The Galaxy S4 Mini and Z1 compact are part of the so called ‘middle class’ smartphones.
They have smaller screens, but are very sleek and comfortable in the hand. Since they belong to the medium range, one cannot expect high end performances like on S5 or iPhone 5C. However, they are more than decent and valuable for their price. Both devices have their weakness and strong sides, and choosing between them can be a hard decision. Stay with us while we compare them, and maybe you can make a decision afterwards. The cool thing about these phones is that they come in more colors, besides the traditional black and white.
Design and Display
With 4.3 inches display, both smartphones are easy to use and operate with just one hand. However, Z1 compact offers far better resolution and flagship experience. With almost 100 more pixels per inch, Z1 is superior in this area. Samsung offers just 256 pixel density (540 x 960 screen resolution), while Sony’s phone has 342 pixel density (720 x 1280 resolution). Their dimensions are: S4 – 125 x 61 x 8.94 weighting 108 grams and Z1 – 127 x 65 x 9.4 weighting 138 grams. One area where Samsung is better is screen brightness due to its Super AMOLED screen technology. Both handsets have the same design as their bigger brothers, but Z1 is far sharper and with more industrial look. Differences in the design are visible in the hard buttons and soft keys as well. Z1 has on screen controls, while S4 takes the traditional central home key route.
Hardware and Operating System
Z1 outdoes S4 in the processor and performance sector. And this is expected, given the fact that is has more RAM and double the amount of cores. Z1 boasts a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor at 2.2GHz with 2GB RAM memory. Poor Samsung has to “satisfy” with only 1.7GHz dual core processor and 1.5 GB RAM. However, in day to day activities, users will not notice any big difference. Those playing lots of games, however, will notice the difference. Z1 wins the storage battle as well, with double the amount of internal storage space (16 GB vs 8GB). However, both devices can plug in microSD card to up their memory to 64 GB. The advantage S4 has is in the operating system, as it can run newer versions of Android. Z1 still hasn’t got the update for 4.2.2 and it runs on 4.2.
Camera
We have come to the area were Sony is impeccable. For years, the company has been the best manufacturer of cameras for smartphones (even iPhone uses Sony’s camera). With 20.7 MP rear camera, Z1 compact is superior to the 8 MP camera of Samsung. Both handsets come with a variety of additional features for their camera. Professional photographers and those who know a thing or two about photography, will love the manual options Sony provides. Samsung, on the other hand, has some cool features like beauty face, continuous shot, panorama, sound and shoot. These features are designed to perfect the basic snap.
Battery
Samsung S4 mini has 1900 mAh battery capacity, while Z1 compact has 2300 mAh capacity. Sony’s phone will need all the capacity it can get to power the powerful processor inside.
Price
This is where Samsung gets the nod. S4 mini SIM free costs around $420, while Z1 comes with a price of around $750 for a SIM free device.
Related ItemsSamsung Galaxy S4 MiniSony Xperia Z1 Compact
