Samsung launched the Tizen-powered Z3 in India back in October last year. At launch, the handset was priced at ₹8,490 but it appears that only five months after launch several retailers are selling the handset at a discount. Online price comparison site MySmartPrice lists the Samsung Z3 as available for ₹6,900 from three top online retailers in the country: Amazon, Snapdeal, and Flipkart.
Tizen smartphones were never expensive to begin with because the idea was to price them in a range that appeals to people who don’t want to spend too much on a handset or those who are purchasing their very first smartphone. At a discounted price the Samsung Z3 is an ever better deal considering the fact that it’s a decent smartphone even though it doesn’t quite have the applications that one gets on an Android device.
It was only a few days ago that Samsung stated accepting registrations for its Gear Manager beta program for the Samsung Z3. The app will enable the Gear S2 smartwatch to work with Samsung’s Tizen-powered smartphone so it’s a rather important app for this nascent platform. The beta program has now kicked off as the company has released the Gear Manager app for the Samsung Z3 in beta.
Samsung went through with a complete rewrite for the app since it was first revealed at the Tizen Developer Conference 2014 and the Tizen Developer Summit 2014. Samsung Z3 owners who want to take part in the beta program need to have the latest software on their handset and they also need to register and become a member of the Tizen Forum Community. Throughout the beta program they will be able to provide feedback to Samsung which will help the company improve Gear Manager for Tizen.
This year, Samsung released its second Tizen phone with the Samsung Z3. The phone packs an HD Super AMOLED display at a low price point, so it will be interesting to see how it performs. The Z3 gets the same screen modes as Samsung’s Android devices, including Adaptive, Cinema, Photo and Basic modes.
There’s a new screen mode called Grayscale as well (this mode is present as an accessibility feature on Galaxy smartphones instead of as a display mode.) We will discuss the mode it comes out of the box with, the best mode, and also the Grayscale mode. If you want to know what all the graphs in this measurement represent, please refer to this post.
Let us start with the basics. The Samsung Z3 packs a 5-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 720×1280 pixels and a pixel density of around 294 PPI. It features a new type of pixel layout that you can see in the picture below (if you know the name of this layout, do tell us in the comments below.)
First I measured the brightness. This phone doesn’t have an automatic brightness feature so you will have to do with the Outdoor mode for the times you are out and have a lot of sun. In the normal mode the screen can go up to 391 cd/m2 (nits) and as low as around 5 cd/m2. When you enable Outdoor mode, the screen gets boosted up to around 553 cd/m2.
What this means it that you really need to use the outdoor mode for reading your screen comfortably in sunny conditions, because that 391 cd/m2 isn’t going to make it.
Now on to the graphs.
Adaptive Mode
Let’s start by looking at the color gamut of Adaptive mode. Here we see in the sRGB colorspace that most colors are most oversaturated and we see a deviation of the primary and secondary colors with a Delta E error of 5.8, which is less than that of Samsung’s Android devices in Adaptive mode. We can conclude that at 100 percent white everything is too blue. When we look at the Grayscale color error in terms of color temperature, we see a Delta E value of 4.5.
The whites are blueish here as well and that is something manufacturers do to make the whites look more white, especially on AMOLED displays. The contrast ratio, however, is unmeasurable so that is extremely good. Blacks are really black, yet when you get to the lighter colors we see that blueish tint popping out. This is something you can see at the color temperature as well, with a temperature of 7,341 being too cold (anything above 4,000 is considered cold.)
Basic mode
When we look at its basic mode, we see that this isn’t calibrated as good as Android devices. It isn’t bad at all, yet when we look at the Galaxy A8′s screen analysis, comparing these basic modes you will see the A8 scores 1.5 in the color gamut chart and 1.5 in the grayscale chart. The Z3 scores a Delta E color error of 2.5 in the primary and secondary color range. Which is still very good, by the way. In the sRGB colorspace the colors are a little oversaturated, especially in the greens and blues.
These errors can’t be seen with the human eye, with a Delta E error of 1.8 in the color temperature. Basic mode is very good, with contrast ratio being unmeasurable here as well.
Grayscale
Now, let’s talk about the Grayscale mode, which isn’t offered as a display mode on Android devices. It’s funny to see that Samsung has opted for almost the same settings in Grayscale mode as the Adaptive display setting. It has almost the same measurements. Only color temperature is higher, so you get a slightly cooler look than Adaptive mode. The blues are boosted just a tad to make the whites look a little more white, which is not unexpected considering Grayscale mode is all about the whites, grays and blacks.
Conclusion
All in all this is a very nice screen with great contrast, and the colors are almost perfect in Basic mode. Adaptive mode is way oversaturated, however, and the other two display modes aren’t that great either. Grayscale mode isn’t calibrated correctly and it is way too cool.
Yet, for the first mid-range Tizen phone this is a great screen. Read our full review of the Samsung Z3 to know about other aspects of the device.
Tizen developers should be interested to hear that Samsung has released the source code for the Tizen Z3 (Z300HDDU0AOJ4), which reveals all the internals of the device’s software. In a world with growing privacy concerns, this is very good as it allows a developer to take a look at what exactly happens behind the closed doors in the Tizen OS.
This move will help developers in releasing more apps, putting aside the fact that Samsung is also offering 100 percent of their app revenue to developers. It looks like Tizen is truly gaining traction as Samsung declares that its OS is the 2nd largest smartphone operating system in the budget segment in India.
It’s important that Samsung keeps an open source approach to things, and this is a good step forward. If you plan on downloading the source code then prepare for a hefty download as all the files weigh in at about 1.8GB.
Samsung’s Tizen phones come with a Facebook app out of the box, but this app simply loads the web version of the social network. The web version of Facebook is rather limited, so it hasn’t been a good experience for Tizen smartphone users. Well, until now that is, as an update to the Facebook app for Tizen turns it into a proper native app designed for the operating system.
The native app looks and feels similar to the Android version of Facebook, but it seems there is still some work to do as not everything seems to have been implemented. For example, things like our SamMobile page (and pages in general) and the settings menu still open in a browser, though future updates should bring in the necessary changes to make this a truly native app.
Still, a native version of one of the most important smartphone apps is a good step forward for Samsung’s young mobile operating system. Download the update from the Tizen store; the app is available only on the Samsung Z3 for now, but we’re sure the update will also make it to the Z1 in the next few days.
Samsung Z3, the company’s second Tizen-based smartphone was officially announced last week in India, and the device is now available for purchase in the country for INR 8,399 (~ $130) exclusively from Snapdeal. Now, the South Korean smartphone giant has released a promotional video that touches all the important features of the Z3.
The promotional video showcases the Z3′s sleek design with curved back panel with matte finish and metallic-finised sides, a 5-inch HD Super AMOLED display, Tizen UI, My Galaxy and MixRadio apps, Ultra Data Saving mode, an 8-megapixel primary camera, and a 5-megapixel secondary camera. Go ahead and check out the video that’s embedded below.
Samsung Electronics announced the Samsung Z3, an advanced Tizen-based smartphone that offers powerful performance and easy customization via exclusive, localized features including “My Galaxy” for easy access to nearby rewards and benefits.
Built with a crisp 5-inch HD resolution display, the Samsung Z3 delivers the ultimate viewing experience with its Super AMOLED technology for clearer and deeper images, along with an advanced 8 megapixel Bright Lens camera to capture more detailed and higher quality images. In addition, the Samsung Z3 features an ‘Ultra Data Saving Mode’ that minimizes mobile data usage as well as ‘Ultra Power Saving Mode’ for continuous performance with low battery life.
“As a pioneer of Tizen platform, we have continuously introduced Tizen-based mobile devices, including Samsung Z1 and Samsung Gear S2, in our commitment to develop the Tizen ecosystem”, said JK Shin, CEO and Head of IT & Mobile Business at Samsung Electronics. “We developed the Samsung Z3 to provide the features that will help consumers capitalize on the growing Tizen ecosystem and make the most out of their personal mobile experience.”
Advanced Viewing and Camera Capabilities
The Samsung Z3 features a superior 5-inch HD screen, made with Samsung’s advanced Super AMOLED technology that delivers clear images and excellent contrast ratio for true-to-life colors. The device is also equipped with an 8 megapixel Bright Lens F2.2 rear-facing camera that captures more light for visibly clearer and more detailed images, as well as a 5 megapixel front-facing camera for advanced selfie capabilities. The Samsung Z3 camera offers ‘Automatic Selfie’ for seamless selfies with facial recognition, ‘Beauty Face Mode’ that automatically retouches images for flawless skin and ‘Wide Selfie’ to capture up to 120 degrees of the users’ surroundings for the perfect group selfie shot.
Long Battery Life and Optimized Data Usage for Indian Consumers
The Samsung Z3 supports a long-lasting 2,600mAh battery complemented by ‘Ultra Power Saving Mode,’ which allows users to operate on standby for up to 33 hours with less than 10 percent of battery life. The device also features ‘Ultra Data Saving Mode,’ providing data compression and management capabilities for up to 40 percent less mobile data usage.
Designed specifically for the Indian market, Samsung Z3 comes preloaded with ‘My Galaxy’ app that offer consumers various exclusive services, local deals, entertainment content, continuous value on extensively used categories like recharge, travel, movies, fashion etc and post purchase assistance. The Samsung Z3 additionally features the ‘Mix Radio’ app, available exclusively for Samsung consumers. Mix Radio is the world’s most personalized free music streaming service with over 35 million songs to choose from, including extensive local catalogue of over 10 genres of Indian music.
The Samsung Z3 is priced at INR 8490 and will be available in India from October in Gold, Black and Silver.
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth® 4.0 BLE, USB 2.0, GPS, GLONASS
Sensor
Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor
Memory
1GB(RAM) + 8GB
microSD slot (up to 128GB)
Dimension
70 x 141.6 x 7.9mm, 137g
Battery
2,600 mAh
*All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation..
There are quite a few predictable events within the tech world, one being that companies often launch their products in the same month as they did the year before (although rumors push us to think differently). Another predictable tech event is how to tell a new product is coming: usually, it’s evident by constant price reductions of the current product that keep popping up everywhere. In adherence to this familiar pattern, Samsung’s Tizen-powered Z3, designed for the India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka markets, has started seeing price drops at online retailers.
The Samsung Z3 price dropped from Rs. 8,200 to Rs. 6,980 ($123.59 to $105.21) at Snapdeal; from Rs. 8,200 to Rs. 6,900 ($123.59 to $105.36) at popular Indian retail site Flipkart (who discounted Samsung’s Android-powered handsets in honor of Samsung Week); and the phone has seen a Rs. 2,035 drop (from $135.50 to $104.83) at eBay and Amazon, deals that we sighted two weeks ago. While Samsung has not yet made an announcement or dropped any hints as to the existence of a new-generation Tizen-powered handset, if the pattern is true, it’s telling indeed.
While we don’t know the exact announcement and launch dates of the Samsung Z5, we do know that the handset is in testing bearing model number SM-Z500 and could see it arrive this year. With May already here, and Tizen 3.0 set to arrive in September, we could be looking at a September announcement for the Z5 or a high-profile Tizen smartphone to arrive that could provide more attractive specs for the Korean giant’s homegrown OS.
The first Tizen-powered smartphone, the Z1, is due for a 2016 makeover this year, and Samsung intends to not only bring the Gear smartwatch compatibility to the Z3 but to release the discounted Z3 in several European countries. Clearly, Samsung has world domination on its mind for more than just its Android-powered Galaxy smartphone series.
The Xperia XZ3 finally adopts the idea of minimizing bezels, even if Sony isn’t going as far as some companies in this endeavor just yet. Still, future owners of the high-end handset will get a 6-inch HDR OLED display with a resolution of 2880×1440 and an aspect ratio of 18:9. There’s no notch here.
Sony’s Xperia XZ3 features 4GB of RAM and 64GB of built-in storage and it supports a microSD card up to 512GB. It’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and it’ll be running Android 9.0 Pie when it arrives later this year. The camera on the back is a 19MP Motion Eye sensor, while the front-facing camera is a 13MP sensor.
Finally, the Xperia XZ3 boasts a 3000mAh battery and a USB-C port for charging, but there is no 3.5mm headphone jack. The Xperia XZ3 will be available in Black White Silver, Forest Green, and Bordeaux Red. Sony says the flagship smartphone will launch in “selected markets” at the end of September.
Sony just announced the Sony Xperia XZ3 at IFA 2018 in Berlin. The announcement was preceded by a few leaks here and there, but overall it’s pretty surprising that Sony is releasing the follow-up to the Sony Xperia XZ2 so soon (that device only launched in February of this year). As one would expect with the launches being so close together, the Sony Xperia XZ3 specs aren’t all too different from those of the XZ2.
You can find the list of Sony Xperia XZ3 specs in the table below:
Sony Xperia XZ3
Display
6-inch OLED
2,880 x 1,440 resolution
18:9 screen ratio
GPS + GLONASS
Wi-Fi Miracast
Bluetooth 5.0
DLNA Certified
NFC
USB Type-C 3.1
SIM
Dual nano-SIM
Software
Android 9.0 Pie
Dimensions and weight
158 x 73 x 9.9mm
193g
Colors
black, white silver, forest green, bordeaux red
Not only are the specs very similar to the XZ2, but the Sony Xperia XZ3 looks a lot like that previous flagship. It seems that Sony’s square, blocky design language is permanently over, as the Xperia XZ3 is all curves. It also still looks a lot like the design languages of Samsung and HTC.
The Sony Xperia XZ3 runs on a Snapdragon 845 chipset, just like with the XZ2. The display is a 6-inch OLED screen with a Quad HD+ resolution of 2,880 x 1,440 in an 18:9 aspect ratio. The display is a little bigger than XZ2’s, but hardly noticeable.
The XZ3 only has one variant so far which comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The internal storage capacity can be expanded with the microSD card slot, which can handle another 512GB of space.
Just 4GB of RAM on a flagship this expensive will certainly raise some eyebrows.
Sony increased the battery capacity a bit with the XZ3 as compared with the XZ2. This new battery comes with a 3,330mAh capacity, a nominal increase of 150mAh over the XZ2’s 3,180mAh capacity. That battery can be wirelessly charged and also supports quick charging.
The Sony Xperia XZ3 sticks with a single camera lens on the rear, which is interesting considering the Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium came with a dual-lens setup. The Google Pixel line has single rear cameras exclusively, and those smartphones are constantly praised for their photographic ability, so it’s likely Sony is banking on a similar response to its lack of multiple lenses.
Just like the XZ2, the Xperia XZ3 is water- and dust-resistant with an IP rating of 65/68. That should make users comfortable with getting the device wet — although we would still hesitate to go for a swim with any smartphone.
There’s a fingerprint scanner on the back of the device and a USB Type-C port on the bottom. There is no headphone jack on the Xperia XZ3, but Sony does include a 3.55mm adapter in the box.
Finally, the most significant spec of the Sony Xperia XZ3 is the software: the device will ship with Android 9.0 Pie, making it likely one of the first devices to hit shelves with the newest version of Android out-of-the-box.
Speaking of release, the Xperia XZ3 will go on sale on October 17 for the outrageous price of $899. However, that overly-expensive pricing strategy is par for the course when it comes to Sony.
We have known for some time that the Samsung Z2 exists, but the third commercial Tizen handset hasn’t made it to market just yet. That is expected to change soon, what with a leaked video showing the Z2 in action and the Z3 just two months shy of being a year old, and it seems someone at Samsung decided to bring a retail unit of the Z2 along for the ride at the Galaxy Note 7′s launch in Africa.
The Samsung Z2 is set to be the first Tizen smartphone in Africa, and in terms of specifications, the Z2 unsurprisingly sits somewhere between the Z1 and the Z3. It has a 4-inch display and 1GB of RAM; by the looks of it the Z2 is one fat device, with a design similar to the previous two Tizen phones. The Z2 will also be launching in India, where it will come with Samsung’s My Money Transfer app for money transfer between different banks, as we had exclusively reported. The Z2 will also be the first Tizen device to support 4G connectivity.
The Z2 that was seen at the event seems to be the Indian version, as it was preloaded with local apps like Jabong, Indiatimes and OLX. Check out the device in the images below, and let us know what you think of Samsung’s newest Tizen handset.
