Gadgetory

hey it's Josh River Garf a mandroid Authority what's going on everybody and today we got a good vs for you with the comeback device for Sony the Xperia Z and the comeback device for LG the Google Nexus 4 we're going to do things a little differently now since we already have full reviews for both of these devices we'll just go through the differences and pick a winner in each category we'll start with the design and the Sony Xperia Z this is a design we don't see enough of these days with it's fully rectangular form in angular corners it is black glass and flat all around giving it an appealing black slate look the buttons are all found on the right with a silver power button above the volume rockers plastic covers protect the ports for water resistance in the hand it is easy to grip the flat sides though the bigger form due to the big screen does make you adjust your hand accordingly the Nexus 4 on the other hand benefits from a smaller screen for a form factor that is easier to hold its design is tried-and-true rounded corners and a pebble form like other phones in its size it is completely glass as well which makes this a very attractive device in its own right the button layout is typical with a power button on the right side opposite the volume rockers the smaller size makes this phone easy to maneuver around in one hand so in terms of straight design the Xperia Z gets credit for successfully being different and beautiful but it will yield a learning curve for those use to smaller screens and for that reason it gets the design points but the more accessible Nexus 4 it gets the point four feel this one is ultimately a tie for screen and display the Xperia Z could have the advantage with a 5-inch 1080p display with a very impressive 441 PPI pixel density it is a very sharp screen with more than adequate brightness but it is the viewing angles that suffer at any which angle the fidelity of the display suffers pretty greatly which actually evens the playing field for the Nexus 4 which has the smaller 4.7 inch display at a lower 720p resolution and 318 PPI it is a very good bright and vibrant performer with much better viewing angles you can see here how the Xperia Z loses more fidelity at an angle than the Nexus 4 but I do get it 5-inch 1080p displays are the future the Xperia Z still has a very fun display despite those which actually don't bother me as much and it is still a good example of this particular screen form factor so this one would also be a time because while the viewing angles are a bummer the 1080p display is still a fun advantage over the Nexus 4's display you would think that performance skews in favor of the newer Xperia Z but that is only part of the story this is because the Sony flagship has the same package found in the Nexus 4 the Qualcomm Snapdragon s4 pro backed by an Adreno 320 GPU and 2 gigabytes of RAM and to to benchmark did showed the Xperia Z breaking the 20000 barrier while the Nexus 4 lands right below it so perhaps the Xperia Z still has the edge but with the same processor package what you're looking at here is optimization and software for speed so this will technically be a tie-in pure performance as well hardware is where the differences really begin because the Xperia Z comes with 16 gigabytes of memory and the base model twice that of the Nexus 4's base 8 gigabytes connectivity is largely the same for both though an LTE version of the Xperia Z is available however the Nexus 4's unibody design doesn't allow for replaceable batteries or expandable memory while one of the Xperia Z's many plastic flaps covers and SD card slots while it might not have a replaceable battery this one feature gives the Xperia Z the hardware point software might seem like a no-brainer for some and they would mostly be right the Google Nexus 4 has the advantage off the bat for having the newest version of Android jelly bean 4.2.2 it also is backed by Google's update schedule making it the guaranteed most updated smartphone its software is also the stock experience which many people prefer Sony's Xperia Z on the other hand is a little behind with jellybean 4.1.2 it takes design elements from Ice Cream Sandwich however with dark tones accented by primary colors the Xperia UI gets credit for bringing together the very nice ICS look with the updated jellybean software like Google now and finally Sony's own additions like the small apps despite all of that effort however the Google Nexus 4 it gets the edge for being the experienced US Android purists pine over having Google's backing definitely makes the Nexus 4 one of the most appealing Android devices so it gets this point and then we move over to the camera the Xperia Z might not have the most updated Android but the 13 megapixel Exmor RS camera still has tricks up its sleeve Sony's pedigree with camera optics is apparent with the inclusion of superior Auto which automatically finds the right settings for the scene you're trying to capture burst modes and sweeping panorama are two other features available as far as picture quality goes photos have good color reproduction and details are captured very well the Nexus 4's 8 megapixel camera might not be as powerful but the updated camera app is very appealing with a UI that takes advantage of touch and swipe features found on a smartphone display the camera also has HDR and panorama features photosphere however is the main addition 360 degree shots that are much like Street View video photos quality is good though in this picture of a sweet BMW a lens flare on the top left washes out some of the color ultimately the picture quality goes to the more camera experienced sony its pictures just look a little more appealing and pleasing than the ones from the nexus 4 and with its full-featured camera application even if it's missing photosphere it does get the point here and finally we have usage and price so far these two devices are neck and neck with the Xperia Z getting a small edge over the Nexus 4 after the camera comparison but for the most part the usage for both will largely be the same unless you're looking for something specific those who want the 5 inch 1080p display will love the Xperia Z even if its viewing angles do suffer but it's not the biggest deal to everyone on the other hand those unsure about the larger form factor can look to the Nexus 4 for the most updated and stock experience its screen is still more than capable and its smaller size makes it more accessible so it comes down to price well the premium Xperia Z can be up to $800 for just a base 16 gigabyte model for all it offers many people can find this price worth it on the other hand the Nexus 4 gives about the same performance in a smaller form factor and it comes in at only 299 dollars that price along with the software advantage makes the Nexus 4 a tough one to beat so while there have been ties throughout this the final tally will go to the Google Nexus 4 find what you want from both of these top performers in their respective sizes and you will still be happy with the choice that you make though tell us what you think in the comments below do you think the Xperia Z should have blown the Nexus far away or do you agree with the result let us know here and then head on over to Android authorial for all the latest news and features because we are your source for all things Android