Gadgetory

in one corner we have the incremental update by Sony that brings a better display and a more refined design but on the other corner we do have the update by LG that arguably does the same thing but on a larger scale so which one is worth the space in your pocket well it's Joshua Gotham Android authority what's going on everybody and this is the LG g3 versus the Sony Xperia z2 we actually look at some very different design philosophies between these two phones but they are styles that are quintessentially LG and quintessentially Sony the LG g3 looked like it was going to be made of metal for a while but instead we have been given a strong polycarbonate that has been treated to have a brushed feel the result is a material all around the phone that doesn't take two fingerprints to easily and has a slight curve on the back on the other hand the very angular design of the Sony Xperia z2 is flattened on all sides with subtle rounds in the corners a more refined design choice that eliminated the rigidity of the Xperia z1 while the dual glass panel construction can get easily smudgy under constant finger prints it's still a very attractive build that is pretty much only found on Sony devices the button layouts really showed the distinct styles of both of these companies with the silver power button the big silver power button on the one side along with the volume rockers and the dedicated power button on the Sony Xperia z2 and then the signature back button design of the LG g3 that returns from the g2 now one thing I will say about the Sony design is that the dedicated camera button is just a lot of fun to use but on the other hand with the g3 the better construction of the buttons makes for a very meaty feel and is actually pretty enjoyable to use on their own also but when we look at the sides we find the trope of Sony devices due to their penchant for water and dust resistance the flaps covering the various ports and slots basically demean that one closed this phone can take a dip in the water LG's construction does not lend itself to water and dust resistance but it does have a removable back and allows access to the replaceable battery and the microSD card slot so while LG continues to really come into its own when it comes to their aesthetic style Sony sticks to theirs and it really is the kind of style you only find on Sony Xperia devices what we do love about the LG flagship is that it brings a large screen to a body that is comparable to the rest of the flagship devices while the Xperia z2 is a little bit taller the g3 manages to only be a modicum wider ultimately the handling experience is similar across the board with the curve of the g3 helping it feel a little more comfortable and the flatness of the z2 keeping it easily Gribble both of these phones are incredibly attractive sure to turn heads either because of the distinct lines and edges of the Xperia or the unique layout and the curve of the g3 display quality ultimately comes down to size here as sony has finally put a I PA screen under flagship with a couple of their own signature enhancements the g3 sticks to LG's IPS construction but blows it up by half an inch the LG g3 screen is a sight to behold it manages to be very easy on the eyes despite there being a couple of concessions what with the warmer tones all around and the slight loss in fidelity at steep viewing angles but speaking of viewing angles they used to be very terrible with most Sony offerings before the z2 which has improved upon in this iteration not only are the viewing angles better the colors are also really nice with the live color LED enhancing the overall color gamut we like what sony has done with their display technology despite all of the crazy names that are associated with it like try luminous side by side then we do see a pretty similar color output though the contrast on the z2 is just a little bit more defined look hard enough and you'll find that the LG g3 is just crisper providing a little more sharpness due to its 2560 by 1440 resolution in that 5.5 inch screen that yields an incredible 534 pixels per inch but don't get it twisted the 1080p 5.2 inch perform of the z2 is still really great it's really just a difference that you notice when comparing the two side-by-side and really looking for it but you shouldn't notice too much of a difference when it comes to the performance as both of these phones contain the processing package capable of some really fast work and play the Snapdragon 801 clocked in at 2.5 gigahertz backed by the adrenal 330 and in the case of this 32 gigabyte variant of the LG g3 3 gigabytes of RAM as opposed to 2 in the z2 there is no doubt that the interface is absolutely fly and loading applications doesn't put either of these phones really ahead well might be perceived as lag on the part of the overly feature saturated GUI of the g3 can put off some people but they come very rarely and the ability to keep up the speed despite the larger screen should actually be commended we should say that the Xperia z2 s operating system might prove a little bit more reliable in the Department solely because it doesn't include all of the heavy features that LG's phone does after all when you keep it simple you keep it fast but truly if you aren't just picking nits you really do have your choice of either these phones and they will both be blazing fast as the playing field continues to get evened out in this year's crop of flagships so too do we start seeing some of the much needed features returning that we used to want last year for example the micro SD card slots have made the return and while in the Xperia z2 it is found under one of the flaps the LG g3 is removable back cover allows you access to its it also allows you access to a removable 3000 milliamp hour battery something that the Xperia z2 s larger 3200 milliamp hour battery cannot boast as far as connectivity goes the slew of general tools will be available in either of these flagships however we do have to give LG a bit of a nod because it will be available on all major carriers as compared to the Xperia z2 which we're expecting to only be available on t-mobile in the States when it comes to the sound quality Sony's consolidation of its eco systems puts the z2 ahead once again as it brings one of the most robust sound experiences available despite the loudness of the LG g3 the dual front facing speaker construction just helps the Xperia z2 s case but with the right pair of headphones that may or may not be included with your handsets built-in noise canceling technology will greatly enhance your media consumption experience not to mention the slew of audio tweaking tools built into the z2 and finally in battery the larger battery of the Xperia z2 certainly went the distance blasting past the typical workday especially when using power saving features and those long running standby times the LG g3 is no slouch though and gets a boost if you remember to bring a spare battery with you it also gets a nod for being more or less on par with phone sporting smaller displays especially when you have the power saving features turned on we might give the edge to the Xperia z2 in terms of the battery life but we will say that the LG g3 doesn't fall too far behind it you could certainly argue that in the Xperia z2 we have basically the same camera as last season and that the LG g3 has done more to move forward in this department but actually we feel that might be oversimplifying the story after all the 20 point seven megapixel camera the z2 was a good performer from last season and it continues to be in this phone it is also backed by a slew of modes that could make your phone photography more fun picture quality is quite good too with a high level of detail possible in both the high megapixel counts or the default 8 megapixel photos which have a high sampling rate due to those powerful optics the only real bummer with the Xperia z2 camera is that the 20.7 megapixel size is standalone no modes or enhancements can be put upon it which are all reserved for the much lower 8 megapixel size on the other hand we have the LG g3 that has brought some welcome changes from the original g2 mainly a laser focusing system and the enhanced oh is plus the laser focusing system does make a difference as it is able to create a really fast shutter to file speed that makes shooting incredibly fun os plus does its job well and continues to do so after being introduced in the LG G pro 2 pictures from the LG g3 are taken primarily in Auto mode which does figure out the shot settings itself you aren't given much manual control at all but the auto mode does happen to do a pretty fine job on its own most of the time thus the speed of the LG g3 camera is probably its marquee feature but don't get it twisted the Xperia z2 is no slouch either when comparing the pictures these two performers are actually on a pretty level playing field with very similar color reproduction across the board though the experience due to yields only eight megapixel photos by default the super sampling from the 20.7 total megapixels does yield it a little bit more sharpness all around though the g3 doesn't fall far behind at all so snapping pictures with either of these phones will be a blast though some people may prefer the level of control that the Xperia z2 affords it users as opposed to the pretty much fully automatic mode of the g3 that does manage to hold its own quite well especially in the speed department and finally in software it's a matter of simplicity at various levels and whether or not you need the slew of tools that are or maybe Orange included in either device we'll start with the LG g3 whose GUI has evolved much since the Optimus days the look of the new interface does make for a very good update all around with a flatter look to complement the bright colors the operating system is more about hiding elements than fundamentally changing them though for example the qslide applications that I admittedly have never used are all hidden under another shade in the drop-down welcome additions include the dual window which thankfully makes it onto the larger screen experience and the smart applications that allow you to cater the keyboard to your liking or get a minimal out of notifications through a home screen widget if we never used any of the after mentioned software features though we'd still be happy with just the knock on and knock code which I personally use all the time on the flip side we have a much more simplistic Xperia UI which brings to the Xperia z2 an Android experience that is closer to stock than most of the competitors interfaces you get the home screen layout with a notification drop down quick settings and the app drawer that does have one shade on the side for further control but after that multitasking is still done via the recent apps screen though it does come with the small apps that are similar to the qslide apps in the g3 mostly in that I don't ever really use them after that the various application Sony puts into its smartphones returned like the great walkman and the nice album gallery app but if you aren't either a fiend for locally stored media or a subscriber to their unlimited streaming service they may not get much play on your phone we do like where LG is going in terms of the g3 s new operating system with this new look and some of the enhanced features but if you do like going for a more stock like experience you're probably going to want the Xperia z2 because it feels most like it there are holes in either one of these phones in terms of their functionality and usefulness in the software but the g3 might take that crown because there's just so much in this phone that you may or may not end up using the Sony Xperia z2 is still not fully available in the states that we do expect it to land on t-mobile in the near future the LG g3 will be more widely available on carriers but in the end both of these phones will come in at the high price points either for contracts or unlocked around $700 and so their habits the LG g3 and the Sony Xperia z2 it's possible to go on and on about the high-resolution larger screen of the LG g3 but luckily there is plenty new to talk about underneath that surface we can't necessarily say the same about the Xperia z2 which is the first of Sony's incremental half-year releases luckily still we have a good refinement of what already made the Xperia line great both in terms of design and hardware especially in sound LG has continued to evolve and in the g3 we get one of the first 2k screens done pretty well and we believe we can only improve from here it tries to offer the most out of any phone right now and manages to do a pretty good job of it making it a giant and the flagship game today but the Xperia z2 is an experience that is quintessentially Sony and where Sony has come to its own already LG is looking to go if you want the best that either of these companies can offer you don't have to look any further than these two phones right here what is up to you is if the high-resolution screen Trump's high resolution camera optics if a replaceable battery Trump's IP certification or if Sony's ecosystem is already robust for you over LG's growing presence so as always thank you guys very much for watching and hope you enjoyed this comparison of the LG g3 and the Sony Xperia Z to keep it into Android authority as we have continuing coverage of the LG g3 and more comparisons between it and the other flagships in the game so stay tuned for that check out all of my Google IO coverage that happened this just this past week and have some fun with all of the videos that I was able to put out and after that you can check out the content from my colleagues in Android Joe J's Kevin the tech ninja and lawn so keep it tuned tear drop with some likes on our videos and subscribe if you haven't 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