Moto X Play vs Xperia M5?

[Cakefish]

Both set for release later this month.

Which to go for?

Motorola Moto X Play: http://www.motorola.co.uk/moto-x/moto-x-play-uk.html

Sony Xperia M5: http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/phones/xperia-m5/

Comparison of specifications: http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?&idPhone2=7464&idPhone1=7454

I'm upgrading from the Nexus 5, where battery life and camera low-light performance are my two biggest complaints. The new Nexus 5 (2015) is too far off for my liking, l haven't got the willpower to wait that long. I'm craving for an upgrade ASAP (oleophobic coating has partially worn off!).

Would be helpful to see your thoughts and opinions to help me decide between these two phones

[spartaman64]

i would say moto play because of the massive battery

[Picky Peep]

That front facing camera on the M5 is huge

[Ruostunut kokis]

The odds are that you won't be able to get much better low-light performance out of phone cameras... Their sensors are tiny, and won't be able to collect enough light to perform well anywhere where it isn't well-lit. So as for that complaint, don't get high hopes.

 

Apart from that, what are your needs? Do you need the best possible battery life? How much water resistance is enough? Does it need to be able to resist random drops?

 

I'd say pick whatever you want, but if you are asking opinions, I'd vote Xperia M5 (could be biased opinion: user of an Xperia Z1 speaking). Though the Moto X Play has a significantly larger battery capacity, so if you are into that, might be better off to go with that instead.

 

 

That front facing camera on the M5 is huge

It is kinda bad that the resolution is so high... They are sacrificing low-light performance of the front-camera for increased resolution. More individual pixels are on a sensor of a certain size, they won't be able to gather as much light as larger pixels, plus 5 MP is probably enough for a front-camera (if one needs it anyway) as it is.

 

Oh, just saw it's size. That could change some things...

[Cakefish]

The odds are that you won't be able to get much better low-light performance out of phone cameras... Their sensors are tiny, and won't be able to collect enough light to perform well anywhere where it isn't well-lit. So as for that complaint, don't get high hopes.

Apart from that, what are your needs? Do you need the best possible battery life? How much water resistance is enough? Does it need to be able to resist random drops?

I'd say pick whatever you want, but if you are asking opinions, I'd vote Xperia M5 (could be biased opinion: user of an Xperia Z1 speaking). Though the Moto X Play has a significantly larger battery capacity, so if you are into that, might be better off to go with that instead.

Well both have larger sensors than my Nexus 5 so I have no doubts they'll at least be an improvement! Nexus 5 camera is notoriously poor in low light, even among its smartphone brethren.

I can't last a full day with my Nexus 5 without the need for portable chargers so battery life is important to me for my next purchase (though Nexus 5 is again notoriously bad in this department so both phones will undoubtedly be an improvement). My primary usage is web browsing. Camera quality, as l already mentioned, is also important to me.

I'm wondering:

- Which will have better battery life? I've heard that the Helio X10 is more power efficient than the Snapdragon 615.

- Which will receive future Android updates in a more timely manner? Moto X Play has 5.1.1 while Xperia M5 has 5.0 at launch.

- Which camera setup is superior? F2.2 aperture with Phase Detect Auto Focus (PDAF) for the Xperia or F2.0 aperture without PDAF for the Moto?

[Bean86]

Can't comment to all your questions but the Moto X is more likely to receive fast updates as it's pretty much pure android (no additional UI).

Personally I'm opting for the Moto X myself (upgrading from a Nexus 4) due to battery and dual SIM.

[Ruostunut kokis]

Well both have larger sensors than my Nexus 5 so I have no doubts they'll at least be an improvement! Nexus 5 camera is notoriously poor in low light, even among its smartphone brethren.

I can't last a full day with my Nexus 5 without the need for portable chargers so battery life is important to me for my next purchase (though Nexus 5 is again notoriously bad in this department so both phones will undoubtedly be an improvement). My primary usage is web browsing. Camera quality, as l already mentioned, is also important to me.

I'm wondering:

- Which will have better battery life? I've heard that the Helio X10 is more power efficient than the Snapdragon 615.

- Which will receive future Android updates in a more timely manner? Moto X Play has 5.1.1 while Xperia M5 has 5.0 at launch.

- Which camera setup is superior? F2.2 aperture with Phase Detect Auto Focus (PDAF) for the Xperia or F2.0 aperture without PDAF for the Moto?

Power efficiency could affect the battery life, but for larger battery life, Moto X Play could be a safer bet. It also gets more consistent updates, as there are no guarantees there will be updates to the Xperia M line (there could be for some time: some months ago Xperia Z1 got an update from 4.4.2 to 5.0.3, but this is the flagship line in-question).

 

As for camera. Moto X Play has an impressive camera, for a phone... But as of how the quality compares, I'm not certain, and it's probably not much different. As for the auto-focus system, this is the first time me seeing a phase-detection AF system being used on a phone camera. Not sure how would it work, but should fair better than contrast-detection AF other digital cameras (that aren't usually DSLRs) use. The difference between f/2.2 and f/2.0 is not much when it comes to gathering light, even on that small sensor size where every small improvement counts. Don't expect shallow depth-of-field (bokeh) though, the sensors are too small for such.

 

And how much water resistance is enough? It can matter on for example rainy days. That's the reason I upgraded to Xperia Z1 from Galaxy S2, apart from the increased speed of course (S2 was a lagfest).

[Cakefish]

The Moto X Style also has PDAF. It's not in the Play's camera though. I didn't realise that the difference between F2.0 and F2.2 isn't that big.

Just being water repellent is enough. I mean, being completely waterproof is a great bonus of the Xperia, but not something I desperately need.

I've looked it up online and it seems that the M4 Aqua still hasn't got 5.1.1, so maybe Sony will take a while to update the M5.

[Ruostunut kokis]

The Moto X Style also has PDAF. It's not in the Play's camera though. I didn't realise that the difference between F2.0 and F2.2 isn't that big.

Just being water repellent is enough. I mean, being completely waterproof is a great bonus of the Xperia, but not something I desperately need.

I've looked it up online and it seems that the M4 Aqua still hasn't got 5.1.1, so maybe Sony will take a while to update the M5.

If phone updates are important, and the battery life, in your case, the Moto X Play is still the safest bet.

 

I personally am fine with 5.0.3, no issues. But if you want the latest updates, there's nowhere to go but stock Android.

 

Contrast-detection AF is fine for most things. It might lag behind phase-detection AF in low-light auto-focusing and tracking fast moving subjects, but will do the job.

[Cakefish]

If phone updates are important, and the battery life, in your case, the Moto X Play is still the safest bet.

I personally am fine with 5.0.3, no issues. But if you want the latest updates, there's nowhere to go but stock Android.

Contrast-detection AF is fine for most things. It might lag behind phase-detection AF in low-light auto-focusing and tracking fast moving subjects, but will do the job.

So PDAF improves low light camera performance? Wonky focusing under dim conditions is what really hinders the Nexus 5 camera. Interesting. Big plus for Sony in that case.

I do like being on the latest version of Android. It's what I'm used to as a Nexus owner for the past few years (since Nexus 4). Really looking forward to the battery enchantments in Android M.

I'm wondering when reviews will be available. Both devices go on sale this month. I hope we don't have to wait too long.

[Ruostunut kokis]

So PDAF improves low light camera performance? Wonky focusing under dim conditions is what really hinders the Nexus 5 camera. Interesting. Big plus for Sony in that case.

I do like being on the latest version of Android. It's what I'm used to as a Nexus owner for the past few years (since Nexus 4). Really looking forward to the battery enchantments in Android M.

I'm wondering when reviews will be available. Both devices go on sale this month. I hope we don't have to wait too long.

It should in theory improve the focusing accuracy, and maybe speed of focusing. However, it does not improve image quality.

 

But if having the latest version of Android is the deal breaker, the only solution of the two is Moto X Play, assuming it has stock Android. Sony might not update for some time, same goes for Samsung, HTC... Practically any manufacturer that uses non-stock Android. I personally am used to using older versions of Android (as long as they are mostly bug-free) because of the third-party Android devices I have used, but I'm not certain if you could cope with that.

 

TL;DR: Moto X Play, by a huge margin.