Samsung Galaxy Note 3 vs. Sony Xperia Z1: How Do They Stack Up?

Technology giants Samsung and Sony released their premier smartphones - Galaxy Note 3 and Xperia Z1, in the Indian market, earlier this month.

Consumers looking to purchase a high-end smartphone may consider the new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Sony Xperia Z1, which come packed with superior specifications. Here is a comparison between the specifications of the two smartphones.

Display:

Sony's new smartphone sports a splendid 5.0-inch full HD TRILUMINOS screen boasting X-Reality for mobile display technology. It has a staggering pixel density of 441 ppi (pixels per inch). On the other hand, Samsung's new flagship phablet flaunts a bigger 5.7-inch full HD Super AMOLED display having pixel density 386 ppi.

Processor, RAM and Storage:

The India-bound Samsung Galaxy Note 3 packs an Exynos Octa-core processor(packs two quad-cores-1.6GHz and 1.9GHz) with Mali T628 MP GPU It houses 3GB RAM and 32GB inbuilt memory. On the other hand, Xperia Z1 boasts of a super fast 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 series quad-core processor paired with Adreno 330 graphics engine and features 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. Both phones can be upgraded upto 64GB.

Camera:

The main USP of Sony Xperia Z1 is its camera specifications. It houses a stunning 20.7-megapixel camera with CMOS Exmor RS image sensor (f1/2.3-inch aperture) with the company's exclusive patented camera technology - G-Lens (27 mm wide angle and bright f2.0 aperture) and BIONZ image processor. It also ships with superior auto and manual options, time-shift burst mode, Sweep Panorama, Social Live (it lets users to broadcast live video on social platform like Facebook), Info-eye feature, AR Effect feature, which allows users to put 'Augmented Reality' scenarios on to a picture and many more filter options.

On the other hand, Samsung Galaxy S3 also has superior cameras. It features a 13.0-megapixel camera with BSI sensor which can record UHD-4K resolutions (3840x2160p) at 30 fps and full HD at 60fps speed. It also features a High CRI-LED flash support to get good crisp snapshots under low-light condition. Like its smaller cousin Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 3 too comes with a plethora of smart camera features.

Both Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Sony Xperia Z1 pack 2.0-megapixel camera on the front side capable of recording full HD (1920 x1020p) videos.

Mobile Operating System:

In this aspect, Galaxy Note 3 and Xperia Z1 stand even as they both run on the same Android platform. It is to be noted that the Samsung phablet run on the latest Android v4.3 Jelly Bean OS, while Sony's new phone ships with the Android v4.2.2 OS out-of-the-box.

Price:

As per recent reports, Galaxy Note 3 is priced a whopping  ₹49,900, whereas Xperia Z1 holds a price-tag of ₹42,500, almost ₹7,400 less than its rival.

Considering the overall specifications, there is no clear-cut winner between the two newly released smartphones. Sony has its 20.7-megapixel camera and water-and-dust resistant as its main USPs, while Samsung has the sumptuous 3GB RAM which can run any power-intensive functions or games. It also has the capability to record 4K videos, a feature which is lacking in other smartphones.

Here is a Break-down of Specifications Between Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Sony Xperia Z1: