Bear with me. I want to take a minute and give you my review of why I switched from the Sony Xperia Z3 to the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. I also want to give you the main differences between owning each device.
The first handset I will review with be the Sony Xperia Z3. I pre-ordered my unit Last November through T-mobile using their JUMP! plan. Sony has gained my interest since their split with Ericsson. This was the first variant from the Z line that I just had to have. To tell you the truth it was the camera and waterproofing that put me over the edge. The 6 month flagship life cycle is what kept me from getting earlier models (Z, Z1, Z/Z1s). The Samsung Galaxy 6 Edge is my daily driver now. The last Samsung device i owned was the Galaxy Note II. The previous Galaxy models just didn't differentiate enough to deem the devices as a must have.
First off let me tell you that Sony Xperia Z3 is one of the most beautiful phones on the market. If we are just talking pure aesthetics, it is in my opinion the best. The miminslist conservative design makes it an instant conversation piece. Now as for durability, that's another story. You are going to want to instantly put a case on this handset. Though the front bezel comes equipped with raised edges on the corner, you will find out that the screen easily picks up scratches. As for the back glass, IT IS EVENTUALLY GOING TO BREAK. This is not just a matter of opinion. Let me explain. The phone actually has overheating issue where the handset becomes extremely hot. I had to have 2 replaced in the first 6 months due to this issue. When the phone becomes hot the back panel will crack by simply charging the phone. Once again this happened twice on two different handsets with a case on the phone. It was one single crack down the back glass panel of the device. This phone is way too gorgeous for this issue to be prevalent. You can imagine how it would make a consumer feel after purchasing this device. Sony on the other considers this issue physical abuse and has yet to take responsibility for this issue.
The camera on the device is solid. However, it just isn't as consistent as you would expect a flagship device to be. Some photos are over exposed and others come out darker. On the whole it still is a great experience. The addition of the dedicated camera button is just wonderful. I call it a case of "you don't know what your missing until you have it." It makes taking pictures that much more pleasurable and adds to the user experience. The front camera is amateurish at best and performs horribly in anything but optimum lighting. The photos are filled with noise and have a noticeable red tint the makes the photos look atrocious at best.
The battery life is amazing. I am a heavy user that has 10 emails accounts hooked up to my device. I also am on social networks for the majority of the day and I'm still able to squeeze out between 14-18 hours out between charges. I never have to worry about my phone being dead unless I forget to charge it the night before. The ultra stamina mode is also a life saver though it limits the phone to: talk, text, and FM radio (for some odd reason). This is the best battery life I have ever experience in a modern day smartphone.
Waterproofing is genius. I have no idea why every device doesn't have this feature by now.
Sony's Xperia Z3 also has expandable memory. That my friend is awesome.
The front facing speakers are awesome as well. When at full volume you will experience some distortion but take it down one notch and it seems to fix the issue just fine. The on-board audio can use some work. Anything you use headphones to listen to is noticeably lower on this device compared to other devices in the market; something I would imagine a software update could fix.
Now for the Samsung Galaxy 6 Edge. It is as beautiful as it is innovative. The curved edges tie in seamlessly with the bezel. The design is dope. It also has a glass back panel and contrary to reports my device isn't a scratch magnet in the slightest. The one major gripe however is the curved edges in use. There is a definite learning curve with learning how to hold the handset without accidentally hitting parts of the screen inadvertently. I find myself cringing every time I have to ask someone to take a picture with the camera app open as they almost always close the camera by mistake. I, myself, still have issues with pressing the wrong parts of the screen when using the Edge.
The camera is incredibly sharp and gets it right the first time around. The front camera also has a much better low light performance than my most recent experience.
The biggest downfall of the Samsung Galaxy 6 Edge is the battery life. That being said, thank God for quick charging. This phone gives me 5 to 6 hours at most oh on-screen usage. Sony has me spoiled; I must admit. I have to charge this phone at least 3 times throughout the day just to be able to function. Battery saving mode does help but it also cuts down on performance. There is a small yet still noticeable lag when using the device with this option that wasn't apparent in the Sony handset. Thankfully, Samsung equips this model with quick charge and I can usually be fully operational in about an hour or less. It still affects my day negatively because I'm constant checking the battery to make sure I have enough juice to make it to the next outlet.
The new Samsung Galaxy 6 variants do not have expandable memory. However, they come with 32gb of on-board storage and a host of cloud storage options. Between 100gb free from Microsoft's OneDrive, Google Photos & Drive, and dropbox; storage is not an issue.
The audio experience on this device is definitely up to par with what you would expect from a flagship device in this day and age. I do not like the placement of the speaker on the bottom of the device due to audio being constantly muffled from the way in naturally hold the phone. Other than that the speaker is very capable and extremely clear.
In all, if you were to take the positives of each of these devices and combine them into one unit, that would be the company that would truly make a run for the ultimate handset.
Typed on my Samsung Galaxy Edge 6
Posted via the Android Central App
The first handset I will review with be the Sony Xperia Z3. I pre-ordered my unit Last November through T-mobile using their JUMP! plan. Sony has gained my interest since their split with Ericsson. This was the first variant from the Z line that I just had to have. To tell you the truth it was the camera and waterproofing that put me over the edge. The 6 month flagship life cycle is what kept me from getting earlier models (Z, Z1, Z/Z1s). The Samsung Galaxy 6 Edge is my daily driver now. The last Samsung device i owned was the Galaxy Note II. The previous Galaxy models just didn't differentiate enough to deem the devices as a must have.
First off let me tell you that Sony Xperia Z3 is one of the most beautiful phones on the market. If we are just talking pure aesthetics, it is in my opinion the best. The miminslist conservative design makes it an instant conversation piece. Now as for durability, that's another story. You are going to want to instantly put a case on this handset. Though the front bezel comes equipped with raised edges on the corner, you will find out that the screen easily picks up scratches. As for the back glass, IT IS EVENTUALLY GOING TO BREAK. This is not just a matter of opinion. Let me explain. The phone actually has overheating issue where the handset becomes extremely hot. I had to have 2 replaced in the first 6 months due to this issue. When the phone becomes hot the back panel will crack by simply charging the phone. Once again this happened twice on two different handsets with a case on the phone. It was one single crack down the back glass panel of the device. This phone is way too gorgeous for this issue to be prevalent. You can imagine how it would make a consumer feel after purchasing this device. Sony on the other considers this issue physical abuse and has yet to take responsibility for this issue.
The camera on the device is solid. However, it just isn't as consistent as you would expect a flagship device to be. Some photos are over exposed and others come out darker. On the whole it still is a great experience. The addition of the dedicated camera button is just wonderful. I call it a case of "you don't know what your missing until you have it." It makes taking pictures that much more pleasurable and adds to the user experience. The front camera is amateurish at best and performs horribly in anything but optimum lighting. The photos are filled with noise and have a noticeable red tint the makes the photos look atrocious at best.
The battery life is amazing. I am a heavy user that has 10 emails accounts hooked up to my device. I also am on social networks for the majority of the day and I'm still able to squeeze out between 14-18 hours out between charges. I never have to worry about my phone being dead unless I forget to charge it the night before. The ultra stamina mode is also a life saver though it limits the phone to: talk, text, and FM radio (for some odd reason). This is the best battery life I have ever experience in a modern day smartphone.
Waterproofing is genius. I have no idea why every device doesn't have this feature by now.
Sony's Xperia Z3 also has expandable memory. That my friend is awesome.
The front facing speakers are awesome as well. When at full volume you will experience some distortion but take it down one notch and it seems to fix the issue just fine. The on-board audio can use some work. Anything you use headphones to listen to is noticeably lower on this device compared to other devices in the market; something I would imagine a software update could fix.
Now for the Samsung Galaxy 6 Edge. It is as beautiful as it is innovative. The curved edges tie in seamlessly with the bezel. The design is dope. It also has a glass back panel and contrary to reports my device isn't a scratch magnet in the slightest. The one major gripe however is the curved edges in use. There is a definite learning curve with learning how to hold the handset without accidentally hitting parts of the screen inadvertently. I find myself cringing every time I have to ask someone to take a picture with the camera app open as they almost always close the camera by mistake. I, myself, still have issues with pressing the wrong parts of the screen when using the Edge.
The camera is incredibly sharp and gets it right the first time around. The front camera also has a much better low light performance than my most recent experience.
The biggest downfall of the Samsung Galaxy 6 Edge is the battery life. That being said, thank God for quick charging. This phone gives me 5 to 6 hours at most oh on-screen usage. Sony has me spoiled; I must admit. I have to charge this phone at least 3 times throughout the day just to be able to function. Battery saving mode does help but it also cuts down on performance. There is a small yet still noticeable lag when using the device with this option that wasn't apparent in the Sony handset. Thankfully, Samsung equips this model with quick charge and I can usually be fully operational in about an hour or less. It still affects my day negatively because I'm constant checking the battery to make sure I have enough juice to make it to the next outlet.
The new Samsung Galaxy 6 variants do not have expandable memory. However, they come with 32gb of on-board storage and a host of cloud storage options. Between 100gb free from Microsoft's OneDrive, Google Photos & Drive, and dropbox; storage is not an issue.
The audio experience on this device is definitely up to par with what you would expect from a flagship device in this day and age. I do not like the placement of the speaker on the bottom of the device due to audio being constantly muffled from the way in naturally hold the phone. Other than that the speaker is very capable and extremely clear.
In all, if you were to take the positives of each of these devices and combine them into one unit, that would be the company that would truly make a run for the ultimate handset.
Typed on my Samsung Galaxy Edge 6
Posted via the Android Central App
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