The same can't be said for the Xperia Z3's CPU, clocking in at 2.5GHz compared to 2.3GHz in the Xperia Z2. OK, so the difference between the two isn't all that great in terms of speed, but Qualcomm's latest iteration of its Snapdragon 801 chipset has taken boosts elsewhere.
Of these, the most important has to be battery life. We are never going to turn our noses up at more power, but we'd certainly forsake a little power for more battery life. Thankfully, Qualcomm and Sony have you covered here, offering much better power efficiency, which might well be needed given the battery.
Battery
Why is power efficiency more important on the Z3, we hear you shout. Well, perhaps the biggest surprise of all is the battery sat behind the Xperia Z3: it's smaller.
Where the Xperia Z3 has generally improved the areas that needed looking at, the battery seems to have taken a hit.
Where Sony popped a 3200mAh battery behind the screen of the Xperia Z2, it has chosen to replace this with a smaller 3100mAh battery for the Z3. Just what effect this will have remains to be seen though.
The aforementioned Snapdragon 801 SoC upgrade not only provides more power, but also offers more power efficiency, meaning the potential for a much longer battery life. However, Sony has also upped the screen brightness so we're betting on a similar battery performance all round.
Price
Given that the Xperia Z3 is going to be Sony's flagship handset, it makes sense that it is going to come with a flagship price tag. In the UK, this means a SIM-free price of £549 (around US$900, AU$975), with 24 month contracts likely to start at around £30 to £35 per month.
This matches the Xperia Z2, although expect the Z2 to take a slight price drop now its younger brother is on the scene. Given that the specs between the Z2 and Z3 are still fairly similar, the pricing will in all probability also be rather similar.
Early Verdict
There will definitely be those who wonder whether or not Sony really needed to update the Xperia Z2 that debuted at MWC earlier this year, especially as the Xperia Z3 appears to be a very incremental update.
Sony's commitment to providing the latest in mobile tech as soon as possible should be applauded, but it's worth wondering about the effect this will have on the Xperia Z range. A brighter screen and the more powerful, power efficient Snapdragon 801 SoC are both massive positives, building upon the already impressive hardware that sat inside the Xperia Z2.
With very similar specs though, we could be looking at the ultimate decider being the price. Keep the prices as similar as the internal hardware and Sony is on to a winner, but drop the Z2 by a little too much and Sony could end up undercutting its own product.
