Introduction
Do we have a good one for you today – the new Sony Xperia Z3+…better known as the Xperia Z4 in Japan…goes up against the new Yu Yuphoria, made by Yu, a wholly owned subsidiary of India’s Micromax. The Xperia Z3+ is a real beauty made of metal and glass, Sony’s flagship at a flagship price. The Yuphoria is a solid device with a price tag of only $110…but wait till you see what you get for that amount of money. Are the specifications of the Xperia Z3+ high enough that it commands its price and a win over the Yuphoria? This is what we will try to determine in this comparison…which device has the best specs for the best price or value.
As different as they are in design and price, the Xperia Z3+ and the Yuphoria do have a few things in common – for starters, they are approximately the same physical dimensions, although that makes a lot of sense as the displays are almost identical in size. The Xperia Z3+ has a 5.2-inch display and the Yuphoria sports a 5-inch display. Their displays use the same IPS LCD technology, but do have different resolutions. Both devices use a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon processor – the Z3+ uses an octa-core processor and the Yuphoria uses a quad-core processor. They both have the ability to expand their internal memory via a microSD card. They both have some of the usual suspects – Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (4.1 on the Xperia Z3+ and 4.0 on the Yuphoria), GPS, FM Radio and a microUSB port for charging and data transfer and they each have access to a quick charging battery.
Please take a deliberate look at the detailed Specifications Comparison chart below and here you will see just how these two great devices stack up against one another – click on the “View Full Comparison” link at the end of the chart to expand the details. After that, we will look at each individual device in greater detail and point out some of its pros and cons. From all of this information we will try to determine the winner based on specs and execution of design and functions.
Specifications
Sony Xperia Z3+
Sony took its good old time announcing the new Xperia Z3+…or should I say Xperia Z4? This device was announced as the Z4 in Japan, but to the rest of the world it will be the Xperia Z3+. The basic structure of Xperia Z3+ retains the beautiful metal and glass construction with minor changes in colors. Sony also ‘cleaned up’ the outside edges by moving the charging port to the bottom of the device rather than on the side, and even though it is still waterproof, it no longer needs a sealed cover. They removed the magnetic charging pins on the side and then they consolidated the SIM card and microSD card slots into only one larger slot.
The Xperia Z3+ sports the same 5.2-inch IPS LCD FHD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and 424 pixels-per-inch (PPI) as its predecessor, with some improvements in brightness and technology. The Yuphoria uses only an HD display at 720p with 294 PPI. Sony made a safe choice and went with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 64-bit 810 octa-core processor with four cores clocked at 1.5GHz and four clocked at 2.0GHz and an Adreno 430 GPU for graphics. The Yuphoria uses a 64-bit Snapdragon 410 quad-core with 2GB of RAM as opposed to 3GB in the Xperia Z3+. The Z3+ comes with 32GB of internal memory and offers expandable storage via a microSD card. This compares to 16GB of internal storage and available expansion in the Yuphoria.
The 20.7MP main camera with autofocus and LED Flash has remained the same, which takes excellent pictures, although Sony still has not added OIS…the Yuphoria is somewhat behind with only an 8MP main camera and no OIS. The front-facing camera (FFC) on the Xperia Z3+ went from a meager 2.2MP to a robust 5.1MP with a 25mm wide-angle lens for better group selfies and video chatting and this pairs up nicely with the 5MP in the Yuphoria.
The new Xperia Z3+ does offer a few things that the Yuphoria does not have – IP68 certification for dust proofing and water resistance, dual front-mounted stereo speakers, a larger 2930mAh battery, NFC and has Quick Charge 2.0 thanks to its Qualcomm roots. It will come in Black, White, Copper and Aqua Green and will be running the latest Lollipop. We are looking at a price tag of about $630 off-contract.
Yu Yuphoria
Yu, a new company that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Micromax, a very popular Indian manufacturer of smartphones is producing the new Yu devices. The Yu Yuphoria is their latest effort to provide a quality smartphone at an unbelievably low price. At this price, the phone is mostly made of plastic, but has a nice metal trim that goes around the outside edges. Yuphoria rounded the metal edge so it makes holding it a comfortable experience and very pleasing to the eye. It does have a rather unique setup on the right-hand side of the device that involves the volume and power buttons. The power button is nestled between the slightly raised volume up and down buttons. It takes a while to get the hang of it, but you will eventually get use to the feel of the buttons.
The Yuphoria’s weakest spot has to be the display – it has a 5-inch IPS LCD HD display with a resolution of only 1280 x 720 pixels and 294 PPI – this goes up against the Xperia Z3+’s FHD 5.2-inch display with 424 PPI. For the processor, Yuphoria went with a name synonymous with smartphones – a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core clocked at 1.2GHz with 2GB of RAM and 16GB internal storage, complete with a microSD card slot for expansion up to an additional 32GB. The Xperia Z3+ uses the 64-bit Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and either 32GB of internal memory. It also has a microSD card slot to add an additional 128GB of memory.
The main camera uses an 8MP sensor on the Yuphoria with autofocus and an LED flash, with a huge metal ring surrounding the lens. This goes up against the 20.7MP main camera in the Xperia Z3+ that adds a LED Flash and autofocus. The Yuphoria has a large 5MP FFC that should produce some excellent social selfies and video chatting. The Xperia Z3+ uses a slightly larger 5.1MP sensor. The Yuphoria has a small, removable 2230mAh battery compared to the larger 2930mAh non-removable battery in the Xperia Z3+. Both batteries will get you through a normal day and the Yuphoria has Quick Charge 1.0, thanks to its Qualcomm processor.
The Yu Yuphoria is has the Pure Wolfson Sound and AAC speakers built-in the device, that you need a good pair of earbuds or headphones to fully enjoy the sound. The main speaker on the Yuphoria is simply not loud enough, especially to appreciate the added circuitry. It is running Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with Cyanogen 12 riding on top. The phone is available in two colors – Buffed Steel and Champagne Gold for approximately $110.
…And The Winner Is…
Summary
I really had a tough time with this selection – there is no doubt that the Sony Xperia Z3+ is the fundamental winner between these two devices. It has a better display, more advanced processor, more memory, better camera, stereo speakers, a nicer build, built-in NFC and dust and waterproofing…but is it worth $630, or $520 more than the Yuphoria?
The Yu Yuphoria comes with a 720p display, only one-step below the Z3+’s 1080p display, it has a solid 64-bit quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage with a microSD card for expansion, a decent camera and a huge FFC and a removable battery for only $110!
I am leaving this decision in your hands – if you have the money, then the Xperia Z3+ is definitely the way to go, especially if great camera shots, waterproofing and better sounding speakers are a priority to you. It is definitely has the premium look and feel between the two devices. However, the Yuphoria is not a device to be quickly dismissed because of its low $110 price tag…it is a lot of smartphone for the money and not all people will need the extra features that the $630 Xperia Z3+ offers…the leap is not all that great.
[socialpoll id=”[socialpoll id=”2281000″]