While Samsung released the Galaxy S5 Mini last July, Sony launched its Xperia Z3 Compact at the recent Berlin IFA 2014. The flagship smartphone from Sony stable will hit the shelves sometime later in September, but fans who are contemplating to acquire either of these two handsets may read below to check their features, specifications and prices.

Display, Size and Exterior

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini boasts a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED display having 720 x 1,280 pixels screen resolution, while the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact features a 4.6-inch IPS LCD display having the same resolution as the Samsung device. The pixel densities of Galaxy S5 Mini and Xperia Z3 Compact are 326 ppi and 319 ppi respectively.

As far as the exterior is concerned, the Samsung handset features the same perforated plastic/ polycarbonate back similar to that of the Galaxy S5 handset. It also features a glossy but fake metal band covering the corners of the handset. On the other hand, the Sony device features an aluminium frame and hardened glass rear, in addition to using Bravia range of display technology.

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact is 0.34 inch thich and weighs 129 g, while the Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini is 0.36-inch thick and weighs 120 g.

Hardware, Software and Memory

The Galaxy S5 Mini is powered by a quad-core (Exynos 3) Cortex-A7 processor clocked at 1.4 GHz, while the Xperia Z3 Compact is powered by a quad-core (Qualcomm Snapdragon 801) Krait 400 processor, clocked at 2.5 GHz. Moreover, the Samsung device comes with only 1.5 GB of RAM, whereas the Sony handset has 2 GB of RAM.

The Samsung device runs on Android v4.4.2 KitKat OS with TouchWiz UI on top of it. On the other hand, the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact runs on Android v4.4.4 KitKat OS. Both the devices offer 16 GB of internal storage and microSD card support for expansion up to 64 GB.

Camera and Battery

In the camera department, the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact is a clear winner. The Galaxy S5 Mini sports an 8 MP rear-facing camera unit with LED flash, while the Sony device features a solid 20.7 MP primary camera with LED flash. In addition, the Samsung device comes with a 2.1 MP front-facing shooter, while the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact comes with a 2.2 MP shooter.

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact has a much-powerful Li-Ion 2600 mAh battery compared to the Samsung handset's Li-Ion 2100 mAh battery unit.

Price

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini (16 GB) costs $468, while the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact (16 GB) is expected to cost anything between £450 and £500 in the UK.