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Sony Xperia Z3+ vs Samsung Galaxy S6 vs LG G4: specs comparison

posted by Luis D.

May 26, 2015, 10:03 AM

Sony Xperia Z3+ vs Samsung Galaxy S6 vs LG G4: specs comparison

This morning, Sony announced its new flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z3+. Known in Japan as the Xperia Z4, the device represents an incremental improvement over its predecessor that seems to be more of a stopgap measure than a true technological disruptor. This doesn't mean that the Z3+ doesn't pack some serious power under its shiny metal and glass hood.

Sony remained faithful to Qualcomm and went on to power the device with the 64-bit Snapdragon 810 SoC which features an octa-core CPU and the Adreno 430 GPU. There are 3GB of RAM inside, and on the back panel, you'll find a 20.7MP snapper. Additionally, a smaller battery unit allowed Sony to cut the thickness of the phone to a svelte 6.9mm down from 7.3mm.

Here's how all of this undoubtedly premium goodness compares to the latest flagships in the Android starfleet, the Samsung Galaxy S6 & the LG G4.

Sony Xperia Z3+ vs Samsung Galaxy S6 vs LG G4

Display

Size

5.2 inches

5.1 inches

5.5 inches

Technology

IPS LCD

Super AMOLED

IPS LCD

Screen-to-body

70.88 %

70.48 %

72.46 %

Peak brightness

500 cd/m2 (nit)

Features

Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware & Performance

System chip

Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 MSM8994

Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 7420

Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 MSM8992

Processor

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

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

Hexa-core, 1800 MHz, ARM Cortex-A57 and ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit, 20 nm

GPU

Adreno 430

Mali-T760 MP8

Adreno 418

RAM

3GB LPDDR4

3GB LPDDR3

Internal storage

32GB

128GB, not expandable

32GB

OS

Android (7.1 Nougat, 7.0 Nougat, 6.0 Marshmallow, 5.0 Lollipop)

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

Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop), LG UX UI

Battery

Capacity

2930 mAh

2550 mAh

3000 mAh

Charging

Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0

Fast charging

Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0

Talk time

17.00 hours

18.50 hours

Stand-by time

24.6 days (590 hours)

Talk time (3G)

23.00 hours

Internet use

3G: 10 hours; LTE: 12 hours; Wi-Fi: 12 hours

Music playback

91.00 hours

57.00 hours

Video playback

9.70 hours

13.00 hours

Camera

Rear

Single camera

Main camera

20.7 MP

16 MP

Features

Autofocus, CMOS image sensor

OIS, Autofocus, BSI sensor

OIS, Laser autofocus

Specifications

Aperture size: F2.0; Focal length: 25 mm; Sensor size: 1/2.3"; Pixel size: 1.12 μm

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

Aperture size: F1.8; Focal length: 28 mm; Sensor size: 1/2.6"; Pixel size: 1.12 μm

Video recording

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

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

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

Recording format

MPEG4, H.264

Features

HDR, Continuous autofocus, Picture-taking during video recording, EIS, Video calling

OIS, HDR, Continuous autofocus, Picture-taking during video recording, Video light, Video calling

OIS, Continuous autofocus, Picture-taking during video recording, Video light, Video calling, Video sharing

Front

5 MP

8 MP

Video capture

1920x1080 (Full HD)

2560x1440 (QHD) (30 fps)

1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)

Design

Dimensions

5.76 x 2.83 x 0.27 inches (146.3 x 71.9 x 6.9 mm)

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

5.86 x 3.00 x 0.39 inches (148.9 x 76.1 x 9.8 mm)

Weight

5.08 oz (144 g)

4.87 oz (138 g)

5.47 oz (155 g)

Materials

Back: Glass; Frame: Metal

Back: Glass; Frame: Aluminum

Back: Plastic

Resistance

Water, Dust; IP 68

Biometrics

Fingerprint (touch)

Features

Notification light, Touch sensitive control keys

Notification light, Interchangeable covers

Sony Xperia Z3+

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32 Comments

57. Arkendu

Posts: 1; Member since: Feb 14, 2016

I DID some research and I found....Samsung s6 better... Samsung :If you want deep blacks, vibrant colors, and great battery life, AMOLED is the panel you’ll probably be most happy with. LG and Sony: .If you want bright whites, daylight readability, and sharp text and images, IPS is likely a betterfit. BUT WHICH MATTER MOST IS THERE PROCESSOR. Samsung s6 with its exynos Mali-T760 MP8 is better and has higher frequency tHan Sony z3 snapDragon 810 and also SD810 Has heating problem. bcoz of its aluminium back in samsung its helps in not lettting the phone gets too hot. I didnt compare there battery backup and want to know r there battery removable or not and does samsung s6 has external card slot for storage expansion ir not???

posted on Feb 14, 2016, 11:42 PM 0

48. Edward_bly

Posts: 278; Member since: Dec 11, 2013

LG, why did you make such a thick phone?! Sony managed to fit a battery similar in size in their phones!

posted on May 26, 2015, 10:08 PM 0

50. hasapi

Posts: 8; Member since: May 05, 2015

I have a G3 and this is one of my complaint of the G4 - its thicker, should have been thinner than the G3 - they put a 808 in and still couldnt make it thinner?. I like the new Sony - I dont know why people want more - I think they should follow Apple and make each specification better. Im tempted by this phone or even the Huawei P8, im just used to a 5.5" screen - so I dont have to upgrade till later in the year.

posted on May 27, 2015, 2:14 AM 1

51. g2a5b0e unregistered

What does the SoC they used have to do with how thick the phone is? You literally just showed how little you know about tech with that comment.

posted on May 27, 2015, 5:49 AM 0

44. oister85 unregistered

Phonearena what about the ir blaster feature?

posted on May 26, 2015, 6:40 PM 0

43. romeo1

Posts: 825; Member since: Jan 06, 2012

If the price is around the €700 it will be way to expensive. But man i got to say it looks really really good. Samsung did a great job improving their looks but imo nowhere near sony

posted on May 26, 2015, 5:51 PM 1

38. avishekmukherjee

Posts: 362; Member since: Apr 09, 2015

when Sony's real flagship coming?? waiting for it and i love Samsung and Lg too :-)

posted on May 26, 2015, 1:09 PM 0

36. aReefer

Posts: 54; Member since: Mar 21, 2015

I like the Sony's. They have good quality hardware and engineering. Their only failure is software, and since they have Android, that isn't an issue for their phones. I also upgrade my phones very rarely, so a rugged 'life-proof' phone is also important to me. I see frequent phone updates as a bad investment, so I'd want it to last. "Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten" as someone once said. Also, frankly, I don't trust the software in Chinese phones. Too many security issues - and some of them intentional.

posted on May 26, 2015, 12:06 PM 2

20. Feanor

Posts: 1448; Member since: Jun 20, 2012

Despite the fact that the Z3+ is such a conservative release, it still holds well against the S6 and the competition; the S6 wins in screen and camera, but not by a big margin, whereas the Z3+ wins most likely in battery life, waterproofing, digital noise cancellation. I also prefer the cleaner, uncluttered, close to stock Android interface. No need for Sony to call it quits just as yet.

posted on May 26, 2015, 11:11 AM 6

29. dimas

Posts: 3461; Member since: Jul 22, 2014

If Z3+ camera quality is good or on par with G4 then samsung just gave away their trump card for picturecentric people. Especially that none expandable storage, asked Samsung booths and they said no 128gb model will be available for our country so sd cards are real life savers for 4k recorders.

posted on May 26, 2015, 11:27 AM 2

19. dimas

Posts: 3461; Member since: Jul 22, 2014

Based on my country's after tax pricing from authorized dealers: Z3+: around $835 S6 32gb: $1000 G4: $785 (plus 32gb sd card on pre launching) Damn samsung, you're making it easy for people to cross you out.

posted on May 26, 2015, 11:07 AM 3

22. Feanor

Posts: 1448; Member since: Jun 20, 2012

Haha, and people say that Sony's problem is high pricing. Which is really not true anymore. That was in the 80's. :-))

posted on May 26, 2015, 11:12 AM 0

13. iBoss

Posts: 12; Member since: Nov 10, 2012

Sony is the best!

posted on May 26, 2015, 10:37 AM 9

14. JAPANESEPATRIOT

Posts: 65; Member since: May 26, 2015

Absolutely.

posted on May 26, 2015, 10:39 AM 3

55. Tricell1991

Posts: 75; Member since: Mar 25, 2015

That's not true. It's correct about approximate on Specifications but about the price and same Specifications. Do you think can sony sales this phone out ??

posted on May 27, 2015, 9:26 AM 0

12. waddup121 unregistered

The battery life gonna be good with this.

posted on May 26, 2015, 10:20 AM 2

8. mokhtar

Posts: 405; Member since: Jan 06, 2014

Z3+ for me... Better looking .. Better battery life .. Water and dust proof .. 2 front speakers , adreno 430 + snp810 ..noise concelling ..:)

posted on May 26, 2015, 10:14 AM 12

11. gaming64 unregistered

ENtirely subjective but I agree with you. Totally gonna get the Z3+ if I have the money.

posted on May 26, 2015, 10:17 AM 1

31. BaffledTruffle

Posts: 523; Member since: Dec 07, 2013

Sony smartphones are quite expensive here. I might go for the G4 instead (if they priced it like last year's G3).

posted on May 26, 2015, 11:34 AM 0

54. j2001m

Posts: 3061; Member since: Apr 28, 2014

Hm, what makes you think it's going to have the best battery, sd810 as done very bad in battery and it's had a downgrade,

posted on May 27, 2015, 9:08 AM 0

5. gaming64 unregistered

I wuld put aside Quad HD dispay for battery life. My eyes wont even know the diff. between Quad HD and HD but I guess it would depend upon other people.

posted on May 26, 2015, 10:12 AM 5

24. singhkaran9830 unregistered

Different came with me,I can very easily differentiate between a QHD and HD screen.

posted on May 26, 2015, 11:17 AM 6

27. Ordinary

Posts: 2454; Member since: Apr 23, 2015

Me too but again battery is much more important for me

posted on May 26, 2015, 11:26 AM 1

49. iushnt

Posts: 3182; Member since: Feb 06, 2013

But still the video playback timing is shown more on s6 despite of QHD compared to z3+

posted on May 27, 2015, 1:51 AM 0

53. j2001m

Posts: 3061; Member since: Apr 28, 2014

The battery power as nothing to do with the screen when it comes to Samsung as they use oled, the higher the res the less battery it will use

posted on May 27, 2015, 9:06 AM 0

32. dimas

Posts: 3461; Member since: Jul 22, 2014

Quad HD displays seem to become overly saturated when I look at them. I've seen S5, S6, and G3, and I don't like how the colors are getting burned by the pixel density. iPhone 6+ display is still the best screen quality for me.

posted on May 26, 2015, 11:35 AM 2

37. fyahking

Posts: 1146; Member since: Jan 28, 2015

Yeah, for you the iPhone 6+ has the best screen, but the whole world knows Samsung s6 and note 4 screen is king.

posted on May 26, 2015, 12:17 PM 5

56. Trex95

Posts: 2384; Member since: Mar 03, 2013

King of colors shifting, yellowish white (S6 and S6 edge), Pinikish white (Note 4).

posted on May 27, 2015, 5:48 PM 1

3. jellmoo

Posts: 2687; Member since: Oct 31, 2011

This is coming from somebody who has been hyper critical of Samsung: Samsung's product is so much better than what the competition is putting out that it's embarrassing.