Sony has pulled the gun, and floored CES 2013 with their amazing Xperia Z and it's compact sibling the Xperia ZL smartphones. Complete with a quad core Krait based Snapdragon chipset, 2 GB of RAM, a 5" Full HD display with Sony's Bravia Engine 2 as well as Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, the Xperia Z is looking to be the King Droid in the 1H of 2013. Let's see if the upcoming Galaxy S IV (with all it's leaked specs) can match up to it.
This review is based on the specifications that Galaxy S IV leaks and other Samsung technology demos that indicate that it might be used in an upcoming flagship soon.
Sony Xperia Z/ZL v/s Samsung Galaxy S IV
Over this review, different components of a smartphone will be paired up. Of course, we can't clearly say what parts the Galaxy S IV will use, but we really do have a pretty good idea of what it might hold within.
Chipset (CPU & GPU) - Galaxy S IV
The Xperia Z packs 1.5 GHz quad core Krait CPU (Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro) which has proven itself to be the fastest quad core chipset around. Krait is a custom architecture which is faster than the ARM Cortex A9 but marginally slower than ARM Cortex A15. With Samsung announcing it's Exynos Octa which will pack 4 x ARM Cortex A15 + 4 x ARM Cortex A7 cores, there is no doubt remaining that the Galaxy S IV will win the crown in CPU performance.
On the GPU front, we have the able Adreno 320 GPU. Samsung might use an ARM Mali T604 or the PowerVR SGX544 MP3 as per the latest leak. In either case, the Galaxy S IV will end up faster. The Mali T604 is used in the Exynos Dual already, and it really is fast. So we are simply waiting to know why Samsung is considering or could go PowerVR (Apple uses the same GPU as well).
Display - Tie
The Xperia Z packs a LCD display with 1080p resolution and as mobile Bravia Engine 2. This gives us an excellent display with post-processing technology that is used by the Sony TV range. Sony has brought in it's technical expertise with TVs and has put it into their latest smartphone, and that has produced amazing results.
The Galaxy S IV will pack Samsung's new 4.99" Super AMOLED 1080p display. On one side, you got Super AMOLED and on the other, Sony's LCD with Bravia Engine 2. Both have their pros and cons, and it really is upto individual users. They pic what they want. The over saturated Super AMOLED or the more realistic colors with LCD, the deeper and true blacks with Super AMOLED along with the blu-ish tinge that comes as a bonus or not.
OS, UI and Updates - Galaxy S IV
The Xperia Z will come with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, and Sony says that it will receive the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean update very soon. The Galaxy S IV, if it launches in May, will most definitely pack Android 4.2 Jelly Bean or Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie by some miracle (if Samsung gets enough time). Needless to say, we will see those quick updates that Samsung flagship owners are used to by now.
Sony has got a bad reputation for really late Android updates for it's (flagship) smartphones, as well as denying updates to their flagship phones barely a year old. The Xperia S has still not received Jelly Bean, and won't for another 3 months. To make it worse, Xperia S will get Jelly Bean after a lower end Xperia P, further infuriating consumers and owners of said smartphone and confusing us as well with what their strategy really is.
Sony and their TimeScape UI is getting old. But Sony has removed most of their bloat. It's TimeScape but with some neck strangling gone. The UI is one of the best custom skins on Android and it remains so by cleaning and clearing up a lot. Samsung will introduce a new version of TouchWiz, and if the Nature UX is anything to go by, we can expect something simple, light and functional in it's next iteration as well.
Conclusion
While none of these features are confirmed, we are pretty sure that the Exynos 5 Octa as well as the 4.99" Super AMOLED display will make it into the Galaxy S IV.
We hope Samsung tries to match or beat the Xperia Z and (and Xperia ZL, if possible) dimensions as well. Sony has set the bar high with the Xperia ZL, we hope it finds a match soon.
This review is based on the specifications that Galaxy S IV leaks and other Samsung technology demos that indicate that it might be used in an upcoming flagship soon.
Sony Xperia Z/ZL v/s Samsung Galaxy S IV
Over this review, different components of a smartphone will be paired up. Of course, we can't clearly say what parts the Galaxy S IV will use, but we really do have a pretty good idea of what it might hold within.
Chipset (CPU & GPU) - Galaxy S IV
The Xperia Z packs 1.5 GHz quad core Krait CPU (Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro) which has proven itself to be the fastest quad core chipset around. Krait is a custom architecture which is faster than the ARM Cortex A9 but marginally slower than ARM Cortex A15. With Samsung announcing it's Exynos Octa which will pack 4 x ARM Cortex A15 + 4 x ARM Cortex A7 cores, there is no doubt remaining that the Galaxy S IV will win the crown in CPU performance.
On the GPU front, we have the able Adreno 320 GPU. Samsung might use an ARM Mali T604 or the PowerVR SGX544 MP3 as per the latest leak. In either case, the Galaxy S IV will end up faster. The Mali T604 is used in the Exynos Dual already, and it really is fast. So we are simply waiting to know why Samsung is considering or could go PowerVR (Apple uses the same GPU as well).
Display - Tie
The Xperia Z packs a LCD display with 1080p resolution and as mobile Bravia Engine 2. This gives us an excellent display with post-processing technology that is used by the Sony TV range. Sony has brought in it's technical expertise with TVs and has put it into their latest smartphone, and that has produced amazing results.
The Galaxy S IV will pack Samsung's new 4.99" Super AMOLED 1080p display. On one side, you got Super AMOLED and on the other, Sony's LCD with Bravia Engine 2. Both have their pros and cons, and it really is upto individual users. They pic what they want. The over saturated Super AMOLED or the more realistic colors with LCD, the deeper and true blacks with Super AMOLED along with the blu-ish tinge that comes as a bonus or not.
OS, UI and Updates - Galaxy S IV
The Xperia Z will come with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, and Sony says that it will receive the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean update very soon. The Galaxy S IV, if it launches in May, will most definitely pack Android 4.2 Jelly Bean or Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie by some miracle (if Samsung gets enough time). Needless to say, we will see those quick updates that Samsung flagship owners are used to by now.
Sony has got a bad reputation for really late Android updates for it's (flagship) smartphones, as well as denying updates to their flagship phones barely a year old. The Xperia S has still not received Jelly Bean, and won't for another 3 months. To make it worse, Xperia S will get Jelly Bean after a lower end Xperia P, further infuriating consumers and owners of said smartphone and confusing us as well with what their strategy really is.
Sony and their TimeScape UI is getting old. But Sony has removed most of their bloat. It's TimeScape but with some neck strangling gone. The UI is one of the best custom skins on Android and it remains so by cleaning and clearing up a lot. Samsung will introduce a new version of TouchWiz, and if the Nature UX is anything to go by, we can expect something simple, light and functional in it's next iteration as well.
Conclusion
While none of these features are confirmed, we are pretty sure that the Exynos 5 Octa as well as the 4.99" Super AMOLED display will make it into the Galaxy S IV.
We hope Samsung tries to match or beat the Xperia Z and (and Xperia ZL, if possible) dimensions as well. Sony has set the bar high with the Xperia ZL, we hope it finds a match soon.
Buying a new phone? Or a tablet? Need help with something everyday-tech related? Ask me and I'm sure to help!
— Preetam Nath (@hipreetam93) April 18, 2013
— Preetam Nath (@hipreetam93) April 18, 2013