Unveiled alongside its big Xperia 1 III brother more than a year ago, the 6.1-inch Xperia 5 III inexplicably kept prospective buyers in the US waiting until early 2022. That’s not a typo, mind you, as Sony really needed nine whole months to bring a Snapdragon 888 handset stateside (with European availability kicking off a little earlier), which unsurprisingly nipped all chances this high-ender had at mainstream success in the bud.
Of course, it didn’t help that the phone debuted at an arguably excessive price of $998 months after Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Plus, for instance, dropped as low as $750 for Black Friday, but if you’re still interested… for some reason, the unlocked Xperia 5 III is now cheaper than ever before.
At $200 under its original list price and $100 less than what Amazon seems to “normally” charge nowadays, it’s still hard to call this bad boy truly affordable. After all, the undeniably more powerful Galaxy S22+ is currently sold by the same e-commerce giant at the exact same price, not to mention how much cheaper you can find the best mid-range affordable flagship phones out there.
For what it’s worth, however, the Xperia 5 III is a decidedly… unique device, sporting an extra-tall screen with a highly unusual (outside of Sony‘s portfolio) 21:9 aspect ratio and a symmetrical set of top and bottom bezels likely to evoke a warm sense of nostalgia for some people who might not be comfortable with this new age of holes and cutouts.
If that’s not enough to justify a purchase at this unprecedented discount, a variable telephoto lens joining a primary 12MP shooter and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera on the back of the third-gen Sony Xperia 5 may help seal the deal along with a hefty 4,500mAh battery supporting 30W charging speeds, a good old fashioned headphone jack, and a good old fashioned microSD card slot.
If you’re familiar with Sony’s phones, you probably know not to expect flawless 5G support across the nation, but if you only care about 4G LTE connectivity, this unlocked device should work without a hitch on T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T.
Alternatively, of course, you can wait for the Xperia 5 IV to be unveiled next week (maybe) and hit US stores… at some point over the coming year.
