Sony Xperia C5 Ultra Review

Performance and Benchmarks

With an octa-core processor running at 1.7GHz, the C5 Ultra is able to deliver great performance. And thanks to its 2GB RAM, multi-tasking is also promising. Switching apps shows little to no lag, depending on your running applications. Common apps like Facebook, Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Docs runs smoothly. But thing are not perfect. Perhaps due to the MediaTek SoC inside, some of the applications incompatibility cause them to lag or even crash from time to time. An update might be able to fix this soon.

Of course, we did test the device’s performance using benchmarking tools available. Scores are impressive and can match other flagships from last year.

Antutu v5 –42336
Geekbench 3 –774 (Single-core), 4182 (Multi-core)
Nenamark 2 –61.2fps
PC Mark – 4163
Quadrant Standard – 4520
Vellamo – 3286 (Chrome),1969 (Multicore), 1349 (Metal)

In terms of gaming, the new Need for Speed: No Limits runs smoothly on the device. That is due to the fact that a Mali-T760 MP2 gives power. The said GPU also supports OpenGL 3.1 for high-end gaming.

Call Quality and Connectivity

While the large display and selfie features are the device’s primary assets, let’s not forget that it is still a mobile phone that makes calls. We have to admit, using a large communicator attracts attention when in public, but you’ll get used to it since the call quality on the device is superb. The earpiece is loud and clear paired with noise-cancelling microphones for better voice capture even in noisy environments.

Equipped with an LTE radio, the device can take advantage of your network’s speed, if available in your area. We were able to get up to 33Mbps download around Tagaytay using a prepaid LTE SIM card from Globe and up to 6Mbps in the same area using a different server.

Other connectivity features like GPS work fine with instant lock-on when in the open, and the Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n supports 5GHz band for uninterrupted connection especially when in your office. Also, the NFC works like a charm.

Battery Life

Packed with a 2,930mAh Li-ion battery, one can expect a decent endurance from the device. Using PC Mark battery test, it scored 7 hours and 6 minutes. And with our own battery test of looping a 1080p video at 50% brightness, airplane mode and zero volume, we were able to get 5 hours and 36 minutes. Not shabby for binge watching a TV series on the go, but for something this big, we expected more.

Conclusion

With its big display, great selfie camera and wide connectivity suite, the Xperia C5 Ultra is one of the decent phablets in the market today. Although, its price tag of Php 17,990 is not that attractive. If Sony could just lower its prices, especially when they now use MediaTek processors, maybe they can sell more smartphones.

Sony Xperia C5 Ultra specifications:

6-inch IPS LCD (1080 x 1920 pixels), 367ppi
1.7GHz MediaTek MT6752 octa-core processor
Mali-T760 MP2 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage, up to 200GB via microSD
13-megapixel rear camera w/ LED flash, 1080p@30fps
13-megapixel front camera w/ LED flash, 1080p@30fps
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.1 w/ A2DP
GPS w/ A-GPS, GLONASS
FM radio w/ RDS
HSPA / LTE
2,930mAh Li-ion battery
Android 5.0 Lollipop
164.2 x 79.6 x 8.2mm
187g

What we liked about it:

• Great front-facing camera
• Thin screen bezels
• Sturdy build

What we didn’t:

• Battery life could be better
• Mono speaker
• Stiff shutter button