Sony has begun selling the Xperia Z5 Premium in the United States several weeks after the phone first launched in Asia and Europe. The world's very first smartphone with a 4K screen is now available through Amazon and Expansys.
Sony is selling the Z5 Premium with model number E6853. This is the international version, which means the device is compatible with all GSM carriers, including AT&T and T-Mobile, as well as smaller carriers such as Red Pocket, Simple Mobile, MetroPCS, StraightTalk and Cricket. However, Verizon and Sprint subscribers are out of luck, since the international version does not support CDMA networks. It also means, unfortunately, that the phone will not ship with a U.S. warranty.
On Amazon, the single-SIM variant ships in three colors: chrome, black and gold. Strangely enough, the variants have slightly different prices. As of press time the chrome variant is the cheapest you can get for $733.00, followed by the gold variant, which is available for $743.00. The black variant is the most expensive at $749.00. The dual-SIM version, however, is just a bit more expensive at $787.64. It's only available in chrome, though.
Meanwhile, at Expansys, the black Z5 Premium single-SIM version runs at $779.99, while the dual-SIM version, available only in chrome, can be had for $789.99.
As the world's first 4K smartphone, the Xperia Z5 Premium is currently the crown jewel adoring Sony's head. It made its debut back in September at the IFA in Berlin and took its own sweet time making its way to store shelves in various countries. Earlier this month, Sony finally made the smartphone available in most of Europe, prompting speculation that a U.S. release was not far behind.
The Z5 Premium touts a 5.5-inch display with an Ultra HD resolution of 2,160 x 3,840 pixels. However, 4K is only actually available for viewing media, while the regular display renders a more down-to-earth Full HD resolution when using apps, playing games or browsing the web. It's perhaps a practical decision for Sony. After all, those pixels will have to be powered by a 3,450 mAh battery. It's not bad by any means. The battery is actually one of the biggest in the smartphone industry, but we're still talking millions of pixels here.
Under the hood, the phone runs on a quad-core Snapdragon 810 processor from Qualcomm, paired with 3 GB of RAM. Storage is at 32 GB, with a microSD slot for expansion up to 200 GB. The camera is an impressive 23-megapixel camera with phase detection and LED flash, and knowing Sony and its experience with cameras, you're bound to be impressed by the Z5 Premium's camera.
The Z5 Premium also features a fingerprint scanner, support for Qualcomm's Quick Charge 2.0 and Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, though an update to Marshmallow is in the pipeline.
