Sony Xperia XZ2 vs Galaxy S9 Specs Comparison: Showdown of Flagships at MWC 2018
Several smartphone makers flocked to the 2018 Mobile World Congress to launch their newest products and flagships, which included Sony's Xperia XZ2 and Samsung's Galaxy S9 series.
While there were a lot of new smartphones unveiled at the opening of MWC, the Xperia XZ2 and Galaxy S9 were undoubtedly some of the highly anticipated top-of-the-line devices presented. Although it will still take a while before these are in stores, it is worth comparing their known technical specifications and see which one stands out.
Display
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At first glance, the Galaxy S9 looks the same as its predecessor, the Galaxy S8, which debuted the Infinity Display innovation that uses OLED panels. While the Xperia XZ2 still did not follow the bezel-less design trend, there were some very noticeable changes in the device's screen as its top and bottom bezels have become smaller.
Both the Galaxy S9's and Xperia XZ2's screens have 18:9 aspect ratios though Samsung's newest flagship has a slightly bigger screen at 5.8 inches compared to XZ2's 5.7-inch display. Another advantage that the Galaxy S9 has is its support for QHD+ viewing while the XZ2 can only handle Full HD.
Design
Sony gets additional points for applying several and very noticeable design changes on the Xperia XZ2. Aside from its top and bottom bezels becoming much smaller which allows for more viewing space, the device's corners have also dropped some of its sharp edge feel which makes the XZ2 look sleeker than its predecessor.
Major design changes were also applied to the XZ2's rear side. Instead of being placed at the rear top left corner, its camera was moved to the center of the device. The fingerprint scanner has also been relocated to the back and can now be found below the camera.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S9 looks very similar to the Galaxy S8 at first glance. However, Samsung can also take credit for listening to its customers' feedback on the awkward placement of the fingerprint scanner before. On the S9, the biometric sensor has found a better location in the middle, right below the rear camera.
Camera
One of the highlighted features in both smartphones are their cameras. Sony manufactures some of the best cameras in the market and their Xperia lineup had definitely benefited from that.
Apart from a hefty 19-megapixel resolution, the XZ2's main camera is also equipped with Sony's MotionEye technology that detects the subject's movements more accurately for better shots. It is also worth noting that the XZ2 has the ability to capture videos in 4K HDR.
On the other hand, the Galaxy S9's camera will not disappoint either. Its biggest selling point is its dual-aperture capability (f/1.5 to f/2.4) that lets the sensor automatically adjust based on the lighting conditions when taking photos or videos.
Both devices support slow-motion video capture -- up to 720p in the S8 and up to 1080p in XZ2. However, it is important to note that Samsung's device can capture longer period of slow-mo images.
Core Specs
The Galaxy S8 and Xperia XZ2 will be powered by the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 that is clocked at 2.8 GHz. Both will also come out of the box with Android 8.0 Oreo and with 4 GB of random access memory. As for the internal storage, the XZ2 has 64 GB while there will be 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB variants of the S9. The XZ2 will also have a 3,180 mAh battery while the Galaxy S9 will run on a 3,000 mAh pack.
As for the exact pricing of the XZ2, reports expect it to cost around 699 British pounds (roughly $962), which is a little bit cheaper than the S9, whose price starts at 739 pounds (around $1017).
