Which to buy: Galaxy S5 or Xperia Z3?

[WelshBloke]

I remember the quick toggles in AOSP roms allowing more customization. I could choose exactly which toggles I wanted and in what order. On my S4 I must have 10 buttons... No more, no less.

Weird, neither my S3 or S5 have that restriction. I can have a minimum of six and there's no maximum on my S5 I'll check on the S3 when I get home.

I just have the minimum and use the two finger swipe if I need any more.

 

[gorcorps]

Weird, neither my S3 or S5 have that restriction. I can have a minimum of six and there's no maximum on my S5 I'll check on the S3 when I get home.

I just have the minimum and use the two finger swipe if I need any more.

Yeah I don't know. In fact I think it changed after the kitkat update. I can't really remember how it was stock, but I remember something about it was different after I updated a while ago. There's an "expand" button which will reveal all available buttons in the panel, but there's exactly 10 buttons you can sidescroll through without expanding.

 

[jdkick]

I'm very much enjoying the S5. From comments similar too those here I was expecting a ton of bloat and lag, but I'm actually quite pleased with the device. Of the stock 16GB there was ~11GB free and the UI has been plenty responsive. Despite on paper specs, I don't particularly enjoy the look/feel of the Sony devices and I found the G3/M8 too big for my liking. Oddly enough with ~30 phones in the office (IT) there are more Galaxy's than others. Even a long time Nexus user is giving the S5 a shot and hasn't had any complaints. At the end of the day folks seem happy with whatever they've chosen, so personal preference has to factor in somewhere along the way.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I remember the quick toggles in AOSP roms allowing more customization. I could choose exactly which toggles I wanted and in what order. On my S4 I must have 10 buttons... No more, no less. It's an odd limit to put on it, but whatever. I still use stock firmware so it doesn't bother me, but it's not as flexible as it could be.

Quick toggles in AOSP ROMs like PA or CM allow you to customize those toggles.

There's ZERO customization in the stock Android though for the QS tiles.

 

[StarTech15]

They have their fans. Just like I can't believe people still use Apple products, yet they do. Apple, so simple that it's complex (do actually do things).

You open the box up, pick up the iPhone or iPad or iPod, and just use it. I've never read the instructions on any of my Apple products. Why shouldn't I love Apple in that case?

 

[poofyhairguy]

Why shouldn't I love Apple in that case?

Because you want a device that allows for a level of complexity beyond what Aunt Rhonda can grok after two glasses of zinfandel?

I love Apple for turning computers into appliances for my family. I tried to make my own Ubuntu appliance for them for years and could never do it good enough. iOS and ChromeOS devices rock for them, but if I buy a computer for me at the very least I need to be able to have a file manager and be able to open a mkv file that has a DTS track without any fuss.

 

[shortylickens]

I love waterproof.

Also, unrelated:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/...allpapers.Xperia_Z3_live_wallpaper_2014&hl=en

Its really pretty.

 

[GTaudiophile]

As much as I like the Sony, I think the user-replaceable battery of the S5 trumps all other arguments.

My GF's N4 just causes her daily headache now. No matter how heavy or lightly she uses it, she gets about 4 hours out of a full charge. Pathetic for a phone that's only 13-14 months old.

Unless the Sony carries a specific extended warranty just for the battery?

 

[ScottFern]

I kept telling myself I liked the freedom of being able to replace my battery in my S4 but I never did. I am very happy with my new Z3 and the main reason I bought it was because the battery can last up to two days not to mention its water proof, looks slick, and takes good photos.

 

[Dari]

As much as I like the Sony, I think the user-replaceable battery of the S5 trumps all other arguments.

My GF's N4 just causes her daily headache now. No matter how heavy or lightly she uses it, she gets about 4 hours out of a full charge. Pathetic for a phone that's only 13-14 months old.

Unless the Sony carries a specific extended warranty just for the battery?

Why do you keep equating the N4 with the SONY? Why not the Apple? Is it because of personal experience? The N4 was exceptional in its low price and bad battery. Get over that.

 

[VashHT]

As much as I like the Sony, I think the user-replaceable battery of the S5 trumps all other arguments.

My GF's N4 just causes her daily headache now. No matter how heavy or lightly she uses it, she gets about 4 hours out of a full charge. Pathetic for a phone that's only 13-14 months old.

Unless the Sony carries a specific extended warranty just for the battery?

Unless she has the screen on the whole time I call BS, I got my n4 at launch and I was able to get it to last all day using recently. Granted I was making an effort to use it sparingly but I did use it quite a bit during the day for texting/gps/general browsing while in chicago for a full day sight seeing with people.

As for the OP I can't say I'd be disappointed with either phone, I have Z3 compact now and it's been great, but I haven't heard anything bad about the S5 either.

 

[swilli89]

Unless she has the screen on the whole time I call BS, I got my n4 at launch and I was able to get it to last all day using recently. Granted I was making an effort to use it sparingly but I did use it quite a bit during the day for texting/gps/general browsing while in chicago for a full day sight seeing with people.

As for the OP I can't say I'd be disappointed with either phone, I have Z3 compact now and it's been great, but I haven't heard anything bad about the S5 either.

What carrier do you use it if I may ask? You getting LTE?

 

[npaladin-2000]

Definitely go Xperia Z3...the only Samsung I'd look at would be a stock or GPE edition. Their screens are pretty nice but their buttons are backwards, and I absolutely hate TouchWIZ. The Xperia is close to stock, and also has a beautiful screen.

 

[PokerGuy]

Definitely go Xperia Z3...the only Samsung I'd look at would be a stock or GPE edition. Their screens are pretty nice but their buttons are backwards, and I absolutely hate TouchWIZ. The Xperia is close to stock, and also has a beautiful screen.

It might be close to stock, but unless sony has chanhed their ways significantly over the past couple of years, you can expect to wait a long time before any android upgrades -- if you're lucky enough to get your device upgraded at all. To me that trumps other stuff -- what good is a device if it won't be kept up to date after a year or so?

 

[npaladin-2000]

It might be close to stock, but unless sony has chanhed their ways significantly over the past couple of years, you can expect to wait a long time before any android upgrades -- if you're lucky enough to get your device upgraded at all. To me that trumps other stuff -- what good is a device if it won't be kept up to date after a year or so?

I don't particularly care about OS updates, I care about the ancillary stuff that both Google and Sony (as well as LG and others) have separated out into separate apps, so they can be updated independently of the OS.

Sony has promised Lollipop for all of these, probably within 12 months. I'm OK with that. But always remember, you're buying what IS. Don't buy a promise that's 6 months away, because you'll never get a refund when said promise is broken.

 

[poofyhairguy]

But always remember, you're buying what IS. Don't buy a promise that's 6 months away, because you'll never get a refund when said promise is broken.

It is not the promise that has value, it is the reputation backing the promise.

For example, Samsung has walked the walk with Android and has shown a commitment to updating their old phones like the S3 to Kitkat. You buy a Samsung and you will get updates most likely. That is why when my wife wanted an Android finally my list of acceptable devices was mostly Samsung.

Heck, the potential to get updates is a big part of what I am buying with any phone. Companies like LG or Asus aren't even on my list for how quickly they have dumped devices in the past. Meanwhile, when Motorola got out that Kitkat update for the 2013 X before many Nexus devices that really made my pay attention to their offerings. I started recommending the X outright after that.

The relevance of these devices is not just the specs on paper, but the ability to run modern software. With Android L looking like the biggest OS update since Ice Cream Sandwich I personally wouldn't consider a device that might not get 5.0 or 5.1.