Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc vs Xperia Arc S: Difference between Xperia Arc and Xperia Arc S

Sony released the Xperia Arc series of Android phones in April 2011. Even though the phone was well received among the Android community, a lot of people complained about the poor performance and lack of front camera. Most people were expecting Sony would receive an enhanced version of the Xperia Arc phone shortly.

Sony did not disappoint its fans. Within 6 months after releasing the Xperia Arc, they came up with an enhanced version of the Arc series called Xperia Arc S. In the article, I will compare both Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and Experia Arc S phones.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc VS Xperia Arc S

What is the difference between Xperia Arc and Xperia Arc S?

Both phones look identical in terms of physical appearance. In fact, they are essentially the same phone with very minor differences. The Xperia Arc S is the successor of Xperia Arc and share most of the features with its predecessor.

The enhancements in the Xperia Arc S over the Xperia Arc are limited to a faster CPU and latest version of Andorid OS. All other features remain the same.

Xperia Arc vs Xperia Arc S

The physical dimensions of both the phones remain the same. No difference in size, weight and appearance. Read more below to find how both the phones compare on various specifications.

CPU: Xperia Arc S has a better and faster processor

The significant difference between Xperia Arc and Xperia Arc S is the faster processor available in Xperia Arc S. This is the answer from Sony for those who complained that Xperia Arc is a slow phone with very poor performance. The 1.4GHz Scorpion single-core processor CPU available in Xperia Arc S offers significant performance improvement over its predecessor.

Xperia Arc: 1 GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 processor
Xperia Arc S: 1.4GHz Scorpion single-core processor

At the time of release, the Xperia Arc S offered the fastest Xperia series smart phone.

Android OS: Xperia Arc S comes with Android 4.0

This is the second difference between Xperia Arc and Xperia Arc S. The original Xperia Arc came with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) preloaded. The new Xperia Arc S was an Android 4.0 smartphone. This is not considered a major improvement since the previous Xepria Arc also would get an upgrade to Android 4.0 (ICS).

So, in short, the only difference for the Xperia Arc S over its predecessor is the faster CPU.

Compare battery in Xperia Arc and Xperia Arc S

Both the phones have exact same battery, which is a Li-Po 1500 mAh battery offering reasonably good power backup. Even though the company does not make any official claims, some people have reported that the new Xperia Arc S offers better battery life.

Camera: No front camera added to Xperia Arc S

One of the biggest complaints on the Xperia Arc phone was, there was no front camera. It was not possible to make any video calls using the Xperia Arc phone because of lack of a front camera. Many people reported it as a reason for not buying the Xperia Arc, but I wonder how many of them actually use video calls on phones. I own an iPhone with dual camera, but I never used the front camera except on the day 1 when I got the camera in hand. In fact, I rarely use the back camera as well on phones. For me, a phone is a phone and not a tablet computer and not a camera.

Many people expected Sony would add a front camera to the Xperia Arc S but they were disappointed. The Xperia Arc S does not have a front camera. In fact, the camera remains the same 8.1 mega pixels in both the phones.

Compare other features of Xperia Arc and Xperia Arc S

Difference between Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and Xperia Arc S

As I mentioned earlier, all features and specifications of both the camera remain the same except a faster CPU and latest version of Android OS. Once the Xperia Arc receive the Android ICS OS, that difference will go away and then the difference between them will be limited to the CPU clock speed.

Want to read more? Compare the Xperia Arc and Xperia Arc S features

Is it worth upgrading to Xperia Arc S

Here is my call on it: If you already have an Xperia Arc phone and you are not an advanced user who like to exploit everything a smartphone offers, it may not be worth throwing away your old phone and spend money to buy the new Xperia Arc S. If your phone is too old and it is time to buy a new one, go for the new version which gives you much better performance and power.