The next Sony Xperia flagship has made its debut at consumer electronics show IFA in Berlin, going by the name XZ.

As you might expect, it brings with it Sony's signature OmniBalance design, along with your standard flagship specs. How does it compare to the competition though?

We've compared the Sony Xperia XZ to the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. Here's what the differences are.

Sony Xperia XR vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs S7 edge: Design

The Sony Xperia XZ features a similar OmniBalance design to previous Sony flagships but with a squarer top and bottom. It comes with a brushed metal finish, measures 146 x 72 x 8.1mm and hits the scales at 161g.

A fingerprint sensor sits within the side power button, USB Type-C is on board and the Xperia XZ has a water and dust resistance rating of IP68.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge both have IP68 waterproof ratings and they both have metal bodies with a Corning Gorilla Glass 4 back panel. The fingerprint sensor sits within the main button on the front of both devices and they both have Micro-USB over USB-Type C.

The Galaxy S7 measures 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9mm and weighs 152g, while the S7 edge measures 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7mm and weighs 157g. This means the S7 is smaller and slimmer than the Xperia XZ, while the S7 edge is larger but still slimmer and offers a more exciting curved design than both the Xperia XZ and the Galaxy S7.

Sony Xperia XR vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs S7 edge: Display

The Sony Xperia XZ comes with a 5.2-inch display and a Full HD resolution, meaning a pixel density of 424ppi. It is an LCD display and it has Sony's Triluminos and X-Reality technologies on board, like previous Xperia flagships.

It is a flat display, but it has a very minimal bezel on the sides making it appear to wrap into the curved edges thanks to a design feature called Loop. There are larger bezels above and below the display though.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 has a slightly smaller 5.1-inch flat display, ups the resolution to Quad HD and offers Super AMOLED technology. This means its pixel density sits at 577ppi for sharper and crisper images than what the Xperia XZ, as well as the potential for brighter and more vibrant colours.

The S7 edge also has a Quad HD display and Super AMOLED technology but its size increases to 5.5-inches for a pixel density of 534ppi. It is also curved, as we mentioned, which makes for a much more exciting design, as well as some extra software functions.

Both the S7 and S7 edge also have an Always-On display, which means some notifications from specific apps can be seen on the display without users needing to power up the entire display.

Sony Xperia XZ vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs S7 edge: Camera 

The Sony Xperia XZ has a 23-megapixel rear camera with two supporting sensors for colour and depth of vision, coupled with a 13-megapixel front camera.

The rear camera features an LED flash and a sensitivity of ISO 12800 that users will be able to manually control, along with the shutter speed. The front camera has a sensitivity of ISO 6400 and a wide-angle lens.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge both feature a 12-megapixel rear camera, coupled with a 5-megapixel front camera. The rear has optical image stabilisation, along with phase detection autofocus and both the front and rear deliver excellent results.

Sony Xperia XZ vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs S7 edge: Hardware

The Sony Xperia XZ comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of internal storage and microSD support up to 256GB. It also has a battery capacity of around 2900mAh and Sony has introduced a new battery management system for its new device.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge both come with either the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip or an Exynos processor, depending on region. They have 4GB of RAM on board and a choice of 32GB of 64GB internal memory, both of which offer microSD expansion.

The S7 has a 3000mAh battery while the S7 edge has a slightly larger 3700mAh battery.

Sony Xperia XZ vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs S7 edge: Software

The Sony Xperia XZ launches on Android Marshmallow with Sony's skin over the top. It will get updated to Android Nougat eventually, but it doesn’t launch on the new software.

Both the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the S7 edge also run on Android Marshmallow. They come with Samsung's TouchWiz software over the top meaning they will offer a different user experience to the new Xperia.

All three devices being compared here will have their own features and functions but the underlying software is the same.

Sony Xperia XZ vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs S7 edge: Conclusion

The Sony Xperia XZ has a similar size display to the Samsung Galaxy S7 but it offers a lower resolution, less RAM and a smaller battery. The same goes for the Galaxy S7 edge, though that also has a larger display and more exciting design.

The Xperia XZ does have USB Type-C and it also wins on camera resolution over both the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge devices, but that's not to say its results will be better.

Ultimately, all three are powerful devices. The Sony XZ has yet to prove itself, while the S7 and S7 edge both already have but we will update this feature with our review experience once we have spent some more time with it.