Sony Xperia Z5 Premium

S21

The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium's headline feature is its 4k screen - the first in any smartphone. But look beyond the headline, and you'll find one of the most glamorous phones of 2015, with killer features all round. Our heart was won over by the near-perfect design and mirror chrome finish.

pocketnow | Anton D. Nagy

The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium isn't for everyone. We wouldn't recommend getting it for the 4K screen alone, as chances are you will not see a difference between the Z5P and a similar-sized QuadHD phone. If, however, you wanted a larger Xperia, the Z5 Premium won't disappoint.

Brighthand | Dragan Petric

The Sony Z5 Premium is basically a Sony Z5 with a largely unnecessary 4k display. Since the Z5 is cheaper, we say go with that unless you're a developer or absolutely need to have the best of the best.

The Inquirer | James Archer

The Xperia Z5 Premium is only a part-time 4K device, but it still merits applause for moving Sony's smartphone range line forward where the Xperia Z5 did not. The display alone might not make the price difference a worthwhile expense, but combined with the pricier handset's longer battery life and heavier-hitting benchmark scores it gets pretty hard to suggest that you should save the cash.

TechnoBuffalo | Brandon Russell

I'm not crazy about the Z5 Premium's design, and it's certainly pricier than some of today's other big flagships. But it offers a solid overall experience, and owns bragging rights as the only smartphone with a 4K display. If that's something you value, then Sony's device is worth consideration.

NotebookCheck | Andreas Kilian

The review sample compiles a few extra points with its convenient and reliable fingerprint scanner, the dedicated camera keys and the speakers' good sound. Besides that, calls with the smartphone were static-free... Then again, the installed primary camera caused mixed feelings: Primarily the fast auto focus, the pictures mostly natural colors as well as the extensive video features are pleasing.

International Business Times | Alistair Charlton

This isn't as clear cut as I'd like it to be. The Z5 Premium, with its name and its look-at-me mirrored finish, had to be perfect. It also had to justify Sony's decision to fit that crazy UHD screen and boast about the massive pixel count, but it doesn't. While there is definitely a difference between HD and 4K - at least judging by the videos Sony provided us with - the difference is subtle.

Expert Reviews | Sasha Muller

Sony Z5 Premium is a good 4K smartphone, that now has 4K support, but does still lacks the edge over non-4K smartphones.

TechRadar | James Peckham

Sony has done it – here's the first phone to ever have a 4K display and it's unsurprisingly stunning. But in the search for a headline feature, Sony has managed to miss the mark on a few of the basics that could have made this a fantastic phone.

Recombu | Chris Barraclough

The Premium is still a solid media machine that also boasts an excellent camera and strong performance. However, you'll pay a premium price (hohoho) for this phone, and with no real advantages over the standard Xperia Z5, plus poorer battery life and more difficult handling, we'd say go with the original flagship phone instead.

What Hi-Fi? | n/a

There's no doubt this is a capable phone with plenty of things to love – its snappy performance, great sound quality and quality build to name a few – but it has big competition, and not least from its cheaper, smaller and almost equally capable little brother.

Stuff | Andrew Williams

Big, powerful and certainly 'Premium', but it's not a Samsung-killer.

Pocket-lint | Chris Hall

The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is an interesting smartphone. If you're after the Xperia experience in a larger format, if the 5.2-inch model isn't as big as you want, then the Z5 Premium might be perfect for you.

T3 | James Peckham

Sony has done something impressive here by including the first ever 4K display on a smartphone, but it wasn't exactly necessary. It may sound exciting and for those early tech adopters it'll be on the top of a lot of must have lists… but when you consider battery life it's not really good enough to justify the extra pixels.

Digital Spy | Luke Johnson

The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium pushes boundaries, but not necessarily the right ones or for the right reasons. As impressive as it is, the device has only ever been designed to be a showpiece handset.

CNET UK | Andrew Hoyle

Don't be tempted by the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium's attention-grabbing 4K screen. You can spend less money on a better all-round flagship phone.

AndroidPit | Camila Rinaldi

The Sony Xperia Z 5 Premium is a smartphone with some unique selling points, but it seems out of date in some areas.

Android Headlines | Tom Dawson

It's an excellent smartphone, with an excellent camera, great battery life and a solid all-round experience, it's just a shame that the headlining feature simply cannot be experienced at its best right now.

Trusted Reviews | Max Parker

Big, expensive and with a USP that falls flat, the Z5 Premium isn't in the running for phone of the year.

phoneArena | Paul K.

Its battery life is excellent, call quality is great, and the interface is mostly snappy and clean, not to mention that the handset is water-resistant. And the camera as a whole gets the job done if you are just a casual photographer. In fact, if Sony managed to remedy the small user experience issues that are littered throughout the interface with the promised Marshmallow update, the Xperia Z5 Premium might stand a better chance against its rivals.

Android Central | Richard Devine

While the Z5 Premium isn't a bad phone by any stretch, it simply doesn't live up to that hype or the pretty steep retail price... The 4K display is too far ahead of its time... The battery in the back of the phone probably won't cut it with more 4K more of the time... The Premium in its name feels a little shallow.

IT PRO | Alan Lu

Multiple problems doom Sony's 4K phablet to expensive gimmick status

Alphr | Alan Martin

Sony delivers on its premium promise, but a 4K screen on a smartphone is plain silly, no matter what anyone says