For readers who are planning on buying either a Sony Xperia Z2, an HTC One M8, a Samsung Galaxy S5 or an Apple iPhone 5S, here is their specification and price comparison in Australia.

For those interested only in the comparison of the HTC One M8, Samsung Galaxy S5 and Apple iPhone 5S, click here.

Display

When it comes to display, the Sony Xperia Z2 flaunts a 5.2-inch screen with a resolution of 1,080 x 1,920 pixels and good viewing angles.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 handset boasts a 5.1-inch screen with a similar resolution of the Experia Z2, i.e., 1,080 x 1,920 pixel count. The HTC One (M8) houses a 5-inch display with the same resolution as the Z2 and the S5.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 5S sports a much smaller 4-inch screen tied to a resolution of 1,136 x 640 pixels.

Thickness and Weight

The iPhone 5S is 0.3 inches thick, the Galaxy S5 and Xperia Z2 have a thickness of 0.32 inches and HTC One M8 is 0.37 inches thick.

The Galaxy S5 weighs 0.32 lbs, the HTC One (M8) and Xperia Z2 weigh 0.35 lbs, and the iPhone 5S is only 0.25 lbs.

Hardware

The Sony Xperia Z2 is powered by a 2.3 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AB) quad-core Krait 400 processor (3 GB RAM). It comes with a 16 GB of internal memory, which can be expanded up to 64 GB using a microSD card.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is powered by a 2.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor (2 GB RAM), while the HTC One (M8) is powered by a 2.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor (2 GB RAM).

Apple uses its proprietary 1.3 GHz dual-core A7 chipset with M7 processor (1 GB RAM) and has a choice of 16, 32 and 64 GB of internal storage capacity.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S5, the HTC One (M8) and the Xperia Z2 come with a 16 GB of internal storage capacity. Both the S5 and M8 can be expanded up to 128 GB using a microSD card, while the Z2 can be expanded up to 64 GB.

Software

The HTC One (M8) and the Galaxy S5 run on Android 4.4.2 KitKat, while the Xperia Z2 runs on Android 4.4. There is also a difference in their interface. While the HTC One (M8) is powered by HTC's Sense 6.0 UI, Samsung's proprietary TouchWiz UI powers the Galaxy S5.

However, the iPhone 5S is powered by the latest operating system version from Apple, the iOS 7.1.

Battery

The Xperia Z2 has a whopping 3,200 mAh battery (embedded), which is in combination with Sony's Battery STAMINA mode.

The HTC One (M8) houses a 2,600 mAh battery (embedded) that can give users up to 20 hours of charge, whereas the Samsung Galaxy S5 packs a sizable 2,800 mAh battery (removable), and it is capable of providing up to 21 hours of charge.

The iPhone 5S houses a 1,560 mAh battery (embedded), which is expected to give users up to 10 hours of charge for regular usage.

Camera

The Xperia Z2 houses a 20.7 MP camera with Exmor RS mobile image sensor, LED flash and Bionz processing engine aboard Sony's G Lens. There is also a built-in app that lets the user to shoot Timeshift videos.

The Timeshift video mode can be used to shoot in 120 frames per second and a slow playback option is also available. The front-facing camera is a 2.2 MP snapper.

Note: There is no optical image stabilisation in this handset, but in order to counter the camera shake-up, the Xperia Z2 does have SteadyShot digital image stabilisation.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 houses a 16 MP rear camera and a 2.1 MP front camera.

Apple is staying out of the megapixel war for quite some time now, but its image enhancement mechanism with its software update is praiseworthy, although the iPhone 5S sports only an 8 MP rear camera and a 1.2 MP front camera.

Out of all the handsets, the HTC One (M8) holds the record for better front camera. The handset sports a whopping 5 MP front-facing camera, whereas the camera at the rear is a unique 4 Ultrapixels camera.

The main camera has a total of 2 lenses (Duo Camera). The primary lens captures the image as a whole, while the secondary lens hunts down the in-depth details.

With Duo Camera, both the lenses work hand-in-hand to let users capture detailed images with their handsets. According to HTC, the Duo Camera lets users refocus the captured image after it is shot.

When it comes to the MP war, the Sony Xperia Z2 beats all its competitors out with a thumping 20.7 MP camera. But it is worth noting that, HTC is the pioneer in bringing Duo Camera to the fore.

Colour

The Sony Xperia Z2 comes in black, white and purple shades. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy S5 provides us four choices, black, white, copper and blue colours, although copper and blue colours will see only a limited release.

The iPhone 5S boasts three colours, space gray, silver and gold, while the HTC One (M8) comes in three shades, gunmetal gray, glacial silver and the interesting amber gold colour. The amber gold shade is not widely available and it is operator dependent.

Price (Outright) and Availability

The Sony Xperia Z2 4G LTE variant can be purchased at a price of about AU $899.95. The Sony Xperia Z2's global release is expected to be in April.

The Apple iPhone 5S can be purchased at a price of about AU $829.95 (for a 16 GB variant) and about AU $959.95 (for a 32 GB variant) in Australia.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 can be purchased at a price of about AU $929. The pre-orders started from March 27, 2014. In addition, Samsung Galaxy smartwatches and wrist-bands are also on sale. The Galaxy Gear 2 is priced at about AU $369.95, while the Galaxy Gear Neo and Gear Fit can be purchased at a price of about AU $249.

The HTC One M8 is priced similar to the Sony Xperia Z2, and this handset will cost consumers about AU $899. It is available from April 1.