Opening up this discussion to you all. I respect your opinions and value your personal feedback.
I'm going to pick up a Z3 this week to give it a shot while I still have my Galaxy S6 return window open. Want to try them both side by side and see which one I like more. I own a OnePlus One, which I really like, but I also wish to go back to a smaller device. I also own an iPhone 6 that I rarely use anymore. I'll likely sell both if I can settle on either the S6 or the Z3.
Here's the breakdown of what I think will be the advantages/disadvantages of the Z3 versus the S6.
GALAXY S6
Advantages:
Screen - utterly sublime, even in daylight.
Camera - great reliable camera. Fast.
Call/GPS quality - Had a chance to use both a lot over the weekend. Issue-free.
Design - the gold is really special and beautiful. Only one knock here is the device is slippery as heck.
Band 12 LTE - not sure how big of a deal this is. I'm on Tmobile, and apparently they'll be rolling out Band 12 more and more as the year progresses. So this might be a bigger factor down the line. Better building penetration, apparently.
Speaker loudness - This thing screams. Love it during GPS usage.
Wireless charging & Quick charge - Haven't really taken advantage of wireless charging yet, not until I commit to the device,
Disadvantages:
Unreliable fingerprint scanner - It's good, but I still get too many failed attempts, and as such, overall, it feels like it slows me down accessing my phone. This isn't a huge disadvantage per se, cause I can always turn it off and use pin/pattern.
Average battery life - This is a bigger concern. Seems like I'll be able to manage a day, but it's something I'll have to either keep an eye out for, or use Quick Charge/Wireless charging to really be safe.
Physical button - This ties with the fingerprint scanner. If I'm sacrificing software keys for a physical home button, it's got to be worth it. At this point, it's sort of not. I've grown to really like software keys. It requires less to depress the physical button. I can tap the software key versus having to press down, which requires resistive force, little though it may be.
Some TW lag - This is another decently big issue. Lag creeps up on this phone from time to time. Things hang a bit, be it with the keyboard & backspacing, launching apps, launching the app switcher, or general stutter. It still happens. Even when playing Tetris, the blocks don't rotate as quickly, it feels. It's not a major big deal, but it's there.
More bloat - Both MS, Samsung, and Tmobile bloat is present. Not a major deal.
Back Button on wrong side! - Self explanatory. Requires the thumb to bend a lot to reach. With a device this slippery, this doesn't help.
XPERIA Z3
Advantages:
Battery life - Apparently exceptional. A lot of reviews/users speak of two days of use on a single charge. This would be sweet.
More optimized software - I'm not crazy about the Xperia skin, but apparently the software is light and close to stock, which results in reviews/users speaking about amazing smoothness. I could throw Google Now Launcher over it and probably be happy.
Less bloatware - Because I'd be getting the unlocked version, there'd be little to no bloat, other than Sony stuff.
Potentially faster software updates - Again, because it's unlocked.
On screen buttons - In my opinion, easier to use, plus the back button is on the correct side. Plus, sliding up to access Google Now is easier than long pressing the physical home button. Also, back button on the correct side!
Waterproofing - This is neat, but I'll never submerge it in water anyway.
More storage (microSD) - Unlocked version is only 16GB, but I'll likely add a 64GB microSD, or if I'm crazy, I can jump it up to 128.
About $200 cheaper - Factoring everything in, including screen protectors, the 64GB microSD, magnetic dock connector, etc., the Z3 is still about $200 cheaper than the S6. Both are being bought off contract. Saving $200 bucks would be pretty sweet.
Dual front speakers - This is nice, but I hear the quality/loudness can sound muffled. These will likely be lower than the S6 cause that thing can be loud. Anybody with first hand experience of how well the speakers are?
Disadvantages:
Hard to access USB port - Due to the waterproofing, the USB port is behind a closed cover. Can get annoying and will likely have to buy a magnetic dock connector.
Call/GPS quality untested - Won't know until later today. Again, anyone with first hand experience?
Lacks Band 12 - It should have all the other LTE bands for Tmobile, but it's lacking this future-proofing Band. Though rollout apparently won't happen until later this year or even into 2016. By then, I'd probably be getting a different phone? Or can live with Band 12-less until I do in 2016...?
Camera - Probably won't be as good or as fast or as reliable as the S6's camera, but reviews still say it's good. The one area that it may be a bigger differentiator is probably low-light shots. S6 seems to do well in those situations, and not so much the Z3.
Screen - Screen is going to be less sharp, which isn't a big deal, but may also be less brighter and usable in daylight. Less vibrant, too. Not a deal breaker, but definitely not as good as the S6, I would imagine.
Starts with 16GB storage - will this be a problem? I know you can load apps now onto the microSD since Lollipop, but does that mean I have to manually move them each time I download an app? How does this all work?
Anyway, that's it for now. Am I missing anything? Anything else I should consider between the two? Anybody with experience with both devices that can attest to what I've got here?
Thanks. I'd likely get the copper color Z3, too, if that makes any difference.
I'm going to pick up a Z3 this week to give it a shot while I still have my Galaxy S6 return window open. Want to try them both side by side and see which one I like more. I own a OnePlus One, which I really like, but I also wish to go back to a smaller device. I also own an iPhone 6 that I rarely use anymore. I'll likely sell both if I can settle on either the S6 or the Z3.
Here's the breakdown of what I think will be the advantages/disadvantages of the Z3 versus the S6.
GALAXY S6
Advantages:
Screen - utterly sublime, even in daylight.
Camera - great reliable camera. Fast.
Call/GPS quality - Had a chance to use both a lot over the weekend. Issue-free.
Design - the gold is really special and beautiful. Only one knock here is the device is slippery as heck.
Band 12 LTE - not sure how big of a deal this is. I'm on Tmobile, and apparently they'll be rolling out Band 12 more and more as the year progresses. So this might be a bigger factor down the line. Better building penetration, apparently.
Speaker loudness - This thing screams. Love it during GPS usage.
Wireless charging & Quick charge - Haven't really taken advantage of wireless charging yet, not until I commit to the device,
Disadvantages:
Unreliable fingerprint scanner - It's good, but I still get too many failed attempts, and as such, overall, it feels like it slows me down accessing my phone. This isn't a huge disadvantage per se, cause I can always turn it off and use pin/pattern.
Average battery life - This is a bigger concern. Seems like I'll be able to manage a day, but it's something I'll have to either keep an eye out for, or use Quick Charge/Wireless charging to really be safe.
Physical button - This ties with the fingerprint scanner. If I'm sacrificing software keys for a physical home button, it's got to be worth it. At this point, it's sort of not. I've grown to really like software keys. It requires less to depress the physical button. I can tap the software key versus having to press down, which requires resistive force, little though it may be.
Some TW lag - This is another decently big issue. Lag creeps up on this phone from time to time. Things hang a bit, be it with the keyboard & backspacing, launching apps, launching the app switcher, or general stutter. It still happens. Even when playing Tetris, the blocks don't rotate as quickly, it feels. It's not a major big deal, but it's there.
More bloat - Both MS, Samsung, and Tmobile bloat is present. Not a major deal.
Back Button on wrong side! - Self explanatory. Requires the thumb to bend a lot to reach. With a device this slippery, this doesn't help.
XPERIA Z3
Advantages:
Battery life - Apparently exceptional. A lot of reviews/users speak of two days of use on a single charge. This would be sweet.
More optimized software - I'm not crazy about the Xperia skin, but apparently the software is light and close to stock, which results in reviews/users speaking about amazing smoothness. I could throw Google Now Launcher over it and probably be happy.
Less bloatware - Because I'd be getting the unlocked version, there'd be little to no bloat, other than Sony stuff.
Potentially faster software updates - Again, because it's unlocked.
On screen buttons - In my opinion, easier to use, plus the back button is on the correct side. Plus, sliding up to access Google Now is easier than long pressing the physical home button. Also, back button on the correct side!
Waterproofing - This is neat, but I'll never submerge it in water anyway.
More storage (microSD) - Unlocked version is only 16GB, but I'll likely add a 64GB microSD, or if I'm crazy, I can jump it up to 128.
About $200 cheaper - Factoring everything in, including screen protectors, the 64GB microSD, magnetic dock connector, etc., the Z3 is still about $200 cheaper than the S6. Both are being bought off contract. Saving $200 bucks would be pretty sweet.
Dual front speakers - This is nice, but I hear the quality/loudness can sound muffled. These will likely be lower than the S6 cause that thing can be loud. Anybody with first hand experience of how well the speakers are?
Disadvantages:
Hard to access USB port - Due to the waterproofing, the USB port is behind a closed cover. Can get annoying and will likely have to buy a magnetic dock connector.
Call/GPS quality untested - Won't know until later today. Again, anyone with first hand experience?
Lacks Band 12 - It should have all the other LTE bands for Tmobile, but it's lacking this future-proofing Band. Though rollout apparently won't happen until later this year or even into 2016. By then, I'd probably be getting a different phone? Or can live with Band 12-less until I do in 2016...?
Camera - Probably won't be as good or as fast or as reliable as the S6's camera, but reviews still say it's good. The one area that it may be a bigger differentiator is probably low-light shots. S6 seems to do well in those situations, and not so much the Z3.
Screen - Screen is going to be less sharp, which isn't a big deal, but may also be less brighter and usable in daylight. Less vibrant, too. Not a deal breaker, but definitely not as good as the S6, I would imagine.
Starts with 16GB storage - will this be a problem? I know you can load apps now onto the microSD since Lollipop, but does that mean I have to manually move them each time I download an app? How does this all work?
Anyway, that's it for now. Am I missing anything? Anything else I should consider between the two? Anybody with experience with both devices that can attest to what I've got here?
Thanks. I'd likely get the copper color Z3, too, if that makes any difference.
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