LG G3 vs. Sony Xperia Z2: Distance to impact

Performance

The LG G3 runs on a Qualcomm MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801 chipset with four Krait 400 cores clocked at 2.5GHz each. Graphics are powered by an Adreno 330 GPU, and there is a hefty dose of RAM at 3GB (2GB on the G3 version with 16GB of internal storage). The QHD display should play a factor here for two reasons - the processor and GPU will have to push harder than their 1080p counterparts and most apps (including benchmarks) haven' been optimized for QHD resolution yet.

The Sony Xperia Z2 is also powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset, the MSM8974AB variety. This means the four Krait 400 cores are clocked at 2.3GHz, the Adreno 330 GPU is identical and there is 3GB of RAM too (across all models).

When it comes to CPU performance, the European LG G3 underperforms like its South Korean version. Using Basemark OS II we see the LG G3 is a hair faster than the Xperia Z2.

GeekBench 3

Higher is better

• Oppo Find 7
  3178
• Oppo Find 7a
  3093
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  3011
• Sony Xperia Z2
  2856
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  2687
• LG G Pro 2
  2585
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  2563
• HTC One (M8)
  2367

Basemark OS II

Higher is better

• Oppo Find 7
  1212
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  1151
• LG G Pro 2
  1140
• HTC One (M8)
  1126
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  1082
• Sony Xperia Z2
  1080
• Oppo Find 7a
  1057
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  945

The single and multi-core CPU scores turned out a surprise as well - the Xperia Z2, whose CPU is clocked lower at 2.3GHz, did better than the LG G3 (2.5GHz).

Basemark OS II (single-core)

Higher is better

• Oppo Find 7
  2606
• Oppo Find 7a
  2580
• HTC One (M8)
  2428
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  2415
• LG G Pro 2
  2401
• Sony Xperia Z2
  2253
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  2137
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  1787

Basemark OS II (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Oppo Find 7
  10391
• Oppo Find 7a
  10256
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  10063
• Sony Xperia Z2
  10044
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  9937
• HTC One (M8)
  9860
• LG G Pro 2
  9802
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  8337

AnTuTu 4 tests the entire system - CPU and GPU, but also RAM and storage. The Xperia Z2 managed to best both the European LG G3 unit with 2GB of RAM and the Korean LG G3 with 3GB of RAM.

AnTuTu 4

Higher is better

• Oppo Find 7
  38484
• HTC One (M8)
  37009
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  36018
• Oppo Find 7a
  33344
• Sony Xperia Z2
  33182
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  32780
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  30482
• LG G Pro 2
  29603

Graphics benchmarks was where we expected the G3 to struggle more compared to other flagships. Indeed, in the onscreen Manhattan test the high screen resolution and the high-quality graphics rendered account for what seems to be poor performance.

Other than that, the Xperia Z2 is on par with the G3 on the off-screen graphics tests, while it does better when it comes to on-screen performance due to its lower resolution 1080p display.

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• HTC One (M8)
  28.4
• Oppo Find 7a
  28.4
• Oppo Find 7
  28
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  27.8
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  27.6
• Sony Xperia Z2
  27.2
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  27.2
• LG G Pro 2
  22.9

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (onscreen)

Higher is better

• HTC One (M8)
  30.1
• Oppo Find 7a
  28.8
• Sony Xperia Z2
  28.7
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  28.1
• LG G Pro 2
  24.1
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  20.6
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  20.5
• Oppo Find 7
  19.9

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  11.9
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  11.8
• Sony Xperia Z2
  11.7
• Oppo Find 7a
  11.4
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  11.4
• Oppo Find 7
  11.1
• HTC One (M8)
  11.1
• LG G Pro 2
  8.7

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Sony Xperia Z2
  12.2
• HTC One (M8)
  11.9
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  11.7
• Oppo Find 7a
  11.4
• LG G Pro 2
  9.2
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  7.4
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  7.2
• Oppo Find 7
  6.7

Real world graphics can be measured more effectively using the benchmark feature of Epic Citadel. Here, the device is forced to run in native 1440p resolution with Ultra graphics quality, where despite scoring below other flagships, it's still able to achieve a respectable score of 43.2 fps.

Epic Citadel (Ultra)

Higher is better

• HTC One (M8)
  59
• Oppo Find 7a
  57.7
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  53.7
• Sony Xperia Z2
  52.6
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  43.2
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  42.9

BrowserMark 2.1 looks at HTML 5 performance, while Mozilla's Kraken 1.1 is JavaScript-centric. The LG G3 scores well in both tests, which should result in a great browsing experience considering the 5.5-inch screen with 534ppi. The JavaScrpit performance of the Xperia Z2 is on par with the LG G3, while the overall browsing experience is better only on the EU LG G3 model according to the BrowserMark 2.1 test.

BrowserMark 2.1

Higher is better

• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, int'l)
  1474
• Oppo Find 7
  1452
• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  1398
• LG G Pro 2
  1346
• Oppo Find 7a
  1327
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  1254
• Sony Xperia Z2
  1224
• HTC One (M8)
  1069

Kraken 1.1

Lower is better

• Galaxy S5 (Snapdragon 801)
  6043
• Oppo Find 7
  6363
• LG G Pro 2
  6578
• Oppo Find 7a
  6660
• LG G3 16GB (2GB RAM, international)
  6987
• Sony Xperia Z2
  7041
• LG G3 32GB (3GB RAM, Korean)
  7610
• HTC One (M8)
  10296

Winner: Sony Xperia Z2. While the numbers are close, the G3 falls behind in most of our tests, no matter which versions we tried (3GB and 2GB). Either the QHD screen really takes a toll on all aspects of performance, or LG are having a hard time with this particular iteration of Snapdragon 801.

Also, it's worth noting that the LG G3 has some serious overheating issues, and that the quoted benchmark numbers dropped significantly after just a few minutes of active benchmarking. The Xperia Z2 has overheating issues too, but they start to get noticed only after prolonged use of the camera or in hot weather.