Like almost every single ultra-high-end smartphone released by Sony in the last few years, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered Xperia 5 IV came out a little late and a little overpriced a couple of months back.
Also taking a page from the playbooks of many of its forerunners, the extra-tall yet reasonably compact 6.1-incher included a very nice gift during its pre-order period in the US (and other regions), although for some prospective buyers, that probably didn’t make the handset’s $999.99 list price sting any less.
But now the unlocked Sony Xperia 5 IV is significantly more affordable than usual by itself, and even if it’s still arguably unable to compete directly against the best budget phones (with high-end specs) out there, its appeal is vastly improved… for a certain audience.
We’re talking about an audience that appreciates “classics” like a 3.5mm headphone jack and microSD card slot, as well as the versatility of a triple 12 + 12 + 12MP rear-facing camera system, the gorgeousness of a 16:9 OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate support, and the “generosity” of a 5,000mAh battery capable of charging wirelessly (at last).
If all of that makes your heart flutter, you’ll undoubtedly grow even more excited at seeing the likes of Amazon and Best Buy selling this bad boy for a cool 200 bucks under its aforementioned regular price with no special requirements or strings attached.
There are no freebies included now, of course, but even if the deal is not explicitly marketed as a Black Friday thing by any of those two major retailers, heftier discounts are unlikely to be coming anytime soon. We’re almost certainly talking no (further) movement on the Xperia 5 IV deal front before Christmas, so hardcore Sony fans looking to save a buck or two hundred should definitely pull the trigger now… if they can live with a slightly slower processor than what other new Android flagships offer today, as well as the occasional overheating issue, a somewhat laggy side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and no charger in the box.
