- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How they compare
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- LG Nexus 4
- Samsung Galaxy S III
- Sony Xperia SL
- Samsung Galaxy S III mini
- Sony Xperia T
Rated 71% by by The Verge (Mar, 2012)Its 4.3-inch display has a 1280 x 720 resolution, the camera features a 12-megapixel Exmor R sensor, and beating inside is a dual-core Snapdragon heart clocked at 1.5GHz.
Rated 80% by by c|net (Sep, 2012)It's a large but light handset that's easy to carry around and never seemed to feel too oversize, even for our smaller hands.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the Sony Xperia S compared to the Samsung Galaxy S II
GHz1.5
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich 3.5G
Rated 67% by by c|net (Jul, 2012)Tew/CNET). Outdoors in plenty of sunlight, the phone captured images with brighter colors though details still had a flat character.
1.5 GHz
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich 3.5G
by GSM Arena (Apr, 2011)The new SuperAMOLED Plus display is amazing even if it makes the phone quite a big thing to hold.
screen size
4.3"
4.5"
Xperia S by chicho2002 (Oct, 2012)The design is so cool, display is a good size 4,3", the best is the camera 12mp and multimedia, your memory is big, is faster for all.
Galaxy S II by Karla-Velarde (Dec, 2012)Is very simple to use when you get used to it, nice camera, very good HD screen quality, is the perfect size for those like me who think that we don't need a phone of the size of a tablet.
screen resolution
Xperia S by rawr (Oct, 2012)It is fairly accurate in colors (not overly saturated), has good viewing angles, and looks very sharp (highest PPI in phones).
Galaxy S II by GSM Arena (Apr, 2011)The images captured with the 8MP camera of the Galaxy S II are very good – low noise, plenty of fine detail and the color and contrast are good too.
memory
| 0 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
processor
Xperia S by Lui-Lai--Alan (Jun, 2012)But in normal daily usage and gaming you won't feel the differences between dual-core and quad-core.
Galaxy S II by GSM Arena (Oct, 2011)With a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU and a powerful GPU, the Galaxy S II for T-Mobile can run every Android app designed for phones.
camera resolution
| 0 MP | 12.1 MP | 20 MP |
Galaxy S II by c|net (Sep, 2012)There's a nice, strong 2-megapixel camera on the front that's great for video chats, but the best lens yet is the 8-megapixel one on the back, which continues to take excellent shots on every Galaxy S II variation we've seen.
Performance Real world tests of Sony Xperia S vs Samsung Galaxy S II
cpu speed
Xperia S by Martin--apartoflifeComparing my SE Arc with this phone proves that speed has increased significantly thanks to the dual core processor.
Galaxy S II by c|net (Sep, 2012)Though Qualcomm's chip has a slightly faster CPU, we didn't notice a huge difference in speed in everyday use, and in fact the AT&T and Sprint models felt just a touch more responsive.
talk time
450 min
515 min
Xperia S by GSM Arena (Sep, 2012)Behind it sits a 1910 mAh battery, which is rated at up to 290h of stand-by on 2G networks (310h on 3G) or 6h and 40 mins of talk time (7h 10 min on 3G).
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the Samsung Galaxy S II
| Much sharper screen | 341 ppi | vs | 206 ppi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Around 70% sharper PPI; enjoy photo-realistic, crisp images | |||
| Significantly higher resolution front camera | 12.1 MP | vs | 8 MP |
| More than 50% higher resolution front camera; Video chat with other people | |||
| Significantly higher resolution screen | 1280 x 720 | vs | 800 x 480 |
| Around 2.5x higher resolution screen | |||
| Store significantly more stuff | 32 GB | vs | 16 GB |
| 2x more storage capacity; free yourself from memory cards | |||
| Longer standby time | 27,000 min | vs | 10,020 min |
| More than 2.5x longer standby time | |||
| Marginally newer | Feb, 2012 | vs | Apr, 2011 |
| Release date 9 months later | |||
Advantages compared to the Sony Xperia S
| Has expandable storage | microSD, microSDHC | vs | None |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use storage cards to increase your phone's capacity for apps and data | |||
| Has a removable battery | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Old batteries can be replaced inexpensively | |||
| Screen uses OLED technology | Yes | vs | No |
| About half of phones are OLED; OLED screens are typically higher contrast and use less power | |||
| Lighter | 135 g | vs | 144 g |
| Around 10% lighter | |||
| Bigger screen | 4.5" | vs | 4.3" |
| Around 10% bigger screen | |||
| Thinner | 9 mm | vs | 11 mm |
| More than 10% thinner | |||
Reviews Word on the street
Sony Xperia S | Samsung Galaxy S II | ||
 |   
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| |
|---|---|---|---|
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| |
 | Rated by 242 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Luis-Castillo-M (Mar, 2013) Rated 100% by by Lui-Lai--Alan (Jun, 2012) | Rated by 450 users at amazon.com Rated 80% by by Wessam-Mesieha (Nov, 2011) Rated 20% by by Johanna (May, 2012) | |
data speed
Sony Xperia S | by GSM Arena (Mar, 2012)Mobile data speeds are boosted by 14.4Mbps HSDPA and 5.76Mbps HSUPA.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | LG Nexus 4 Most CPU cores |
 | 2 | Samsung Galaxy S III Most built-in storage |
 | 3 | Sony Xperia SL Rated the best by consumers |
 | 5 | Sony Xperia T Really high resolution front camera |
 | 6 | Motorola RAZR i Longest battery life during active use |
 | 7 | Sony Xperia P 7-way tie: Records average resolution video |
 | 8 | LG Optimus L9 Better than usual battery capacity |
Popular Questions
November 29, 2012
Which is the best xperia phone ever made
Which is the best sony xperia Sl ,ACRO S, S, AND J for Gaming and has good Battery life
Visitor
2
Answers September 17, 2012
Does the Galaxy S2 or Xperia S have a better quality screen?
I am looking for a phone which has a great quality screen so I can watch YouTube videos. The Galaxy S2 screen looks like it is brighter and has better quality. Is this true? would anyone help...
Visitor
2
Answers November 5, 2012
Games, web browsing
Actually I like to surf Internet and download games. SGS2 or Xperia S is better for it ? Which one battery last longer ? Thank you.
Visitor
1
Answers Sony Xperia S
Beni-Inanma 
Beginner I
The Sony Xperia S is better in terms of : 1. Better screen resolution ( 342 ppi of Xperia S over 217 ppi of Galaxy S2) that makes the screen looks sharper and you can read much easier ... View Beni-Inanma's recommendation
- 0 comments
- December 11, 2012
- Reply to: Games, web browsing
kvamren 
Beginner I
Super fast, extreme quality on pictures and mush more... View kvamren's recommendation
- 0 comments
- December 10, 2012
- Reply to: Which is the best xperia phone ever made
Katie-Tregonning 
Intermediate I
I would pick the Sony Xperia S. Its got a higher ppi at 341 and has a higher res screen. I also like that it has more storage space. View Katie-Tregonning's recommendation
- 0 comments
- September 20, 2012
- Reply to: Does the Galaxy S2 or Xperia S have a better quality screen?
