The MWC 2017 is ongoing and so far, quite a number of goodies have come from the event, but there’s no doubt that the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, Huawei P10 Plus, and LG G6 are, if not the biggest, among the biggest releases of the event.
These three are high-end Android phones that will be available for purchase really soon, but which one do you go for? As usual, one of the most considered aspects when choosing a new phone is the processor. With this year’s flagship phones, a concern has been raised over the use of the slightly older Snapdragon 821 thanks to the delayed arrival of the Snapdragon 835. As a result, the LG G6 comes with SD821, but as you know with Huawei phones, the P10 Plus has a Kirin processor on board.
As for Sony Xperia XZ Premium, it is the first phone to be announced in 2017 with the latest Snapdragon 835 at the heart of the show, even ahead of the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S8. With this in mind, there’s no doubt that the Sony phone carries the day when it comes to performance and energy efficiency, especially since this new SD835 is based on the latest 10nm FinFET technology from Samsung.
This doesn’t mean the Huawei P10 Plus has no place. In fact, the HiSilicon Kirin 960 SoC that powers the phone, which is the same that is found in the Mate 9, has been proven to be way ahead of the Snapdragon 821 in terms of performance. But still, the SD835 leads the way. Sadly, the wait for the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, which carries this SD835 SoC, will go until sometime in spring.
As far as the display is concerned, the Sony Xperia XZ Premium once again comes out on top with its 5.5-inch 4K (UHD) display screen. As for the other two, you get a QHD resolution, however, Sony might do like it did with the Xperia Z5 Premium where this resolution is only available when 4K content comes into play. This way, you can be sure of keeping the phone alive for longer periods of the day on a single charge.
It’s not just Sony that is pulling tricks with the display of its flagship, but LG has some tricks of its own as well. The G6 has a huge 5.7-inch screen with an aspect ratio of 18:9 and the corners are rounded, but the HDR capabilities found here are also available on the Xperia XZ Premium. Even though the 5.5-inch display on the Huawei P10 Plus doesn’t have much to boast, the image clarity you get here will be identical to the other two, albeit a few insignificant variations. It is also worth noting that there’s a non-Plus Huawei P10 model with a Full HD resolution and a smaller 5.2-inch screen.
In terms of memory, these three phones are identical. The same 4GB RAM can be found on the Xperia XZ Premium, Huawei P10 Plus as well as LG G6, however, the P10 Plus also ships with a 6GB RAM variant. In terms of storage, the Xperia XZ Premium and Huawei P10 Plus have at least 64GB of expandable memory, with the slot capable of accommodating up to 256GB. As for the LG G6, you get a mere 32GB, but this can be stepped up via a microSD of up to 2TB.
There are some interesting cameras on the trio. While the Sony Xperia XZ Premium sticks to the single-lens camera setup, both LG G6 and Huawei P10 Plus have dual-lens setups on the back. The 19MP shooter on the back of the Xperia XZ Premium goes a step further to support video recording of up to 960 frames per second in slow motion, however, this feature is limited to time, which sucks big time! Still, you get features such as OIS and PDAF while the front has a 13MP shooter.
The LG G6, on the other hand, has a dual 13MP shooter with f/1.8 aperture, OIS, laser and phase detection AF while the front comes with a 5MP snapper. The Huawei P10 Plus has a dual 12MP+20MP lens on the back with PDAF and OIS while the front has an 8MP lens. While these two have the same dual-lens setup, the approaches used are very different. One 13MP lens on the G6 is for wide-angle shots while the P10 Plus goes for a combination of RGB and monochrome lenses. We should be able to put these to test in a few weeks’ time.
Going into the extras, there’s a lot of uniformity here. Things like 4G LTE, NFC, USB-C and fast charging are everywhere. However, where Sony Xperia XZ Premium and LG G6 are equipped with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge technology, the Huawei P10 Plus has the OEM’s own proprietary fast charging technology. For audio connectivity, the trio has a 3.5mm headphone jack, however, it is the LG G6 that steals the show this time around with its Quad DAC and 32-bit audio support, but this will not be available in all markets.
As for Sony, there’ll be enhanced sound over Bluetooth connections thanks to the company’s wireless LDAC compression, but there’s no word on whether DAC hardware will be on board as well. The LG G6 also stands out when it comes to robustness thanks to the MIL-STD-810G certification alongside IP68 for dust and water resistance. As for the Xperia XZ Premium, you only get IP68 certification. There’s no such thing on the Huawei P10 Plus, so you better keep off water.
To keep the phones alive will be a 3230mAh unit on the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, 3750mAh on the Huawei P10 Plus and 3300mAh on the LG G6.
So, what do you think? Will you go for the G6 or P10 Plus that will be available for purchase in the coming weeks or stick around a little longer for the more powerful Xperia XZ Premium? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.