[Comparison] Sony Xperia Z2 vs Sony Xperia Z1

Sony has announced the Xperia Z2 at MWC 2014 and if you do not know, it is the successor of the Xperia Z1 that was launched at IFA in Berlin back in September 2013. Sony Xperia Z2 has better display, better battery and comes with 4K video recording. It is slimmer and lighter when compared with Sony Xperia Z1. In this post we are comparing Sony Xperia Z2 with Sony Xperia Z1 and already in previous article we compared Sony Xperia Z2 with their competitors like HTC One M8, Samsung Galaxy S5 and Apple iPhone 5S.

Display

The Sony Xperia Z2 has a bigger display (only 0.2 inches bigger) when compared with the Sony Xperia Z1. The Sony Xperia Z2 features 5.2-inch screen while the Sony Xperia Z1 features a 5.0-inch screen. Both devices have a resolution of 1920 x 1080 but the Xperia Z2 has pixel density of 424ppi while the Xperia Z1 has pixel density of 441ppi, meaning a slightly sharper image on the Xperia Z1 due to its smaller display.

The Sony Xperia Z2 has slightly better screen as it uses the Live Colour LED to the Triluminos and X-Reality tech of the Xperia Z1.

Design

The design of Xperia Z2 is almost same as Sony hasn’t altered too much when compared with Xperia Z1. The aluminium frame and glass back make both the devices best looking phones around and both devices comes in black, white and purple colour.

The Xperia Z2 is slightly slimmer & lighter than Xperia Z1, although there is increase in height because of the larger display of Xperia Z2. The Xperia Z2 measures 146.8 x 73.3 x 8.2mm & weighs 163 grams while the Xperia Z1 measures 144.4 x 73.9 x 8.5 mm & weighs 170 gram.

Both devices got the same level of protection.

Sound

In Xperia Z2, the speakers moved to front of the handset & introducing the S Force Surround Sound. This change should make a better experience when watching movies or playing games through the speakers. The handset also lets you pick between five different audio engines for the perfect sound experience in any situation. The choices are ClearBass, ClearPhase, ClearStereo, Digital Noise Cancellation and xLOUD.

The Sony Xperia Z2 comes with digital noise cancellation feature and works with headphones in the box. They have mics on them to detect ambient noise, which is passed to the handset to produce anti-noise to cancel it out.

Camera

The Sony Xperia Z2 has exactly the same 20.7MP EXMOR R sensor that the Xperia Z1 has, but the front-facing camera has been jumped from 2MP to 2.2MP & a background defocus mode has been added to the shot selection.

The Xperia Z2 brings all the same Smart Social features that the Xperia Z1 has, but it adds 4K video capture to its offering. It lets you film things in 4K (2160p) at 30fps, 1080p at 60fps or 720p at 120fps and records video in slow motion while the Xperia Z1 only allows for 1080p at 30fps.

The video camera comes with some major updates. There have also been some video effects added to the Xperia Z2 including AR and Vine, as well as SteadyShot image stabilisation.

In addition, the Xperia Z2 brings 120fps slow motion as well as a new background defocus mode for still so it’s fair to say the Xperia Z2 certainly takes the camera capabilities up a notch over the Xperia Z1.

Operating System

The Sony Xperia Z2 ships with Android 4.4.2 KitKat while the Sony Xperia Z1 runs on Android 4.3, though it is still waiting for the upgrade. There is a difference in Sony’s custom UI, on Xperia Z2, Sony has added a Navigation sat-bav app and What’s New app in the swipe action used to access Google Now, which tells you about new Sony content. The handset also has a Simple Home mode, which removes the clutter and makes the icons bigger, making it easier to use for people who are visually impaired or new to smartphones.

Processor & Memory

The Sony Xperia Z2 is an upgraded handset, and it comes with the faster processor when compared with Sony Xperia Z1.

The Xperia Z2 features 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor while the Sony Xperia Z1 features a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor.

There is also an increase in RAM, the Xperia Z2 comes with 3GB RAM while the Xperia Z1 comes with 2GB RAM. Both devices has 16GB on board storage which is expandable up to 128GB for Xperia Z2 & 64GB for Xperia Z1 via microSD card.

Battery

There is improvement in battery too, the Xperia Z2 packs 3200mAh while the Xperia Z1 packs 3000mAh battery. The Xperia Z2 battery has 880 hours of standby time and 14 hour of talk time.

In terms of connectivity, there is no change. Both devices offer the usual Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC connectivity options so you can expect the same experience with the new Xperia Z2.

GadgetGuide4U Opinion

The Sony Xperia Z2 is a minor upgrade over the Xperia Z1 with better display, enhanced camera options, faster processor and latest software. The build is much the same and the connectivity options and storage amounts are identical, so there’s little reason to upgrade from the Xperia Z1 to the Xperia Z2.

Discounted Pricing Of Sony Xperia Z2 and Sony Xperia Z1

Comparing Sony Xperia Z2 and Sony Xperia Z1