Z Force vs. Z Play

[1901Madison]

Hi all. I have a Z Force as my work phone and a Z Play as my personal phone. In all aspects outside of battery life, I prefer the Force ever so slightly. It has a better screen, feels a little more premium in hand, has a more sturdy feel to it, etc. The Play is extraordinarily close in all respects, but ever so slightly behind.

However, despite the fact that the two phones have almost identical size batteries, the Z Play gets literally double the battery life to the Z Force. In SOT, standby, usage - with all metrics it doubles up the Force. I know all about the specs, but the Force really shouldn't be getting half the battery life of the Play, right? The phones are set up exactly the same way, so that can't be causing the variance. Is it really possible that the more powerful processor, more resolute screen and 1 extra GB of RAM halves battery life? Screen resolution can't be that huge of a factor because the same holds true with standby when screen is off.

Any thoughts?

 

[Ry]

Hi all. I have a Z Force as my work phone and a Z Play as my personal phone. In all aspects outside of battery life, I prefer the Force ever so slightly. It has a better screen, feels a little more premium in hand, has a more sturdy feel to it, etc. The Play is extraordinarily close in all respects, but ever so slightly behind.

However, despite the fact that the two phones have almost identical size batteries, the Z Play gets literally double the battery life to the Z Force. In SOT, standby, usage - with all metrics it doubles up the Force. I know all about the specs, but the Force really shouldn't be getting half the battery life of the Play, right? The phones are set up exactly the same way, so that can't be causing the variance. Is it really possible that the more powerful processor, more resolute screen and 1 extra GB of RAM halves battery life? Screen resolution can't be that huge of a factor because the same holds true with standby when screen is off.

Any thoughts?

..Screen resolution is a major factor, IMO.

 

[1901Madison]

..Screen resolution is a major factor, IMO.

That's true, but then how to account for the huge discrepancy in idle drain (when the screen is off)?

 

[doogald]

Is it really possible that the more powerful processor, more resolute screen and 1 extra GB of RAM halves battery life?

I doubt that the RAM has much effect (more RAM should be better for battery life, as the OS would have to spend less time managing RAM usage), but - yes. It's not just the screen resolution (which affects processor usage for apps which draw a lot on the display - that's 75% or so more pixels on the Force, and the GPU probably needs to do a lot more calculating for each change on the display), but also that the Z Force probably has brightness pushed up a bit because of the multi-layer shatter-resistant display.

But, if I were to make a guess, it's the processors that make the most power difference compared with the Z Force (and Z).

 

[PowrDroid]

Is it possible to turn the Force's screen resolution down to 1080? Then check the battery life comparison?

BTW, what is your typical battery life on the Force? Screen on time? Does it get you fully through a day's use?

 

[mobrules]

Hi all. I have a Z Force as my work phone and a Z Play as my personal phone. In all aspects outside of battery life, I prefer the Force ever so slightly. It has a better screen, feels a little more premium in hand, has a more sturdy feel to it, etc. The Play is extraordinarily close in all respects, but ever so slightly behind.

However, despite the fact that the two phones have almost identical size batteries, the Z Play gets literally double the battery life to the Z Force. In SOT, standby, usage - with all metrics it doubles up the Force. I know all about the specs, but the Force really shouldn't be getting half the battery life of the Play, right? The phones are set up exactly the same way, so that can't be causing the variance. Is it really possible that the more powerful processor, more resolute screen and 1 extra GB of RAM halves battery life? Screen resolution can't be that huge of a factor because the same holds true with standby when screen is off.

Any thoughts?

I have both phones also. (wife didnt like zplay).
I dont have both activated at the same time. I do switch back and forth, but I will confirm the Z Play has way better battery life. I go to the extreme with disabling bloatware and restricting background data. When I set them up the same overnight the Force battery will lose 3% in about 10 hours. The Play (set up exactly the same way) will still be at 100% over the same 10 hours.

Put a new battery into RMHD for the wife. Battery life on that competes with the play. Small screen and 3300 mah battery is a beast.

 

[benjamminh]

My wife has the Play, I have the Force. For the money, the Play is a beast. I think there's a decent advantage in camera to the Force as well as screen. Memory management also probably. I'm getting around 30 hours with 6 hours SOT right now with the Force, so I don't think the Play would double it but still do significantly better.

 

[1901Madison]

Is it possible to turn the Force's screen resolution down to 1080? Then check the battery life comparison?

BTW, what is your typical battery life on the Force? Screen on time? Does it get you fully through a day's use?

I get about 30 hours total with about 6 hours SOT on the Force. It's totally fine for my needs on 98 percent of days. But the Play is giving me 12+ hours SOT over about 3 days.

 

[benjamminh]

^That truly is incredible battery life!

 

[YAYTech]

Shame the Z Play isn't Daydream Certified, it seems to be so close in most other aspects.

 

[Ry]

Shame the Z Play isn't Daydream Certified, it seems to be so close in most other aspects.

Will there be Daydream devices that use the 625?

 

[sulla1965]

If camera is important, than the Force is the much better choice IMO

 

[1901Madison]

If camera is important, than the Force is the much better choice IMO

You think the Force camera is that much better than the Play?

 

[doogald]

You think the Force camera is that much better than the Play?

Specs-wise, it absolutely should be. f/2.0 vs. f/1.8 means better performance in low light, as does OIS on the Z Force.

 

[Dconn1975]

I owned the Z Force when I was with Verizon. Had to let it go when I left. I loved it. One of the best devices I've used. So with knowing that I recently bought the regular Z. I sent it back to Amazon three days later. Terrible battery and I was forced to keep the battery mod on at all times. I've researched the Play vs the Force and from what I have been told and read, the Play is the closest to the Force. As soon as I get my refund with Amazon, I'm ordering the Z Play. I've been told real world performance is very close between the two and the 1080p is more than enough screen resolution. Then there is the huge battery life which means I can use other mods more often. One of my favorite mods is the JBL. So once my Play arrives I'll have owned all three. I'm thinking the Z is in third place overall. The Z battery was the worst I've used in a long time. Plus it's way to thin. Feels like non premium to me. I'd have the Force if weren't a Verizon exclusive so the Play will be my second phone as I keep two numbers.

 

[1901Madison]

I owned the Z Force when I was with Verizon. Had to let it go when I left. I loved it. One of the best devices I've used. So with knowing that I recently bought the regular Z. I sent it back to Amazon three days later. Terrible battery and I was forced to keep the battery mod on at all times. I've researched the Play vs the Force and from what I have been told and read, the Play is the closest to the Force. As soon as I get my refund with Amazon, I'm ordering the Z Play. I've been told real world performance is very close between the two and the 1080p is more than enough screen resolution. Then there is the huge battery life which means I can use other mods more often. One of my favorite mods is the JBL. So once my Play arrives I'll have owned all three. I'm thinking the Z is in third place overall. The Z battery was the worst I've used in a long time. Plus it's way to thin. Feels like non premium to me. I'd have the Force if weren't a Verizon exclusive so the Play will be my second phone as I keep two numbers.

I strongly suspect you will be very pleased with the Play. It's an awesome phone, incredible for the money.

 

[YAYTech]

Will there be Daydream devices that use the 625?

No idea, but I suspect not.