Earlier this week, Sony announced that it is bringing the Xperia Z3v to Verizon’s network in the United States later this month. The naming might lead many to believe that the Xperia Z3v is based on the Xperia Z3 — the company’s latest flagship which has been praised by many.

However, the truth is far from that. The Xperia Z3v is more of a Xperia Z2 than the Xperia Z3 even though the spec sheet might lead you to believe something else. Read the differences below to find out for yourself.

Design

First and foremost, the Xperia Z3v is bigger and heavier than the Xperia Z2 as well as the Z3. Its design is also reminiscent of the Xperia Z2 complete with aluminium sides with squared corners rather than the rounded corners and nylon sides as seen on the Z3.

Even the front-facing stereo speakers on the Z3v are placed at the very edge of the handset — similar to their positioning on the Xperia Z2.

Dimensions

Xperia Z2: 163g, 146.8 x 73.3 x 8.2 mm

Xperia Z3: 152g, 146 x 72 x 7.3mm

Xperia Z3v: 170.6g, 148.5 x 73.4 x 8.9mm

As you can see from above, the Xperia Z3v is thicker, heavier and slightly taller than the Xperia Z2 as well as the Z3.

Camera

At first glance, you might believe that the Xperia Z2 and Z3 come with the same 1/2.3″ 20.7MP with an F/2.0 aperture. However, the Z3 makes use of an updated G Lens with a wider field of view of 25mm along with support for ISO levels of up to 12,800.

The camera module inside the Xperia Z2, on the other hand, is only capable of reaching ISO levels of up to 6400.

So, since the Xperia Z3v is just a rebranded Xperia Z3 it should also feature a camera sensor that can reach ISO levels of up to 12,800. Right? Nope. Nada. The Xperia Z3v uses the same camera module and lens from the Z2 — which means a maximum ISO of 6400 and a slightly narrower field of view.

Battery

The Xperia Z2 comes with a 3200mAh battery that is rated to last at least 1.4 days of usage from Sony. The Xperia Z3, on the other hand, comes with a 3100mAh battery that can last up to 2 days according to Sony.

Like the Z2 though, the Xperia Z3v comes with a 3200mAh battery, which Sony states can easily last a day of usage. While CDMA networks are known to be less power efficient than GSM ones, the increased battery capacity is a clear indication that the Z3v is more similar to the Z2 than the Z3.

Display

All the three Xperias feature a 5.2-inch 1080p TRILUMINOS LED display with Sony’s X-Reality engine. However, the display on the Xperia Z3 has two aces up its sleeve — its noticeably brighter and comes its own RAM to save battery life while you are viewing static images.

At the moment, it is not yet clear if the Xperia Z3v uses the same display as the Xperia Z3 or not. However, with Sony’s white paper not mentioning anything about the display panel’s own RAM, it is highly unlikely that the Z3v employs the same display panel as on the Z3 — which is more bright and power efficient.

IP Rating

The only category where the Xperia Z3v is similar to the Z3 is the IP rating. While the Xperia Z2 has an IP55/58 rating, the Xperia Z3 and Z3v feature an IP65/68 rating — the very maximum that is possible when it comes to consumer devices.

While not really a big deal, this should give enough peace of mind to users who are looking to use their phone under shower or take it for swimming with them on a regular basis.

Wireless Charging

The sole advantage that the Xperia Z3v has over the Z2 and the Z3 is the presence of wireless charging. While not really life altering, Qi wireless charging is definitely a very convenient feature to have.

Instead of wireless charging, the Xperia Z2 and Xperia Z3 come with Sony’s own proprietary magnetic port that can also be used to charge the device but you will need to invest in a dock or cable for that.

Software

Thankfully, this is one area whether the Xperia Z3v is similar to the Z3 and not the Z2. The handset contains all the software goodies we have already seen on the Z3 including the PS4 Remote Share feature, DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) and support for Hi-res USB audio.

Ideally, Sony should have called the Xperia Z3v as the Z2v, because of the shared internals and its closed resemblance with the early-2014 Xperia flagship. By calling it the Z3v — the company is hinting that the handset is similar to its latest flagship — the Xperia Z3 — which it clearly is not.

Sony and Verizon seem to be relying on caveat emptor here I guess.