Iphone Se Or Xperia Z5 Compact - Which is the better compact smartphone?
For folks who like smaller phones, there isn't really much options around. So let's take another look at two older but still very capable compact devices, and see how they stack up against one another. ----- Photos taken by Xperia Z5 Compact: ****** Photos taken by iPhone SE: ****** ----- Links to my social media where you can follow me too. Instagram: ****** Google : ****** Facebook: ****** Twitter: ****** ----- Credits for the background music: Talky Beat by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (****** Source: ****** Artist: ******
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I've always preferred smartphones that I can use one-handed easily.
But these days, there isn't really much options around for me to choose from.
I happen to have the older, but still very capable Z5 Compact,
and the iPhone SE with me.
So let’s do a quick comparison and see what each of them can do.
I’ll like to start by talking about the operating system.
Because truth be told,
if you have a platform that you prefer, there really isn’t a need to watch any further.
If you want iOS, it’s the iPhone SE.
If you want Android, it’s the Z5 Compact.
Both OS has their own strengths and weaknesses,
and it’s going to be your personal preference.
Sony’s version of Android, is quite near stock Android.
It may have a bit of bloatware, but most of them can be removed.
iOS, is just iOS.
It might be a bit more restrictive compared to Android,
but I did find it to have better experience when it comes to using third party apps.
But one thing to note is that even though they both run the latest version of their
respective OS,
the iPhone SE will probably get better software support.
Both devices are equally good looking to me.
Both looks premium enough, and feels solid in the hand.
The Z5 Compact is just a tad bigger than the iPhone SE
with a slightly bigger screen at 4.6-inch compared to the 4-inch screen on the iPhone SE.
Both looks good enough with nice outdoor visibility and has similar pixel density too.
They both have fingerprint sensors, and even though one is at the front,
and the other is at the side, both works well enough for me.
There are two things here that I really like about the Z5 Compact.
One, is the water and dust resistance.
Two, is the stereo speaker setup.
The speaker on the iPhone SE simply doesn’t sound as good, and it’s too easy to cover it up.
Performance wise, the A9 processor in the iPhone SE is the clear winner for me.
Not just in terms of speed, but also in thermal performance.
The Z5 Compact’s Snapdragon 810 chipset gets warm rather easily,
and might be a bit annoying if you are a heavier user.
They both pack in 2GB of RAM, but Apple’s better RAM management means that apps stays
in the RAM a bit longer.
But in terms of network speeds,
the Z5 Compact has faster LTE speeds compared to the iPhone SE with support for Cat.6 LTE.
It even has support for FM radio.
In terms of storage, the Z5 Compact has 32GB of internal storage, expandable via a microSD card.
iPhone SE has a built in storage of 32 or a 128GB.
If you include the older versions, it comes in 16 and 64GB as well.
Some folks swear by expandable storage, but for me I’m okay with or without.
When talking about battery life, it will depend on your usage of the phone.
For my type of usage, the iPhone SE has better battery life for me because the standby battery
life is so good.
The Z5 Compact has a way larger battery at 2,700mAh compared to the iPhone SE’s battery
of 1,624mAh,
but the Snapdragon 810 isn’t the most power efficient chipset,
and Android just works a little bit differently compared to iOS.
The Z5 Compact does support fast charging,
but I wouldn’t really say it’s a huge advantage since the battery on the iPhone SE
is smaller.
So it doesn’t really take that long to charge it up.
On paper, the Z5 Compact’s 23MP camera dwarfs the iPhone SE’s 12MP camera.
But putting the resolution aside, I tend to prefer the iPhone SE because it’s just more consistent.
The image processing on the iPhone SE just looks more pleasing to me.
In low light the Z5 Compact seems to handle the colours a bit better, but it’s still
a hit or miss.
The camera app on the iPhone SE is fast and easy to use, and the auto mode works great
pretty much all of the time.
Whereas Sony’s camera app can be a bit finicky.
It also has the tendency of boosting the colours a bit too much, which I’m not a huge fan of.
Both phones lack optical image stabilisation, so for video recording, they’re both using
electronic stabilisation.
They both record at 4K resolution as well.
Front camera wise, the 1.2MP camera on the iPhone SE is actually still comparable to
the Z5 Compact’s 5MP camera.
The iPhone SE seems to be better at preserving details, and I prefer the more natural looking
colours from the iPhone SE.
In the end, it’s really up to you which one you prefer more.
They’re both good compact devices, but they’re both not perfect.
For the Z5 Compact, I wished the processor, thermal performance,
the battery life, and the camera can be more like the iPhone SE.
For the iPhone SE, I wished it could have the water resistance, stereo speakers,
and better network performance from the Z5 Compact.
A slightly bigger screen doesn’t hurt too.
Both of these devices still works great in 2017,
and are amongst the best compact smartphones you can buy still.
Granted, there isn’t really much options around anyway.
I really do hope that we’ll see more compact smartphones in the future,
but at the rate that things are going, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Thanks for watching this video,
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Thanks, and see you guys on the next one.
