Nexus 5 vs Xperia Z vs SGS4 vs SGN3

[PointFortyFive]

Guys, I have finally experienced a fried processor on my Neo V (courtesy running it at 1.6ghz for almost a year)

So I need some advice in buying a phone. Budget is around 30k, but I can push it a little higher if I'm convinced.

Here are my options :

1. Xperia Z for 27,500/-

2. Nexus 5 for 29,000/- (16gb) or 33,000/- (32gb)

3. Galaxy S4 for 30,500/-

4. Galaxy Note 3 for 35,250/-


Yeah, I'm getting a good discount on Samsung phones through a contact.
I don't plan on changing my phone for the next 3-4 years atleast.

As for my requirements, voice calling and gaming are at a bare minimum, and not at all a factor. Camera isn't a deal breaker at all. I hate the Samsung UI (going to root it anyway and install KitKat), so probably going to lose the warranty. Love the Sony UI, might keep it for a few months before rooting. Going to make full use of the 1080p screens for full HD movies

I love all the little bells and whistles of the Nexus, like NFC, wireless charging, better Wi-Fi, pedometer, etc, but if i'm convinced the other phones are good, I can change my mind.

Looks are a very important criteria for me and the Xperia Z seems to be winning on that count.

Suggestions guys? What would you do if you were me, and why?

 

[sujoyp]

Xperia Z really looks sleek and sexy ...Samsung Note 3 also looks good ...SGS4 is not that good in looks and No Idea of nexus 5

 

[PointFortyFive]

Okay, scratch out the SGS4 then. The rest of the phones are better than it anyday. Note 3 is also more expensive than the rest, even after the discounted price.

 

[kaz]

Note 3

 

[ankush28]

Nexus 5 32GB or sgn3
Nexus 5 has the best looks imo

Personally I would recommend n5 for long run(quick updates...tons of aftermarket modding)
Looking at what you did with neo v you will be surely intrested in modding/roms so N5 would be best choice

Avoid sgs4 and Z.

Note 3 is "HUGE" Phablet, think before you buy.
Z1 is also good option.

 

[RohanM]

Stay away from Z, shiity screen ..
consider LG G2... or Gs4...

 

[omega44-xt]

Stay away from Z, shiity screen ..
consider LG G2... or Gs4...

Xperia Z's screen is great, not better than S4 though, but surely its not shitty, acc. to me. I have used one

My personal opinion: Get S4 due to its better camera, camera features & good battery life + faster android upgrades compared to Xperia Z, Optimus G2 ....... not as good as Nexus 5, obviously. I'm using Nexus 4 for the past 6 months & I'm missing the touchwiz UI features of Samsung (had S2 earlier), most importantly I miss the network video calling feature.

I rejected other phones because:
- Nexus 5: Good hardware but not so good camera & battery life. I know S800>Exynos of S4, but S4's performance is not bad. I would prefer an overall good phone rather than a phone which excels in only one or two departments

- Xperia Z : Great for price+ water proof, but the phone is big for me

- Note 3: Obviously a big phone for me

S4 has narrow bezels, that is why its size is smaller compared to others. Its just a bit longer than my N4, same width in both......
If u hate Touchwiz, its your decision, but Kitkat has nothing special other than transparent notification & navigation bar & a new dialler...... Also S4 has more sensors than any other phones: thermometer, barometer, hygroscope, etc...

Optimus G2 is also a good option..... If u like vanilla UI, than get G2 & install custom ROM, much better than S4 with vanilla UI

 

[RohanM]

^^ we both are in same boat.. I am also missing my S3.. using N4 since 7 months.

Regarding G2, it's getting Kitkat in Korea already.. so a global roll out is near... & it's the best phone than others.. just look at that 3000 mah battery & 6 hours screen on time default.. S4 is another gr8 phone.. Z screen is not good at all, low on contrast & bad viewing angles. also too big for a 5 incher.. (IMO)

 

[Hrishi]

Buy Nexus 5 man ,!!!!
Will not recommend samsung because I hate their look. Samsung sucks in Design dept. The very reason I didn't bought SGS3 in the first place , despite it met every requirement.

Nexus 5 is considerably okay.

 

[omega44-xt]

Buy Nexus 5 man ,!!!!
Will not recommend samsung because I hate their look. Samsung sucks in Design dept. The very reason I didn't bought SGS3 in the first place , despite it met every requirement.

Nexus 5 is considerably okay.

What do u have then ? N4 ?

 

[RohanM]

Buy Nexus 5 man ,!!!!
Will not recommend samsung because I hate their look. Samsung sucks in Design dept. The very reason I didn't bought SGS3 in the first place , despite it met every requirement.

Nexus 5 is considerably okay.

I will not recommend N5 specially after using N4..
N5 is good if u consider raw performance.. that's it. it's for ppl who like to flash things every alternate days.. mad flashers..
Regarding quick updates.. I am on official 4.4.2 on my N4.. honestly nothing diff than 4.2.2.. lol
My Gs3 was having wi-fi direct function(just one example) which N4/N5 is not.. (sure u can install third party app but again u have to do it)

Battery is a big issue for Nexus's.. custom kernel is the only solution.. that's why Nexus is good for flashers..
G2 is the way to go (IMO)

 

[Hrishi]

what do u have then ? N4 ?

lg og ( e970 ).

I will not recommend N5 specially after using N4..
N5 is good if u consider raw performance.. that's it. it's for ppl who like to flash things every alternate days.. mad flashers..
Regarding quick updates.. I am on official 4.4.2 on my N4.. honestly nothing diff than 4.2.2.. lol
My Gs3 was having wi-fi direct function(just one example) which N4/N5 is not.. (sure u can install third party app but again u have to do it)

Battery is a big issue for Nexus's.. custom kernel is the only solution.. that's why Nexus is good for flashers..
G2 is the way to go (IMO)

No doubt about G2 being one of the best. Recent phones from LG are just awesome.

 

[PointFortyFive]

I will not recommend N5 specially after using N4..
N5 is good if u consider raw performance.. that's it. it's for ppl who like to flash things every alternate days.. mad flashers..
Regarding quick updates.. I am on official 4.4.2 on my N4.. honestly nothing diff than 4.2.2.. lol
My Gs3 was having wi-fi direct function(just one example) which N4/N5 is not.. (sure u can install third party app but again u have to do it)

Battery is a big issue for Nexus's.. custom kernel is the only solution.. that's why Nexus is good for flashers..
G2 is the way to go (IMO)

Nexus 5 32GB or sgn3
Nexus 5 has the best looks imo

Personally I would recommend n5 for long run(quick updates...tons of aftermarket modding)
Looking at what you did with neo v you will be surely intrested in modding/roms so N5 would be best choice

Avoid sgs4 and Z.

Note 3 is "HUGE" Phablet, think before you buy.
Z1 is also good option.

Cheers for the great response, guys!

I guess the Nexus 5 does have the most community support by modders and ROM developers, and will be continued to be supported for a long time, more than the other phones on the list.

@RohanM, The G2 is definitely the BEST android on the market, performance and battery wise, but is almost 10k out of my budget! Installing a vanilla OS can be done even with the other phones, so that's not a deciding factor. I had a look at the G2, and I honestly prefer the Nexus5 or the Xperia Z's looks over it. G2 looks very plasticky, like the S4. Note 3 is again on the higher price range with not much to offer me (1 GB more RAM and pseudo-plastic-leather back only +ve, 5.5 inch screen is a -ve for me). So, dropping the G2, SGS4 and the SGN3.
@anupam_pb, SGS4 does have an awesome camera. However, I barely use the camera and I'm not a fan of TouchWiz and the 1000s of option Samsung has crammed into it. I know KitKat has not much to offer at the moment apart from a little UI improvements, but in 5 months or so, Android 5.0 is going to be out, which would definitely have a massive overhaul (i hope so!). Besides, I like clean, smooth, minimalistic UI, and KitKat seems perfect. S4 does have a lot of awesome sensors, which I wish were there in the Nexus 5 As a consolation, Nexus 5 does have a very useful pedometer.

Rishi and Ankush, I agree. After reading all these posts, and weighing each aspect for my utility, I'm 50% in favor of Nexus 5, 40% Xperia Z, 10% SGS4.

The Xperia Z is getting a 40% just cause it's so beautiful *drools*

 

[ankush28]

I will not recommend N5 specially after using N4..
N5 is good if u consider raw performance.. that's it. it's for ppl who like to flash things every alternate days.. mad flashers..
Regarding quick updates.. I am on official 4.4.2 on my N4.. honestly nothing diff than 4.2.2.. lol
My Gs3 was having wi-fi direct function(just one example) which N4/N5 is not.. (sure u can install third party app but again u have to do it)

Battery is a big issue for Nexus's.. custom kernel is the only solution.. that's why Nexus is good for flashers..
G2 is the way to go (IMO)

>If you think nothing is changed in 4.4.2....
Lets compare samsung touchwiz-nothing is changed since 4.0+ they still use their crap old theme you wont see any difference in their 4.4.2 for sure...except the increase in Bloatwares/crapwares
Whats improved is STABILITY! Dont you feel your phone way faster than it was with JB. You will rarely find any app which does not support N4/N5
> Agree its made for hardcore flashers(who try a new rom daily, dual/triple boot ) but it doesnt mean that NORMAL user cant use it. Each phone has few bugs, nexus always get faster community(and Google) support to fix them asap.
>WiFi direct is not a big deal, install Software data cable.
> google about N5's battery benches. My friends N5 easily last more then one day.
>G2 needs good enough increase in OP's budget.

 

[RohanM]

>If you think nothing is changed in 4.4.2....
Lets compare samsung touchwiz-nothing is changed since 4.0+ they still use their crap old theme you wont see any difference in their 4.4.2 for sure...except the increase in Bloatwares/crapwares
Whats improved is STABILITY! Dont you feel your phone way faster than it was with JB. You will rarely find any app which does not support N4/N5
> Agree its made for hardcore flashers(who try a new rom daily, dual/triple boot ) but it doesnt mean that NORMAL user cant use it. Each phone has few bugs, nexus always get faster community(and Google) support to fix them asap.
>WiFi direct is not a big deal, install Software data cable.
> google about N5's battery benches. My friends N5 easily last more then one day.
>G2 needs good enough increase in OP's budget.

My N4 is as snappy as it was on 4.2.2.. so no changes for me..
OP is saying he can get a note 3 then how can a G2 will be out of his budget ??

 

[Zangetsu]

Lg g2 or Note 3

 

[$hadow]

25% off on note 3. A great buy if you can handle the size. Or you should go for G2

 

[omega44-xt]

>If you think nothing is changed in 4.4.2....
Lets compare samsung touchwiz-nothing is changed since 4.0+ they still use their crap old theme you wont see any difference in their 4.4.2 for sure...except the increase in Bloatwares/crapwares
Whats improved is STABILITY! Dont you feel your phone way faster than it was with JB. You will rarely find any app which does not support N4/N5
> Agree its made for hardcore flashers(who try a new rom daily, dual/triple boot ) but it doesnt mean that NORMAL user cant use it. Each phone has few bugs, nexus always get faster community(and Google) support to fix them asap.
>WiFi direct is not a big deal, install Software data cable.
> google about N5's battery benches. My friends N5 easily last more then one day.
>G2 needs good enough increase in OP's budget.

You can disable the bloatwares or uninstall them, if u are rooted. But some of your so called bloatwares are useful like Samsung's calender used to show the birthdays of my friends in calender without any need to sync my FB account in contacts, which I can't do now, I'm using aCalender.

Except the transparent nav & notification bar & new dialer, I feel nothing has changed since 4.2.2. The phone was smooth even in 4.2.2

My N4 too lasts easily for a day but the screen on time is low..... I get max 3hrs with wifi in full charge

My opinion: S4 is better than N5 at same price ..........
It's my personal opinion. I would suggest the OP to buy a phone with which he would feel satisfied, whatever the world may say.... A year ago, I chose S2 over Xperia S & I was satisfied with it. I am satisfied with N4 but there are few things which I miss but still N4 is a great phone for its price

 

[Darth Vader]

25% off on note 3. A great buy if you can handle the size. Or you should go for G2

This.

 

[RohanM]

some of your so called bloatwares are useful like Samsung's calender used to show the birthdays of my friends in calender without any need to sync my FB account in contacts, which I can't do now, I'm using aCalender.

My GS3 used to show birthdays on weather widget itself.. cool feature missing in N4's boring stock Android.
I am thinking of selling N4 now & considering GS4 or G2...