Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Sony Xperia Z
A spec-by-spec comparison of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Sony Xperia Z, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
Head to head
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | Sony Xperia Z |
|---|
| Price | $30 | $594 |
| Our rating | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Battery | 2,600 mAh | 2,330 mAh |
| Storage (max) | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Screen size | 5 in | 5 in |
| Main camera | 13 MP | 13.1 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 130 g | 146 g |
| Released | Apr 2013 | Feb 2013 |
Summary: Samsung Galaxy S4 is ahead on our rating, battery, weight (lower is lighter). Sony Xperia Z is ahead on main camera.
★ Which should you buy? Samsung Galaxy S4 is the stronger overall pick on the measured specs.
Reviewed by the infozme.com Editorial Team — see how we research & rate phones.
Display
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | Sony Xperia Z |
|---|
| Type | Super AMOLED | TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
| Size | 5.0 inches | 5.0 inches, 69.8 cm² (~69.8% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Resolution | 1080 x 1920 pixels | 1080 x 1920 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~441 ppi density) |
| PPI | 441 ppi | — |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Shatter proof glass, Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 |
Platform
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | Sony Xperia Z |
|---|
| OS | Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, upgradable to 5.0.1 Lollipop | — |
| Chipset | Exynos 5 Octa 5410 (International) or Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 (USA/LTE) / Snapdragon 800 (LTE-A variant) | Qualcomm APQ8064 Snapdragon S4 Pro |
| CPU | Octa-core (4x1.6 GHz Cortex-A15 & 4x1.2 GHz Cortex-A7) or Quad-core 1.9 GHz Krait 300 | Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait 300 |
| GPU | PowerVR SGX 544MP3 or Adreno 320 / Adreno 330 | Adreno 320 |
Memory
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | Sony Xperia Z |
|---|
| Internal Storage | 16GB, 32GB, 64GB | 16GB (approx. 11GB user accessible) |
| RAM | 2GB | 2GB |
| Card Slot | microSDXC, up to 64GB (officially), 128GB (unofficially) | — |
| Card slot | — | microSDHC, up to 32GB (officially), up to 128GB (unofficially) |
Main Camera
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | Sony Xperia Z |
|---|
| Megapixels | 13 MP | — |
| Features | Autofocus, LED flash, 1080p@30fps video recording | Exmor RS sensor, LED flash, HDR, panorama, face detection |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | — |
| Pixel Size | 1.14 µm | — |
| Modules | — | Single 13.1 MP, f/2.4, 28mm (wide), 1/3.06", AF |
| Video | — | 1080p@30fps, HDR |
Selfie Camera
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | Sony Xperia Z |
|---|
| Megapixels | 2 MP | — |
| Features | 1080p@30fps video recording | Exmor R sensor |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | — |
| Modules | — | Single 2.2 MP, f/2.2 |
| Video | — | 1080p@30fps |
Battery
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | Sony Xperia Z |
|---|
| Type | Removable Li-Ion | Non-removable Li-Ion 2330 mAh |
| Capacity | 2600 mAh | — |
| Stand-by | — | Up to 550 h (2G) / Up to 530 h (3G) |
| Talk time | — | Up to 11 h (2G) / Up to 14 h (3G) |
Body
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | Sony Xperia Z |
|---|
| Dimensions | 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm | 139 x 71 x 7.9 mm (5.47 x 2.80 x 0.31 in) |
| Weight | 130 g | 146 g (5.15 oz) |
| Build | Polycarbonate chassis, removable plastic back | Glass front (Gorilla Glass), glass back, plastic frame |
| SIM | — | Micro-SIM |
| Durability | — | IP55/IP57 dust and water resistant (up to 1m for 30 min) |
Comms
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | Sony Xperia Z |
|---|
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 4.0, A2DP, EDR, LE | 4.0, A2DP |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS | — |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared Port | Yes | — |
| USB | microUSB 2.0 (MHL 2.0 TV-out), USB On-The-Go | microUSB 2.0 (MHL TV-out) |
| Positioning | — | GPS, GLONASS |
| Radio | — | Stereo FM radio with RDS |
Launch
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | Sony Xperia Z |
|---|
| Announced | March 14, 2013 | CES 2013, January 2013 |
| Released | April 27, 2013 | — |
| Status | — | Released February 2013 |
| OS at launch | — | Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to 5.1.1 (Lollipop) |
Frequently asked questions
Which has the better battery, Samsung Galaxy S4 or Sony Xperia Z?
Samsung Galaxy S4 — 2,600 mAh for the Samsung Galaxy S4 versus 2,330 mAh for the Sony Xperia Z.
Which is lighter, Samsung Galaxy S4 or Sony Xperia Z?
Samsung Galaxy S4 — 130 g for the Samsung Galaxy S4 versus 146 g for the Sony Xperia Z.
Which is newer, Samsung Galaxy S4 or Sony Xperia Z?
Samsung Galaxy S4 — Apr 2013 for the Samsung Galaxy S4 versus Feb 2013 for the Sony Xperia Z.
Is the Samsung Galaxy S4 or the Sony Xperia Z rated higher?
We rate the Samsung Galaxy S4 7/10 and the Sony Xperia Z 6/10.
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