Sony Xperia Z is a strong phone with a lot of features that can make the difference. Samsung Galaxy S3 is now an older Samsung phone but as a best seller, it gives you a lot of reasons to buy it.
We compare the phones on 6 fields. If we missed something, just add a comment.
[bq_right]Winners:
Shape: Samsung Galaxy S3
Design: Sony Xperia Z[/bq_right]
Body
The two phones have a really different shape and design.
Sony Xperia Z is extremely thin, 7.9mm (compared to 8.6mm for S3) but Samsung Galaxy S3 is lighter (133g VS 146 for Sony Xperia Z).
Taking a look at the table with all Android phones, we can see that Sony Xperia Z is a bit heavy. That’s because it is made of glass compared to plastic body of Samsung Galaxy S3.
We love the design and the shape of Sony Xperia Z that is unique compared to other phones. It is also water resistant and that gives the phone an extra point. But in the shape war, Samsung Galaxy S3 is the winner because we like phones with less weight even if they are not so design guru
[bq_right]Winners:
Bigger screen: Sony Xperia Z
Better screen: Sony Xperia Z[/bq_right]
Screen
The two phones have almost the same screen in size. Sony’s smartphones is a bit bigger with a 5 inch screen compared to the 4.8 inch screen of Samsung Galaxy S3.
In question of quality, Sony Xperia Z has a much better screen. The Super AMOLED technology on the Samsung phone is not enough to deal with the Mobile Bravia Engine 2 of Sony Xperia Z.
Moreover the pixels per inch are much more in Sony Xperia Z. We are talking about 441 pixels per inch, compared to 306 pixels per inch for Samsung Galaxy S3.
You can see the difference, clearly.
[bq_right]Winners:
Primary camera: Sony Xperia Z
Second camera: Sony Xperia Z[/bq_right]
Cameras
Sony has a great history in the photo business and the camera on Sony Xperia Z is a fraction of that knowledge.
Sony Xperia Z has a 13.1MP camera compared to the 8MP camera of Samsung Galaxy S3.
Both phones can take HD video at 1080p @ 30fps and they both have a second camera for video chat.
Sony’s second camera is much better as it is 2.2MP compared to 1.9MP. The Sony front camera takes better quality video at 1080p compared to 720p from Samsung’s device.
[bq_right]Winner: Sony Xperia Z[/bq_right]
Speed
In the speed test, both phones have a quad core processor so as to have a winner, we have to go on the details.
The Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9 of Samsung Galaxy S3 is not as fast as the newer Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait so Sony Xperia Z is faster. It also has more RAM memory so the difference is something you can feel is special cases.
[bq_right]Winner: Sony Xperia Z[/bq_right]
Battery
We love phone with big batteries as battery is a big problem with Android smartphones.
Sony Xperia Z has a 2330mAh battery compared to 2100mAh battery of Samsung Galaxy S3.
The two batteries are almost the same and the differences are small. In the battery field you don’t only count the mAh but the stand by and talk time and the extra features.
Samsung’s battery seems to work better in 2G but not in 3G. But Sony Xperia Z gives you a lot of choices on the battery so it gets the point.
Other specs and details
Memory: Both phones have a microSD slot so you can have as memory as you want. But Samsung Galaxy S3 has more options when buying the device as you can get the 16/32 or 64GB version. Sony Xperia Z is available only on 16GB. Winner: Samsung Galaxy S3
Android version: Both phones have an older Android version. Sony Xperia Z started with Android 4.1.2 and is planned to upgrade to 4.2 Samsung Galaxy S3 started from 4.0 and is now upgradeable to 4.1.2. No question for 4.2 but in my opinion it will not upgrade. Winner: Sony Xperia Z
Options: Both phones have a lot of options, customizations and apps. We like the TouchWiz of Samsung as it is fast and gives you a lot of options. Sony Xperia Z has also a lot of options and apps. We are talking about two phones with a lot of work being done by engineers before their release on the software side. So no winners.
Final verdict
Sony Xperia Z is a newer phone as it was released on February 2013 compared to the older Samsung Galaxy S3 (May 2012). So as a new phone it has newer technology on the processor, better camera and started with a newer version of Android. Moreover it is water resistant so Samsung Galaxy S3, a big hit and a best seller is coming second. But if you find this phone in a killer price, you should grab it immediately as it is a really great device.
Total Wins
Sony Xperia Z (read the full review here)
Is thinner
Water resistant
Bigger screen
Better screen
Better primary camera
Better second camera
Faster processor + More RAM
Better battery options
Newer Android version
Samsung Galaxy S3 (read the full review here)
Is lighter
More memory versions
Lower price
Lower SAR rating
Specs rating of Sony Xperia Z
| Spec | Sony Xperia Z | Compared to: | with spec: | Score | Buy now: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 7.9 | iPhone 5 | 7.6 | 96% | |
| Weight | 146 | iPhone 5 | 112 | 70% | |
| Screen PPI | 441 | HTC One | 469 | 94% | |
| Camera MP | 13.1 | Nokia Pureview | 41 | 32% | |
| 2nd Camera | 2.2 | Sony Xperia Z | 2.2 | 100% | |
| Processor | 4 * 1.5 | Samsung S4 | 8 * 1.6 | 47% | |
| RAM MB | 2000 | HTC One | 2000 | 100% | |
| Battery mAh | 2330 | Samsung Note 2 | 3100 | 75% | |
| Android | 4.1 | Google Nexus 4 | 4.2 | 83% | |
| SAR | 0.75 | - | 0.00 | 63% | |
| Release Date | 2013-02 | Today | 2013-03 | 96% | |
| Our view | 90% | - | 100% | 90% | |
| how we rate | Total Rating | 78.8% | Get a better price for this phone |
Specs rating of Samsung Galaxy S3
| Spec | Samsung Galaxy S3 | Compared to: | with spec: | Score | Buy now: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 8.6 | iPhone 5 | 7.6 | 87% | |
| Weight | 133 | iPhone 5 | 112 | 81% | |
| Screen PPI | 306 | HTC One | 469 | 65% | |
| Camera MP | 8 | Nokia Pureview | 41 | 20% | |
| 2nd Camera | 1.9 | Sony Xperia Z | 2.2 | 86% | |
| Processor | 4 * 1.4 | Samsung S4 | 8 * 1.6 | 44% | |
| RAM MB | 1000 | HTC One | 2000 | 50% | |
| Battery mAh | 2100 | Samsung Note 2 | 3100 | 68% | |
| Android | 4.0 | Google Nexus 4 | 4.2 | 67% | |
| SAR | 0.21 | - | 0.00 | 90% | |
| Release Date | 2012-05 | Today | 2013-03 | 58% | |
| Our view | 80% | - | 100% | 80% | |
| AVP rating method | Total Rating | 66.3% |