Sony Xperia Z2 simply outshines LG Nexus 5

In the global smartphone industry, Sony and LG, are two leading players that have been consistently launching better-designed and technologically superior smartphones over the years. Therefore, we decided to do a spec-to-spec analysis of Sony Xperia Z2 and LG Nexus 5 to provide our readers some precise insights about the two devices and help them make a better-informed choice. 

Design and Viewing Experience

LG Nexus 5 comes in dimensions of 137.9x 69.2x 8.6mm and weighs 130g where as Sony Xperia Z2 comes in dimensions of 146.8x 73.3x 8.2mm and weighs 163g, which makes Xperia Z2 a bigger looking and relatively heavier device, though it is slightly thinner than Nexus 5. However, the display screen size, which is 5” for Nexus 5 and 5.2” for Xperia Z2, is about the same. Both devices have similar resolution of 1080x1920 pixels, but the difference lies in display technology; while Nexus 5 has a Full HD IPS display, Xperia Z2 comes with an advanced FULL HD Triluminos screen. This means that Sony Xperia Z2 offers slightly better quality imagery but for an extra weight of 33gm in your hands. Both the smartphones are available in black variant. In addition, Nexus 5 is also available in white and Xperia Z2 in purple.

Device Performance

In terms of processor, Sony Xperia Z2 powered by Qualcomm MSM8974AB 2.3GHz Quad-Core is more of less comparable with LG Nexus 5 that is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.26GHz Quad-Core. However, Xperia Z2 with 3GB RAM has a leg up over Nexus 5 which comes with 2GB RAM, which enables users to have a faster interface experience and less chances of the device slowing down. both the devices run on Android KITKAT, though Nexus 5 features Android 4.4.2 where as Sony Z2 lags behind with Android 4.4 version. Another similarity between both the devices is the internal storage of 16GB, but while Nexus 5 has no expandable memory, Xperia Z2 comes with the option of expandable memory up to 128GB through microSD. At the performance front, the key differentiators are the extra 1GB RAM that works in the favor of Xperia Z2 and OS upgradability option that works in the favor of Nexus 5.

Battery & Cameras

After RAM, the next big difference is in the battery capacity of the two devices, where Sony Xperia Z2 once again acquires a leg up with its battery capacity of 3200mAh over LG Nexus 5 that comes with the battery capacity 2300mAh. However, the biggest differentiator is the primary (rear) camera. While Nexus 5 comes with a decent primary camera of 8 MP, Xperia Z2 simply outshines Nexus with its 20.7 MP primary camera. The rear cameras in both the devices are pretty much the same, though Xperia with 2.2 MP is slightly better than Nexus 5 with 1.3 MP. 

Additional Features

Both the smartphones have Wi-Fi capabilities (802.11 a/g/b/n/ac), Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth v4.0 and single SIM slot and support only Micro-SIM. In terms of connectivity, both smartphones are available in 2G, 3G and 4G depending on market.

The Bottom-Line

On the whole, Sony Xperia Z2 comes with bigger RAM, superior primary camera, larger battery capacity, expandable memory, slightly faster processor and larger display, where as LG Nexus 5 acquires a leg up over Xperia only due to the advantage of upgrading the device to a more advanced OS. Finally, just to have a comparative indication, we looked at the prices of the two devices in the Indian market. As expected, in India, both Sony Xperia Z2 and LG Nexus 5 is priced at around INR 30,000.

Given several aforementioned advantages, Sony Xperia Z2 simply outshines LG Nexus 5, especially considering the fact that the two devices are in somewhat similar price range.