Mobile Technology

Samsung Galaxy S7 vs. iPhone 6s

Samsung Galaxy S7 vs. iPhone 6s
Gizmag compares the features and specs of the Samsung Galaxy S7 (left) and Apple iPhone 6s
Gizmag compares the features and specs of the Samsung Galaxy S7 (left) and Apple iPhone 6s
View 30 Images
3D Touch
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3D Touch
Always-on display
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Always-on display
Camera aperture (rear)
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Camera aperture (rear)
Battery
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Battery
Build
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Build
Physical camera shortcut
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Physical camera shortcut
Camera megapixels
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Camera megapixels
Color options
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Color options
Processor
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Processor
Dimensions
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Dimensions
Display resolution
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Display resolution
Display size
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Display size
Display type
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Display type
Fast charging
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Fast charging
Fingerprint sensor
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Fingerprint sensor
Gizmag compares the features and specs of the Samsung Galaxy S7 (left) and Apple iPhone 6s
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Gizmag compares the features and specs of the Samsung Galaxy S7 (left) and Apple iPhone 6s
Liquid cooling
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Liquid cooling
MicroSD
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MicroSD
Mobile payments
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Mobile payments
Starting price (full retail)
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Starting price (full retail)
RAM
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RAM
Release
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Release
Removable battery
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Removable battery
Storage
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Storage
VR headset
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VR headset
Water resistance
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Water resistance
Weight
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Weight
Wireless charging
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Wireless charging
Mobile payments
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Mobile payments
Software
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Software
View gallery - 30 images

The iPhone vs. Galaxy dilemma lives on in 2016, as the dynamic between the two most popular brands in smartphones (by a longshot) has changed yet again, with the release of Samsung's latest models. Let's see how the new Galaxy S7 compares to Apple's iPhone 6s.

Size

Dimensions
Dimensions

The Galaxy S7 is 4 percent taller and 5 percent wider than the iPhone 6s. The iPhone is 10 percent thinner and, curiously, both phones are a bit thicker than their respective predecessors.

Keep in mind that both handsets have bigger phablet siblings, the Galaxy S7 edge and iPhone 6s Plus, that we aren't including in this comparison (we'll get to them soon enough).

Weight

Weight
Weight

The iPhone 6s is 6 percent lighter.

Build

Build
Build

You won't find many handsets with premium builds that are on par with these two (though the Nexus 6P and HTC's One lineup hold their own as well).

Like last year's Galaxy flagships, the S7 has a glass back and aluminum frame, but this year its back is curved – similar to the Note 5.

Colors

Color options
Color options

That asterisk is sitting next to the silver Galaxy S7 because US wireless carriers are up to their old shenanigans again, this time not offering the silver version of the standard GS7 (apparently silver is a Galaxy S7 edge exclusive in the US, at least for now).

Display size

Display size
Display size

Unless you're drawn towards the iPhone in other categories, then this could be one of the biggest reasons to go with the Galaxy. For only a little more size and weight, its screen is 18 percent bigger.

Display resolution

Display resolution
Display resolution

The Galaxy S7 also has a 77 percent sharper display, based on pixel density. The iPhone's display looks great in other ways (and 326 PPI still looks fairly sharp), but for this 4.7-inch model Apple is clinging to the same PPI that we saw on 2010's iPhone 4.

Display type

Display type
Display type

This is familiar ground, as Super AMOLED vs. IPS is par for the course in iPhone vs. Galaxy showdowns.

Always-on display

Always-on display
Always-on display

This year Samsung threw in an always-on display for the GS7, which lets you glance at the time, date and notifications without touching your phone.

Pressure-sensitive display

3D Touch
3D Touch

Apple's 3D Touch lets you take some shortcuts around iOS by pressing your finger on the screen with a little (or a lot) force to pop up previews and bring up menu items.

We found 3D Touch to make the experience a little zippier, and it is more than a gimmick. With that said, we also aren't sold on it as a must-have game-changer (i.e. we don't miss it on other phones).

Fingerprint sensor

Fingerprint sensor
Fingerprint sensor

Both handsets have excellent touch-based fingerprint sensors on their home buttons.

Mobile payments

Mobile payments
Mobile payments

You can use either phone as a sort of wallet replacement, with either Samsung Pay or Apple Pay. Samsung's advantage is that it can work at most regular credit card terminals, not requiring the NFC adapters that need to be installed for Apple Pay.

Battery

Battery
Battery

The Galaxy S7 has a much bigger (higher-capacity) battery, but we'll need to run some battery tests on a S7 review unit before we can jump to any conclusions here.

Fast charging

Fast charging
Fast charging

While nearly all high-end Android flagships these days have Quick Charge tech, Apple has yet to go that route with the iPhone.

Wireless charging

Wireless charging
Wireless charging

The Galaxy S7 still supports wireless charging, as well as fast wireless charging, provided you throw down for a special US$70 Samsung charging pad.

Removable battery

Removable battery
Removable battery

Both phones' batteries are sealed shut. If you want to swap out for a fresh one on the go, you may want to look at the LG G5.

Liquid cooling

Liquid cooling
Liquid cooling

Samsung included a liquid cooling system in the Galaxy S7, which could help your phone chill out during lengthier gaming sessions (including the next category).

VR headset

VR headset
VR headset

If you're interested in mobile VR as an entry-level alternative to high-end gear like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, then the Galaxy S7 is the far better choice, as the $99 Gear VR is far and away the best mobile VR right now. And if you pre-order the GS7, you get the Gear VR for free.

You can pick up third-party mobile VR headsets that will kinda work with the iPhone, but none of them come remotely close to the experience of the Gear. For starters, the iPhone's 4.7-inch screen makes for too narrow a field of view to provide high-quality VR, plus iOS' selection of VR content is extremely weak compared to the Oculus Store's.

Camera megapixels

Camera megapixels
Camera megapixels

Camera resolution is tied up – and both phones take terrific shots. Based on our brief hands-ons, we think the Galaxy S7 has a strong chance of beating the iPhone 6s as a camera, thanks to its incredible speed and low-light capabilities. Stay tuned.

Camera aperture (rear)

Camera aperture (rear)
Camera aperture (rear)

One part of the low-light equation is aperture, where the Galaxy S7 wins by a fair margin.

Physical camera shortcut

Physical camera shortcut
Physical camera shortcut

Samsung's handy home button double-tap shortcut is back, letting you fire up the camera app in record times.

For the iPhone, you'll still need to turn on the lock screen and then swipe the camera icon to jump from a sleeping phone to snapped pic.

OIS

Mobile payments
Mobile payments

Only Apple's larger (5.5-inch) iPhones have Optical Image Stabilization, which can help avoid blur in shaky-handed shots.

Processor

Processor
Processor

On paper, it looks like the Galaxy S7 trounces the iPhone, but you can never judge an Apple mobile chip based on its cores and clock speed alone. The A9 SoC is a speed demon, as is the Snapdragon 820 that you'll find in the US, China and Japan versions of the GS7 (the rest of the world gets an octa-core Samsung Exynos 8990 in its place).

RAM

RAM
RAM

The Galaxy S7 doubles the iPhone's RAM, though this is somewhat remedied by iOS' strong memory management.

Storage

Storage
Storage

We find it annoying that Apple is still selling 16 GB iPhones in 2015-16. With larger photo and video files, as well as bigger app sizes, that just doesn't cut it for many people anymore – at least not without a microSD slot.

MicroSD

MicroSD
MicroSD

Speaking of which, Samsung brought one of those back this year, to complement your internal storage.

Water resistance

Water resistance
Water resistance

Here's another feature Samsung brought back from the dead: like its 2014 flagship, the 2016 GS7 has built-in water resistance. Only this time it's an internal approach, not requiring the external port cover we saw on the GS5.

There have been reports that the iPhone 6s has some unofficial water resistance that Apple isn't advertising, though, so this may not be the huge advantage for the Galaxy that it appears to be.

Software

Software
Software

The Galaxy S7 runs Android Marshmallow with Samsung's TouchWiz UI on top, while the iPhone runs iOS 9.

Release

Release
Release

The Galaxy S7 launches in the US on March 11, while the iPhone 6s has been around for close to six months already.

Starting price (full retail)

Starting price (full retail)
Starting price (full retail)

Base full retail prices are close (we're ballparking the Galaxy S7's number, as it varies a bit from carrier to carrier). And remember that most US shoppers will pay this total over the course of two years, rather than all at once.

Also keep in mind that the Galaxy S7 gives you double the internal storage in that entry-level tier, in addition to expandable storage. The entry-level iPhone's storage woes reek of an upselling trick, as the second-tier ($100 more expensive) iPhone 6s jumps all the way up to 64 GB.

For more, you can read our full reviews of the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6s.

View gallery - 30 images
3 comments
3 comments
rdorman2
Fantastic New Phone - so when does the Samsung Note 6 arrive ? I was just about to buy the Note 5
MoeLawn
Would have been a more fair comparison if you compared an Galaxy S4 to the iPhone 6
SeaDoc
I've had the galaxy s7 edge for nearly a week and absolutely love it!!! Smooth as silk, and no complaints. I've had iPhones in the past - never, will I go back... Great job Samsung... Samsung pay is a blast too!!!