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Apple iPhone 6s vs Samsung Galaxy S6 vs Sony Xperia Z5: specs comparison

posted by Peter K. / Sep 09, 2015, 3:15 PM

Apple iPhone 6s vs Samsung Galaxy S6 vs Sony Xperia Z5: specs comparison

It's that time of the year when the major players on the market have already unveiled their flagships and major top-end devices for the year. Apple just unveiled its 2015 rendition of its iPhone, the iPhone 6s, whereas Samsung has been selling its flagship smartphone for half an year now.Additionally, just a couple of days ago at IFA 2015, Sony showed us its Xperia Z5 forerunner. A rather well-rounded trio indeed.

Unlike the Galaxy S6, which comes with brand new design, the iPhone 6s and the Xperia Z5 come with mostly under-the-hood and feature improvements, while they are still styled after their direct predecessors. Actually, the iPhone 6s brings about one of the more major mid-cycle specs upgrades Apple has ever committed to. The majority of new specs that are on board have been on fans' wishlists for a long time now, and finally Apple succumbed.

Meanwhile, we have two pretty potent offerings in the face of the Galaxy S6 and the Xperia Z5. The first one is certainly a step in the right direction for Samsung, while the Xperia Z5 seems like an able-bodied trooper that might have hindered the Snapdragon 810's overheating issues.

In case you've been wondering, here's how the top-end trio fares specs-wise.

Apple iPhone 6s vs Samsung Galaxy S6 vs Sony Xperia Z5

Display

Display size

4.7 inches

5.1 inches

5.2 inches

Resolution

750 x 1334 pixels

1440 x 2560 pixels

1080 x 1920 pixels

Pixel density

326 ppi

577 ppi

424 ppi

Technology

IPS LCD

Super AMOLED

IPS LCD

Screen-to-body ratio

65.71 %

70.48 %

71.00 %

Colors

16 777 216

Peak brightness

500 cd/m2 (nit)

Camera

Rear

Yes

Main camera

12 megapixels

16 megapixels

23 megapixels

Hardware Features

Sapphire crystal lens cover, Phase detection autofocus, Back-illuminated sensor (BSI)

Optical image stabilization, Autofocus, Back-illuminated sensor (BSI)

Phase detection autofocus

Specifications

Aperture size: F2.2; Focal length: 29 mm; Sensor size: 1/3"; Pixel size: 1.22 μm

Aperture size: F1.9; Focal length: 28 mm; Sensor size: 1/2.6"; Pixel size: 1.12 μm

Focal length: 24 mm; Sensor size: 1/2.3"

Flash

Dual LED

LED

Software Features

HDR, Panorama, Face detection, Burst mode, Exposure compensation, Touch to focus, Self-timer, Geo tagging

Manual focus, HDR, Panorama, Face detection, Smile detection, Voice activation, Burst mode, Scenes, Effects, Exposure compensation, ISO control, White balance presets, Touch to focus, Self-timer, Digital zoom, Geo tagging

Digital image stabilization, Touch to focus, Smile detection, Face detection, Self-timer, Digital zoom, Geo tagging, Exposure compensation, ISO control, White balance presets, HDR, Panorama, Scenes, Effects

Video recording

3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (120 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (240 fps)

3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (120 fps)

3840x2160 (4K UHD)

Recording format

MPEG4, H.264

Features

Time-lapse video, Continuous autofocus, Digital image stabilization, Video calling, Video sharing

Optical image stabilization, High Dynamic Range mode (HDR), Continuous autofocus, Picture-taking during video recording, Video light, Video calling

Continuous autofocus, Video calling

Front

5 megapixels

Video capture

2560x1440 (QHD) (30 fps)

1920x1080 (Full HD)

Design

Dimensions

5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 inches (138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm)

5.65 x 2.78 x 0.27 inches (143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8 mm)

5.75 x 2.83 x 0.29 inches (146 x 72 x 7.3 mm)

Weight

5.04 oz (143 g)

4.87 oz (138 g)

5.43 oz (154 g)

Materials

Back: Aluminum

Back: Glass; Frame: Aluminum

Back: Glass; Frame: Metal

Resistance

Water, Dust

IP certified

IP 68

Biometrics

Fingerprint (touch)

Features

Touch sensitive control keys

Hardware & Performance

System chip

Apple A9 APL0898

Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 7420

Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 MSM8994

Processor

Dual-core, 1840 MHz, Twister, 64-bit

Octa-core, 2100 MHz, ARM Cortex-A57 and ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit, 14 nm

Octa-core, 2000 MHz, ARM Cortex-A57 and ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit

GPU

PowerVR GT7600

Mali-T760 MP8

Adreno 430

RAM

2 GB LPDDR4

3 GB LPDDR4

Storage expansion

Slot Type

microSDXC, microSDHC, microSD

OS

iOS (12.x, 11.x, 10.x, 9.x)

Android (7.0 Nougat, 6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop, 5.0 Lollipop), Samsung TouchWiz UI

Android (7.1 Nougat, 7.0 Nougat, 6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop)

Battery

Capacity

1715 mAh

2550 mAh

2900 mAh

Talk time

13.16 hours

Stand-by time

10.0 days (240 hours)

21.7 days (520 hours)

Talk time (3G)

14.00 hours

23.00 hours

17.00 hours

Stand-by time (3G)

22.5 days (540 hours)

Stand-by time (4G)

20.8 days (500 hours)

Internet use

3G

10 hours

LTE

10 hours

12 hours

Wi-Fi

11 hours

12 hours

Music playback

50.00 hours

57.00 hours

87.00 hours

Video playback

11.00 hours

13.00 hours

8.70 hours

Cellular

LTE (FDD)

Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29

Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 17, 20

Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20, 28

LTE (TDD)

Bands 38, 39, 40, 41

Bands 38, 40

UMTS

850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz

850, 1900, 2100 MHz

850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz

GSM

850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz

CDMA

800, 1700/2100, 1900 MHz

Data

LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSPA, HSUPA

LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSPA, HSUPA, UMTS

LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS

Connectivity

Mobile Payment

Apple Pay

Samsung Pay

Multimedia

Screen mirroring

DLNA, Wireless screen share

DLNA, Wireless screen share, MHL, MirrorLink

Shopping information

MSRP price

$ 849

The iPhone 6s Plus

View more + 6 images

The iPhone 6s Plus

Options

23 Comments

1. Omarc07

Posts: 574; Member since: Nov 12, 2012

Xperia Z5 premium for me!

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 3:19 PM 8

6. TSMan2

Posts: 363; Member since: Aug 20, 2015

SD 810? IP 68 is great, though.

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 3:45 PM 1

10. Xperia14

Posts: 1205; Member since: Sep 01, 2015

Yes, it comes with the SD810. And it does a great job judging from the hands-on video's how blazingly fast the Z5 is.

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 4:06 PM 2

13. engineer-1701d unregistered

for real 326ppi the gear s2 is 302ppi wow thats gotta be hard to look at ? well i like the way the software is going but now they need a better phone design and more open platform,

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 4:42 PM 0

2. pixelated

Posts: 108; Member since: May 03, 2015

Apple still doesn't know how slim down the bezels!!!

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 3:28 PM 4

3. SuperAndroid507

Posts: 361; Member since: Jan 06, 2014

Xperia Z5 all the way, but still worried about the 810 though.

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 3:30 PM 5

4. xdza1979

Posts: 296; Member since: Aug 08, 2015

Galaxy S6 is the phone to beat.

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 3:34 PM 5

14. engineer-1701d unregistered

i would say the galaxy s7 is to beat its only gonna get better for us phone tech buyers, as long as apple stops law suits its a battle on who can bring the next best thing each time.

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 4:43 PM 0

5. BLUEBLASTER

Posts: 913; Member since: Feb 23, 2014

How much Ram then?

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 3:42 PM 0

7. combatmedic870

Posts: 982; Member since: Sep 02, 2015

Kinda of Unless if you don't know the specs...

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 3:51 PM 1

8. pixelated

S6 & Z5 both have taken huge leap. But this iSheep's candy is just......

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 3:58 PM 7

9. Shocky unregistered

Specs comparison with half the specs missing..

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 4:05 PM 3

11. darkkjedii

Posts: 30833; Member since: Feb 05, 2011

I need a ram confirmation please PhoneArena. I also need a confirmation on split view slide over, and picture-in-picture please.

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 4:16 PM 0

16. FluffyBled unregistered

I think if there was an additional GB of RAM apple would have included it in the "show"!

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 5:14 PM 2

12. Xperia14

The f**k. the 16gb iPhone 6s costs €850 while the Xperia Z5 costs €700...

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 4:23 PM 3

15. emperius

Posts: 17; Member since: Dec 19, 2014

No comparison, really. Very disparaged.

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 5:08 PM 0

17. yonith

Posts: 222; Member since: Sep 11, 2012

Meh I'd still take the Galaxy S6. Funny thing is that the S7 really isn't that far away...

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 6:51 PM 0

18. bugsbunny00

Posts: 2260; Member since: Jun 07, 2013

i would rather get iphone 6s and wait till the s7 arrives .

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 9:16 PM 0

19. thariq

Posts: 32; Member since: Jan 11, 2014

Funny thing is 2014 Not user Yes. No. Yes replaceable 2015 Not user Replaceable Yes. Yes. Yes

posted on Sep 09, 2015, 10:29 PM 0

20. knoxred

Posts: 29; Member since: Aug 23, 2015

The Z5 Premium will be generating a lot of buzz

posted on Sep 12, 2015, 5:54 AM 0

21. SundovChildress

Posts: 71; Member since: Sep 20, 2015

Easily transfer contacts, photos, and messages from Android smartphones to new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus http://www.facebook.com/KSOFT.CC/videos/729395580499090/

posted on Oct 12, 2015, 3:33 AM 0

22. PepperShawn

Posts: 4; Member since: Oct 21, 2015

Easily transfer contacts, photos and SMS messages from Android smartphones to Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge facebook.com/KSOFT.CC/videos/725893154182666/