Upgrading from Xperia V to Xperia SP. Worth it or not?

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adfad666

Inactive Recognized Developer
Jul 29, 2011
763
4,302
The Xperia SP is definitely a downgrade from the Xperia V. You should consider build quality a big incentive to keep it. The waterproofing means that the even if you don't take it underwater, the internals are still well protected. The aluminium frame on the SP is not that brilliant, it creaks and wobbles and chips all the time, you can easily slide your finger between the frame and the screen.

If you really must upgrade don't get the white variant. The plastic back cover is now blue due to my jeans and the frame is painted silver but the material underneath is black so all the small chips leave black marks. I doubt this phone will last two years and still be in good condition.

There are also concerns that the frame bends too easily leaving you with a banana phone.
 

alphaz1

Senior Member
Jul 23, 2012
221
42
Johor Bahru
I had both, and in my opinion:

Xperia SP
+ vastly superior gpu
+ slightly faster cpu
+ slightly bigger screen
+ better battery life
+ illumination bar :D
- not waterproof
- non-removable battery
- worse screen because of smaller ppi and not Opticontrast type
- heavier at 151g
- the paint on aluminum frame WILL chip off, especially around usb and audio ports, revealing black metal underneath. noticeable on the white version, and this will reduce its resale value


Xperia V
+ waterproof
+ better build quality, slimmer
+ lighter at 122g
+ better screen due to Opticontrast and slightly higher PPI, black is darker
+ removable battery
- smaller screen
- worse battery, overheats more easily on stock rom
- significantly worse gpu
- slightly slower cpu

both phones have poor ram management. lots of launcher redraws. on SP, walkman will stop during heavy ram usage, which is very annoying.

Eventually I chose SP because of superior GPU, better battery and illumination bar :D
 

alphaz1

Senior Member
Jul 23, 2012
221
42
Johor Bahru
Buddy, its not slightly slower it is alot slower since SP uses Krait Architecture, V uses Scorpion :), but V has a better screen. I use it when I'm talking to someone while its raining

I totally forgot that, I was only thinking about the clock speed difference. In real life usage the difference isn't noticeable to me though.

Actually Xperia V also has Krait cores :D
Xperia SP has better chip set, which is S4 pro.

Sent from my C5303 using xda app-developers app

looking at wikipedia, V uses MSM8960 chipset while SP uses MSM8960T chipset. In terms of CPU, both are dual core Krait, but in V it's just 1.5 GHz Krait, in SP it's 1.7 GHz Krait 200. Interestingly, Krait 200's performance is slightly lower than Krait on a per MHz basis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krait_(CPU . But because SP has higher clockspeed, its overall CPU performance is better than V.
 
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  • 2
    nooooo

    Hi everyone, as the title says, I'm thinking of upgrading. But people says SP has a lot of hardware problems.
    Further more, do you guys think the upgrade from Xperia V worth it? Aside from the SP's horsepower, which is obviously better, how bout the camera, battery, build quality,..?

    Thanks in advance and if possible, please tell me some problems SP usually have so that I can check for it carefully when I buy the phone :good:
    p/s: SP is the only one in my price range so please don't suggest any other :D

    hey, SP has its own standard. But, when u r upgrading from V, it wont sound good. V has better camera, IP 57 certified, better PPI, approx almost same processor (V: Dual1.5G; SP: Dual1.7G), same chipset, same RAM, same data rates. SP have a better GPU and battery.SP has bad viewing angles, comparitively bad camera than V. Put some extra bucks and try for Nexus 5. If you prefer only SONY made product, Xperia ZR will be a better option than SP. Nexus 5 and ZR both comes under almost same price bracket. So, decide..:good::)
    1
    I would personally wait a little more for Xperia 2014 mid range phone. Xperia V is still a good device, and it will have 4.3. SP is a little more powerful and has a slightly better battery, but Sony won't support it past 4.4. If you can find ZL for cheap where you live, that would be a good option too. Xperia SP's hardware isn't better than your V, screen is worse, the power button tends to break (I already got my SP swapped twice because the power button broke), Wi-Fi reception is very bad, borderline useless. Also, V's camera is much better for sure.
    1
    I had Arc S then i bought Xperia sp and it was big improvement for me but you have dual core phone with 1GB of ram it's not that bad. Like wiidbzxt said wait a little more Sony will probably release some new mid range phone in 2014. Maybe some phone from Z series would be better also over time price will go down.
    Stick with your Xperia V and wait few months, that is my opinion :p.
    1
    plz read it correctly..

    This is incorrect, the SP has a MSM 8960 Pro Krait Chipset with 1.7 Ghz Dual core plus Adreno 320

    The V has 8960 1.5 Ghz Adreno 225

    Hi.. :) I hv not told they have same features. I have used the words (approx almost same as) which matches them closely but not equally where SP wins closely.. Kindly look into it.. :)
    1
    Hi everyone, as the title says, I'm thinking of upgrading. But people says SP has a lot of hardware problems.
    Further more, do you guys think the upgrade from Xperia V worth it? Aside from the SP's horsepower, which is obviously better, how bout the camera, battery, build quality,..?

    Thanks in advance and if possible, please tell me some problems SP usually have so that I can check for it carefully when I buy the phone :good:
    p/s: SP is the only one in my price range so please don't suggest any other :D

    I would suggest that you wait for more devices to get released and save enough money for a decent upgrade. There ain't much difference between Xperia V and SP. Also , Xperia SP will soon get discontinued. Sony on the other hand supports a device for 18 Months only after the release date. So Android 4.4 might be THE LAST software update for the phone(SP). Newer phones will be released with atleast Android 4.3 pre installed so that you could enjoy newer updates for the next 18 months. If you want to buy a phone in the coming days (urgently) then get atleast Xperia ZR or Xperia Z. Both the phones are future proof. Or better wait and save enough for Xperia Z1 Compact :)