Sony Xperia Z2 vs. Apple iPhone 5S: Which Smartphone is a Better Bang for Your Buck?

Apple, despite being the first in the smartphone market, is facing stiff competition from numerous Android phone manufacturers, Sony being one of them. Apple's latest flagship offering, the iPhone 5S is falling behind competition like Sony's newest offering the Xperia Z2.

At first glance, the Xperia Z2 is bigger than the iPhone 5S, with a 5.2-inches 1920 x 1080p full HD resolution screen compared to the iPhone's 4.0-inches screen with a lower 1136 x 640 resolution. No question, the display of the Xperia Z2 is sharper and less grainy. The iPhone's display is not bad since the smaller screen helps keep images clearer.

The iPhone 5S sports a 64-bit A7 chip with a dual-core 1.3GHz processor and a 1GB DDR RAM. The Xperia Z2 on the other hand has a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core 2.3GHz Krait 400 processor and a 3GB RAM. Sony's offering is more powerful than the iPhone 5S but graphics wise, the two phones stand on even ground.

The iPhone has a PowerVR6430 quad-core graphics chip while the Xperia Z2 has an Adreno 330 graphics processor. While the Xperia is indeed more powerful, the iPhone 5S is still a fast phone in its own respect, not experiencing drastic or noticeable slow-downs when running its apps.

The iPhone 5S comes in three variants, the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB versions with no external microSD support. The Xperia on the other hand only has 16GB of internal storage space but is complemented by microSD card support of up to 128GB. Potentially, the Xperia Z2 has a bigger storage capacity but will cost a little extra.
The Z2 also has a more powerful camera with a 20-megapixel snapper compared to the iPhone's 8-megapixel camera.

The iPhone 5S 64GB variant sells for around $750 while the Xperia Z2 goes for around $650. It isn't surprising that the iPhone is $100 more expensive than the Xperia Z2 despite having lower specs and restricted internal storage options since Apple prices their products in the premium range.

Taking value for money into account, the Sony Xperia Z2 reigns over the iPhone 5S with faster specs, more storage potential and a more powerful camera.

Sony Xperia Z2 vs. HTC One M8 – Comparison of Specifications and Features

The smartphones from Sony and HTC have shown quite an improvement during the past few years.

The HTC One has already received accolades from the masses with respect to its features and specifications. Nevertheless, the Sony Xperia Z1 also experienced a similar fate. The next generation smartphones from Sony and HTC promise to offer much better phones for the masses. The recently launched Sony Xperia Z2 and the HTC One M8 is the next generation pair of smartphones that would give each other a tough competition in the mobile market.

Design

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. The Sony Xperia Z2 and the HTC One M8 poses a fine example of beautiful design of the next generation premium smartphones. Both the Xperia Z2 and the One M8 have made use of aluminium instead of plastic. However, the Xperia Z2 has complemented itself with resilient glass back panel. Both the smartphones are peculiar in one feature or the other. Yet, one cannot deny the fact that Sony Xperia Z2 and the HTC One M8 are state of the art trendy models in the current smartphone industry.

The Xperia Z2 may attract fingerprints but the glass used is scratch resistant. In comparison, the One M8 would resist fingerprints as well.

Display

Both the Xperia Z2 and the One M8 come with large screens. The large touch screens show the intensity of the new Android operating system. The Sony Xperia has a 5.2 inches display touchscreen whereas the One M8 has a 5 inches touchscreen. However, both these smartphones come with same full HD resolutions. One major difference is the Xperia Z2 has the ability to record 4K videos, whereas the HTC One M8 lacks this functionality.

Operating System

Both the Xperia Z2 and the HTC One M8 come with beautiful bodies and state of the art specifications. Both these smartphones run on the most recent Android operating systems. Sony has limited optimization; hence its operating system may provide a stock android experience to the user. In comparison, the HTC also has limited customization but with Sense 6.0, the smartphones offers more features than its competitor. Both these smartphones come equipped with a powerful processor ensuring an improved performance.

Processor

The Sony Xperia Z2 comes equipped with a powerful 2.3GHz processor along with time tested Adreno 330 GPU. The Xperia Z2 has an upper edge with 3 GB of RAM in comparison to the 2GB RAM of the HTC One M8. The HTC comes powered with 2.3GHz quad core processor and similar GPU as that of One M8. The Xperia Z2 is priced at $650 in comparison to the One M8 that is priced at $690.