Sony Xperia X Performance vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Review

The Sony Xperia X Performance is the flagship Android from the Japanese company that comes with the waterproof feature of the Xperia Z5. This brings a serious set of hardware to take on the competition including the Samsung Galaxy S7, LG G5, and HTC 10.

This time, however, we narrow down the comparison between two waterproof, premium Android phones. Between the Galaxy S7 and Xperia X Performance, which will get an overall better performance? Read on the find. Full video review below.

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Design and build

The Sony Xperia X Performance slightly rounded build is a step up from the edgy form of the Xperia Z5. The phone keeps the rugged IP68 feature and physical buttons including the shutter key, which is pretty useful for taking underwater photos. You’ll need to setup shortcut buttons in Galaxy S7 in order to shoot underwater pictures.

The back of the Xperia X Performance is made of matte metal while the sides are made of plastic for extra drop protection and better signaling. Despite the thicker profile, the phone is still comfortable to hold and does not slide from your hands contrary to the fingerprint magnet, the Galaxy S7. Meanwhile, the latter looks more aggressive and flashy with its curved and shiny glass back and more streamlined edges.

Both have 2.5D curved glass screen that provides seamless touch experience while the Xperia X Performance flaunts stereo speakers on the front. There’s also a hybrid dual SIM and microSD card slot, you get to choose for a 2nd SIM or an SD card.

See also: Sony Xperia X vs Sony Xperia Z5

This time, Sony has improved the fingerprint scanner on the right side. It’s now faster and more accurate than on Sony Xperia Z5.

Overall, the Xperia X Performance is a subtle change from the classic Xperia series while the Galaxy S7 is sleeker because of the polished glass back. Either way, you still get a waterproofing feature.

Display

The Samsung Galaxy S7 packs more pixels with its 5.1-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED compared to the 5-inch Full HD IPS LCD of the X Performance. Again, both screens are curved with Galaxy S7 having Gorilla Glass 4 proofing.

In terms of output, the Triluminos display on X Performance keeps the screen bright and crisp. The colors are pretty accurate while the Super AMOLED on Galaxy S7 produces saturated output and deeper blacks. The two panels are easily the best in their class.

Camera in still, selfie, and video

The Galaxy S7 has some serious camera features with a 12MP f1.7 aperture, it means it can take a great amount of light even in night shooting. The 23MP f2.0 of X Performance is new and offers hybrid stabilization and predictive autofocus or object tracking, which is great for action shots.

We used Canon 70D DSLR for reference in color and sharpness.

In an actual test, the X Performance beats the Galaxy S7 in daylight by having more resolved details and more pleasing colors and white balance. On the low light, it’s a different story, the wider aperture of the Galaxy S7 proves to be effective. Despite the sharper shots of Galaxy S7, the colors are way bland or washed out even in selfie shooting during day and night.

Selfie camera

This time, Sony improved the focusing speed in the video. The color is a bit greenish but it’s better than the warmer and pale colors of the Galaxy S7 even in night shooting. The stabilizations are on par, but on the night it’s a different story where X Performance shows better balance.

Let’s know which camera phone do you think performs better.

Performance and benchmarks

The Sony X Performance is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 820 chip and 3GB of RAM which perform slightly faster than the Exynos 8890 octa-core chip and 4GB of RAM of Galaxy S7. Both are capable hardware and will surely give smooth and stutter-free experience even in multitasking.

Antutu Benchmark Ranking

Battery and charging

Perhaps the downside of the Xperia X Performance over the Z5 is the middling battery life and measly capacity at 2700mAh. However, the smarter battery management behind prolongs the screen-on time with moderate usage. The same goes for the Galaxy S7 which has reliable battery management, though the always on display feature seems to some battery juice.

Battery life Sony Xperia X Performance

Battery life Samsung Galaxy S7

Speaker and audio

Despite the stereo speakers of Sony Xperia X Performance up front, the power is still behind the mono speaker of the Galaxy S7. The output on the latter is more concentrated and noticeably crisper. The former, however, features high-res audio with up to 24k bit support.

Pricing and verdict

The pricing for each is close with the Samsung Galaxy S7 retailing at P34,990 price or $760 USD while the Sony Xperia X Performance is valued at $700 price or roughly P33,000 if converted.

It’s really hard to pick which phone is a better buy between the two. The Sony X Performance clear advantages are a more robust build and overall better camera. For the Galaxy S7, its design is more classy and the Super AMOLED is unmatched.

If you were to pick, which phone will it be? Let’s know in the comments.

Sony Xperia X Performance Full Review PH vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Video Comparison