Sony Xperia XZ3 vs Apple iPhone XR: the weigh-in

If £1000+ for an iPhone XS or XS Max seems like daylight robbery, you’re not alone. Fortunately, there are a couple of very tempting alternatives on the horizon. October brings both Apple’s more affordable iPhone XR, which keeps the edge-to-edge screen, adds some snazzy colours but drops the dual-camera setup round the back, and Sony’s Xperia XZ3, which is arguably the company’s best smartphone to date. Will that be enough for Sony to finally gain an edge over Apple? Here’s what we think based on both phones’ specs and features.

Design: The X factor

Withs its glossy glass back and screen that curves into the corners, the XZ3 is Sony’s sleekest phone to date, although the top and bottom bezels are a little beefy compared to the competition and that rear-mounted fingerprint sensor is just a bit too low to be comfortable. While the XR’s bezel is thicker than on the pricier all-screen iPhones, it looks so similar from the front that you might need to flip it over to check how many cameras it has in order to tell the difference, although its bolder set of colours might also give it away. The Sony’s nice, but it’s the iPhone’s more distinctive look that has won us over here.

Screen: No doubts

The biggest difference between the iPhone XR and its pricier brothers is its screen. A sub-1080p, 6.1in LCD display puts it far behind the times, especially when you consider the pixel density (326ppi) is the same as on the iPhone 4. It’ll probably look fine, but at this price that’s not really enough, especially when the Xperia XZ3 comes with a 6in Quad HD OLED, which uses know-how from Sony’s TV division to make it pin-sharp with brilliant contrast. The XR just won’t be able to compete.

Camera: One and done

While every other flagship phone out there has at least two cameras on the back, both of these have just one. The XZ3’s 19MP f/2.0 offering can grab some pretty fantastic shots but it excels at video, whether its 4K HDR or 960fps super slow-mo footage. Apple claims the iPhone XR’s single 12MP f/1.8 camera will be able to do all the same post-focusing trickery that the dual-camera XS and XS Max can, although whether the results will be as impressive is yet to be seen. Still, its Smart HDR mode has impressed so far, so we’re expecting Apple to have the edge here, plus there’s also the clever TrueDepth camera on the front.

Performance: Bionic power

Speaking of an Apple edge… the new A12 Bionic chip is now the fastest smartphone processor on the market. In fact, last year’s A11 Bionic chip beats the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 found in the Xperia XZ3, and the A12 is even better. That’s pretty wild. But benchmark tests don’t necessarily correspond to everyday usage, and both of these phones are very likely to feel plenty speedy and capable of handling whatever you throw at them. And with the Xperia XZ3 running Android 9 Pie and the iPhone XR on iOS 12, they’re both packing the latest and greatest respective OS versions.

Battery and perks: Xperia edge

The Xperia XZ3’s 3300mAh battery pack is built for a solid day of usage, assuming you don’t push too hard with apps and streaming media. The iPhone XR comes in roughly 10% lower with its 2942mAh cell, but it’s also powering a much lower-resolution screen. Ultimately, they’ll probably compare well in terms of average uptime. The XZ3 has a big edge when it comes to storage, however. There’s 64GB internal storage within, but then you can pop in a microSD card for potentially much, much more. Meanwhile, the iPhone XR comes in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB varieties, but has no option for expandability. That’s the norm for Apple, but it’s still a bummer.

Initial verdict: Tough call

There’s a clear difference in perception here. The iPhone XR can’t help but feel like a lesser version of Apple’s core flagships but that’s the whole point: it’s an iPhone XS minus a few features and £250 lopped off of the price tag. The Xperia XZ3, however, is Sony’s best current offering, although it still comes in £50 cheaper than the XR. Both are super powerful, with quite a bit of top-end tech, but while we already know the Sony is a great phone, we’ll have to wait and see whether the iPhone offers the best value of them all.