Introduction
The premium droids are in combat mode and we are making ourselves comfortable to watch another pair fight it out for a place at the top. We've seen a few already, the newcomer LG G3 itself involved in a couple. The Xperia Z2 has a few under its belt as well, so these two should get straight at it, no time wasted on probing.
LG and Sony have been as good as subscribed to the Android top four but one thing they cannot afford is complacency. Thankfully, their latest flagships are showing none of it. What makes this shootout so special though is the months that stand between them. We're looking at this season's first and probably last Android flagship announced - phablets excluded.
LG took their time to complete a massive upgrade over the G2, the undisputed highlight of which is the QHD screen. And they didn't stop there - the Koreans worked hard in the camera department to bring laser-autofocus and true-tone flash for great imaging experience. A removable battery and a microSD card slot are making a difference as well.
Sony on the other hand didn't make such a splash - one of the potential pitfalls of a six-month release cycle. Admittedly, the Z2 had fewer things to worry about fixing. 4K video recording was added to the 20MP camera, the Omni Balance design with dual glass finish is intact, complete with water and dust resistance - a key selling feature of Sony flagships. The Xperia Z2 was pushed even closer to perfection with stereo speakers, 3GB of RAM and an even bigger battery.
LG G3 over Xperia Z2
- Bigger screen - 5.5" vs. 5.1"
- Higher resolution screen - 1440p vs. 1080p
- Higher CPU clock speed - 2.5GHz vs. 2.3GHz
- Improved low-light laser-assisted auto focusing
- Optical image stabilization
- Dual-LED true-tone flash
- 32GB of built-in storage is an option
- IR blaster
Xperia Z2 over LG G3
- IP58 certification for dust and water resistance
- Bigger, higher resolution camera sensor - 1/2.3" 20.7MP vs. 1/3" 13MP
- More RAM - 3GB vs. 2GB (on the 16GB LG G3)
- 1080p@60fps and 720p@120fps video recording
- Stereo speakers
- Bigger battery - 3,200mAh vs. 2,800mAh
- ANT+ support
- Noise cancelling headphones in certain retail bundles
So, is it the better specs or the right specs? The better looks or the comfortable handling? How do you choose between flagships that go out of their way to make sure you won't have to choose again for at least a couple of years?
The LG G3 and Sony Xperia Z2 get ready to square off
The LG G3 brings features you don't see every day, like the QHD screen, OIS and laser-assisted autofocus. It has controls on the back and even an FM radio, which gets omitted more often than not lately. The Sony Xperia Z2 is betting on high megapixels and exceptional build, including protection against the elements. There's ANT+ support for pairing with fitness tracking devices, and stereo speakers too.
These are just pieces of the puzzle though, and what we'll try to do here is look at the whole picture. Buckle up, we hope you'll enjoy the ride.
Design and handling
It's the OmniBalance design that ties the entire range of Sony smartphones together but the latest Xperia flagship is the one in charge of the lineup after all. The dual-glass finish is a fan favorite but, no matter how you feel about Sony, the Xperia Z2 is well among the best looking flagships, a couple of seasons in a row.
To be fair, the plastic build doesn't take away much from the LG G3 - in terms of either looks or resistance to wear. The G3 is put together exceptionally well, almost as good as unibody - the battery cover fits snugly in place and yet it is easy to remove. The faux brushed aluminum finish quite reminds of the HTC One (M8) - compliments don't get much better than that.
LG G3 next to the Sony Xperia Z2
The two phones have an almost identical footprint, but the LG G3 is lighter, being made of plastic. The LG G3 offers a slightly bigger display, too.
The LG G3 is about the same as the Sony Xperia Z2, though lighter
Here's the rundown. Sony's design involves an aluminum frame that's left exposed on the sides, with two slabs of scratch-resistant glass covering both the front and rear. It may be a fingerprint magnet (less so if you get the white version), but the Xperia Z2 is one of the most attractively designed devices in the market. The extra smooth glass-covered front and back mean the Xperia Z2 lays flat on a table, completely wobble-free.
Sony's OmniBalance design
LG's inventive design involving a rear control deck takes a while to get used to but works - and it has been improved in the G3. Yet, it's the massive 5.5" QHD display that commands all the attention, all the more impressive with those super slim bezels. The removable battery cover looks like brushed metal - one of the most convincing impressions we've seen.
The LG G3
The Sony Xperia Z2 has IP58 certification for dust and water resistance, which LG had arguments against. The company's primary concern is IP quality standards are not clear from a user's point of view and they may have a point. But most users will appreciate the extra protection against the elements - after all, a flagship smartphone is no small investment.
Since the G2, the main navigation controls have moved on the screen, while the power/lock and volume rocker are located below the camera lens at the back. The layout has been refined since its initial implementation and both the volume rocker and power/lock button are pleasantly textured.
The LG hardware controls are on the back • the on-screen Android buttons
Sony takes the more conventional approach of placing its physical buttons on the right side of the Xperia Z2, but it also relies on virtual controls provided by the Android OS. The side buttons are nice to press and positioned comfortably within reach. A proper shutter key with half press is a nice extra.
The Xperia Z2 camera, volume keys and power/lock button are on the right • the on-screen keys
The 3.5mm audio jack is exposed on both devices - still waterproofed on the Z2. The microUSB 2.0 port on the Xperia Z2 is sealed with a flap for the sake of water resistance. This can be a bit of a nuisance - having to undo it each time you charge the phone or connect to a PC. Sony has a solution to the charging problem - but you need to buy the special dock.
The 13MP camera on the LG G3 has OIS, laser-assisted autofocus and a dual-tone flash. The Xperia Z2 boasts a bigger sensor with a resolution of 20.7MP, as well as slo-mo videos at both 1080p and 720p. The LG G3 has its single speaker at the back, while the Sony Xperia Z2 has a pair of front stereo speakers.
The LG G3 and the Sony Xperia Z2 backs
You can undo the back panel of the LG G3 and get access to the user-replaceable 3,000mAh battery. The microSIM and microSD slots are around too. The Xperia Z2 on the other hand doesn't let you remove the 3,200mAh battery. The microSIM and microSD slots are placed on the sides of the phone under flaps.
Opening the LG G3's back • Accessing the microSIM and microSD slots on the Xperia Z2
Winner: Sony Xperia Z2 - but hardly a walkover. Both phones are very attractive - and the ultra slim screen bezels may actually tip the scales in the LG G3's favor. It is the water and dust resistance, a physical shutter key and stereo speakers that give Sony a certain edge. The LG G3 has done well to offer expandable memory and a user-accessible battery, which its predecessor woefully omitted. Now, this one was really tight.
Displays
We have a clear favorite in terms of sheer resolution but contrast, colors, and sunlight legibility all play a part in screen quality, so we'll consider them all before the verdict.
The two displays side-by-side
The Xperia Z2's screen has Sony's Triluminos and X-Reality trademark features, while the LG G3 sports a True HD-IPS + LCD. The Xperia Z2 has a 5.2" screen of 1080p resolution and 424ppi. The G3's panel is of 1440 x 2560px, which at 5.5" comes out to a pixel density of about 534ppi.
Sony has fixed the viewing angle issues plaguing its screens and the Triluminos display on the Xperia Z2 looks great. The X-Reality engine (successor to the Bravia engine) lets you tweak contrast, saturation and sharpness of images.
The G3 is good at an angle as well, but it's brightness and contrast levels are unimpressive. At 100% brightness, for instance, the black luminance is among the highest we've seen, but at least whites are as bright as the competition's. Here's how it stacks up to other top flagships.
| Display test | 50% brightness | 100% brightness | ||||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | |||
| LG G3 | 0.14 | 109 | 763 | 0.72 | 570 | 789 |
| Sony Xperia Z2 | - | - | - | 0.41 | 488 | 1195 |
| Samsung Galaxy S5 | 0 | 274 | ∞ | 0 | 529 | ∞ |
| Sony Xperia Z1 | - | - | - | 0.38 | 580 | 1513 |
| Sony Xperia Z | - | - | - | 0.70 | 492 | 705 |
| Oppo Find 7a | 0.33 | 280 | 842 | 0.68 | 580 | 852 |
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | 0 | 201 | ∞ | 0 | 404 | ∞ |
| HTC One (M8) | 0.20 | 245 | 1219 | 0.46 | 577 | 1256 |
| LG G2 | 0.10 | 149 | 1522 | 0.45 | 667 | 1495 |
| HTC Butterfly S | 0.15 | 165 | 1117 | 0.43 | 451 | 1044 |
| Apple iPhone 5 | 0.13 | 200 | 1490 | 0.48 | 640 | 1320 |
The two screens offer similar sunlight legibility - they are both highly reflective and will make it a challenge to comfortably read outdoors on a bright sunny day.
Sunlight contrast ratio
- Nokia 808 PureView4.698
- BlackBerry Z102.051
- Apple iPhone 42.016
- HTC One mini2.003
- LG G21.976
- Sony Ericsson Xperia ray1.955
- Sony Xperia Z21.944
- Samsung Galaxy Camera1.938
- LG G Pro 21.922
- HTC Butterfly1.873
- Huawei Ascend P61.865
- LG G31.820
- Samsung Galaxy mini 21.114
Winner: LG G3. Despite its inferior color, contrast, and sunlight legibility, the bigger screen diagonal and the higher resolution still tip the scales in its favor. The QHD resolution may not be readily apparent when it comes to browsing the interface, but it does make a difference when you see the ultra-crisp text in webpages, and especially in watching QHD videos or playing games.
Connectivity
Both phones are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipsets and enjoy all the connectivity benefits that come with it. The Xperia Z2 beats out the G3 in the number of supported bands, especially when it comes to LTE, though both should have you well covered. The two flagships also enjoy the fastest mobile data around with Cat. 4 LTE (up to 150Mbps down and 50Mbps up), but even without an LTE network where you are, they'll still go quite fast at 42.2Mbps down and 5.76 up courtesy of HSPA.
Local connections are blazing fast as well thanks to dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac (a/b/g/n are supported too). Bluetooth 4.0 is available for connecting accessories. The Xperia Z2 has an edge with ANT+ support, which is a popular standard with short-range sports accessories.
Both devices come with microUSB 2.0 ports with USB OTG, USB Host and 4K video output. The LG G3 uses the Slimport for TV out, while the Xperia Z2 relies on the MHL 3.0 standard. That alone can possibly tip the scales for you, if you already have the extra adapter needed for either standard.
Both phones feature NFC for use with tags and easy pairing with most devices. The LG G3 also offers IR blaster to control electronic equipment at home, including TVs, disc players and even air conditioners. LG's QRemote app seems slightly more robust in this regard, but a software update or app store download could even things out in that regard.
Winner: TIE. The key features - 150Mbps LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, 4K video output - are evenly split. The LG G3's got an IR blaster while the Xperia Z2 features ANT+ support so picking a winner here would really depend on your use case.
Battery life
The Sony Xperia Z2 goes in this round with a small advantage - it houses a 3,200mAh battery, compared to the 3,000mAh unit in the LG G3. The Xperia Z2 sits near the top of our battery life table with a massive 89 hours of endurance rating. This is just shy of full four days on a single charge. In comparison, the Galaxy S5 lasts "barely" three days, with a 69 hour rating.
The LG G3 bested the Xperia Z2 in out 3G talk time tests. Both phones offer great talk-time and it was a relatively slim margin.
Talk time
- Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G33:19h
- Sony Xperia T2 Ultra25:16h
- Huawei Ascend Mate25:12h
- Alcatel Hero25:02h
- Oppo N125:01h
- LG G225:01h
- LG G324:54h
- Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo24:52h
- Sony Xperia Z Ultra24:23h
- Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus22:42h
- Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue22:16h
- Sony Xperia Z222:13h
- Pantech Burst4:46h
A more decisive victory - by far - came in the web browser department, where the Sony Xperia Z2 enjoys a nearly five hour lead on its rival. It lasts nearly half a day of continuous browsing so even after extended web sessions you'll have plenty of battery charge left. The LG G3 just couldn't keep up with its power-hungry screen.
Web browsing
- Huawei Ascend Mate 2 4G16:41h
- Nokia Lumia 152012:40h
- Sony Xperia Z1 Compact12:37h
- HTC Desire 700 dual sim12:30h
- Sony Xperia T2 Ultra12:17h
- HTC Desire 81611:48h
- Sony Xperia Z211:32h
- LG G211:22h
- HTC One Max11:20h
- Sony Xperia ZR11:20h
- HTC Butterfly S11:07h
- LG G2 mini11:02h
- LG G36:40h
- Samsung Galaxy Nexus I92503:01h
Things are a bit closer in the video playback test, although here the Xperia Z2 still has a 2-hour advantage.
Video playback
- LG G Flex19:57h
- Samsung Galaxy Premier I926012:51h
- Nokia Lumia 152012:31h
- Samsung I9505 Galaxy S412:30h
- BlackBerry Q512:28h
- Huawei Ascend Mate12:18h
- Sony Xperia Z212:16h
- Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE12:10h
- LG G211:51h
- Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo11:38h
- Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.711:37h
- Samsung I9500 Galaxy S411:29h
- LG G39:57h
- Nokia Lumia 7103:27h
In the end, our overall test concludes that the Sony Xperia Z2 will likely last you at least a full day longer than the LG G3 in an identical use scenario. Both phones will last you through the day, but if you forget to charge your phone, you can get away with it easier with the Xperia than with the G3. Both phones have power-saving modes that disable some of the phone's features to extend the time to the next charge.
Winner: Sony Xperia Z2. The composite endurance rating gives the Sony a solid lead but, equally important, it also managed to beat its rival in two out of the three individual tests.
User interface
The LG G3 and Sony Xperia Z2 both offer Android 4.4.2 KitKat out of the box with a number of software tweaks by each parent company. As usual, Sony's modifications are lighter while LG has modded the stock Android head to toe as usual.
The LG G3 has the company's proprietary Knock Code feature that lets you get straight into the homescreen via a series of taps on certain places on the screen - even when the screen is off. Otherwise, the other standard unlock methods as well as lockscreen widgets and shortcuts are available on both devices.
The G3 lockscreen is fairly standard
Sony stayed closer to the vanilla lockscreen, the only real change is the camera shortcut at the bottom. The Xperia Z2 lockscreen supports widgets (one per pane).
Near-stock lockscreen on the Xperia Z2
The leftmost homescreen pane of the LG G3 is reserved for the so-called Smart Bulletin, which is a special space similar Samsung's My Magazine (except not as robust). Smart Bulletin posts at-a-glance info from LG's Health app and Smart tips that highlight aspects of the phone's technology and usage, but nothing else beyond that.
LG's Smart Bulletin is very limited
Sony has Socialife, which is an app instead. It merges Facebook and Twitter accounts with news sources, but doesn't take up an entire homescreen pane.
What's new is Sony's answer to Samsung's My Magazine, HTC's Blinkfeed and LG's Smart Bulletin
The Sony home screen, just like the lockscreen, is also very vanilla - you start with 5 and you can add or remove panes. One Sony addition is Themes, which pack a wallpaper and matching color highlights for UI elements.
Themes make for quick and easy customization
LG's notification area is more customizable. You can remove the brightness and volume sliders, or any of the toggles in the topmost row.
LG's notification area with Quick Settings
Sony's notification area looks more stock but Sony did put tabs on it to separate the notifications from the toggles. The toggles themselves include some Sony add-ons like the Stamina mode.
Xperia's cleaner notification area differs only slightly from vanilla Android
LG provides a private mode called Guest mode, which lets you pick apps the guest has access to, including a custom Guest gallery of photos and videos, while restricting access to the settings or multitasking features of the G3.
Guest mode on the LG G3
LG can also run split screen apps with their own Dual window feature, which offers identical capabilities to Samsung's latest Galaxies.
LG's Dual Window feature
Sony has its own multitasking feature, Small Apps. Instead of splitting the screen, Small apps live in small windows that can be moved around or minimized to a tiny icon. Like Dual Window, you need an app that specifically supports the multitasking feature, but Sony's solution can turn widgets into Small apps.
Small apps put helpful tools in floating windows
The two approaches are not really compatible. LG's approach assumes both apps are equal, while Sony's has one main app and one utility app.
Winner: LG G3. We know the Optimus UI has its vocal detractors, but no one can deny its wealth of features and a good deal of those are pretty helpful in your day-to-day operations. Dual Window is more elaborate than Small apps, too.
Performance
The LG G3 runs on a Qualcomm MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801 chipset with four Krait 400 cores clocked at 2.5GHz each. Graphics are powered by an Adreno 330 GPU, and there is a hefty dose of RAM at 3GB (2GB on the G3 version with 16GB of internal storage). The QHD display should play a factor here for two reasons - the processor and GPU will have to push harder than their 1080p counterparts and most apps (including benchmarks) haven' been optimized for QHD resolution yet.
The Sony Xperia Z2 is also powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset, the MSM8974AB variety. This means the four Krait 400 cores are clocked at 2.3GHz, the Adreno 330 GPU is identical and there is 3GB of RAM too (across all models).
When it comes to CPU performance, the European LG G3 underperforms like its Korean version. Using Basemark OS II we see the LG G3 is a hair faster than the Xperia Z2, but our anti-cheat version of the program shows a lower results for both G3 models (EU and Korean).
GeekBench 3
Higher is better
- Oppo Find 73178
- Oppo Find 7a3093
- Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)3011
- Sony Xperia Z22856
- LG G32687
- LG G Pro 22585
- LG G3 - EU version2563
- HTC One (M8)2367
Basemark OS II
Higher is better
- Oppo Find 71212
- LG G Pro 21140
- HTC One (M8)1126
- LG G3 - EU version1126
- Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)1082
- Sony Xperia Z21080
- Oppo Find 7a1057
- LG G3 - EU version (anti-cheat)1027
- LG G3945
- LG G3 (anti-cheat)804
The single and multi-core CPU scores turned out a surprise as well - the Xperia Z2, whose CPU is clocked lower at 2.3GHz, did better than the LG G3 (2.5GHz).
Basemark OS II (single-core)
Higher is better
- Oppo Find 72606
- Oppo Find 7a2580
- HTC One (M8)2428
- Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)2415
- LG G Pro 22401
- Sony Xperia Z22253
- LG G3 - EU version2213
- LG G31787
- LG G3 - EU version (anti-cheat)1769
- LG G3 (anti-cheat)1690
Basemark OS II (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Oppo Find 710391
- Oppo Find 7a10256
- Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)10063
- Sony Xperia Z210044
- HTC One (M8)9860
- LG G Pro 29802
- LG G3 - EU version9611
- LG G38337
- LG G3 - EU version (anti-cheat)7748
- LG G3 (anti-cheat)7646
AnTuTu 4 tests the entire system - CPU and GPU, but also RAM and storage. The Xperia Z2 managed to best both the European LG G3 unit with 2GB of RAM and the Korean LG G3 with 3GB of RAM.
AnTuTu 4
Higher is better
- Oppo Find 738484
- HTC One (M8)37009
- Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)36018
- Oppo Find 7a33344
- Sony Xperia Z233182
- LG G3 - EU version32780
- LG G330482
- LG G Pro 229603
Graphics benchmarks was where we expected the G3 to struggle more compared to other flagships. Indeed, in the onscreen Manhattan test the high screen resolution and the high-quality graphics rendered account for what seems to be poor performance.
Other than that, the Xperia Z2 is on par with the G3 on the off-screen graphics tests, while it does better when it comes to on-screen performance due to its lower resolution 1080p display.
GFX 2.7 T-Rex (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- HTC One (M8)28.4
- Oppo Find 7a28.4
- Oppo Find 728
- Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)27.8
- LG G327.6
- Sony Xperia Z227.2
- LG G3 - EU version27.2
- LG G Pro 222.9
GFX 2.7 T-Rex (onscreen)
Higher is better
- HTC One (M8)30.1
- Oppo Find 7a28.8
- Sony Xperia Z228.7
- Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)28.1
- LG G Pro 224.1
- LG G320.6
- LG G3 - EU version20.5
- Oppo Find 719.9
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- LG G311.9
- Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)11.8
- Sony Xperia Z211.7
- Oppo Find 7a11.4
- LG G3 - EU version11.4
- Oppo Find 711.1
- HTC One (M8)11.1
- LG G Pro 28.7
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Sony Xperia Z212.2
- HTC One (M8)11.9
- Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)11.7
- Oppo Find 7a11.4
- LG G Pro 29.2
- LG G37.4
- LG G3 - EU version7.2
- Oppo Find 76.7
Real world graphics can be measured more effectively using the benchmark feature of Epic Citadel. Here, the device is forced to run in native 1440p resolution with Ultra graphics quality, where despite scoring below other flagships, it's still able to achieve a respectable score of 43.2 fps.
Epic Citadel (Ultra)
Higher is better
- HTC One (M8)59
- Oppo Find 7a57.7
- Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)53.7
- Sony Xperia Z252.6
- LG G3 - EU version43.2
- LG G342.9
BrowserMark 2.1 looks at HTML 5 performance, while Mozilla's Kraken 1.1 is JavaScript-centric. The LG G3 scores well in both tests, which should result in a great browsing experience considering the 5.5-inch screen with 534ppi. The JavaScrpit performance of the Xperia Z2 is on par with the LG G3, while the overall browsing experience is better only on the EU LG G3 model according to the BrowserMark 2.1 test.
BrowserMark 2.1
Higher is better
- LG G3 - EU version1474
- Oppo Find 71452
- Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)1398
- LG G Pro 21346
- Oppo Find 7a1327
- LG G31254
- Sony Xperia Z21224
- HTC One (M8)1069
Kraken 1.1
Lower is better
- Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)6043
- Oppo Find 76363
- LG G Pro 26578
- Oppo Find 7a6660
- LG G3 - EU version6987
- Sony Xperia Z27041
- LG G37610
- HTC One (M8)10296
Winner: Sony Xperia Z2. While the numbers are close, the G3 falls behind in most of our tests, no matter which versions we tried (3GB and 2GB). Either the QHD screen really takes a toll on all aspects of performance, or LG are having a hard time with this particular iteration of Snapdragon 801.
Also, it's worth noting that the LG G3 has some serious overheating issues, and that the quoted benchmark numbers dropped significantly after just a few minutes of active benchmarking. The Xperia Z2 has overheating issues too, but they start to get noticed only after prolonged use of the camera or in hot weather.
Multimedia
Sony and LG have respectable camera divisions and compete in image quality but also value-added features. We'll see camera performance in the next chapter, first we'll visit the multimedia apps each company has preloaded.
Both gallery apps are custom jobs and feature extensive support for online albums. Sony's Albums pushes its PlayMemories service along with Facebook, Picasa and Flickr. It features Globe and Map views, great for finding photos you snapped abroad, and a SensMe slideshow that groups similar photos together automatically.
Sony's gallery features online album integration and map view
The LG gallery is a bit more pedestrian, and doesn't have as many sorting options. Editing is done through Google's Photos app.
Image editing on the G3 is done through Google Photos
Sony has deep roots in the music industry and uses the music player on the Xperia Z2 to feature its Music Unlimited store, which can also be a great tool for discovering music with Charts, New Releases and Channel categories. It can also be completely disabled.
Sony's Walkman-branded music player
The music player features a neat trick - the infinity button allows you to do quick lookups related to the song you're listening to. This could be finding the video on YouTube, looking for lyrics, checking out info about the artist on Wikipedia and more (it can be extended by way of plugins from the Play Store).
Finding additional contetn with the infinite button • more options
As for audio quality settings, the Xperia Z2 features a 5-band equalizer, a Clear Bass setting, Clear Stereo (it enhances the stereo effect), ClearAudio+ (adjusts the audio settings to fit the song) and dynamic normalizer (which levels out volume differences between tracks).
If you're listening music on the front-facing speakers on the Z2, Clear Phase and xLOUD promise to improve the audio quality and boost the volume respectively.
Various sound enhancement for headphones and the stereo loudspeakers
The Sony flagship also has an FM radio with RDS and TrackID integration. Once TrackID recognizes the song, you can post an "I'm listening to..." update on Facebook.
FM radio with RDS and built-in song recognition
The LG G3's music player, though looking beautiful, offers less functionality. Yes, it comes with various sorting options and a good enough Now Playing screen with support for lyrics. There are customizable equalizers too, you can even change the pitch and speed of the music.
The LG Music player with advanced equalizer settings
What's missing is manual search for lyrics and related content as Sony's infinite button is offering. There aren't as rich sound options as Sony's offering, too.
LG G3 offers FM radio only on the Euro version.
Sony video player suffers from relatively poor codec support. Notably DivX is missing, though the XviD works. It also supports MP4 and MKV files, which have overshadowed AVI in recent years - and both work fine. Unless they have multi-channel audio that is, both players pretty much only work with MP3 and AAC.
Sony's video player has an extra trick up its sleeve - much like the song recognition engine in the video player, it can recognize a movie and pull additional info including cast and plot summary.
HTPC-like video player from Sony
The video player on the G3 has a very simple interface, but is still very powerful. It does play all sorts of file types and video/audio codecs - virtually everything we threw at it.
The LG video player
It also supports subtitles and carry over the sound options from its music player. LG G3 also has the QSlide function, which puts the video in a small, resizable window with adjustable transparency if you want to use another app while watching video.
Winner: Tie. LG offers robust video decoder support, but Sony's image gallery has more sorting and editing options and the music player is more feature-rich.
Loudspeaker
Sony Xperia Z2 offers front stereo speakers, but it didn't turn them into a calling card as HTC did with its BoomBox setup.
LG has an orthodox setup - one speaker, on the back. The company seems to have decided to go with power over quantity and the speaker can produce 1W of audio normally, 1.5W with its boost feature.
The LG G3 wins in terms of raw sound volume, which is great for notifications and ringers. The stereo speakers on the Sony Xperia Z2 are more conductive to listening to music, but since they are on the front they are less likely to get muffled too.
Check out more about our tests and our loudness test in particular.
| Speakerphone test | Voice, dB | Ringing | Overall score | |
| LG G2 | 65.7 | 62.2 | 66.2 | |
| 66.7 | 64.6 | 75.7 | ||
| HTC One (M8) | 65.8 | 64.7 | 75.7 | |
| 66.9 | 66.6 | 75.7 | ||
| HTC One | 69.3 | 66.6 | 75.9 | |
| 70.2 | 66.6 | 80.2 | ||
| 71.3 | 72.5 | 75.7 | ||
| 74.6 | 71.3 | 82.7 | Excellent |
Winner: LG G3. Its speaker is louder - simple as that. Bear in mind that when the G3 lies on a table, the loudspeaker gets muffled slightly. However, the Z2 is no stranger to speaker muffling either. When you hold it in landscape position, it's really easy to place both your thumbs on top of the two speakers.
Audio quality
The LG G3 results in the first part of our audio quality test are nothing short of amazing. The smartphone produced the best numbers we've ever seen including a perfect -100 on the stereo crosstalk score. The Sony Xperia Z2 also delivers excellently clean audio output worthy of its flagship status, though couldn't quiet match the LG G3.
Plugging in a pair of headphones tells a similar story - the output is great on the Xperia Z2, but still not quite up to the G3 standard. Sadly, neither of the two contestants lived up to its high-end billing when it came to volume levels - both falling well short of the average.
| Test | Frequency response | Noise level | Dynamic range | THD | IMD + Noise | Stereo crosstalk |
| +0.02, -0.08 | -99.4 | 98.9 | 0.0016 | 0.035 | -100.0 | |
| +0.02, -0.09 | -93.7 | 93.3 | 0.0060 | 0.032 | -78.5 | |
| +0.02, -0.08 | -88.2 | 90.1 | 0.0063 | 0.013 | -88.9 | |
| +0.02, -0.08 | -84.1 | 87.1 | 0.0077 | 0.055 | -46.2 | |
| +0.08, -0.05 | -89.8 | 91.4 | 0.307 | 0.320 | -64.1 | |
| +0.08, -0.04 | -84.7 | 87.6 | 0.120 | 0.066 | -60.2 |
LG G3 frequency response
Sony Xperia Z2 frequency response
Winner: LG G3. While the majority of users will be perfectly happy with the output of either smartphone, the LG G3 produces some of the cleanest audio we've heard on a smartphone.
Photo quality
The Sony Xperia Z2's camera has the wider field of view (FoV) when using the entire frame, and while the Superior auto mode crops photos to 16:9 aspect ratio, the FOV still remains wider.
Superior Auto takes the 20.7MP frame from the Sony sensor, crops it to 16:9 and downscales the result to 8MP. Conveniently, that's just the resolution of a UHD TV so the photos will fit perfectly. The mode does some special post-processing along the way, which improves what are otherwise disappointing results at full resolution in Normal mode.
The images produced by the Xperia Z2 are very soft, most of which can be attributed to intense noise reduction. High-contrast areas like the white letters on a blue background appear like a smudgy mess even though the sensor has resolution to spare. Lower-contrast areas like the ad above the gas prices are even worse.
The LG G3 is resolving the small type - you can clearly read the word Motion. You can spot some oversharpening artifacts in that area, but it's not something you'll notice unless you view the image at 100%.
Color-wise, the two cameras are very accurate, although when looking at side-by-side samples, the Xperia Z3 has a slightly more neutral color tone that we liked better than the LG's warmer tint. The Z2's samples looked the more natural of the two.
The resolved dynamic range was slightly in the favor of the Sony Xperia Z2, but contrast goes in favor of the LG G3.
The 8MP Superior Auto shots from the Sony Xperia Z2 look noticeably sharper but the lower resolution does cause some loss in detail.
This crop also has the three primary colors visible - Red, Blue and Green. Neither phone hits the mark with the rendering - the contrast are a bit too much in the LG G3 photo and a bit too little in the Xperia Z2 Normal mode photo. The Superior auto mode seems to be closest to the truth.
The Sony Xperia Z2 struggles with foliage. The grey roof in the center of the image also shows a clear oversharpening halo. The Sony Xperia Z2 in Superior auto renders the tree better than Normal mode though not better than the LG G3. The fire escape in the background also improves with Superior Auto though again not enough to beat the G3.
Here go the full res samples, if you feel like performing your own comparisons.
LG G3 camera samples
Sony Xperia Z2 Normal mode camera samples
Sony Xperia Z2 Superior Auto samples
When it comes to HDR, both devices tell a much different story. The dynamic range gets higher and you get to keep the detail and get more in the shadows. The Sony Xperia Z2 is capable of taking HDR shots only in 8MP (or below) and it is more conservative on the expansion of the dynamic range mostly because it resolves more than the LG G3 in the first place. On the other hand, the lower dynamic range on the G3 gets insanely high in the HDR mode bringing out more detail from the shadows but making the shots look quite unnatural.
Sony Xperia Z2 Normal • Sony Xperia Z2 HDR • LG G3 Normal • LG G3 HDR
We moved to a dark room to try the low-light performance of both phones. This is the Xperia Z2's time to shine - it has a wider f/2.0 aperture and a larger 1/2.3" sensor, compared to LG G3's f/2.4 lens and 1/3" sensor. The super sampling performed by Superior Auto will also be of great help.
The first test is with the flash off. The Sony Xperia Z2 photos were taken at 1/32s shutter speed. There is lots of noise and very little to none effort for noise reduction. The LG G3 chose to shoot at 1/12s. It has a better noise reduction, it manages to keep lots of detail and the white balance looks more natural.
Next, we enabled the LED flashes (which only work at relatively short distances) and took more photos. The camera samples of both shooters have clear traces of camera shake. The Xperia Z2 retained its shutter speed but dropped the ISO from 800 down to 500, capturing a better level of detail.
The LG G3 features a dual-tone flash, which is meant to produce more natural white balance in flash photography as the color of the flash output changes to match the ambient light of the scene.
With the flash on, the G3 shot at half the ISO, but also at a slower shutter speed at 1/16s. While the produced images once again offer more detail and little noise, the color temperature of the shots of the G3 now leans to red, which means that the true tone flash doesn't really do what it's supposed to.
Again, a LED flash really isn't effective beyond 2m/6ft.
LG G3 low-light samples: flash off • flash on
Sony Xperia Z2 low light samples, Normal mode: flash off • flash on
Sony Xperia Z2 low light samples, Superior auto: flash off • flash on
Finally, we took both phones outside again to test their panorama capabilities. The LG G3 offers 180-degree pano shots and can snap those in both portrait and landscape modes. If you opt for the portrait orientation you'll get bigger field of view and higher resolution - about 20,000 x 4,050 compared to 20,000 x 2,250 px in landscape. The quality is great, and the stitching is near perfect.
LG G3 panorama shots in landscape and portrait orientation
Sony Xperia Z2, just like the rest of the Xperia lineup, is capable of snapping panoramas at the measly resolution of 4,912 x 1,080 pixels. These also add up for 180-degree view and the portrait orientation does offer bigger field of view, but the quality is just awful. To make things even worse, of you decide to end the shooting process before reaching the end of the panorama slider, you'll also get the same resolution image completed with gray space. Not good, Sony, not good at all!
Sony Xperia Z2 panorama shots in landscape and portrait orientation (with cropped gray area)
Also, check out our Photo comparison tool that pits the two phones against each other.
LG G3 and Sony Xperia Z2 in our Photo Comparison Tool
Both phones offer some playful effects. The Xperia Z2 can overlay an imaginary 3D world over the photo with the AR effect (at a meager 1080p resolution) or use the GPS and compass to overlay info about your surroundings whit Info-eye. It has a dedicated Vine mode too. You can also stream content from your camera straight to YouTube.
LG has a simpler interface, but still offers the dual-shot mode. It does have the nifty magic focus feature that lets you choose an object to focus on after you take the picture. It requires some setup and a steady hand, however.
Winner: LG G3. Although the dynamic range and the white balance weren't as good as the Xperia Z2, the daylight shots still were superior. It also resolves more detail on the low-light shots no matter if you are using the LED flash or not. And the true-tone flash eventually allows for natural flash shots.
Video quality
Since videos are shot in 16:9 mode, both phones have the same field of view at 1080p resolution, but the Sony Xperia Z2 enjoying a wider one when you go at 2160p.
Keep in mind that both phones are limited to just 5 minutes of 2160p videos, so if you need longer clips you'll have to settle for good old 1080p.
MP4 containers with the AVC codec are the choice, but the Sony Xperia Z2 uses a higher framerate, 55Mbps, than the LG G3, 30Mbps. The two have the same audio bitrate, 156Kbps, and they both sound about the same in terms of fidelity.
In theory, the higher bitrate should give the Xperia Z2 an advantage in terms of fine detail, but the LG G3 videos actually look sharper. The contrast and dynamic range aren't as good, but the LG did get the colors closer to reality.
At 1080p resolution, the bitrates get closer at about 17Mbps for the Xperia Z2 and 20Mbps for the LG G3. Here the LG G3 image also looks better, keeping the same pros and cons from the 2160p samples. By the looks of it, Sony's downsampling isn't as smooth as there are some visible jaggies in diagonal lines. Fine detail like text doesn't looks as good as in the LG video either and the samples are noisier.
Sony Xperia Z2 supports 1080p at 60fps video recording, where actually the quality gets better. The contrast seems better, the noise levels drop to a more reasonable levels. Naturally, the 60fps videos are buttery smooth and there are no visible artefacts. Unfortunately, the LG G3 1080p quality looks slightly better even though it is limited to 30fps capturing.
The two flagships support shooting at 720p @ 120fps. The 120fps mode on the Xperia Z2 is called Time shift since it plays back at normal speed and transitions to slo-mo at a user selected point in the video. The Xperia Z2 also have video HDR modes, but doesn't work on 2160p resolution.
LG G3 vs Sony Xperia Z2 at 2160p
Sony Xperia Z1 vs LG G3 vs Sony Xperia Z2 at 1080p
Winner: LG G3. It offered a sharper image in both 2160p and 1080p modes, even if the contrast wasn't quite what we would have liked. The Sony Xperia Z2 videos are pretty good in general but loses the head to head combat at both resolutions.
Other apps
We won't go into detail about the phone and messaging apps, but the flagships offers some features that deserve a mention.
The Sony Xperia Z2 has an unusual Slow Talk option that will slow down the speech of the other caller. We guess this could be useful for bilingual calls where you need more time to process what was said. The phone app even has an equalizer with Normal, Bright and Smooth presets.
The LG G3 goes has HD voice settings, as well as the ability to reduce background noise and even enhance voice clarity in noisy environments.
Both companies worked on their own keyboards. They have the basics like predictive input and swipe typing, but LG has added a floating keyboard option, which takes up less space and can be moved around (good for Dual Window use). LG has added a lot of nifty tricks that let the keyboard learn from your habits, including not only commonly used/misspelled words, but also the ability to register key-presses differently so you make fewer mistakes while typing. Sony's keyboard is skinnable - the way it looks and the choice of available buttons are customizable with a quick setup wizard.
Split keyboard on LG's Optimus UI • skinnable keyboard on Xperia Z2
Both phones come with Office suites that allows only for viewing documents, while editing requires a purchase. The LG G3, uses the ThinkFree Viewer for office applications, while the Sony Xperia Z2 on the other hand comes with the Office Suite 7 Viewer preloaded.
LG G3's ThinkFree Viewer • Sony Xperia Z2's Office Suite 7 Viewer
LG's Health app performs basic fitness tracking functions - it tracks basic activities including walking, running, and cycling, and you can create a LG account to compete with other LG Health users as well.
LG Health
Sony has a health accessory too, the Smart Band. It works as a step counter, but it will also monitor your sleep and pick the best time to wake you. It comes with a Lifelog app that is part exercise tracker, part life logger. This app doesn't work well without the band though and the exercise tracking isn't nearly as advanced as what LG Health offers.
Sony's Lifelog tries to track your exercise as well as your life story
Sony Xperia Z2 comes with the PlayStation app that connects to your PS4 console and lets you view news, your profile, chat with PSN friends and display game alerts. The Xperia Z2 is also compatible with DualShock 3 controllers so you can play games with proper joystick and buttons.
PlayStation app
Sony bundles the Smart Connect app on its phones with which you can automate certain tasks. It can mute the phone during the night or start the music player when you plug in the headphones. The company has yet to add NFC support though.
Smart Connect lacks NFC options
Finally, the IR-port on the top of the LG G3 lets you control a wide variety of electronics and appliances via the QRemote app. QRemote has seen a wide range of improvements over its initial iteration on the G2, and now features a much larger database of TV sets, set-top boxes, and audio receivers than before. Even better, it gives you the ability to create a universal remote, complete with button mapping.
The updated QRemote app
Winner: Tie. Depending on which features you need the most, you should consider your own winner here. Sony offers nice integration with its PlayStation consoles and services, while LG bets on the QRemote control, better keyboard and better Health app.
Conclusion
The phone that opened the season of flagship debuts and the one that makes it a full circle. If done right, a full circle in this business is a level up on an ascending spiral. It looks like LG did it right, to find themselves perched at the top in terms of screen resolution. Then again, Sony of course will tell you that a QHD screen can't buy you love.
It's not who you trust. It's what you want in a phone. Sony and LG obviously have different takes on Android, phone design, imaging. They even differ on the value-added apps and services. That's what these articles are for. You should know better by now than to expect us to declare a winner. We try to help you instead make the most of the choice you're given. We compare, we look for the tradeoffs you'll be making.
A QHD display is a luxury, the ultimate bragging right. The best screen to enjoy high-res content on - of which we'll only be having more and more. The overall system speed is a casualty, as you can see in the benchmarks we ran. Battery life is another.
The Xperia Z2 has by far the better battery backup - but the LG G3 has a user-replaceable battery. This means you can double your battery life in places where a power outlet is a luxury. Then again - if you're likely to find yourself in such a place, wouldn't you be better off with a waterproof device?
The LG G3 has no water and dust resistance rating - which is a major disadvantage against an IP-certified rival. It's a rival too that's one of the hottest looking pieces of hardware around. Yet, the LG G3 can stand as an equal - one of the select few, which don't give plastic a bad name. And those insanely slim bezels.
LG G3
The LG G3 is the better cameraphone - a great feat considering it's competing against a bigger sensor and more raw resolution. Things like OIS and phase-detect auto-focus do make a difference after all - but not if slow-mo videos are a must. And the Xperia Z2's 1080p videos at 60fps are quite good actually.
The Xperia Z2 bets on a clean, almost vanilla user interface, which is fast but offers little customization and fewer extra features beyond pure Android. The camera quality is questionable and the shooting modes are confusing, though.
Sony Xperia Z2
The highly-customizable Optimus UI on the LG G3 is loaded with extras such as Guest Mode, Smart Bulletin and the Dual Window mode. Sony has a response to some of them but the G3 has the richer software package overall.
It's worth noting too that while they were busy putting together one of the first QHD screens on a smartphone, LG had the time - and good sense - to fix the things that needed fixing in the previous generation. Expandable storage and a user-replaceable battery in a better looking body are a major win in our books.
Sony took a more conservative approach this time around and, although there were fewer things for them to address, some may've felt a slight disappointment. Yet, with a reduced interval between launches, Sony is the one to watch for the next big flagship announcement.
Needless to say, this is to be continued. There'll be more battles like this and hopefully we'll be around to help you make up your mind. As for the winners and losers, the one that has the answer is you.
LG G3 vs. Sony Xperia Z2: Distance to impact
![LG G3 vs. Sony Xperia Z2: Distance to impact]()
Reviewed by Anonymous
on
July 07, 2014
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