Both Samsung Galaxy S3 and Sony Xperia Z1 are incredible smartphones in their own right.
Since both of them are Android phones, with similar sizes and specs, the competition between the two is really tight. The two phones were released more than a year apart. The S3 was released in May 2012 and the Z1 was released in September 2013. Here’s how the two phones compare.
Design
Both are medium sized phones with the Z1 measuring 5.69 x 2.91 x 0.33 inches (144.4 x 73.9 x 8.5 mm) and the S3 measures about 5.38 x 2.78 x 0.34 inches (136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm). Though the Z1 is slightly larger than the S3, both are ergonomically designed and are very comfortable in handling. However, the plastic polycarbonate body of the S3 makes it almost 40 grams lighter than the Z1 even though the Z1 is thinner. The Z1 is definitely more rugged. It is dust proof, shock proof, water proof and water resistant.
Display
Since the Z1 is slightly larger than the S3, its display is larger as well. The Z1 has a 5 inches screen while the S3 has a 4.8 inches screen. Z1 has a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels and the S3 has a resolution 720 x 1280 pixels. The pixel density is also much higher in the Z1, making the viewing experience much better and pleasing. The Z1 has a TFT screen with the S3 sporting a Super AMOLED screen. Both have multi touch screens but the S3 has superior screen features with a light sensor, proximity sensor and a scratch-resistant glass. The Z1 has a light and proximity sensor but does not have scratch-resistant glass.
Camera
The Z1’s camera is much better than S3’s. The former has a 20.7 MP camera as compared to the latter’s 8 MP one. The aperture size is larger in S3 though, with the camera resting a comfortable F2.6. The S3’s camera has some nifty features including a back-illuminated sensor a face detection sensor, CMOS image sensor, white balance presets, autofocus, ISO control, High Dynamic Range mode, face detection, self timer and many auto picture effects. The Z1 has all these features and also includes the ‘touch to focus’ technology that sadly the S3 is lacking.
Hardware
The Z1 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 with a Quad core, 2200 MHz, Krait 400 processor while the S3 is powered by the Samsung Exynos 4 (4412) with a Quad core, 1400 MHz, ARM Cortex-A9. The S3 has an ARM Mali-400/MP4 graphics chip while the Z1 has an Adreno 330. As far as the system memory is concerned, the Z1 has twice the memory as S3. Sony has put 2048 MB RAM in its Z1 while the S3 only has 1024 MB RAM but S3 has a larger built in storage of 32 GB while Z1 has only 16 GB.
Verdict
Both Samsung Galaxy S3 and Sony Xperia Z1 are great phones. However, in terms of hardware, camera, and technology, the Sony Xperia Z1 is much better. Price-wise, you can buy an S3 for as low as $290 while the Z1 comes at $530. Still, both the phones are worth a shot and if you want to stand apart, perhaps it is time you gave Sony a shot if price is not an issue.
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