Comparison of all Tizen smartphones so far: Samsung Z1 vs Z2 vs Z3 vs Z4

It has been over 2 years since the launch of the first Tizen smartphone– The Samsung Z1. The Z1 was a major attempt by Samsung to prove that Tizen is a capable platform to even run smartphone applications. With the device being launched in the 2nd largest population-India initially the word about Tizen mobile spread instantly. Fast forward to May 2017 and now we have 4 Tizen smartphones released so far- Z1, Z2, Z3 and now the Samsung Z4.
Each one of these smartphones had some essential or stand-out feature despite not being on the same levels of flagship Android phones or iPhones. Today, let’s compare all the 4 Tizen smartphones and see which particular smartphone has the least compromise.
Let’s compare the specifications of all the four devices first-
 

Design

This category goes almost neck to neck between the Samsung Z3 and the Z4 while the Z1 and Z2 stand no chance due to their bulky plasticky build and carrying the boring design from Samsung’s yesteryear Galaxy smartphones. The Z3’s chrome plated plastic outer frame gives it a premium look and the rubberized back panel gives a good grip to hold the phone. The Z3 is also the slimmest of all the four Tizen devices at just 7.9 mm thick.
The all new Z4 on the other hand scores some points thanks to its 2.5D curved display. Although we mention it as a curved display, the actual display panel is flat while its outer glass is curved on the sides to give it a sleek look and a great in-hand feel which compensates for its 10.3 mm thickness. The 4.5-inch display size also makes it perfect for single handed usage without straining the arms.
Winner– Z4 for that 2.5D curved glass alone while at a budget.
 

Display

We will just give this category to the Samsung Z3 thanks to its beautiful super AMOLED HD (1280x720p). The Z1, Z2 and Z4 don’t even come close to give any competition to the Z3 as they all feature a simple low resolution (480x800p) TFT panel.
Winner -Z3
 

Camera

The 8MP sensor on the Z3 takes some really great pictures under well-lit conditions. But the recently launched Z4 is an example to why Mega Pixel doesn’t actually decide the quality of a camera. Despite sporting a 5 MP camera, the Z4 takes sharp and clear pictures in good lighting and when the lighting condition is bad, you can always rely on the dual rear flash. Macro shots also turn out great on the Z4.
We will need a bit more time to play with the camera of the Z4, so until then we will give this segment to the Z3 as it is proven to rock a great camera that even most budget Android phones can’t compete with.
Winner– Z3
 

Performance

When it comes to sheer performance, there’s not much to talk about any of the four Tizen smartphones as they all feature low power Cortex A7 CPUs and to add to the misery, the Z1 happens to feature a dual-core CPU coupled with just 768 MB of RAM.
Among the other three Tizen smartphones, the performance is slightly better on the Z4 and the Z2 as they both feature a Quad Core 1.5 GHz Spreadtrum SC9830 CPU coupled with 1 GB of RAM and MALI 400 MP2 GPU as compared to slightly low powered 1.3 GHz Quadcore Spreadtrum SC7730 CPU on the Z3 coupled with 1 GB of RAM and MALI 400 GPU. The Z3 also tends to heat up a bit and further throttle down the CPU performance while performing demanding tasks like playing games. The Z4 does also benefit from Tizen 3.0, which is a 64-bit OS, and that can take advantage of the quad-core processor.
Winners- Z4
 

Battery Life

This department is another direct win for the Samsung Z3 as it features the largest capacity battery of the lot at 2600mah. The low power processor and the super AMOLED display along with the ultra power saving mode integrated into the Tizen OS extends the battery life of this device to insane durations which even Android devices can only dream about.
Winner- Z3
 

Connectivity

Here’s where the Z1 and Z3 fall short off. They only support 3G (HSPA) networks. The Z2 and the Z4 on the other hand support CAT 4 LTE connectivity with a download and upload speeds of up to 150/50 MBps. The smartphones are also equipped with VoLTE feature, which happens to be at great demand in Tizen smartphone’s primary market India thanks to Reliance Jio.
Winners- Z2 and Z4
 
So that is all we have in this comparison of all the Tizen Smartphones. If we personally had to pick one device from the lot, we would definitely go for the Z3 thanks to its premium design, a beautiful super AMOLED display, good camera and insane battery life. The only shortcomings we feel are the presence of a low powered CPU and no 4G connectivity.
Hopefully, Samsung takes care of that in the Tizen smartphone (Z5?).