Sony Xperia Z2 review: Action pack

Synthetic benchmarks and performance

Sony Xperia Z2 is based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset model MSM8974AB, which keeps the Krait 400 CPU clock at 2.27GHz, but boost the GPU speed from 450MHz to 550MHz. The MSM8974AC chipset that powers the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Oppo Find 7 is slightly more powerful clocking the CPU at 2.5GHz and the GPU at 578MHz.

So, the Xperia Z2 has Snapdragon 801 chipset inside with four Krait 400 cores clocked at 2.27GHz, an Adreno 330 GPU @550MHz and 3GB of RAM.

Our first test - BenchmarkPi - tests the single CPU core performance and the Krait 400 scored on par with other Snapdragon 800-powered devices such as the LG G Pro 2 and the LG Nexus 5, though worse compared to the rest of the S800 and S801 gangs.

Benchmark Pi

Lower is better

• LG G Flex
  99
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  99
• LG G2
  99
• Oppo Find 7a
  101
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  104
• Sony Xperia Z1
  115
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  115
• HTC One (M8)
  121
• Samsung Galaxy S5
  128
• HTC One Max
  131
• Oppo N1
  131
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
  132
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  132
• LG G Pro 2
  141
• LG Nexus 5
  146
• Sony Xperia Z2
  153
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  166
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  183

GeekBench 3 is a multi-thread CPU benchmark, where the Xperia Z2 managed to output an excellent mark that places among the best devices we've tested so far.

Geekbench 3

Higher is better

• Oppo Find 7a
  3093
• Samsung Galaxy S5
  3011
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  2968
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  2937
• Sony Xperia Z2
  2856
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  2670
• Sony Xperia Z1
  2638
• LG G Pro 2
  2585
• Apple iPhone 5s
  2561
• LG Nexus 5
  2453
• HTC One (M8)
  2367
• LG G Flex
  2254
• LG G2
  2243
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  2172
• HTC One
  1972
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  1869
• Oppo N1
  1207

In compound benchmarks - Quadrant and AnTuTu 4 – the Xperia Z2 produced similar scores to the other S800 smartphones such as the Galaxy Note 3, LG G2 and G Flex. It has the same CPU, but it seems the faster GPU didn't matter here as it did on Oppo Find 7a and HTC One (M8).

Quadrant

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S5
  25044
• HTC One (M8)
  25035
• Oppo Find 7a
  21873
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  21618
• LG G Flex
  20521
• Sony Xperia Z1
  20388
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  20052
• LG G Pro 2
  20010
• LG G2
  19815
• Sony Xperia Z2
  18440
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  18177
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
  12446
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  12376
• LG Optimus G Pro
  12105
• HTC One
  11746
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  11404
• LG Nexus 5
  8844
• Oppo N1
  8099
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  7153

AnTuTu 4

Higher is better

• HTC One (M8)
  37009
• Samsung Galaxy S5
  36018
• LG G Flex
  35831
• LG G2
  35444
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  34527
• Oppo Find 7a
  33344
• Sony Xperia Z2
  33182
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  32162
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  31109
• Sony Xperia Z1
  30850
• LG G Pro 2
  29603
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  29185
• Samsung Galaxy S4
  27613
• Oppo N1
  26598
• HTC One
  26389
• LG Nexus 5
  25097

Basemark OS II tests just about every facet of your phone's performance.

Basemark OS II

Higher is better

• LG G Pro 2
  1140
• Nokia Lumia 1520 (WP8.1 Preview)
  1116
• Samsung Galaxy S5
  1082
• Sony Xperia Z2
  1080
• Apple iPhone 5s
  1059
• Oppo Find 7a
  1057
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (KitKat)
  1021
• LG G2 (KitKat)
  862

When it comes to offscreen benchmarks, the higher clock speed of the new Adreno 330 easily pushes it among the best performers.

GFX Benchmark 2.7 T-Rex (1080p off-screen)

Higher is better

• Oppo Find 7a
  28.4
• HTC One (M8)
  28.4
• Samsung Galaxy S5
  27.8
• Sony Xperia Z2
  27.2
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  26.3
• LG Nexus 5
  23
• Sony Xperia Z1
  23
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  23
• Apple iPhone 5s
  23
• LG G Pro 2
  22.9
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  22
• LG G Flex
  22
• LG G2
  22
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  17.1
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
  17.1
• Oppo N1
  16
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  15
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  6.4

GFX Benchmark 3.0 Manhattan (1080p off-screen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S5
  11.8
• Sony Xperia Z2
  11.7
• Oppo Find 7a
  11.4
• HTC One (M8)
  11.1
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  9.9
• Sony Xperia Z1
  9.9
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  9
• LG G Pro 2
  8.7
• LG Nexus 5
  8.5
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  3.7
• Samsung Galaxy Grand 2
  1.9

Lower resolution phones (720p or so) like the Xperia Z1 Compact and iPhone 5s climb on top, but as far as 1080p devices go, the Sony Xperia Z2 matches the results of the S801-running HTC One (M8) and Samsung Galaxy S5 on the GFXBench onscreen suite.

GFX Benchmark 2.7 T-Rex (1080p on-screen)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 5s
  37
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  34
• LG G Flex
  33
• HTC One (M8)
  30.1
• Oppo Find 7a
  28.8
• Sony Xperia Z2
  28.7
• Samsung Galaxy S5
  28.1
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  26.7
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  25
• LG G Pro 2
  24.1
• LG Nexus 5
  24
• LG G2
  23.1
• Sony Xperia Z1
  22.5

GFX Benchmark 3.0 Manhattan (1080p on-screen)

Higher is better

• Sony Xperia Z2
  12.2
• HTC One (M8)
  11.9
• Samsung Galaxy S5
  11.7
• Oppo Find 7a
  11.4
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  10
• LG G Pro 2
  9.2
• Sony Xperia Z1
  8.5
• Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4
  5
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  4.7

Web browsing is an integral part to any smartphone experience, and the Xperia Z2 posts respectable, if not remarkable, results in both of our browser benchmarks.

SunSpider

Lower is better

• Samsung Galaxy S5
  379
• Apple iPhone 5s
  403
• LG G Pro 2
  535.5
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  567.9
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  587
• Oppo Find 7a
  740.9
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  750
• HTC One (M8)
  780
• LG Nexus 5
  827
• Sony Xperia Z1
  845
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  855
• LG G2
  908
• Sony Xperia Z2
  917
• Oppo N1
  1012
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  1046
• HTC One
  1174

Kraken 1.1

Lower is better

• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  6043
• Apple iPhone 5s
  6135
• LG G Pro 2
  6578
• Oppo Find 7a
  6660
• Sony Xperia Z2
  7041
• LG Nexus 5
  7148
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (KitKat)
  7148

BrowserMark 2.1

Higher is better

• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  1398
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (KitKat)
  1349
• LG G Pro 2
  1346
• Oppo Find 7a
  1327
• LG Nexus 5
  1286
• Sony Xperia Z2
  1224

So, the Sony Xperia Z2 clearly proved some great scores even though for some reason it is not topping the benchmark charts. For what it's worth, the Xperia Z1 even managed to beat it at times. But whatever the tests are showing, the Xperia Z2 delivers amazing buttery-smooth UI experience and high-performance hiccup-free gaming.