It has been 10 years since Apple introduced its first smartphone as the Original iPhone. This was the same time when Samsung started its struggled with a strong alternative and launched their first Galaxy S mobile. Since then, their rivalry has become one of the most interesting topics to discuss. As everyone knows, Apple has always presented something different to their users that became a challenge for Samsung to beat and they battled it by introducing something more convincing. This time, both companies have launched their latest and modern smartphones for their users. For the first time, it feels like the Samsung has won the race for now by bringing best innovating and most fascinating ideas in the form of their new flagship Smartphones; the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+.
This leaves Apple far behind when we compare these new Galaxy flagships with the current latest iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus. There is a huge difference between both smartphones in specs. A fair glance at the flagships from these two arch-rivals would suggest that the Galaxy S8 devices would be the best choice for the consumers because of Samsung’s all-glass design, infinity display feature, and many other powerful things.
No doubt, Apple had upper hand because of its overseas sales in 2016 and became the most popular vendor. With S8, Samsung will try to regain its position and overshadow the scandalous Note 7. Like many out there, if you could not follow Samsung’s event closely, you might be wondering what’s are the differences between Galaxy S8 and the iPhone 7 models that give Samsung the upper hand for now. Hit the jump to know.
Display
When it comes to smartphone displays, Samsung without a doubt is at the top. There’s a huge difference between displays of both the latest iPhone and the Galaxy devices. The iPhone 7 with 4.7-inch Retina display (LCD) has an aspect ratio of 750 x 1334 pixels while the iPhone 7 Plus with a bigger 5.5-inch Retina display (LCD) has a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels.
On the other hand, the Samsung, as always, prefers bigger displays and once again gave their users what they demanded the most i.e a bigger display in a smaller body. The Galaxy S8 comes with 5.8-inch Infinity AMOLED Display with a whopping aspect ratio 2960 x 1440 pixels whereas the Galaxy S8+ has 2960×1440 Infinity Display.
The Samsung’s signature edge-to-edge display has now become the default for both the larger and smaller flagships. Both the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ come with an edge-to-edge curved display with close to none bezels making the device a beauty to look at and hold in the hand. On the Other hand, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus comes with a flat display with bigger bezels.
Battery
The new Samsung galaxy S8 is launched with 3000mAh battery whereas the S8+ got a bigger battery capacity of 3500mAH. Comparatively, the iPhone 7 has a small 1960 mAH battery and the iPhone 7 Plus has a battery capacity of 2900 mAH.
Samsung clearly offers more battery juice inside their latest flagships. But keep in mind that battery efficiency is greatly impacted with the software optimization, something Apple is really good at. But, Apple, it’s time to introduce more storage juice.
Processor
The Samsung galaxy S8 and S8+ are powered by powerful chipsets. These devices may have two different versions as Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 or Samsung Exynos 8895 chips. Moreover, the Samsung Galaxy S8 has OctaCore processor clocked at 2.3 Ghz and a 1.7Ghz Quad processor with 64-bit architecture. Whereas, the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus both were introduced with the A10 Fusion chip with 64-bit architecture.
Once again, despite the fact that Galaxy lineup offers powerful chipsets, it all comes down to software and hardware optimization part.
Memory
S8 is released with the built-in storage of 64GB. It also has a slot for external storage that has a range up to 256GB. Whereas, the iPhone 7 storage option starts from 32GB and goes way up to 256 GB built-in memory with no external storage option.
The new Samsung Galaxy S8 comes up with a 4GB RAM module. Whereas, the iPhone 7 got only 2GB of RAM.
Size & Weight
The new Samsung S8 weighs at 155 grams whereas the Galaxy S8+ is heavier having a weight of 173 grams. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus also have the same difference but iPhone 7 is lighter than S8 while S8+ is lighter than the iPhone 7 Plus. The iPhone 7 weighs only 138 grams whereas iPhone 7 Plus weights at 188 grams.
The iPhone 7 is 7.1-mm thick and the 7 Plus measure at 7.3-mm in thickness. Whereas the Galaxy S8 is 8-mm and the Galaxy S8+ is 8.1-mm thick.
Dimensions wise, the Galaxy S8 is 148-mm tall and 68.1-mm wide, whereas the S8+ is 159.5-mm tall and 73.4-mm wide. The iPhone 7 is 138.3 mm tall and 67.1-mm wide whereas iPhone 7-Plus is 158.2-mm tall and 77.9-mm wide.
Security
The Samsung S8 & S8+ both have the fingerprint scanner on the back of the mobile next to the camera that provides ultimate security for the users and an Iris Scanner. The iPhone 7 & 7-Plus both have fingerprint scanner installed with no Iris scanner.
The Galaxy S8 and S8+also offer facial recognition for authentication purposes.
Camera
The camera is another section where Samsung beats Apple with its latest crop of smartphones. The Samsung Galaxy S8 & S8+ have a better 12 MP Dual pixel camera which provides Optical image stabilization. They have the front camera of 8MP with an auto-focus feature.
The iPhone 7 has a main camera of 12 MP with Optical image stabilization whereas the iPhone 7 Plus has the dual 12-MP camera sensor that also provides Optical image stabilization. Both devices have the front camera of 7MP f/2.2.
Both flagships offer great photo taking capabilities, but low light photography is the section where Samsung offers a better solution in a smartphone.
Charging
Both S8 & S8+ are pre-installed with Qi wireless charging feature as well as fast Charging capabilities. Whereas, the iPhone 7 & the iPhone 7 Plus has none of these features.
Operating System
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is launched with OS 7.1 (Nougat) installed. Whereas the both iPhones come installed with iOS 10 at their public release. Now iOS 10.3 is available for users.
Operating system or software part of a smartphone is where Apple has been leading with a huge amount of quality application and optimization for hardware efficiency.
Water Resistance
Both the S8 & S8+ got the high rating of water resistance test whereas the iPhones got beaten up by Samsung in this feature by getting the low rating in the resistance test.
Ports
Samsung has finally turned to USB-C port for its flagships. Both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ comes with reversible USB Type-C port for connectivity, sharing and charging. Whereas, the iPhone 7 lineup comes with Apple’s proprietary lightning port which is also reversible.
Samsung did not ditch the Jack (The Headphone Jack) in Galaxy S8 and S8+, whereas the Apple completely removed it from its latest iPhone devices.
Bluetooth
The Samsung Galaxy S8 lineup comes with faster Bluetooth 5.0 radio. It also supports NFC for mobile payments. Whereas iPhone comes with Bluetooth 4.2 radio installed.
S8 also got WiFi-Direct and MirrorLink Support that allow users to share data across different devices. Whereas iPhone 7 has AirPlay and AirDrop that can allow data sharing across Apple devices only.
Does The Galaxy S8 Intrigue You?
Which devices’ features attract you the most? Come share with us in the comments.