Sony announced four smartphones at Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona, one of which is the Xperia XZ Premium, which is the company latest and greatest device with an all new camera and 4K HDR display.

It succeeds the Xperia Z5 Premium, which launched at IFA in September 2015, but how does it compare? Here is the Xperia XZ Premium against the Xperia Z5 Premium.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium vs Xperia Z5 Premium: Design

  • XZ Premium is larger and heavier
  • More seamless design on XZ Premium thanks to 2.5D glass
  • Both IP68 and IP65 water and dust resistant

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium and Xperia Z5 Premium feature the same OmniBalance, flat-slab design that Xperia smartphones are known for. There's a side-mounted power button with a built-in fingerprint sensor on both, large bezels at the top and bottom of the displays and the rear camera lens in the top left-hand corner on the back. They are also both IP68 and IP65.

The Xperia XZ Premium does introduce 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass to the Premium party however, on both the front and rear of the device, offering a slightly more seamless design to its predecessor. The new model also opts for USB Type-C over Micro-USB.

The Xperia XZ Premium comes in Luminous Chrome or Deepsea Black and measures 156 x 77 x 7.9mm, with a weight of 195g. The Xperia Z5 Premium comes in Chrome, Black, Gold and Pink and is a little smaller and slimmer at 154.4 x 75.8 x 7.8mm. It is also quite a bit lighter, weighing 180g.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium vs Xperia Z5 Premium: Display

  • Both have 5.5-inch 4K display
  • XZ Premium adds HDR

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium and the Xperia Z5 Premium both have 5.5-inch displays with 3840 x 2160 resolutions, resulting in a pixel densities of 806ppi for super sharp displays.

Both include various Sony display technologies including Triluminos and X-Reality but the new model also adds something called Dynamic Contrast Enhancer and more importantly, HDR.

The inclusion of HDR should mean the XZ Premium will offer better colour vibrancy and contrast compared to the Z5 Premium, though as the resolution is the same, the crispness and sharpness of the two displays should be on par.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium vs Xperia Z5 Premium: Camera

  • XZ Premium has new Motion Eye camera
  • Higher resolution front camera on XZ Premium
  • Super slow motion video recording on XZ Premium

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium features Sony's new Motion Eye rear camera, offering a 19-megapixel sensor with 1.22µm pixels, along with a 13-megapixel front-facing camera with an aperture of f/2.0.

The rear camera is capable of 4K video recording, along with super slow motion video capture at 960fps. It also offers various technologies including Predictive Capture, Predictive Hybrid Autofocus and five-axis stabilisation.

The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium on the other hand, has a 23-megapixel rear camera with an aperture of f/2.0 and phase detection autofocus, coupled with a 5.1-megapixel front facing camera with an aperture of f/2.4.

The Z5 Premium is also capable of 4K video recording and it has a number of Sony features on board again, though it misses out on the new 960fps super slow-motion video feature.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium vs Xperia Z5 Premium: Hardware

  • Newer, faster processor on XZ Premium
  • More RAM and storage on XZ Premium
  • Larger battery capacity on Z5 Premium

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, supported by 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

There is microSD on board for further storage expansion and a 3230mAh battery runs the show, coupled with Sony's Stamina Mode and Battery Care software working in the background.

The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor under its hood, along with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Again, microSD is on board, along with a slightly larger battery than the XZ Premium at 3430mAh.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium vs Xperia Z5 Premium: Software

  • Both will have Android Nougat

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium launches on Android Nougat with Sony's software on top. The Xperia Z5 Premium launched on Android Marshmallow but it is upgradable to Android Nougat so the software should be very similar once the Z5 Premium is updated.

There will be a couple of extra features on the XZ Premium over the Z5 Premium, such as the slow motion video function, but the overall user experience between these two handsets will be familiar for Sony fans.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium vs Xperia Z5 Premium: Conclusion

The Sony Xperia XZ Premium features a more seamless design, along with camera enhancements, and display improvements. It also brings with it a more powerful processor, a little extra RAM and more storage.

The Xperia Z5 Premium might be smaller and lighter, while also offering a larger battery capacity, but it doesn't have everything Sony has to offer. It is likely to drop in price when the XZ Premium hits shelves though so if you're just interested in the 4K display rather than the latest camera and hardware, it could still be a good option for you.