HTC One M8 vs. Sony Xperia Z3

The HTC One M8 is one of the year’s most popular smartphones out there, right next to the Sony Xperia Z3. While the HTC One M8 is renowned for its durable and appealing design as well as BoomSound front-facing speakers, the Sony Xperia Z3 boasts a high quality battery which can last two days. As usual, each of the flagships has its pros and cons and it’s up to you to weight these differences.

The Sony Xperia Z3 has been in the news lately because it beat every other competitor in a battery stress test, including the new iPhone 6, Huawei Ascend Mate 7 and Samsung Galaxy S5. It even beat the HTC One M8, so if you’re set on the device with the longest battery life, look no further.

The Xperia Z3 might be the best in terms of battery life in its category, but the HTC One M8 has its own quirks. The HTC One M8 is built from an aluminium alloy that offers awesome durability and a much-appreciated metallic texture. The Sony Xperia Z3 has a more conservative design which doesn’t stray too much from the Z2 except for having a little more rounded edges, a little less bezel and being a bit lighter. The HTC One M8 has a curved body which is designed to fit in your hand better, whilst the Xperia Z3 sports a flat, glossy design.

One of the advantages of the Xperia Z3 is that it’s IP68 certified, so you can actually use it a bit underwater and you won’t have it clunked up with dust either. Nonetheless, the HTC One M8 has been known to survive for half an hour immersed in water, so if you’re not a pool-goer or off-road driver, it should be a negligible setback for the HTC One M8. Both smartphones run on Android 4.4.4 with the One M8 sporting HTC’s own Sense 6 UI overlaid and the Xperia Z3 overlaid with a few Sony tweaks. The HTC One M8 also has a Windows 8.1 version available, which is an advantage.

The Sony Xpeia Z3 has front-facing stereo speakers, too, but the BoomSound setup on the HTC One M8 still sounds better. On the other hand, the camera on the Sony is better than 4 Ultrapixel rear and 5 MP front camera on the HTC One M8. The Xperia Z3 has a 20.7 MP rear camera with LED flash, but just a 2.2 MP selfie camera. Not to say that either camera is bad, because the HTC One M8 can get a lot of detail and quality into the images it shoots with lots of features and customizability that you can use, and the Xperia Z3 fares just as well. You do get higher resolution pictures with the Xperia Z3, though.

The screens on the devices are identical, except for a .2 inch difference in size. The Xperia Z3 has a 5.2 inch display while the HTC One M8 sports 5 inch display. Pixel density is a bit better on the HTC One M8 because it crams the same number of pixels the Xperia Z3 does into a smaller screen. Both displays have a 1080*1920 resolution, so there isn’t any noticeable difference between the images the two phones reproduce. Both the HTC One M8 and Xperia Z2 have Wi-Fi, LTE, Bluetooth, NFC and the usual sensors, but the HTC One M8 also has an IR blaster which is missing from the Xperia Z3.

When it comes to processing power, the Sony Xperia Z3 isn’t that much different than its predecessor, the Xperia Z2, launched a little over 6 months ago. The Xperia Z3 is powered by a quad core Snapdragon 801 CPU, Adreno 330 GPU backed by 3 GB RAM and either 13 or 32 GB internal storage expandable via microSD card. The HTC One M8 has almost the same specs, too with the same Snapdragon 801 CPU and Adreno 330 GPU, 16 or 32 GB storage with microSD card slot, the only difference being that the HTC One M8 has 1 GB less RAM, the device working with 2 GB. Seeing as they sport roughly the same internals, we can safely say that both flagships offer lag-free, fluid and smooth user experience.

As you can see, there’s not much difference between the Sony Xperia Z3 and HTC One M8 and their prices aren’t that different either. The HTC One M8 retails for around $600 whilst the Sony Xperia Z3 is $100 more expensive, with an estimate $700 price tag. Both smartphones are high-end devices which will surely satisfy all of your needs without encountering any issues. Even though the Xperia Z3 does have a few outstanding features the HTC One M8 doesn’t, it doesn’t mean that the One M8 is inferior in any way.

The most attractive feature on the Xperia Z3 is targeted at gamers, though. You just plug your Dualshock controller into the Xperia Z3 and Remote Play allows you to play your PS4 games from your phone, as long as the phone and the PS4 are on the same network within your home. Neat. I would say that the Xperia Z3 wins in front of the HTC One M8 because it offers a stronger camera, IP68 certification, remote play and a two-day battery life. It is a bit more expensive and a bit bulkier than the HTC One M8, but if you’re looking for a phone perfect for gaming, photography and entertainment, even at the pool, the Xperia Z3 is definitely for you. On the other hand. if you’re big on design and premium quality, as well as a smooth UI and amazing sound quality, the HTC One M8 will suit you better.