It is only January, and the first heavyweight smartphone battle has already begun in 2021. It is clear that Samsung, which launched the Galaxy S21 smartphone lineup a little earlier than usual, has Apple's new product in mind. The Galaxy S21 hasn't made a major overhaul to counter the iPhone 12. It lowers the price, has a sleek design, and comes with some new camera tricks. The Galaxy S21 and iPhone 12 both cost $800, so let's compare the specs.
Design
The Samsung Galaxy S is always at the forefront of Android smartphone design. The Galaxy S21 also continues that tradition. In this design, the metal side seamlessly connects with the camera lens array, giving it a unique feel as if it was attached directly to the back. The back is made of plastic, not glass, but it's still a good finish, even if it's not as luxurious as the S20.
Of course, the iPhone is by no means lax in terms of appearance. The iPhone 12 introduces a flat edge design with a retro charm reminiscent of the iPhone 4, and it feels good to hold it in your hand. The square camera array is roughly the same as the iPhone 11, and not as unique as the S21.
The two smartphones are very similar in size. The S21 is a little bigger and heavier. However, the S21 feels lighter than it really is because it distributes its weight nicely.
Galaxy S21: 151.7×71.2×7.9mm, 164g
iPhone 12: 146.7×71.5×7.4mm, 171g
Both smartphones basically come in different colors depending on personal preference, but Samsung's unique design stands out here. The camera array is treated as a design element and is built to stand out with a bold metal housing. It's the most unique design Samsung has ever made, and the iPhone 12 looks a bit clichéd.
Our Choice: Galaxy S21
Display
Now, as Apple uses OLED and Samsung uses FHD, the displays of the iPhone 12 and Galaxy S21 are very similar.
Galaxy S21: 6.2-inch flat-screen FHD+ Infinity-O display (2400×1080), 421ppi, 120Hz
iPhone 12: 6.1-inch flat HD+ Super Retina XDR (2532×1170), 460ppi, 60Hz
Aside from advertising text or a slight size difference, the only real difference between the two displays is the refresh rate. Samsung uses a 120Hz screen once again on the S21, and this year it is adaptive. That is, depending on the task being performed, the battery consumption can be reduced by dynamically reducing the refresh rate from a high refresh rate to a low refresh rate.
Also, whether the front camera lens is treated as a hole or a notch design is different. The iPhone 12 has a rather large notch at the top of the screen, and a TrueDepth camera and sensor for Face ID. Samsung has a small hole in the center for a selfie camera.
The iPhone 12's display is great, and it's very fast thanks to its system-on-chip (SoC) speed. However, the S21 takes it a step further with very smooth scrolling without any effort.
Our Choice: Galaxy S21
Processor, RAM, storage, battery
As usual, both phones have the latest chip technology. The iPhone uses Apple's own A14 Bionic processor, and the S21 sticks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. We haven't tested the S21 yet, but even if the benchmarks don't fall short of Apple's impressive results, it will be very fast.
Looking at the memory, the S21 is 8GB, which is a bit smaller than its predecessor with an incredible 12GB, but still enough. The iPhone 12 has only 4GB of RAM, but thanks to the iOS 14 optimization update, it feels more RAM than it actually is. Storage is also superior to Samsung, with the S21 offering 128GB compared to the iPhone 12's 64GB.
The battery life is a little more complicated. In the product description, the S21 boasts 4,000mAh compared to the iPhone 12's 2,815mAh battery, but the actual results are far more important. The battery life of the iPhone 12 surpassed that of an Android phone, which had almost doubled its battery capacity in 2020, so both smartphones are expected to last all day long. In the case of charging, both smartphones support fast charging through the included cable, and the iPhone provides 20W and the S21 provides 25W. Both offer 10W wireless charging, and the iPhone also supports a MagSafe magnetic charger as an optional accessory.
On the other side, both smartphones support super-fast connectivity with sub 6GHz and mmWave 5G, and Wi-Fi 6, and are IP68 waterproof. The iPhone 12 is equipped with a U1 ultra-wideband (UWB) chip that can display the exact location on a map, but you need to upgrade to the S21+ or S12 Ultra to use the UWB function on the S21. Like last year, the iPhone 12 has Face ID, and the S21 has an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor built into the display.
Our choice: I lean on the iPhone 12, but I think I should test it before making a final decision.
Camera
Somewhat surprisingly, both Samsung and Apple have decided to stick to camera hardware similar to their predecessors. The S1 has the same triple camera system as the S20, and Apple slightly upgraded the iPhone 12's wide-angle sensor to widen the aperture a bit, except for f/1.6 vs f/1.8).
The software that drives the hardware is greatly improved. PCWorld will test the camera soon, but Samsung said that the S21 will take brighter pictures in dark places, the portrait mode 'more accurately distinguishes the subject from the background', and the Space Zoom'minimizes handshake. It claims that it captures sharper images even at 30x zoom.
Of course, the iPhone 12 is also one of the excellent smartphones that produce excellent results in various lighting and conditions. However, the iPhone 12 doesn't have features comparable to Samsung's 30x zoom. In fact, there is no zoom lens, so you have to get very close to the subject. According to the product description, the S21's shooting is excellent, but it will be judged as true only after testing.
Our choice: I'm leaning toward S21, but the taste of the pudding depends on the test, as you can see.
Operating system and updates
As always, both smartphones are equipped with the latest operating systems (Android 11-based One UI 3.1 for S21, iOS 14 for iPhone 12). Since the launch of the Galaxy S20, Samsung has promised to provide the third generation of Android operating system updates to all new smartphones. Therefore, the S21 is guaranteed to have an Android 14 update to be released in 2023. Apple doesn't strictly announce the length of the warranty this way, but in general, the iPhone is backed by an upgrade for five years. For example, the iPhone 6s released with iOS 9 in 2016 was also supported by iOS 14, released in September.
In addition, iOS is guaranteed to be updated on the day it is released, and security updates are made quickly every month, but the latest version of Android often takes several months to be applied to the latest smartphones.
Our Choice: iPhone 12
Conclusion
Samsung and Apple are competitors who have been making smartphones, but it's been a while since the two companies' products have fought in close combat. PCWorld is currently testing the S21 and will soon publish a full review article. However, based on the first impression, the iPhone 12 is fighting a very tough fight, and it may be necessary to hand over the throne of premium smartphones that deliver the best value to the Galaxy S21.
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