>> SAMSUNG GALAXY S7 VS IPHONE 6S: DESIGN
Samsung Galaxy S7: 7.9mm thick, 152g, metal alloy, glass front and back, IP68 certified, Black/Gold
iPhone 6S: 7.1mm thick, 143g, Series 7000 anodised aluminium back, Space Gray/Silver/Gold/Rose Gold
The Galaxy S6 was the prettiest phone Samsung's ever made by quite some margin. It ditched the horrid plastic backs seen on past Galaxy phones, replacing them with a wonderfully luxurious mix of glass and metal. The design made the Galaxy S6 look and feel premium.
However, its design still didn't completely beat Apple's. While the iPhone 6S's design doesn't radically differ from its predecessor, the iPhone 6, it remains one of, if not the best put together phones on the market. true, it may not be as iconic as the iPhone 4 or iPhone 5, but it's a much more pleasant phone to use day-to-day.
It's curvier and somehow warmer than previous iPhones. What's more, with Apple's use of Series 7000 aluminium, it's also tougher than before.
>>GALAXY S7 VS IPHONE 6S: DISPLAY
Samsung Galaxy S7: 5.1-inch Super AMOLED, 2,560 x 1,440, 577ppi
iPhone 6S: 4.7-inch IPS LCD, 1334 x 750, 326ppi, 3D Touch
The Samsung Galaxy S7's display is very similar indeed to the S6's. This means that once again it is radically sharper than the iPhone 6S's screen, and once again displays deeper blacks thanks to its Super AMOLED tech.
For those that don't know, AMOLED screens display deeper and richer blacks by electrically charging each individual pixel when generating colours, letting them create blacks simply by turning off the relevant pixels. LCD technology lights up all pixels, even when they're displaying black, making for a slightly washed out grey look. This means that the Galaxy S7, like the S6, has a more vibrant and sharp display than the iPhone 6S.
Of course, some will argue that AMOLED screens tend to be oversaturated, making films and pictures look false and other worldly. But Samsung, as always, offers a number of screen tone options so that you can attain a more naturalistic picture if you so wish.
>>GALAXY S7 VS IPHONE 6S: PERFORMANCE
Samsung Galaxy S7: Exynos 8890 octa-core/Snapdragon 820 quad-core CPU, Adreno 530/Mali-T880 MP12 GPU, 4GB RAM
iPhone 6S: Apple A9 64-bit dual-core CPU, 2GB RAM
The Galaxy S7 is powered by Samsung's own Exynos 8890 processor in most territories, including here in the UK. Our US cousins get the more general, off-the-shelf (but still highly capable) Snapdragon 820.
Whichever chip you get, it will offer radically better performance than the Galaxy S6. Samsung claims that both will offer 30% better performance than the Galaxy S6's Exynos 7420 64-bit octa-core CPU. The phone's also got a memory upgrade, with Samsung having loaded the Galaxy S7 with a staggering 4GB of RAM.
>>GALAXY S7 VS IPHONE 6S: CAMERA
Samsung Galaxy S7: 12-megapixel, phase detection, Dual Pixels, OIS, f/1.7 lens, 1/2.6" sensor, 1.4 µm pixel, 4K video, 5-megapixel front camera
iPhone 6S: 12-megapixel rear camera, f/2.2 aperture, dual LED flash, 4K video recording, 5-megapixel front camera
The iPhone 6S is no slow poke when it comes to snapping photos. The phone's automatic mode is one of the best we've seen on a smartphone and makes it quicker and easier to take great photos without having to get bogged down in complex settings.
It's only drawback is its lack of optical image stabilisation (OIS), a factor that, combined with its lower f/2.2 aperture meant it struggled to compete with the Galaxy S6 in low light.
The Galaxy S7 widens the gulf in that respect, employing a number of techniques to help boost its low light performance.
For starters Samsung's loaded the Galaxy S7 with a new 12-megapixel sensor - actually less than its predecessor - that's been designed to capture bigger pixels, and as a consequence more light.
>>GALAXY S7 VS IPHONE 6S: STORAGE
Samsung Galaxy S7: 32GB, microSD
iPhone 6S: 16GB / 64GB / 128GB
Samsung's only loaded the Galaxy S7 with 32GB of internal storage. By comparison the iPhone 6S is currently available with 16GB, 64GB or 128GB of internal space.
So, a win to the iPhone, right? Not quite.
While the additional options are nice, and we wish Samsung had followed suit and offered more, the entry-level Apple offering is pretty much hopeless. 16GB is completely inadequate for a modern flagship phone.
