Sony’s Latest Xperia 5 V Not Coming to North America

Introduced early this month, Sony’s latest high-end smartphone, the Xperia 5 V, will not be coming to North America. Instead, the Japanese company will be trying to push the Xperia 1 V as hard as possible in the United States and Canada.

In a statement for AndroidPolice, Sony confirmed that its most recent Android flagship handset won’t be available for purchase in the US and Canada: “we will not [be] carrying the Xperia 5 V in the North American market this year. We want to focus on our flagship Xperia 1 V.”

This is certainly an interesting decision, especially that no new Android flagships from major manufacturers are expected to be introduced in North America until next year.

The desire to focus on pushing the Xperia 1 V as hard as possible is understandable considering that the flagship costs no less than $1,400. On the other hand, the Xperia 5 V is priced at just €999 in Europe, so the US price might have been just below the $1,000 mark.

The Xperia 5 V is pretty powerful device thanks to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, coupled with 8GB RAM and 128/256GB internal memory. Just like many other Sony smartphones, the Xperia 5 V features a state-of-the-art 48-megapixel main camera with OIS (optical image stabilization), a 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, as well as a 12-megapixel front-facing camera.

Also, Sony’s new flagship boasts a stunning 6.1-inch OLED display with 1080 x 2520 pixels resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Finally, the Xperia 5 V is powered by a 5,000 mAh battery with 30W charging support and features microSD card slot, a rarity among flagships these days.

If you live in North America, you won’t be able to get the Xperia 5 V through official means, and there’s no guarantee that it will work flawlessly with your favorite US carrier if you decide to pick one up from Europe, Latin America, or the Middle East.