FollowThe Samsung Galaxy S4 and Sony Xperia Z were two most awaited Android smartphones of 2013. Both the beasts observed a high sales rate post release. However, Android fans must have been perplexed over their choice between the two. Sony Xperia Z was launched in late February. Its stiff competitor, the Galaxy S4 soon followed up in the second half of April. Here, we are going to peep deep inside the two giants and compare their utilities over each other.
Design
Both Samsung Galaxy S4 and Sony Xperia Z are superiorly designed. But S4 is slightly slimmer and lighter than the Xperia Z. The Xperia Z weighs 5.15 oz, whereas S4 is lighter by 0.56 oz. Xperia Z is protected by IP57 water and dust protection. The beast is water resistant up to 1 meter and half an hour. Alike other smartphones by Samsung, the S4 is also made up of plastic, whereas Sony has presented a superior glass covered body in its Xperia Z. The metal-like slim swathe in S4 makes it attractive. Overall, both the gadgets are individualistic and unique in their designs.
Display
Samsung Galaxy S4 features Super AMOLED capacitive touch screen display, 16M colors. The Xperia Z is defeated by the Galaxy S4 in terms of touch screen technology, as it possesses TFT capacitive touch screen display, 16 M colors. Both giants have the same screen size of 5 inches, display resolution of 1080*1920 pixels and a pixel density of 441 ppi. S4 is protected by the 3rd generation Corning Gorilla Glass and the Xperia Z features scratch-resistant and shatter-proof glass.
Camera
Galaxy S4 possesses a 13 MP camera and Xperia Z is featured with a 13.1 MP camera. But the camera resolution of both beasts is the same, i.e. 4128*3096 pixels. Camera specs of both include auto focus and high quality LED flash. Galaxy S4’s camera enables dual shot, touch focus, geo-tagging, smile and face detection, simultaneous High Definition image and video recording, HDR and image stabilization. Xperia Z’s camera facilitates touch focus, geo-tagging, image stabilization, face detection, sweep panorama and HDR. Galaxy S4 possesses a 2MP secondary camera of [email protected] with dual-video recording facility and the Xperia Z allots you 2.2 MP secondary camera of [email protected]
Operating System and CPU
Samsung Galaxy S4 runs on a more powerful Android OS, the Jelly Bean v4.2.2. Sony Xperia Z functions on a lower version of Android OS, the Jelly Bean, v4.1.2. Galaxy S4 is powered by 1.6 GHz Quad-Core Cortex A-15 and 1.2 GHz Quad-Core Cortex A-7, more powerful than Xperia Z’s 1.5 GHz Krait Quad Core processor.
Sensors
Galaxy S4 possesses eight different sensors, gyro, accelerometer, compass, proximity, temperature, barometer, gesture and humidity, whereas Xperia Z features four typical sensors only, gyro, compass, proximity and accelerometer.
Memory and Storage
The Samsung Galaxy S4 is available in three different models of 64, 32 and 16 GB. The Sony Xperia Z is available in a 16 GB model. Both the beasts are powered by 2 GB RAM and possess microSD card slot capacitated with a storage memory of up to 64 GB.
Java and GPS
Both Galaxy S4 and Xperia Z come with GLONASS and A-GPS support and allow Java access through Java MIDP emulator.
Colors
The Samsung Galaxy S4 is available in shades of black mist and white frost, and the Sony Xperia Z is available in three different colors of white, black and purple.
Price
The Samsung Galaxy S4 has been priced differently off and on contract by various carriers in the U.S. ranging from $199.99-$250 on contract and about $579 off contract. The Sony Xperia Z is available at an off-contract price of $769, but Amazon is recently offering the off-contract model at $100 off. Several carriers in the U.S. have priced the Xperia Z on contract at an average of £31.00 on 24 months deal, inclusive of their promotional offers and data tariffs.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 and Sony Xperia Z possess unique specs. IP57 water and dust protection in Xperia is a mere advantage, its glass encased body is highly attractive and the model supports FM radio that the Galaxy S4 does not. Xperia Z’s television-out via MHL link is compatible with a majority of HDMI MHL cables. Samsung Galaxy S4’s touch screen technology, color reproduction ability, smooth viewing angles and contrast are more powerful than Xperia Z’s display specs. It functions with gloves and is featured with smart pause, smart stay and smart scroll air gestures. The Galaxy S4 facilitates multi-window multitasking and is powered by a more recent chipset with enhanced clock speed.
Both the beasts are ready to hit your pocket. Since their unveiling events, they have been tagged the hottest smartphones of 2013 till date. If you are an Android-freak, sort out your specifications and necessities to lay hands in one of these finest smartphones this year.
