Sony Xperia 5 II goes official with 120 Hz OLED display and other tweaks that will appeal compact flagship fans

Sony is really starting to hit the mark with its Android handsets and the Xperia 5 II will certainly catch the eye of Android fans, particularly those looking for a full-featured but more compact handset. It centers on a new 6.1-inch 21:9 FHD+ HDR OLED display but with a 120 Hz refresh rate -- a feature absent from the 4K OLED panel found on its larger Xperia 1 II stablemate which compensates with a blur reduction mode. It also packs in the same meaty 4,000 mAh battery found on the Xperia 1 II, which should also help to keep potential buyers happy as it is an area that Sony has taken flak for in the past.

Like the Xperia 1 II, the Xperia 5 II is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 although it features a new optimized governor that aims to utilize more cores simultaneously while drawing less power. This is mated to 8 GB of RAM and matched with either 128 GB or 256 GB storage expandable with microSD cards up to 1 TB. As the official sponsor of the Call of Duty: Mobile World Championship Tournament 2020, the Xperia 5 II is expected to be the first smartphone enabled to support COD Mobile at 120 fps among a number of gaming features built into the device.

The rear camera array on the Xperia 5 II looks reminiscent of the Xperia 1 II and is in every way except for the omission of a 3D ToF sensor. Otherwise, it incorporates the same triple 12 MP Sony camera sensor combination of 16 mm wide, 24 mm ultra-wide and 70 mm telephoto Zeiss optics lenses. These are coated with Zeiss T* coating for reduced reflections for improved contrast and image rendering. It also offers video recording in 4K HDR at up to 120 fps but also accommodates 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps and 60 fps modes making it a versatile tool for content creators.

Audio fans are also well catered for with the inclusion of a 3.5 mm headphone jack. But fans of high-resolution wireless audio also continue to be well looked after too with support for aptX HD and LDAC formats. The Xperia 5 II also supports Dolby Atmos and Sony’s proprietary 360 Reality Audio format -- buyers of the device can also enjoy 3-months free of Tidal’s Hi-Fi tier to get the most out of the Xperia 5 IIs capabilities. The Xperia 5 II will go on sale in December with pricing to be announced.