Sony Xperia Z3 vs Sony Xperia Z2: What are the differences?

Not content with one flagship each year, Sony has released two and at first glance its new one, the Sony Xperia Z3, doesn’t look a whole lot different from its old one, the Xperia Z2.

But while the change is definitely evolutionary rather than revolutionary it’s still significant. Read on for a run-down off all the differences.

Design

The Sony Xperia Z2 has a slim 146.8 x 73.3 x 8.2mm build and weighs 163g. A glass back and metal frame give it a premium look and it has flat edges and angular corners.

The Sony Xperia Z3 comes in at 146 x 72 x 7.3mm and 152g, so it’s even slimmer and lighter. Like the Xperia Z2 it has a glass back and metal frame, but this time the edges are slightly rounded, while the corners have a nylon covering to protect them from scrapes and falls.

The Sony Xperia Z3 is also a little more water and dust resistant than its predecessor, with an IP68 certification, while the Z2 is IP58 Certified, though unless you plan to go swimming with your phone it won’t make much difference, as both handsets can survive getting splashed or rained on.

Similar Screen

There’s not much change when it comes to the screen. Both the Sony Xperia Z3 and the Xperia Z2 have a 5.2 inch 1080 x 1920 IPS LCD display with a pixel density of 424 pixels per inch.

However the Sony Xperia Z3 is a lot brighter than the Z2, as it’s capable of reaching up to 600 nits of brightness, while the Z2 can only reach around 460 nits. That difference not only makes it easier to use in direct sunlight but also makes images far more vibrant.

But overall the screen isn’t enormously better and the Xperia Z2 still has a very good display.

Power and Performance

With a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor and 3GB of RAM the Sony Xperia Z3 is certainly powerful but it’s only marginally more powerful than the Xperia Z2, which itself has a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor and 3GB of RAM. In practice the difference is minor enough that you’re not likely to notice it and both phones deliver almost impeccable performance.

Camera

On the face of it the two handset’s cameras seem pretty similar, as they both have a 20.7 megapixel sensor, a 2.2 megapixel front-facing snapper and can shoot 2160p video at 30fps or in 1080p at 60fps.

However the Sony Xperia Z3 uses a 25mm wide-angle lens, so you can fit more in to your shots. It also has a higher ISO sensitivity, as it can shoot in 1280, which should make a big difference in poor lighting.

Plus it’s better able to counter camera shake when shooting video than the Xperia Z2 and it includes a handful of new shooting modes, such as ‘Face in’ which uses both cameras at once so that you can capture both an event and your reaction to it.

So it’s not a huge improvement overall but the Z3 camera features lots of little improvements.

SONY Xperia Z2