amazon and that the Premium costs $100 more (some go up to over $700), the premium is just not worth it, unless you need a larger display. To me, it just looks like a "Just because we can" phone, as that 4K display is there mainly for marketing and offers almost zero real-world benefits, since it is basically a bigger XPERIA Z5, with only the display being the upgrade, which functions just like one in the normal Z5 due to hardware constraints.
Now, I'm not saying that 4K on phones offers absolutely no benefits somewhat, but at this time, it offers very little benefits and a lot of drawbacks. While I applaud Sony for making this feat possible, I think it's far too soon to be implementing 4K on phones as we have a lot of other things to improve, like battery life.
If you just want a short summary, here it is. 4K on phones is still a technology that's too far ahead to be used in the present. If you're looking for an XPERIA Z5, unless you need a larger display, go with the Z5 or Z5C instead, since they offer practically the exact same experience for much less cash.
(NOTE: Before you say "They did it for VR", note that the only app that enables the Z5P's 4K resolution is the Gallery. YouTube and other VR apps run in 1080p, meaning that the VR experience in those apps using something like Google Cardboard in the Z5P may actually be worse than a phone like the Note 5, which runs in 1440p every time.)
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