Two oversized smartphones go head to head in our Ultimate Comparison. Which from the newly launched Samsung Galaxy C7 and Sony Xperia XA Ultra is a better mid-ranger? We put the two in camera up to battery test to find out the answer.
- Sony Xperia XA Ultra Full Review
- Samsung Galaxy C7 Full Review
- Sony Xperia XA Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy A9
Design and build
The Samsung Galaxy C7 is an all-metal device and measuring slightly smaller and lighter than the Xperia XA Ultra. The difference in size is really minimal due to the crazy thin bezels and on-screen buttons of the latter.
Up front on two are 2.5D beveled glasses. The selfie camera on the Sony phablet is more apparent while sitting along the single LED flash. Both sports LED notification lights.
Perhaps the more noticeable feature that’s lacking on the Xperia is the fingerprint scanner. The sensor on Galaxy phablet is embedded in its home button while flanked by two back-lit navigation keys.
The XA Ultra has the only dedicated dual SIM model whereas the C7 features a hybrid one shared by either the microSD or secondary SIM card.
With a satin plastic back, there are no visible antenna lines on XA Ultra compared to the Samsung mid-ranger with exposed design.
Despite the plastic build, the Sony phablet felt solid as the metal Galaxy phablet. But we can’t deny that the latter is one of the most premium mid-rangers we’ve encountered.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy C7
Display
The wider 6-inch display of the Xperia XA Ultra results to a slightly less resolution but still within on the Retina level. The 0.3-inch difference of Galaxy display makes up for a better grip and technically sharper screen. However, putting them side-by-side, the difference is hardly noticeable.
We like both displays, bright and have really good outdoor legibility. The Super AMOLED, however, is more vibrant compared to the standard IPS LCD of Xperia XA Ultra that depicts bland but accurate white balance and color reproduction.
Winner: Tie
Camera
We see Sony pumping up the camera on the Xperia XA Ultra with a 21MP main sensor that takes impressive still photos. The company was able to utilize the extra pixels as the photos on Sony shooter are sharper and produce more pleasing colors than the Galaxy shooter.
The only downside for the Sony shooter is on the delay of shutter speed while its competitor captures photos in an instant.
On selfie shooting, the natural colors from the 16MP front cam of Xperia XA Ultra are more noticeable than on the pale and bright but sometimes over exposed shots of Galaxy C7. The dedicated front-facing flash too helps a lot in taking selfies at night.
The C7 was able to get a neutral white balance on video, but the lack of stabilization feature makes it less reliable. It’s important to note that the two shoot 1080p videos.
Winner: Sony Xperia XA Ultra
Performance and benchmark
Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core chip and 4GB RAM, the Galaxy C7 easily smokes out the Xperia XA Ultra with Helio P10 octa-core chip and 3GB RAM in Antutu benchmark.
Actual speed test and real life usage, however, shows both hardware handling graphics-intensive apps and hefty tasks without stuttering.
With more storage, RAM, and faster processor, the Samsung hardware is just a better hardware and really deserves the credit in this category.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy C7
Battery and charging
Surprisingly, the massive size of the Xperia XA Ultra brings a bit of disappointment in battery capacity. At 2700mAh, the phablet only reached a fair battery endurance rating while the Galaxy C7 has a solid battery life and could easily more than a whole day of use.
For the XA Ultra, you’ll need to rely on the Smart power saving mode to match the C7’s endurance on which some features will be limited.
Charging the bigger battery on the Samsung cell also takes lesser due to a fast adaptive charger.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy C7
Audio
Both relies on bottom-firing speaker and lacks proper high-res upscaling. For loudness and clarity, the Xperia XA Ultra produced better and more powerful sound taking the score here.
Winner: Sony Xperia XA Ultra
Pricing and Verdict
With a very close pricing, it’s really hard to choose between the two. So if you’re looking for a reliable camera, go for the Sony Xperia XA Ultra which is valued at P18k to 20k pesos price. For extra power and storage and solid battery life, the Samsung Galaxy C7 is the choice for P20k or $430 USD price.
Again, it’s a close match and your preference is the deciding factor. Let’s know which device are you going.
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Full Specs |
Samsung Galaxy C7 |
Sony Xperia XA Ultra |
Display | 5.7-inch 1080p FHD display AMOLED, 386 ppi | Edge-to-edge and curved 6-inch Full HD, Scratch Resistant, 367 ppi |
Design | Metal + Curved Glass | Satin plastic back + Metal frame |
Chipset | Snapdragon 625 (2016 mid-range chip) | MediaTek Helio P10 octa-core processor |
CPU | Octa-core Cortex A53 @ 2.0GHz speed | Octa-core Cortex A53 @ 2.0GHz speed for 4 cores |
Chipset | Adreno 506 graphics | Malo 860MP2 graphics |
Memory | 4GB RAM, 32GB/64GB internal storage, hybrid microSD card slot | 3GB, 16 internal storage, dedicated microSD card |
Camera | 16MP f1.9, dual tone LED flash, 1080p video | 21MP f2.2, LED flash, 1080p video |
Selfie | 8MP f1.9 | 16MP f2.0 |
Connectivity | Dual SIM, 4G LTE, WiFi ac, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, NFC | Dual SIM, 4G LTE, WiFi a, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, NFC |
Security | Fingerprint scanner | N/A |
OS | Android 6.0 Marshmallow, TouchWiz UI | Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Xperia UI |
Battery | 3300mAh battery capacity | 2700mAh battery capacity |
Ports and charging | microUSB 2.0, Fast Charging | microUSB 2. |
Audio | Mono speaker, standard | Mono speaker, standard |
Release Date | August 2016 availability in the Philippines | July 2016 availability in the Philippines |
Official price | P19,990 SRP for 64GB model (US$430) in online stores | P18,000 – P19,990 for 16GB model (US$400 to $430) in online stores |