Galaxy S9 vs. Xperia XZ2 shootout

02 April 2018
Samsung has the Plus, Sony has the Compact, but the two companies see the base size differently. It's these regular versions that we'll now be taking a closer look at - this is the Galaxy S9 versus Xperia XZ2 camera comparison.

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • ss1
  • 03 Apr 2018

joy, 03 Apr 2018be it iPX or XZ2, the S9 is the king of smartphone cameras.Still can’t beat iPhone X keep dreaming.

    • E
    • Electrical Engineer
    • X}5
    • 03 Apr 2018

    melodika, 03 Apr 2018I made this comparison with the photos of the first part of... moreI saw your samples which you have resized to the same level of resolution. I fully agree with you. I would prefer xz2 over s9 for more details plus at this level noise is negligible

      • j
      • joy
      • 7tW
      • 03 Apr 2018

      be it iPX or XZ2, the S9 is the king of smartphone cameras.

        In that case why the xz2 only deserve a 4.3 score? I think only can lose points in stabilization and artifacts but must be better in other areas... i think 4.3 is a bit short and people will think that s9 is very good in comparison....

          • P
          • Petr
          • CSK
          • 03 Apr 2018

          Xperia far better device. Sony producing the best phones with excellent support.

            • l
            • lolpanda
            • PA}
            • 03 Apr 2018

            Actually, the S9 allows you to frame your video before you record by pressing and holding the Record button.

            Keeping the button held will keep it in "framing" mode.

              • m
              • melodika
              • nxf
              • 03 Apr 2018

              I made this comparison with the photos of the first part of the low-light review (no tripod, XZ2 samplse resized to match S9 resolution):

              https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uIJU3H-_A0IwFhEkzb3dTvNz5h1HBia2/view?usp=sharing
              https://drive.google.com/file/d/10vu0Lch0hyaf1b4DxHA3h_zr61TcCETS/view?usp=sharing

              XZ2 on the left, S9 on the right. I very much prefer XZ2 here, although these are the biggest differences I could spot in favour of Sony. But overally XZ2 seems to be able to resolve far more detail even if it's using much higher ISO values than S9. There is noise for sure, but I still prefer detail over the overprocessed look of S9 photos.

                • D
                • AnonD-186803
                • mE0
                • 03 Apr 2018

                Tim is scared now, 03 Apr 2018Sony lost camera. Not only that.. the design looks ugly.Except it clearly didn't.

                  • D
                  • AnonD-186803
                  • mE0
                  • 03 Apr 2018

                  Shootergod, 03 Apr 2018May be because of personal preference I guess, the noise is... moreUuuh, no. Are you looking at the same pictures I am?

                  There is SOME noise at extreme zoom but CLEARLY far more detail, despite it. Look at the clock face comparison, look at the blinds. The S9 mushes the detail on both and the Sony gets it correct.

                  Sony also gets better colour reproduction, clearer video and better night shots if you hold it steady.

                  The Samsung is possibly the better point and shoot for Instagram but if you want truly better results for anything else, you get the Sony.

                    • T
                    • TonyMoso
                    • mbm
                    • 03 Apr 2018

                    If the point to choice one of them is not camera, then XZ2 is clear "go" becouse of: system optimalisation, updates, performance, cleanest android is go for Sony (ex, my Z1 is running smoother than my S7 and is 2yrs older) And If U add this year many features form Sony the choice is only one.

                      • N
                      • Nick
                      • vmF
                      • 03 Apr 2018

                      Anonymous, 03 Apr 2018The battery life of the XZ2 IS better according to ALL test... more1. According to GSMArena's battery test, XZ2 only edges out Galaxy S9 for only an hour in browsing time while S9 has an advantage when it comes to other two - it's 4 and a half hours and 3 and a half hours ahead for video playback and call time, respectively. XZ2 surely has better standby-time, too, but remember, the regular S9 has smaller battery than XZ2 and needs to drive higher resolution display of roughly the same size.
                      2. "There was also a report that Sony are the most reliable and bug-free devices"
                      You can literally look around Sony's support forum and you'll see how many people are complaining about all the bugs they have on their phones. One of my friend with Xperia XZ, battery had gotten much worse after nougat update, then he had encountered the bug with alarm not being activated, then volume issues with speakers etc. and had had to let it go. He went for Galaxy S8, and he said while it was not the fastest smartphone on the market, using it was much less annoying than using XZ. Phones running on near vanilla Android always come with some sort of issues which also can be found on Pixel devices (obviously not as horrible, but still).
                      3. GSMArena states that the most accurate colour balance they could get with XZ2 was DeltaE value of 2.9, which is not far off but still less accurate than any of S9's built-in colour profile apart from Adoptive Display. Also, AMOLED display has inherently wider colour gamut than any IPS display because of how it emits the light.
                      4. S9 offers more extensive manual mode and RAW support, and also OIS ensures that you can take blur-free photo every single time you press the shutter button. Wider aperture helps in even dimmer environment as well. S9 beats XZ2 in BOTH Auto and Pro mode.
                      5. It's got a headphone jack with overall higher audio quality... enough said.

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • 0xR
                        • 03 Apr 2018

                        The XZ2 needs a fudging tripod to produce good images. I wouldn't call that a win.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • sXb
                          • 03 Apr 2018

                          MdN8, 02 Apr 2018Honest question: why would you want to record 5 minutes of ... moredo you really think every movie is made for 1:30h ?
                          a single scene can take as long as 10hours from which you see best 30seconds
                          you dont want to start filming something lets say a lighting and your camera to stop after 5minutes but lighting appears 5minutes and 1second so you missed it

                            • T
                            • Tim is scared now
                            • 6TT
                            • 03 Apr 2018

                            Sony lost camera.

                            Not only that.. the design looks ugly.

                              AnonD-186803, 03 Apr 2018The problem being that it clearly - especially at night - r... moreMay be because of personal preference I guess, the noise is not little at all. It looks terrible, and I have no idea how you appreciate the accurate color when the photo you got is that blur, dear!

                                • D
                                • AnonD-745991
                                • iD3
                                • 03 Apr 2018

                                Faizal Firdaus, 03 Apr 2018Happy to see a Sony Flagship challenging a Samsung flagship... morenope, sony is always a year away from the competition, all its innovations are copied later When they take out the double sensor fusion in September the other companies will be delayed several years

                                  Sony xperia xz2 is clearly won

                                    • M
                                    • Me
                                    • LQv
                                    • 03 Apr 2018

                                    I read a lot about photography.

                                    Photographers laugh when they read about mobile cam and someone says pixel size is important.

                                    Remember Htc had a 5 or 8MP with more than 2 micron and failed.

                                      • A
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • 4S2
                                      • 03 Apr 2018

                                      Carl, 02 Apr 2018The low light photos with zoom of the Sony XZ2 looks terrib... moreAre you blind? They were able to retain more detail than Samsung eventhough there were noise.

                                        • A
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • 4S2
                                        • 03 Apr 2018

                                        DroidBoye, 03 Apr 2018I do like Samsung on the performance side of things. They c... moreAnd Samaung still buy parts from other suppliers like Apple. So you dare to make such a claim?