There are two giants in the smartphone world- Samsung and Apple. Both of them have been neck to neck with each other for a long time, each launching their own flagship device around the same time every year. No wonder these much awaited devices from two different ecosystems were the talk of the town right from their day of inception. So comparisons were abound when Apple launched its latest flagship, the iPhone 6s, and Samsung launched its Galaxy S7. Both the smartphones have impressive internal configurations, which are clearly in the outstanding experience the users have. Naturally, it is a tough choice choosing between the two beasts.
Here we compare the two devices, letting you decide which the better phone is after all!
Design
The Galaxy S7 is the bulkier of the two phones, but the difference isn’t pronounced when you hold the phone in your hands, thanks to the rounded back of the Galaxy S7.
The bottom edge of the phones are similar, the only downside being Samsung not adopting type-C USB while most of the manufacturers have already adopted it.
The camera protrusion is less visible in the Galaxy S7, the camera feeling as if it’s a part of the phone rather than an outside part as is the case with IPhone 6s.
The Galaxy S7 sports a larger screen at 5.1-inches, when compared to the 4.7-inch screen of IPhone. Moreover, Galaxy’s display resolution is much higher at QHD, whereas it’s just 720p pixel count in case of Apple. The difference in the display between the two phones is easily marked, with Samsung getting an edge over Apple.
Key features
The unique feature about the iPhone 6S is the 3D Touch screen, a technology where new features are unlocked when you touch and hold the screen. Samsung’s selling point with the Galaxy S7 is the Always On Display, which is simply a permanent clock or calendar that is visible on the screen when your phone is kept quietly locked on the table. It consumes less than 1% of battery in an hour, but keeping in mind the power management issues with Samsung smartphones this might affect the battery life.
Another noticeable features of the Galaxy S7 is the Game Launcher, a sandboxed area where we can store and get access to in game tools, enabling a customized gameplay for you to get immersed in the world.
Samsung has again gone back to the microSD slot as well, providing expandable memory which is a real point of differentiation over the iPhone, which provides only 16GB, 64GB and 128GB memory as the options.
Interface
This is something which was expected by one and all – Samsung has adopted the Android method of a ‘top level’ of home screen widgets and apps, with a separate app launcher to access all the apps in the menu which you don’t use every day. However, Apple has continued with the multiple screen approach with an absence of app drawer.
The icons in the Galaxy S7 are more sleek and flat, providing a streamlined look and a sleeker notification bar to complete the classy look.
In terms of performance, Samsung performs slightly better than Apple with more cores, RAM and slickness to play with. However, for an average user both are lightning fast and you’ll struggle to find a real difference.
Also see: Galaxy S8 and S8 Edge release date, specs, price, rumors & features
Battery
The Samsung Galaxy S7 is built with a large 3000mAh, and finally it may be a Samsung with decent battery life. It boasts of 13 hours of HD movie viewing on a single charge.
On the other hand, to fit in its chassis for 3D touch, Apple actually lost a bit of battery from the iPhone 6. Apple claims a 10 hour web browsing experience on a full charge.
Camera
In terms of camera both have gone back to square one, with both of them offering a 12MP sensor in the primary camera.
Apple has focused on sharper pixel density. Meanwhile, Samsung has focused on low light performance and a dual pixel sensor offering a lightning fast autofocus, downsizing on pixel count, but the result still stunning as always nonetheless.
Verdict
Samsung has got the more functional device; Apple has got the simpler one.
Clearly, the decision is tough. While Samsung provides a better camera and battery life and also an expandable memory, Apple provides a smooth user experience on the iOS and the ever classy Apple brand image is surely a selling point. Both of them are beasts in their own right!
