An Overview on Comparing The Sony Xperia Z2 And The Samsung Galaxy S5

The latest bunch of flagships released by Samsung and Sony are concerned with presenting users with evolution and not revolution.  While you do get an improvement in specifications and a software upgrade, design language is simply refined.

Sony has made great strides in the smartphone market these past few years with their Xperia line.  Meanwhile, Samsung has been sticking to a tried and true policy while incorporating several new and interesting elements to keep users interested and capture their imagination.

In this review, we take a look at the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Sony Xperia Z2 to see how they compare to one another.

Design

• For both the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Sony Xperia Z2, not much has changed aesthetic-wise. Both phones sport many of the design elements of their predecessors and are of good build quality.
• If you liked the designs and handling of either of these phones predecessors, you will be quite happy. Which one is better will eventually depend on your personal tastes.

Samsung Galaxy S5

• The Samsung Galaxy S5 measures 142 x 72.5 x 8.1mm. It weighs 145 grams.
• Samsung has moved on from their previous use of glossy plastic to a soft touch finish for the Samsung Galaxy S5.
• The Samsung Galaxy S5 still has slightly rounded corners and an overall flat profile. It still keeps its home button in front, flanked with two capacitive keys.
• The Samsung Galaxy S5 does change its menu key to a recent apps capacitive key.
• Also, the S5 has added an integrated fingerprint scanner to its home button.
• The Samsung Galaxy S5 is the first device from the Galaxy S line to be IP67 certified as water resistant. Because of this, a plastic flap is no incorporated to protect the microUSB port.  Also, the back cover is more securely fastened.  Both the plastic flap and the back cover are meant to help the phone’s water-resistance.

Sony Xperia Z2

• The Sony Xperia Z2 measures 146.8 x 73.3 x 8.2 mm. It weighs 163 grams.
• The Sony Xperia Z2 looks classy and elegant with its aluminium frame and tempered glass front and back.
• The Sony Xperia Z2 keeps the angular design that was begun with its predecessors the Xperia Z and Xperia Z1.
• The Xperia Z2 maintains the Xperia button layout of having a big silver power button atop a volume rocker on the side.
• The dedicated camera button remains placed a little bellow the power and volume rocker buttons. This is actually a pretty good feature as it makes it easy to snap a photo from the landscape position.
• The Xperia Z2 is dust and water resistant, a feature inherent to the Xperia line since the Xperia Z. To aid this, the Xperia Z2 has protective covers for its microUSB port and its SIM and microSD slots.

Comparison

• The Sony Xperia Z2 is larger than the Samsung Galaxy S5. This is to be expected as the Xperia Z2’s display is around 0.1 inches bigger than that of the Galaxy S5.
• Another factor which results in the Xperia Z2 being a little larger than the Galaxy S5 is the fact that the bezels of the Xperia Z2 are still relatively prominent on the display top and bottom.
• Because of the size difference, the Xperia Z2 is a bit more difficult to use one-handed.
• The Sony Xperia Z2 is also a bit heavier than the Samsung Galaxy S5.

Display

• Both the Sony Xperia Z2 and the Samsung Galaxy S5 offer a slight increase in display size from their predecessors. The S5 increased the Galaxy line’s screen size by 0.1 inch.  The Xperia Z2 increased the Xperia line’s screen size by 0.2-inch.
• Both are good displays of great quality.

Samsung Galaxy S5

• The Samsung Galaxy S5 has a 5.1-inch screen. The display has a resolution of 1080p for a pixel density of 432 ppi.
• The S5 display is a continuation of Samsung’s line of high-quality displays. The images are crisp with good color vibrancy as well a great contrast and brightness.
• The S5’s display really works well with the devices colourful and bright TouchWiz UI.
• The Samsung Galaxy S5 display gives great viewing angles. You can view it at steep angles with no clarity loss.

Sony Xperia Z2

• The Sony Xperia Z2 has a 5.2-inch screen. The display has a 1080p display for a pixel density of 424 ppi.
• Previously, the Xperia Z1 display had some issues which Sony has fixed in the Xperia Z2.
• Through the Xperia Z2, Sony has introduced Live Color LED technology with Trilumos and an X-Reality engine.  This results in extra colors in the LED matrix for a display with an even wider color range.
• Colors which were previously a bit washed out are now very vivid.
• The upgrade in technology has also resulted in an improvement in the viewing angles.
• The Xperia Z2 display technology upgrade has resulted in a massive improvement in the viewing experience on Sony devices.
• Samsung’s faith in Super AMOLED technology has not been misplaced in the Galaxy S5’s display.

Comparison

• The size difference is minimal.
• In the end, both displays offer a great experience.

Performance

• Both devices offer performances that are to be expected from flagship devices.
• The Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Sony Xperia Z2 pack some of the best processing packages that are currently available.

Samsung Galaxy S5

• The Samsung Galaxy S5 has a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 which clocks at 2.5 GHz supported by the Adreno 330 GPU with 2GB of RAM.

Sony Xperia Z2

• The Sony Xperia Z2 has a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 which clocks at 2.3 GHz supported by the Adreno 330 GPUwith 3 GB of RAM.

Comparison

• Though both devices processing packages are similar, there is a slight difference in the performance speed of their UIs.
• The Sony Xperia Z2 uses the minimalist Xperia UI which is fast because it’s simple.
• The Samsung Galaxy S5 uses TouchWiz UI which can stutter and lag. However, with the Galaxy S5 having an optimized OS, this problem is almost eliminated.
• Both of these smartphones provides smooth and snappy performances and comfortable handling.

Hardware

• Samsung has packed the Samsung Galaxy S5 full with a microSD card slot, an IR blaster, NFC support, a finger print scanner and a heart rate monitor.
• The Sony Xperia Z2 has similar hardware to the Samsung Galaxy S5: microSD slot and NFC Support. But it does not have a fingerprint scanner or a hear rate monitor.
• Both the Galaxy S5 and the Xperia Z2 offer expandable storage with support for 128 GB microSD cards.
• While both phones offer a full range of connectivity options, the Xperia Z2 will probably only be made available in the US from T-Mobile.
• Sony has introduced front-facing speakers with the Xperia Z2. While sound quality is not that great, it’s a lot better than the rear speaker on the Galaxy S5.
• The Xperia Z2 has a 3,200 mAh battery which is bigger than the Galaxy S5’s 2,800 mAh battery. However, both batteries have around the same battery life.
• Both phones have great power saving modes which allow you to get more than one full day of use in a single change.
• The Galaxy S5 does have an edge over the Xperia Z2 as, it allows you to remove the battery and replace it with a spare.
• Both the Galaxy S5 and the Xperia Z2 have some dust and water resistance.
• The Xperia Z2 has an IP58 rating. This means it has limited dust protection with no harmful deposits.  This also means the Xperia Z2 can be submerged in water with a depth of more than 1 meter without affecting performance or functionality.
• The Galaxy S5 has an IP67 rating. This means it gets complete protection from dust.  The Galaxy S5 can be submerged in water with a depth of 1 meter for up to 30 minutes without affecting performance or functionality.

Camera

• Samsung brought in some new technology for the rear camera of the Galaxy S5.
• Sony used basically the same camera in the Xperia Z2 that it did in the Xperia Z2, with a few enhancements and a better app.

Samsung Galaxy S5

• Has new technology in the 16 MP ISOCELL sensor. The technology can isolate every pixel from its neighbour for photos of higher quality.
• Camera app remains packed with features, including two very practical ones known as Live HDR and Selective Focus.
• Selective Focus is a bit buggy but fun.
• Photo quality of the Galaxy S5 is good. Details retain their sharpness and color reproduction is good.
• Under low-light conditions photos can be a bit grainy.

Sony Xperia Z2

• The Xperia Z2 still uses the 20.7 MP camera that was found in the Xperia Z1.
• Some new features have been added to the camera app such as Timeshift video, 4K video, an augmented reality app, selective focus and superior auto.
• Picture quality has improved. The Xperia Z2 has eliminated the smudginess and dark areas that were found in the Xperia Z1.
• Can be grainy but color capture is good.
• There are no options that can really use the camera at the 20.7 MP capacity. Best photos are taken at the 8 MP modes.

Comparison

• Both the Galaxy S5 and the Xperia Z2 offer some of the best cameras of the latest flagships available.
• Both offer great shots and allow you to increase your photography skills by playing with the camera settings.

Software

Samsung Galaxy S5

• Samsung added a lot of new elements to the TouchWiz UI that they decided to use in the Samsung Galaxy S5.
• The toggles at the notification drop and the settings menu are now circular, which makes using them easier.
• Has a lot of software features, such as the previously available Multiwindow and gesture commands, but they have also added others such as Toolbox, Download Booster and the S Health app which works with the Heart Rate Monitor.
• They’ve added a My Magazine feature which is a second screen that is basically an aggregator for news and social media. However, this seems redundant as Flipboard is also still installed and actually works better.

Sony Xperia Z2

• Sony retains it’s simple and elegant design interface of the Xperia UI in the Xperia Z2.
• Only noticeable software additions to the Sony Xperia Z2 are the Walkman app, Small Apps, and Gallery Album app.
• The Xperia UI gives Xperia Z2 users a motif that is similar to a stock Android experience without sacrificing the expected Sony style.

Price

• The Samsung Galaxy G5 is currently available under two year contracts from all major carriers for $199.
• The Sony Xperia Z2 has yet to become available in the US. However, going by what was previously experienced with other Xperia models, it will most likely be soon available with T-Mobile.

Both the Sony Xperia Z2 and the Samsung Galaxy S5 are great smartphones and the decision as to which smartphone you should get boils down to how you like to use smartphones.

If you choose the Galaxy S5, you are going to get the TouchWiz UI which is feature-filled and functional, but not very elegant.

If you choose the Xperia Z2, you are going to get the minimalist Xperia UI with Sony’s particular style and features.

What do you think? Which would you chose?

JR

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