Sony Xperia Z Vs Samsung Galaxy S4

The race to become the best smartphone of 2013 is on. Two of the top contenders are the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Sony Xperia Z. But which is better? We’ve compared screens, software, design and specs to find out. 

Sony Xperia Z

The Sony Xperia Z is the first water-resistant (IPX5/7) and dust-proof (IP5X) smartphone from Sony, featuring a 5 inch display, 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Quad Core with 2 GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a MicroSD card slot. It also packs NFC, a 13 MP rear camera and a 2MP front camera with AutoFocus.

Samsung Galaxy S4

The Samsung Galaxy S4 offers superior viewing angles and far superior contrast, and we noticed a disappointing amount of backlight bleed in the Xperia Z. 

 

Video Comparison

Don't fancy a lengthy read? We've also made a video comparison of the two phones, showing their top features close-up.

Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Sony Xperia Z - Storage

Samsung Galaxy S4 – 16/32/64GB, microSD
Sony Xperia Z – 16GB, microSD 

These phones are both storage winners, offering expandable memory. In the UK, by far the most common model of the Galaxy S4 will be the 16GB edition – and the Xperia Z only comes in 16GB form.

With a microSD card slot on-board, there’s little reason to have more. You’ll be able to get a memory card to bump up the storage to 64GB and beyond for far cheaper than you’d have to pay for a higher internal storage model. 

As already covered, the Samsung Galaxy S4 keeps its memory card slot under its battery cover. The Sony Xperia Z’s one is under a flap on the top edge of the phone. 

Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Sony Xperia Z - CPU, GPU and RAM

Samsung Galaxy S4 – Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 1.9 GHz Krait 300 1.9GHz, Adreno 320, 2GB RAM
Sony Xperia Z – Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 Krait 1.5GHz, Adreno 320, 2GB RAM

Some Samsung Galaxy S4 variants use an 8-core processor. However, we won’t see that model in the UK. 

The UK version has a quad-core 1.9GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600. This is the same family of chip used in the Sony Xperia Z. However, it is clocked a little higher in the Samsung phone – 1.9GHz instead of 1.5GHz. It’s a real game of mobile phone top trumps here, though, and the difference is not particularly dramatic. 

That said, we did notice a little bit of minor slow-down at times when using the Sony phone.

In benchmarks, the minor spec upgrade shows up too. The Samsung Galaxy S4 scores 23,600 points in the AnTuTu benchmark, against around 21,000 for the Xperia Z. Both phones use the same GPU, the Adreno 320. This is a solid graphics chip, that can handle any current mobile games.

What’s just as important as the CPU power is the amount of RAM a phone has on hand. It’s RAM that’ll stop a phone from chugging when it has a bunch of apps installed. The Galaxy S4 and Xperia Z level-peg once more with 2GB a piece - the most you'll see in any current phone.  

Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Sony Xperia Z - Software

Samsung Galaxy S4 – Android 4.2 with Touchwiz, 
Sony Xperia Z – Android 4.2 with Sony UI

Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Sony Xperia Z - Camera

Samsung Galaxy S4 – 13MP Sony sensor, LED flash, HDR mode with video, Galaxy Camera-style UI
Sony Xperia Z – 13MP Sony sensor, LED flash, HDR mode with video

The Samsung Galaxy S4 and Sony Xperia Z use exactly the same sensor, a 13.1MP jobbie from Sony. This is the sensor seen in numerous top-end phones in 2013.

Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Sony Xperia Z - Battery Life

Samsung Galaxy S4 – 2600mAh
Sony Xperia Z – 2330mAh

A super-slim phone with a massive, high pixel density screen is always going to mean questionable battery life – until phones start using different battery technology. The Samsung Galaxy S4 battery is slightly higher-capacity than the Xperia Z’s, assuming they are of the same voltage.