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Samsung Galaxy Note 5 vs. Sony Xperia Z5: performance or camera

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In June this year Sony released the Sony Xperia Z3+ as a response to Samsung’s Galaxy S6, which has taken over the market ever since April. Unfortunately, the Xperia Z3+ failed, as it didn’t reach its competitor’s standards and even more, it had some major issues with overheating. Sony didn’t give up the fight and announced, during the IFA press conference, three new phones: Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact and Xperia Z5 Premium.

Apparently, Sony has skipped a number and decided to impress by launching three new models by October. In the end, the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact was available from the end of September, while the Sony Xperia Z5 was released as expected in October. Although the Xperia Z5 Premium seems to have more chances at competing with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5, it is expected to be released in November. After all, can the Sony Xperia Z5 compete with the latest Samsung Galaxy Note 5, which has been around since August? That’s what we’re going to find out!

Design, Body, and Durability

samsung-galaxy-note-5-22The first big difference between the two phones is their design. Like any other Sony devices, the Xperia Z5 has a more “boxy”, rectangular design and seems to be made out of a metal case, but in fact it’s made out of frosted matte glass, which gives it a mirror like effect. As for Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5, it is slimmer, curvier and looks more stylish than Xperia.

As for the smartphones bodies, don’t be fooled by the phone’s designs, the Xperia Z5 is slightly slimmer and smaller in size. As it is considered an actual phablet Galaxy’s Note 5 dimensions are 6.03 x 3.00 x 0.30 inch (153.2 x 76.1 x 7.6 mm) while Xperia’s Z5 size is 5.75 x 2.83 x 0.29 inch (146 x 72 x 7.3 mm).

Both devices use Nano-SIM cards and have fingerprint sensors implemented, but Xperia comes with an improved feature, it is IP68 certified, meaning that it is dust proof and water resistant. Sony’s Xperia Z5 resists 30 minutes immersed in liquid over 1.5 meter. On the other hand, Samsung Galaxy Note 5 comes with an S Pen Stylus, which has a click-in holster, a recessed button and an updated S Note app.

Display, Resolution and Camera

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Two different styles of smartphones have to come with two completely different displays. The Note 5 has a 5.7” Super AMOLED display with 16M colors and capacitive touchscreen. With 1440×2560 pixels resolution and the corning Gorilla Glass 4, Note 5 rightfully deserves is phablet title. As for Xperia Z5 it has a 5.2” IPS LCD display with similar 16M colors and capacitive touchscreen. As for the 1080×1920 pixels screen, it is actually made out of scratch resistant glass that has an oleophobic coating. If not by size and design, Xperia Z5 seems to be more durable that its competitor.

Also, when it comes to cameras, Sony worked really hard to surpass Samsung. Front or rear camera, Xperia Z5 focused on more mega-pixels. Xperia’s 5.1 MP, 1080p, HDR front camera surpasses Galaxy’s Note 5 typical 5 MP camera. While considering the rear camera, Sony built its Xperia Z5 with a 23 MP camera taking pictures up to 5520×4140 pixels photos. Although Samsung’s Note 5 16 MP rear camera takes 5312×2988 pixels photos, Samsung included more features to help its users take the perfect photo. As for video recording, don’t worry, both companies support 4K video formats.

Performance, Storage, and Connectivity

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To reach expectations, Xperia Z 5 was equipped with powerful specs, that are close to the best on the market today, while Note 5 kept its renowned highly performant specs.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 stuck to its 64-bit Exynos 7 Octa 7420 processor with the 1.5 GHz A53 and 2.1 GHz A57 Cortex combined with the ARM Mali-T760 MP8 graphics processor. As for Xperia Z5 it is powered by the 64-bit Qualcomm MSM8994 Snapdragon 810 processor with quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 and 2 GHz Cortex-A57 in combination with the Adreno 430 GPU. A big disadvantage is the fact that Galaxy Note 5 doesn’t support microSD’s and although it can either have 32 or 64 GB storage capacity with 4 GB RAM, Xperia Z5 has 32 GB storage capacity with 3 GB RAM and can also reach up to 200 GB storage capacity with a microSD.

Although the processor’s capabilities don’t compare, Xperia Z5 wins when it comes to storage capacity, which is really valued by most smartphone users. But Note 5 is the only smartphone that lets you write by hand. By being high performant phones, they both support 4G connectivity and have the same Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band connection. With GPS incorporated, but with a small difference in Bluetooth connection, as Xperia Z5 has a 4.1 Bluetooth incorporated, while Note 5 has the 4.2 version, the smartphones seem to be slightly different.

Battery and Software

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Both phones seem to have downgraded batteries in comparison to their predecessors, both with different advantages and disadvantages. Xperia’s Z5 non-removable Li-Ion 2900 mAh battery, can last up to a day and has various energy saving modes installed and more importantly it has a fast battery charging feature, as it brings your battery up to 60% in 30 minutes. But, it cannot be charged wireless like Galaxy’s Note 5 non-removable Li-Po 3000 mAh battery, can be. Although Note’s 5 battery lasts an average of 15 hours, it did beat its predecessor average of 12 hours. With various power saving modes and the wireless charging capacity, the battery’s life might not seem to be less functional than that of the Xperia.

When it comes down to software, both devices are built to be compatible with the Android 5.1.1 Lollipop Operating System and are added on the list of smartphones that will receive the updated version of Android OS, the 6.0 Marshmallow.

Conclusion
Overall, Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is an excellent smartphone with a premium price, the 64 GB version having a $800 price range, while the 32 GB costs roughly $700, but storage is needed as the phablet doesn’t support microSD. Also, it doesn’t seem to be very much upgraded in comparison to the last years Note 4 model. Although, that writing by hand feature does make it unique.

As for the Sony Xperia Z5, the difference is huge when it comes to its failed Xperia Z3+ version. Although specifications are not highly improved, the overheating issue promises to be resolved. The price range is similar to the Note 5, being situated in the $700 range, depending on the region it is sold in, some discounts were made to attract customers, as the phone was released pretty late and doesn’t offer much more than the Samsung Galaxy S series.

In my opinion, both smartphones are amazing, yet different in so many ways. At the same price you can either have a better performing Samsung Galaxy Note 5, but it will lack in storage capacity. While, Sony Xperia Z5 has storage problems covered and also offers the possibility of taking high quality and underwater photos. In the end it depends on what you expect from your phone and probably what kind of design suits your preferences more.

Who doesn’t enjoy listening to a good story. Personally I love reading about the people who inspire me and what it took for them to achieve their success. As I am a bit of a self confessed tech geek I think there is no better way to discover these stories than by reading every day some articles or the newspaper . My bookcases are filled with good tech biographies, they remind me that anyone can be a success. So even if you come from an underprivileged part of society or you aren’t the smartest person in the room we all have a chance to reach the top. The same message shines in my beliefs. All it takes to succeed is a good idea, a little risk and a lot of hard work and any geek can become a success. VENI VIDI VICI .

Android

Google appeared as a car manufacturer

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Google has recently used CES as a platform to present its philosophy of “Better Together,” the notion that all devices should get along with one another. Typically, this entails making announcements regarding new Cast compatibility and features like Fast Pair. The business revealed that it is collaborating with Spotify to incorporate the Connect streaming capability into the Android UI at CES 2023. Additionally, it showed a sneak peek at an audio handoff tool that would recommend various devices to shift your music to based on your preferences and location.

However, CES is a significant vehicle event, and Google also sells items for cars. Additionally, it said today that the Polestar 3 would receive its higher-resolution maps, and it debuted the most recent Android Auto user interface for the first time since it was revealed at I/O 2022.

Two vehicles, a Volvo EX90 with Google preinstalled and a BMW i7 with the new Android Auto experience, were at the Google stand in the trailer lot of the Las Vegas Convention Center. We had never seen the Volvo before, and we’ll be posting a separate hands-on on that experience shortly. The new Android Auto is the main topic of this article and video.

The redesigned interface will support larger screen sizes and have a split screen layout, as we discovered at I/O. Google has eliminated the status bar and inserted a row of shortcut keys below it, along with some indication icons in a small area to the top left. When we were in the car, the Spotify app was located on the left panel, and we could access a list of suggested playlists by swiping in from the right side.

Alerts that you won’t have time to respond to while driving are likewise stored in this left pane. For instance, you can swipe right on a notification to move it to the dock, where it will wait until you’re ready to deal with it.

Check out the video up top for more of our experience with the updated Android Auto in the BMW i7! And be sure to pay attention this week as there will be a ton of news at CES 2023.

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WhatsApp’s new Communities feature aims to bring related group chats together

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Additionally, stand-alone groups will now have access to 32-person video chats.
One of the new features that WhatsApp is introducing is one that aims to group together related group chats. The Communities feature, which was introduced earlier this year by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, aims to let users consolidate group chats “under one umbrella with a structure that works for them.” For Facebook and Instagram, comparable technologies are under development.

In the upcoming months, communities will be accessible to all WhatsApp users. To discuss topics that are important to you, you can create smaller group chats inside a community and easily switch between them. WhatsApp will provide administrators with “strong new capabilities” to govern communities, including the capacity to select which groups to include and the option to broadcast announcements to all users.

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WhatsApp suggests that communities may be created through local areas, workplaces, and parents with children attending the same school. To begin, select the Communities tab from the menu at the top of the Android app or the bottom of the iOS screen. You will have the option of building a community from scratch or expanding an existing one.

The Communities feature has some similarities to Facebook Groups (as well as Nextdoor and Discord), but it is protected by end-to-end encryption. Making group chats more like Facebook Groups, where false information has thrived in recent years, may have some drawbacks, even though Zuckerberg has been eying a community-driven model to lessen the reliance on feeds across Meta’s applications. Due to the platform’s focus on encryption, WhatsApp generally has fewer moderation capabilities, which may make it harder to keep a lid on fabrications.

In other places, WhatsApp is giving groups—including those that aren’t connected to a community—new functionality. Group polls are also being added, along with support for the 32-person encrypted video conversations that Meta has been beta-testing over the past few weeks. Furthermore, groups now support a maximum of 1,024 people.

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15 top Android music player applications

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Numerous apps are available for music, which has the power to uplift individuals. The top Android music player apps are listed here!

Nowadays, private music collections are uncommon due to music streaming. A personal music collection is still beneficial to many people, though. Higher-quality music is available; it is offline-compatible and doesn’t require a subscription. Thankfully, there are several options available for grooving out to your favorite music. Here are our top choices for Android music player apps.

The best music player apps for Android

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