Last year was an eventful year for Samsung, and that’s putting it mildly. August saw the release of the much-anticipated Galaxy Note 7, which blew the competition out of the water — quite literally as the phone was soon blacklisted from entire countries and banned from major airlines after it revealed a nasty habit of catching fire in owners’ pockets.
Not to worry, though; Samsung is a ginormous company, and it has a second chance to regain consumer trust with the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. So how does Samsung’s latest flagship stack up against Apple’s highly-acclaimed iPhone 7 Plus? We break the specs down to find a winner.
More: Behind the scenes: How Samsung designed and built the Galaxy S8 and S8+
Specs
Galaxy S8 Plus
iPhone 7 Plus
Size
159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm (6.28 x 2.89 x 0.32 in)
158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm (6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 in)
Weight
6.1 ounces (173 grams)
6.63 ounces (188 grams)
Screen
6.2-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED touchscreen
5.5-inch Retina HD LED-backlit touchscreen
Resolution
1,440 x 2,960 pixels (529 ppi)
1,080 x 1,920 pixels (401 ppi)
OS
Android 7.0 Nougat
iOS 10
Storage
64GB
32, 128, 256GB
MicroSD card slot
Yes
No
NFC support
Yes
Yes
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
Samsung Exynos 9 Series 8895 (International)
A10 Fusion with 64-bit architecture, M10 motion coprocessor
RAM
4GB
3GB
Connectivity
4G LTE, GSM, CDMA, HSPA+, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi
4G LTE, GSM, CDMA, HSPA+, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi
Camera
12MP rear with OIS, 8MP front
Dual 12MP rear, 7MP front
Video
4K
4K
Bluetooth
Yes, version 5
Yes, version 4.2
Fingerprint sensor
Yes
Touch ID
Other sensors
Barometer, gyroscope, accelerometer, proximity sensor
Barometer, 3-axis gyro, accelerometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor
Water resistant
Yes, IP68 rated
Yes, IP67 rated
Battery
3,500 mAh
2,900 mAh
Charger
USB Type-C
Lightning
Marketplace
Google Play Store
Apple App Store
Color offerings
Black, silver, orchid gray, coral blue (international), gold (international)
Gold, rose gold, silver, black, jet black
Availability
AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile
AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Unlocked
Price
Starting at $840
Starting at $770
DT review
First Take
4/5 Stars
Based on early benchmarks, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 in Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Plus may have a comparable processor, that’s in some ways better and worse, to Apple’s A10 Fusion chip in the iPhone 7 Plus. We’ll have to test the S8 Plus’ real-world performance. Keep in mind that Apple has the best optimization of its hardware and software, allowing for extremely powerful performance.
The S8 Plus does have 4GB of RAM, which is more than the iPhone’s 3GB, but Apple’s smartphones are more memory efficient so more RAM doesn’t necessarily mean the S8 will offer better performance. The S8 Plus is limited to 64GB of storage, while the iPhone has more storage options. But you can add up to 256GB of space or higher via a MicroSD card slot on the S8 Plus, if you so desire.
The Galaxy S8 Plus boasts a superior battery than the iPhone (3,500 mAh vs. 2,900 mAh) so you can expect it to last longer, though it should be noted that iPhones have stellar standby battery life. In terms of connectivity, the S8 Plus is equipped with Bluetooth 5.0, which should offer improved range and transfer speed over version 4.2 on the iPhone 7 Plus.
We’ll have to test real-world performance of the S8 Plus to see how it compares to the iPhone 7 Plus before we crown a winner.
Winner: Tie