Sony Xperia Z1S vs LG G2 vs Samsung Galaxy S4: specs comparison

Months after it made the Xperia Z1 available unlocked for $649 stateside, Sony has finally inked a deal with a US carrier that will see the flagship receive some subsidy love. The (un)carrier of choice: T-Mobile. Exclusively.

The new handset, dubbed the Z1S, is a near-exact replica of the original Z1, though not entirely. We're talking quite the miniscule changes, of course, but they are there. For starters, the 3.5mm audio jack, previously found on the top left side, is now just slightly off center. Moreover, the front camera's placement has been reversed (right to left) and the microSD and microUSB slots have exchanged places, while the all-glass rear has seen the addition of the T-Mobile logo. The rest of the Z1S remains as formidable as on launch-date, though we're a little worried that Sony may have missed the prime opportunity in the US, as new flagship devices are not too far off. In any case, Sony still has quite the package with the Z1S, including a crisp, 5-inch, 1080p Triluminos display, a powerful 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, 2GB of RAM and last, but certainly not least, a 20.7-megapixel camera unit with G Lens and an Exmor RS sensor. And all of this – water- and dust-proof. So are these quite enough to launch a serious case of soul-searching for future flagship buyers? Very much so – despite its bulkier outer appearances, the Z1S sure matches the competition hardware for hardware, and it is the finer, more subjective notions that buyers have that will end up tipping the scale in favor of any one of the trio right below.