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iPhone 7 vs Galaxy S7 vs Galaxy Note 7
How does Apple’s new premium phone compare against Samsung’s best Android handsets?
Apple has today announced the iPhone 7, the latest in its many generations of iPhone devices, which will be on sale in Australia from 16 September. Apple quite famously wanted to crush Android from its inception, and it’s especially true to say that there’s no love lost between it and the largest seller of Android devices, Samsung.
Samsung has released a number of premium phones into the market in 2016, including the excellent Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge and Galaxy Note 7. The Note 7 has been marred recently by an issue with its battery which has led to Samsung temporarily taking it off the market, but by the time Apple actually makes the iPhone 7 available, the Note 7 should be back on sale again.
From a straight specifications viewpoint, here’s how the five different phones compare:
| Apple iPhone 7 | Apple iPhone 7 Plus | Samsung Galaxy S7 | Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge | Samsung Galaxy Note 7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen size | 4.7in | 5.5in | 5.1in | 5.5in | 5.7in |
| Storage | 32/128/256GB | 64/128/256GB | 32/64GB | 32/64GB | 64GB |
| Weight | 138g | 188g | 152g | 157g | 169g |
| Processor | Apple A10 Fusion | Apple A10 Fusion | Octa or Quad Core (2.3Ghz Quad+1.6Ghz Quad or 2.15Ghz Quad + 1.6Ghz Dual) | Octa or Quad Core (2.3Ghz Quad+1.6Ghz Quad or 2.15Ghz Quad + 1.6Ghz Dual) | Octa core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.6GHz Quad) |
| Rear camera | 12MP | 12MP | 12MP | 12MP | 12MP |
| Front camera | 7MP | 7MP | 5MP | 5MP | 5MP |
| Battery | TBC | TBC | 3000mAh | 3600mAh | 3500mAh |
| Resolution | 1334x750 | 1920x1080 | 2560 X 1440 | 2560 X 1440 | 1440x2560 |
| Display density | 326ppi | 401ppi | 577ppi | 534ppi | 515ppi |
| RRP | $1079/$1229/$1379 (32/128/256GB) | $1269/$1419/$1569 (32/128/256GB) | $1,149.01 | $1,249 | $1,349 |
There are features that Apple can claim as its own, such as exclusive access to Apple Pay, but then on the Samsung side there’s its own in-house Samsung Pay and Android Pay compatibility to counter. They’re all waterproof phones, so that’s something of a tie, and a very welcome feature for such premium priced devices.
On the camera front, the Galaxy S7, S7 Edge and Note 7 all have very capable single cameras, and that's apparently true for the iPhone 7 as well. The iPhone 7 Plus differentiates itself with a dual lens instead. Whereas LG used dual lens for fixed and wide shots, and Huawei used it for monochromatic blending in the P9, Apple's instead offering a fixed wide and telephoto lens in the iPhone 7 Plus, which could be very handy. We'll need to properly test that out before making a final judgement.
Apple's sticking with its "Retina HD" branding for its displays, which it claims are now brighter than previous generation iPhones, but it's still lagging in sheer resolution stakes behind Samsung's much higher resolution Super AMOLED displays.
Apple’s notably sliced the analog headphone jack from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in favour of lightning audio or its own AirPod Bluetooth headphones. It is at least providing an adaptor in-box for those who wish to use existing headphones with the new phones. Apple's stance on this is that it takes "courage" to drop a feature, but we suspect that the flexibility of a full port may win the hearts of more consumers.
iPhone 7 vs Galaxy S7 vs Galaxy Note 7: Which phone should I buy?
The issue with premium phones is that you have to lay down serious cash for them, whether on contract or outright. That means it’s worth careful consideration before purchasing. We’ll have a review up of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus as soon as feasible, but in the meantime you can read our complete Galaxy smartphone reviews lineup:
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