Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Sony Xperia XZ2: Overview of the differences in terms of video recording (HDR, 4K, Super SloMo)

It seems both Sony as well as Samsung offer very similar video recording features at first glance. Both smartphones record in 4K and the manufacturers heavily advertise extended slow-motion capabilities at 960 frames per second. A closer look at the technical specifications, however, reveal a lot of differences, which might influence your purchase decision. We list some examples:

4K HDR videos not on the Galaxy S9(+)

The Sony Xperia XZ2 (Compact) is supposed to be the first smartphone with 4K video recordings in HDR. It is a feature from Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 mobile platform, which is only used by Samsung for the U.S. version of the Galaxy S9. International versions of the S9 use the Exynos 9810 SoC, which might not support this feature. Samsung even changed its press release afterwards according to Engadget and does not mention "Ultra HD Premium capture for cinema-quality video" anymore.

960 fps in 1080p is also limited to Sony

There are also differences for 960 fps super slow-motions, which was one of the trending items for Sony and Samsung last year. While Sony only managed 720p (1280 x 720 pixels) in 2017, the Xperia XZ2 (Compact) now supports FullHD (1920 x 1080 pixels) at 960 fps. Samsung on the other hand is basically still at the 2017 level with 720p. Both modes are also limited in time. Samsung limits to 0.2 seconds recording time and up to 20 Super SloMo sequences per video with a playback duration of 6 seconds each.

4K at 60fps is reserved for Samsung

So is the Xperia XZ2 the better choice for video recordings? That depends – if you prefer taking 4K videos at 60 fps similar to the iPhone 8/iPhone X or GoPro 6, then Samsung is the better choice. There is still a time limit of 5 minutes, but the feature itself is on par with Apple's models. It is curious that Sony does not support this mode so far (neither in the camera settings, nor the spec sheet on Sony's website).

And what about 1080p at 240 fps?

There are even differences when it comes to 1080p recordings. Samsung officially supports this resolution at 240 frames per second, but not Sony. The Xperia camera app does not include any note about 240 fps at 1080p, either, and you can only select between 30 or 60 fps. By the way, the video stabilization is not available in all modes on both smartphones, like 4K at 60 fps on the Galaxy S9. We listed all the mentioned differences in the table below and added some pictures from the camera apps we took at the Mobile World Congress 2018.

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