Samsung's Galaxy S5 is hot off the press, sporting a next-gen Snapdragon 801, a new 16 MP camera, and some novel features, like a heartrate sensor on the rear. The Xperia Z1 is Sony’s flagship phone for last year, which was announced just six months ago and soon will be replaced by the yet-to-be-released Xperia Z2. That's not to say the Z1 doesn't have flagship specs, though, as the handset offers a 1080p display, just like the S5, a still-fast Snapdragon 800 processor, and a whopping 20 MP camera on the back.
That's why we are staging a fight between the two, as the Z1 now comes cheaper than the S5, but will you be missing on something if you go the Xperia way? Is this S5 newcomer clearly superior over Sony's 2013 flagship? Read on to find out...
Design
The Z1 chassis is as unwieldy to use with one hand as the S5 casing, but feels more premium in the hand, and has higher waterproof certification.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 has a plastic water-resistant body with removable back cover, while the Sony Xperia Z1 has a premium chassis that’s comprised of a sturdy metallic frame with a glass front and back. Needless to say, the materials by themselves tell us clearly how these two handsets differ in their design approach. While the Galaxy S5 arguably has a more sophisticated look than ever before, with its “perforated” rear design, its plastic construction lacks the solid feel attached to the steel-and-glass Xperia Z1. The removable back cover, however, gives easy access to the swappable battery, while the chassis of the Z1 has the unit sealed inside.
Looking at their specs sheet on paper, the S5 is slightly thinner and lighter, but in reality this is hardly noticeable. Both phones seem too big for their screen size, and cumbersome to use with one hand. On another count, they both sport water-tight chassis, that lets them swim in water, but the depth certifications are in favor of the Z1. Sony's phone is tagged IP58, which means it can stay in up to 5 feet (1.5m) of water for more than an hour, while the S5 carries IP67 certification, so it can lounge in up to 3 feet (1m) of water for half an hour without damage.
Samsung is betting big on biometrics with the Galaxy S5, offering a Finger Scanner embedded in the home key underneath the display. It is a bit cumbersome to use, however, requiring you to swipe directly over the home key in one position of the finger only, so most of the time you'll need two hands to use it properly. The other new sensor – the heartrate one near the LED flash on the back – also needs some time to work, as it will read your pulse for 10 seconds and more, before it registers a score. Both are useful features if you need them, just not as quick to use as they should be.
With the Galaxy S5, Samsung introduced its best AMOLED to date, which is superior to the Z1's panel in every aspect, especially viewing angles, but still has overblown colors and cold hues in the default Standard screen mode.
The Galaxy S5 features a smidgen larger 5.1” 1080p Super AMOLED panel that’s capable of delivering 400+ nits of brightness in automatic mode under bright sunlight. The Xperia Z1 packs a 5” 1080p Triluminos display with similar pixel density, which exhibits somewhat pale and washed-out colors. The S5 panel is the best and brightest AMOLED Samsung has done to date, but color reproduction hasn't changed much – it still has blueish tone and punchy oversaturated colors, with emphasize on blue and green. The default Standard mode of the screen (which would likely be what most people will keep on their phone) shows the cold curse of AMOLED displays in full force – we measured the abominal 8000K, making the screen's white appear very blueish. The Professional mode has better color temperature, and slightly more accurate colors, but still comes with this “AMOLED feel”. If you want the closest possible sRGB representation on the S5, you have to keep the screen in Cinema Mode, which only blasts the greens out of proportion.
The S5's biggest advantage before the Z1's display, however, are the viewing angles. While Sony used an older TN-LCD technology, where brightness and contrast drop dramatically with the slightest tilt, on the S5 the colors, brightness and black levels barely budge even at the most extreme angles. Besides being brighter than the Z1's panel, the S5's screen also has lower minimum brightness of 2 nits, which helps your eyes in dark surroundings, while on the Z1 you can just see the backlight seeping through the color filters.
As a whole, Samsung S5's screen is more vivid to look at (albeit oversaturated and not accurate), with way better black levels and good viewing angles. It also offers more functions, as its supersensitive Synaptics touch layer allows you to use it with gloves, or hover your finger over the screen, previewing content without touching it.
The numbers below represent the amount of deviation in the respective property,observed when a display is viewed from a 45-degree angle as opposed to direct viewing.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set(area)of colors that a display can reproduce,with the sRGB colorspace(the highlighted triangle)serving as reference.The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x:CIE31' and 'y:CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance(balance between red,green and blue)across different levels of grey(from dark to bright).The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones,the better.
Drag the picture or use the keyboard arrows to rotate the phone. Double click or press keyboard
Space to zoom in/out.
Drag the picture in the desired orientation to rotate the phone.
Sony Xperia Z1 360-Degrees View:
Drag the picture or use the keyboard arrows to rotate the phone. Double click or press keyboard
Space to zoom in/out.
Drag the picture in the desired orientation to rotate the phone.
Interface
The Galaxy S5 TouchWiz interface is richer in functions, and more graphically intense than the simpler Xperia UI of the Z1.
Samsung has toned things down with its customized TouchWiz experience, layered on top of Android 4.4.2 KitKat, when compared to previous versions. Gone are the abundant S-branded apps, and the menu sections and icons have received a flatter, simpler look. It doesn't look very uniform this way, as the homescreens and widgets have remained the same, but it is highly functional. There are numerous new features in that version, like Private Mode and Kid Corner, aimed to make your multi-user life with the handset easier. We can also count on Samsung's Multi Window mode that divides the 5.1” display in two resizable sections that can run two apps independent of each other at once, aiding your multitasking needs.
The Xperia UI running on the Z1, on the other hand, is a simpler Android KitKat overlay, counting on a few widgets and wallpapers, as well as some branded apps, to make it stand out. It does offer a few Small Apps you can float on top of the homescreens underneath, and that's as far as multitasking goes here.
Processor and memory
The Snapdragon 801 processor in the S5 shows its might before the 800 in Z1, especially in the graphics rendering department.
Being the newer device, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is sure to attract the geeky crowd with its quad-core 2.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC with Adreno 330 GPU, paired with 2 GB of RAM. Thanks to that new piece of silicon, the S5 manages to maintain a very fast and consistent performance. Despite being outclassed on paper by its rival, the Xperia Z1’s quad-core 2.2 GHz Snapdragon 800 processor with 2 GB of RAM and the Adreno 330 GPU, exhibits the same likeable interface movements. Its GPU is clocked much lower, though, so the S5 is superior in 3D graphics and image rendering, as the benchmarks clearly show.
The two handsets are stuffed with 16 GB of internal storage, which can be supplemented thanks to their microSD card slots, and the S5 will also come in a 32 GB version. Since it’s on the side, we prefer the location of the slot in the Xperia Z1 more – mainly because we have to remove the back cover of the S5 to access its slot.
As can be expected from the fast chipsets, browsing on the Z1 and the S5 is fast, smooth, and offers fluid zooming, scrolling, or panning. Sony, however, uses Android KitKat's default Chrome browser, which doesn't let you sideload Adobe Flash, like the Samsung browser on S5.
The handsets have multiband LTE and 3G radios, depending on the area they are sold in, as well as a suite of other connectivity options, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS, NFC, and DLNA streaming. The Galaxy S5 flaunts a Download Booster mode, which combines Wi-Fi and cellular data for quicker connections. It also offers an infared port at the top, which can be used to command home electronics like TVs, stereos, set-top boxes, and even AC units of various brands.
Camera
Galaxy S5 offers a new 16 MP ISOCELL sensor with real-time HDR, but the Xperia Z1 is no slouch with its whopping 20 MP camera, and plenty of shooting modes.
The Galaxy S5 packs a new 16 MP camera that features an f/2.2 aperture lens, LED flash, 1/2.6” sensor, and one of the fastest focusing times in a smartphone camera, thanks to the new Phase Detection aitofocus system. Don’t count out Sony’s pride and joy just yet, as it flaunts an even higher-res, 20.7 MP auto-focus camera with wider f/2.0 aperture lens, and a larger, 1/2.3” sensor.
There are several overlapping modes and manual controls with the two smartphones in question, but they each have their own unique perks that stand out, too. For the Galaxy S5, it has a neat Selective Focus function that allows us to give that blurred look to the front- or the background. Sony's Xperia Z1 counters with a bunch of augmented reality shooting modes that add some fun and life to the experience. Other than those, plenty of additional shooting modes can be fired up on both cameras, including Panorama and Macro. The S5 has the upper hand here, with real-time HDR photography for both stills and video recording. Its camera app interface is also slightly easier to figure out than the cluttered options in the Xperia UI menu.
As for the pictures taken with the two most-resolute cameras on Android phones, the amount of detail captured with both cameras seems to be on par. We used the Z1 in its auto mode, which captures 8MP photos – they are not full size 20MP samples, but Sony chooses this as the default option. We agree, as it deliver samples with good amount of details, yet with less artifacts than the full-size photos. The Galaxy S5 pics come out with a tad saturated colors, but color reproduction is generally good. Noise is an issue with both handsets, but it creeps up especially badly indoors in the case of the Xperia Z1.
Samsung's phone can record 4K video at 30fps, as well as 1080p video at 60fps. The Z1 makes do with 1080p video at 30fps, which, however, is more than adequate for any purpose. Moreover, some enterprising modders have been unlocking experimental 4K video recording modes on the Z1 for a while, too. The video quality from both handsets is quite good, though it looks more appealing with the Galaxy S5, because of the overblown colors. The Xperia Z1's continuous autofocus also wanders too much, while the S5 keeps its eye on the prize at all times.
Sony's music player looks more appealing, but for video playback the session goes to Galaxy S5, as the Z1 display has washed-out colors and bad viewing angles.
The Galaxy S5 gallery, as well as the one on the Xperia Z1, offer grid thumbnail view of your photos and videos, with editing options built right into the app's interface. Samsung, however, gives the options of a split-screen navigation, with folders on the left, and their content on the right.
The music players also suggest categorization options by artists, albums or playlists, with plenty of sound modes and equalizer effects to choose from. Sony's Walkman branded music player, however, has a richer, more pleasant to look at interface.
Video playback on the large displays of the Galaxy S5 and Z1 is a very enjoyable experience, until you tilt the screen, when the Z1 starts to show washed-out colors and diminished contrast. The stock player on the S5 runs everything you throw at it, save for DivX files, while the Z1 plays those without a hitch in up to 1080p resolution.
The Galaxy S5 has two noise-canceling mics, and the call quality is nothing to write home about in terms of claity, though the sound comes out pretty strong on both side of the fence. On our side the earpiece shows good volume, but the voices sounded somewhat muffled. The microphones on the S5 relayed our voice with a slight hissing and distortion over to the other end, but the sound remained powerful, and the ambient noises were taken out of the call.
Although not really amazing, the Xperia Z1 does a good job when it comes to sound quality during calls. Loudness is just enough, while voices tend to sound clear enough to be easy to comprehend. Its earpiece, however, sounds a bit weaker and more distorted than the S5's unit.
Battery
The old TN-LCD display tech of the Z1 drains its battery juice almost twice faster than what the Galaxy S5 is able to score.
The Xperia Z1 has a 3000 mAh battery, but it musters almost twice shorter battery life than the Galaxy S5, which sports a 2800 mah unit. The culprit is its older display technology that is a power hog, and barely survives 5-6 hours of browsing and video, while the S5 goes up to 10 hours in browsing, and up to 12 in video playback. Xperia Z1 is also cited to last 15 hours of talk time in 3G mode, while the Galaxy S5 is pegged by Samsung as able to endure 21 hours of chatting.
We measure battery life by running a custom web-script,designed to replicate the power consumption of typical real-life usage.All devices that go through the test have their displays set at 200-nit brightness.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z1 offer two very distinct vessels to enjoy Android KitKat. Sony's handset is the one with the more premium, steel-and-glass waterproof design, while Samsung counters with a plastic water-resistant chassis, that lets you easily swap the battery, if needed. We aren't pointing out its Fingerprint Scanner and heart rate sensor as grand advantages over the Z1, as they are a bit cumbersome to use, and most people won't use them on a regular basis.
Even if we isolate those two extra features, the Galaxy S5 still registers as the better handset, if you don't mind the plastic build. It has a better display in most aspects, superior graphics and image processing power, thanks to the Snapdragon 801 processor, and an IR blaster. Its camera might be of lower resolution than the Z1, but is on par in terms of detail, and on top of that it offers neat options like 4K video, real-time HDR and Selective Focus, which the Z1 can't muster.
When we add to this laundry list of advantages almost twice longer battery life than the Z1, the scales will be easily tipped in the Galaxy S5's favor, if the higher price isn't an issue.
Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.
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