Gadgetory

the two smartphones on today's comparison desk each take the form of an elongated water-resistant rectangle each one runs the latest version of Android and one of the hottest chipsets available and each is made by a manufacturer whose name starts with the letter S but aside from that they've got almost nothing in common so let's dive into their differences see if we can learn something I'm Michael Fisher with PocketNow and this is Sony Xperia z2 versus samsung galaxy s5 a brief word of thanks our Sony Xperia z2 comes to us from the good people at GSM nation one of the first online retailers to stock this device in the United States if you want to see two like this one follow the link in the description below order yours today all of us at pocket now thank gsm nation for the loaner device that device takes the form of a sharp cornered slab purple in this case with glass back and front panels / a metal and plastic mid plate studded with controls ports and hatches it's larger in nearly every dimension than the curvier almost pillowy Galaxy s5 which is made mainly of plastic and sits much lighter in the palm than the Sony device as a result Samsung's more curvaceous build is definitely sort of ho-hum next to the Xperia Z ARP right angles but the Samsung phone is also much easier to hold in the hand welcome back to that the Sony phones larger footprint allows it to squeeze in a display that's slightly larger but it carries the same 1080p resolution and nearly the same pixel density the printable difference is in technology but the end result is a stunning picture on each particularly when vibrant colors are called for sony has finally brought to touch unlock to its smart phone line a big convenience and it also deserves credit for finally solving its horrible side visibility problems of yesteryear the Samsung still carries the day on darks though with Sony's blacks more of a milky blue gray and we also prefer Samsung's bluish whites to Sony's reddish ones each allows for minimal tweaking of the color palette but only Samsung provides an ultra dim setting from nighttime reading which comes in handy more times than you'd expect Samsung's display is also brighter in direct sunlight and because it lacks on-screen keys it usually offers more usable area beneath each of those displays sits the pride of Qualcomm the Snapdragon 801 SOC that heart beats a little faster on the s5 but the Xperia brings 50% more RAM to back it up which we think is a more significant spec bump each offers microSD expansion up to a staggering 120 eight gigs and each chips with 16 gigs of internal storage with the galaxy s5 offering larger options in some markets those specs being neck-and-neck mean these things sit right alongside each other on the performance meter so don't expect benchmark shutdowns and gaming face offs from this comparison which of these works better for you is a question of lifestyle we mentioned earlier that the Galaxy s5 is easier to hold in the hand well it's also more comfortable to talk on to shove in a pocket toss onto a countertop and just generally use that's partially because Samsung didn't really shall we say try on the industrial design but it's also because this is a device aimed at active people it's heart rate monitor s health fitness suite and water resistance combined with its unremarkable build make it a phone that well you just plan to get rough and tumble with now the sony phone isn't entirely an indoor pet it does offer immersion resistance in fact it's got a slightly better rating where water is concerned but with its glass sandwich construction it's more cat than dog it can get wet if it needs to but it clearly wasn't made for it the Xperia is not necessarily what you'd call an active person's phone but don't for one moment take that to mean that the Xperia z2 can't keep up in the fun zone because it surely can and that's most obvious with its camera despite the difference in resolution compared to the Samsung device side-by-side shots are often so close in quality they need to be considered on a case-by-case basis that's a big accomplishment for sony whose smartphone cameras were four years plagued by software that kicked out over processed noisy images you can still see that noise in the front-facing camera shot but the Galaxy s5s offering while wider angle is just as noisy back on the primary shooter the Xperia z2 does particularly well against the Samsung phone in low-light where it pulls more detail from a shot but Samsung's HDR mode spanks Sony's superior auto for doing the same in variable lighting underwater the Sony device is much quicker to get focus and more likely to keep hold of it to shooting video with each is a lot of fun as well both below and above the waves as great as the galaxy s5s camera is we find we prefer shooting with sony's camera on the whole from the super fluid software stabilization to the hardware camera key to the more friendly viewfinder and higher resolution the z2 s camera experience overall feels more polished almost luxurious which software shell you think is better and will depend on your sense of style and again we go back to active person versus aesthetic person in our full Galaxy s5 review we called Samsung's new user interface a step on the road to something greater but somewhat incomplete in its current form with hints of modernism held back by remnants of previous versions that said it is fairly speedy and it'll get the job done even for demanding users in particular Samsung's multi window is the best way we've ever seen to do two things at once in a smartphone Sony's small apps are well not as useful but the experience interface on the whole is actually pretty snappy despite its weight visually it's more consistent than Samsung's UI but it also looks older in some ways and there's just as much Sony bloat as ever while my magazine on the galaxy s5 may be sluggish it's at least useful some of the time by contrast it's doubtful you'll ever make enough use of Sony's what's new app to justify its prominent position alongside Google now either way you go here you'll be comfortable knowing you've got the most powerful version of Android running underneath but without a custom launcher you're going to be hacking away at an awful lot of cruft to get to it testing these phones side-by-side for only three days on AT&T we're not yet ready to report how things like battery life compare the z2 s power pack is significantly larger but Samsung's is removable meaning it's also compatible with wireless charging giving you by the right back cover some talk time shed light on how these phones handle themselves in voice calls the galaxy s5 features much more aggressive noise reduction meaning it handles challenges like this wood chipper more effectively but in exchange it also clips the ends of words a little too readily even in quiet rooms the s5s earpiece was also louder and Basya on our end than was the Xperia z2 s and the galaxy was more comfortable to talk on overall still neither would be our first choice if call quality was a major consideration and frankly that goes for their loudspeakers too yes it's true that Sony's moved its speakers around to the front on the z2 and that's a move we love to see but they're still too quiet to carry on a speaker phone call on even a moderately busy street and that goes for Samsung as well the same is true for media playback okay in a quiet room but not in many other places here's how they compare in the booth you okay so maybe there are a few more similarities here than we let on you're going to get that when two products are vying for the same dollars in the same category but we're still convinced that these phones will appeal to very different buyers at least here in the US the gouge has five for those who like to stick with a familiar brand and who want more whiz-bang features than they might even know what to do with the Xperia z2 is for those in search of finely crafted hardware and a more refined photographic experience for us it's the Xperia z2 that wins for edgy style but the galaxy s5 that takes the cake in shear capability which area you value more will determine which of these belongs in your pocket now once again a big thanks to the folks at GSM nation selling the Xperia z2 right now at GSM nation com visit pocketnow.com for our full review on the galaxy s5 and our forthcoming review on the Xperia z2 follow us where we talk text and tweet and most importantly thanks for watching we'll see you next time