Apple iPhone SE vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Sony Xperia Z5 Compact: specs comparison

posted by Peter K. / Mar 21, 2016, 2:11 PM

Apple iPhone SE vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Sony Xperia Z5 Compact: specs comparison

There is a new iPhone on the block and it's... the 4-inch iPhone SE. Yes, Cupertino decided to update its smallest device lineup with a new handset, and boy, what a handset this is! Packing the hardware of the iPhone 6s in a body that is just as small as the iPhone 5s' one, the iPhone SE is undoubtedly the most advanced 4-inch handset we've seen to date.

But how does it stack up against the current hottest topic, the oh-so-trendy Galaxy S7? Oh, and while we are at it, why don't we include another notable Android device that is considered a munchkin, the Xperia Z5 Compact? Well, we just did that!

Here is how these fare against one another:

Apple iPhone SE vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Sony Xperia Z5 Compact

Display

Display size

4.0 inches

5.1 inches

4.6 inches

Resolution

640 x 1136 pixels

1440 x 2560 pixels

720 x 1280 pixels

Pixel density

326 ppi

576 ppi

319 ppi

Technology

IPS LCD

Super AMOLED

IPS LCD

Screen-to-body ratio

60.82 %

72.30 %

70.64 %

Peak brightness

500 cd/m2 (nit)

Camera

Rear

Single camera

Main camera

12 megapixels

23 megapixels

Hardware Features

Sapphire crystal lens cover, Autofocus, Back-illuminated sensor (BSI)

Optical image stabilization, Phase detection autofocus

Phase detection autofocus

Specifications

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

Aperture size: F1.7; Focal length: 26 mm; Sensor size: 1/2.5"; Pixel size: 1.4 μm

Sensor size: 1/2.3"

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) (240 fps)

3840x2160 (4K UHD)

Recording format

MPEG4, H.263, H.264, H.265

Features

Time-lapse video, Continuous autofocus, Picture-taking during video recording, Digital image stabilization, Video calling, Video sharing

High Dynamic Range mode (HDR), Picture-taking during video recording, Video calling, Video sharing

Object tracking, Digital image stabilization, Video calling, Video sharing

Front

1.2 megapixels

5 megapixels

Video capture

1280x720 (HD)

1920x1080 (Full HD)

Design

Dimensions

4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 inches (123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm)

5.61 x 2.74 x 0.31 inches (142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9 mm)

5.00 x 2.56 x 0.35 inches (127 x 65 x 8.9 mm)

Weight

3.99 oz (113 g)

5.36 oz (152 g)

4.87 oz (138 g)

Materials

Back: Aluminum; Frame: Glass

Back: Glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 4); Frame: Aluminum

Back: Glass; Frame: Plastic

Resistance

Water, Dust; IP 68

Biometrics

Fingerprint (touch)

Features

Touch sensitive control keys

Hardware & Performance

System chip

Apple A9 APL0898

Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996

Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 MSM8994

Processor

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

Quad-core, 2200 MHz, Kryo, 64-bit, 14 nm

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

GPU

PowerVR GT7600

Adreno 530

Adreno 430

RAM

2 GB

4 GB LPDDR4

2 GB LPDDR4

OS

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

Android (8.0 Oreo, 7.0 Nougat, 6.0 Marshmallow), Samsung TouchWiz UI

Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop)

Battery

Capacity

1624 mAh

3000 mAh

2700 mAh

Charging

Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0

Talk time

11.50 hours

Stand-by time

10.0 days (240 hours)

21.7 days (520 hours)

Talk time (3G)

14.00 hours

28.00 hours

14.80 hours

Stand-by time (3G)

21.7 days (520 hours)

Stand-by time (4G)

20.4 days (490 hours)

Internet use

3G: 12 hours; LTE: 13 hours; Wi-Fi: 13 hours

3G: 11 hours; LTE: 13 hours; Wi-Fi: 14 hours

Music playback

50.00 hours

55.00 hours

77.00 hours

Video playback

13.00 hours

16.00 hours

8.33 hours

Shopping information

MSRP price

$ 499

$ 699

Apple iPhone SE — the official images gallery

View more + 7 images

FEATURED VIDEO

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45 Comments

1. Adreno

Posts: 755; Member since: Mar 12, 2016

Galaxy S7 and Z5 Compact both destroy iPhone SE. Hands down

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 2:17 PM 17

11. Ahovking

Posts: 711; Member since: Feb 03, 2015

Until they do bench marks and speed tests showing that somehow this "mini iPhone 6s" is faster and is able to out perform the S6/7 in terms if memory. The only thing the S7 and Sony has over this iPhone are more features.. The performece difference between these phones are almost nonexistent.

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 4:45 PM 4

23. j2001m

Posts: 3061; Member since: Apr 28, 2014

Why are you up on the ram it's using and the HD, as if it's using Emmc, it will be slower, we have no idea This move may not help Apple if they make it to fast

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 7:13 PM 1

34. techperson211

Posts: 1280; Member since: Feb 27, 2014

Z5 compact will be the alternative choice, if you want a more compact phone. Price and functionality. But if you're already lock in at ios then it's up to you.

posted on Mar 22, 2016, 12:22 AM 0

35. NoToFanboys

Posts: 3231; Member since: Oct 03, 2015

I thought you said iPhones has low specs? You have amnesia or what?

posted on Mar 22, 2016, 12:27 AM 0

13. mrochester

Posts: 997; Member since: Aug 17, 2014

Hardly. Neither the S7 and Z5 runs iOS, which destroys Android.

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 4:49 PM 3

17. Adreno

Posts: 755; Member since: Mar 12, 2016

iOS destroys Android? It depends on how you look at it. Both OSes have their pros and cons.

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 5:01 PM 9

45. ColinW

Posts: 412; Member since: Jun 04, 2014

IOS is behind Android in so many ways it is just a glorified app launcher. To claim it destroys Andoid is naive and ill informed.

posted on Mar 28, 2016, 7:37 AM 0

43. uggman

Posts: 58; Member since: Feb 01, 2013

I think PA is triying hard to make the GS7 look bad, its comparing it to a mid range iphone and a mid range android, both with smaller screens and lower specs, my point is why not compare the new iphone SE with the 5S or the 6S or any other mid range android.

posted on Mar 22, 2016, 10:04 AM 0

2. GreekGeek

Posts: 1276; Member since: Mar 22, 2014

That bezels tho......

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 2:22 PM 4

25. ibend

Posts: 6747; Member since: Sep 30, 2014

with an impressive 60% screen-to-body ratio... I bet no 2016's smartphone can get lower number than that

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 7:41 PM 2

27. submar

Posts: 713; Member since: Sep 19, 2014

We'll see the iphone 7

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 8:33 PM 1

33. AlikMalix unregistered

Man I hope you're wrong. Yet Apple was lazy with the 6/6s and now this? Believe me, I think iPhone 5/5s iS a gorgeous phone for its time, and I still prefer the design to just about anything outthere. But that screen to body ratio needs to change. iPhone 7 has to have embedded FP home button or I'm afraid it won't look much different from 6/6s. As an iPhone fan - I'm actually worried.

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 11:45 PM 0

36. NoToFanboys

Posts: 3231; Member since: Oct 03, 2015

I'm fine with those bezels on a phone that size, but on a phablet, HECK NO! LOL Hopefully the iPhone 7/7 Plus have small bezels.

posted on Mar 22, 2016, 3:21 AM 0

44. submar

Posts: 713; Member since: Sep 19, 2014

You really should worry Cause iPhone is also known for the phone with biggest bezel.

posted on Mar 22, 2016, 10:04 AM 0

3. tunewar123

Posts: 17; Member since: Mar 17, 2016

I like how the image of the SE is the biggest phone on your comparison chart...

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 2:23 PM 1

4. raff0497

Posts: 3; Member since: May 28, 2015

apple is really falling behind, they have nothing left to offer lol

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 2:25 PM 7

6. S-R-K

Posts: 304; Member since: Mar 15, 2016

Apple does not care. As long thier are fanatics and fan boys along with users who have invested on there Os. They will remain and Apple will be milking them dry.

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 2:32 PM 6

28. jovy1212003

Posts: 11; Member since: Feb 27, 2016

So according to you Android guys who post negative s**t about Apple all day on Apple articles. A billion iOS users are wrong?

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 8:44 PM 2

12. Ahovking

Posts: 711; Member since: Feb 03, 2015

Kinda getting a little annoyed as these mindless posts? Try your hardest and actually think? Go on try it.. It won't hurt. This is a "product update".. They are reintroducing a 4 inch phone into their main product line up (iPhone 6s and 6s Plus) it doesn't make sence for them to throw in a new design when it will change lass than a year later in September.. Nor does it make sense showing off now features and capabilities ruining the "surprise" if you could call it that will be reviled with the new IPhone 7.

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 4:49 PM 2

5. PhoneCritic

Posts: 1354; Member since: Oct 05, 2011

Wow never knew how small the new S7 and Sony z next to the brand new 5SE Wow!! Samsung has found a way to put a 5.5 inch screen on a phone smaller then the 5SE.Now thats innovation for you. PA fix your comparison images. The 5SE is no way bigger then the S7

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 2:28 PM 5

19. Adreno

Posts: 755; Member since: Mar 12, 2016

@PhoneCritic Galaxy S7 has a 5.1" display, not 5.5". Maybe you're confusing it with the S7 Edge.

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 5:20 PM 0

7. amiaq

Posts: 509; Member since: Jun 30, 2012

Big bezel is the new bezelless!! Seriously ugly....the new ipong!

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 2:35 PM 4

8. MrElectrifyer

Posts: 3960; Member since: Oct 21, 2014

- Worse than 720p display in 2016 - Mediocre 1.2 video-chat camera in 2016 - No OIS Slowly picking up those corners being cut to reach that too-generous-to-be-apple price tag...

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 2:35 PM 12

37. gaming64

Posts: 234; Member since: Mar 22, 2016

The specs are good enough for an affordable iPhone.

posted on Mar 22, 2016, 5:22 AM 0

9. cripton805

Posts: 1485; Member since: Mar 18, 2012

Why is Apple the only company that can get away with Zero changes to a design 3x in different years? The 5c is so close it should might as well be 4 if it wasnt for the plastic.

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 3:15 PM 1

15. Ahovking

Posts: 711; Member since: Feb 03, 2015

Why would apple change its design? When in less than 7 months it will change again? 5s was a dying product.. Which is why it was left unchanged.. And why apple got no slack from it.

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 4:55 PM 0

31. jovy1212003

Posts: 11; Member since: Feb 27, 2016

Because that phone will still receive ios10. Will your phone receive the nom nom update or whatever it's called from Google? Probably not! Let's do bench test with my 6S to whatever phone u have and let's see how far behind Apple is??????

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 8:54 PM 1

41. insyt

Posts: 52; Member since: Sep 16, 2015

A phone with less features is bound to be faster. And what's the use of a fast cpu if you don't have the memory to match it. An i7 with 2gb ram paired with Windows RT? Would anyone buy that?

posted on Mar 22, 2016, 9:00 AM 0

10. TechieXP1969

Posts: 14967; Member since: Sep 25, 2013

Why woudlnt you compare this with the Xperia, the smaller model? Why would you even compare this to any Galaxy S? Teh Galaxy S is a flagship, this iPhone SE isn't, so the spec comparison is unfair. I mean a better comparison...the S5 Mini or the Galaxy J series. Not the Galaxy S, that's just pure failure.

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 4:11 PM 0

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