The dust is settling from IFA 2015 and the devices that were debuted this year. One of the most talked about devices was the Xperia Z5 Premium. Sony’s 5.5 inch Z5 will be the first smartphone in 2015 to ship with a 4K display with a resolution of 2160 x 3840. The device will almost for sure take a toll on battery life with over 800 pixels per inch, but it seems that Sony has something up its sleeve.
According to some info shared by phoneArena, the Xperia Z5 Premium does not run at full 4K resolution at all times. That means for some applications the device will automatically change its resolution from UHD (2160 x 3840) to FHD (1080 x 1920). This was found out by Tech Grapple when they ran a GFXBench on the Xperia Z5 Premium. The results of the benchmark showed that the device was only running at a FHD resolution.
At first you might have some reservations about purchasing a 4K device that doesn’t perform at that resolution at all times, but let me explain. Sony employing a system that allows the device to switch resolution depending on which app is being used will drastically improve battery life. Personally, when I am using apps such as Twitter, Facebook, Slack, etc., I don’t need to be using those applications in a massive 4K resolution. Text is already crisp enough in 1080p, so what’s the point?
Apps that already are compatible with 4K, such as YouTube or Sony’s in-house photo app, will let you push all of the pixels of the display. I am totally alright with this because that is when I will want to employ the huge 2160 x 3840 resolution. There is just no need for it when using basic applications.
To some of the consumers, this might make them think twice about purchasing the Xperia Z5 Premium. For me personally, it has me interested more than before. My huge concern about employing a 4K display on a smartphone with an average-sized 3,000 mAh battery. Now that it is known that the Xperia Z5 Premium will alternate between the power hungry UHD resolution and standard FHD resolution depending on the app, it could still have best in-class battery life. What are your thoughts? Let me know!