14 DAY TRIAL // Unveiled last year in mid-August along with Xperia C5 Ultra, Sony Xperia M5 was launched in several countries one month later. However, Europe was not among the regions where Sony released its mid-range Android smartphone.
The good news is the Japanese company is about to fix this issue, as Xperia M5 will be available for purchase in many European countries beginning next month.
Being one of the first retailers to offer the Xperia M5, Carphone Warehouse UK is now taking pre-orders for the mid-range handset.
For the time being, the device is only available on pay-monthly two-year contracts with prices starting from £14.99 per month and £130 up front (EE), or for £22 per month with no upfront payment at Vodafone.
Sony Xperia M5 is not available SIM-free or on PAYG (pay-as-you-go) in the UK yet, but that might change in the coming weeks.
The UK retailer claims the smartphone will go on sale on February 8, but other authorized resellers might start offering the Xperia M5 slightly earlier.
Carphone Warehouse is not the only European retailer that sells the Xperia M5. T-Mobile Netherlands and Sony Mobile Poland have both confirmed that they will start to offer the handset beginning mid-February.
A mid-range smartphone with some high-end specs
Sony Xperia M5 will be available for purchase at T-Mobile Netherlands for around €440 outright, but customers might get it cheaper on long-term contracts.
Even though the Xperia M5 is a mid-range device, it packs more than decent specs. The phone boasts a 5-inch display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution.
Hardware-wise, it comes equipped with a 2GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6795 Helio X10 processor, coupled with a PowerVR G6200 graphics processing unit and 3GB of RAM.
On the back, the phone features a 21.2-megapixel shutter with phase detection autofocus, LED flash, and 4K video recording, whereas, on the front, there's a secondary 13-megapixel camera for selfies.
Sony Xperia M5 is powered by a non-removable 2,600 mAh battery and includes 16GB of storage that can be expanded up to 200GB via microSD card slot.