Gadgetory

pocket now's galaxy SI coverage is brought to you by D brand the issue with doing comparisons we're always working with devices multiple months apart putting latest and greatest up against a phone released late last year which should give you some indication as to how this comparison is going to go but if you were in the market to buy a phone today these would be your options starting off with design Samsung scores an easy win here the s6 with Samsung's first glass back phone but from then to now we see more evolution than what Apple has been able to accomplish over the same amount of time the main differences from the iPhone 6 to the 7 plus are new color options and this bulging camera housing which would likely force you to buy a new case for a phone that is otherwise identical to the older iPhone glass versus metal is still a fun debate down in our comments owing to personal preferences though I enjoy metal backbones more than glass but I'd still like to see any manufacturer experiment with other materials for premium devices carbon fiber Kevlar ceramics the tech discussion between an Android and an iPhone is always tricky and specs mean different things for different operating systems the iPhone has always been able to eke out terrific performance with less stuff packed inside the galaxy packing cual comes bleeding-edge chipset feels comparable in daily use this isn't really a win or a lot more this is the threshold we should expect from premium handsets now what's not a contest though is display area the iPhone has a fairly mediocre screen to body ratio especially against the s8 where this infinity display was a primary focus for Samsung this year display quality is a closer fight though where the seven-plus is one of the more accurate LCDs we've reviewed and our galaxy is a touch on the ruddy side there's also a question about resolution where the galaxy wins for having the more pixel dense screen but it ships out of the box with that resolution reduced and it makes us question the practical benefit of resolution density for general consumers is 1080p all you really need to bait down in the comments Samsung's moved a few bits around for this screen and the traditional home button is gone in its place a software home button with a pressure-sensitive bit underneath the glass there's no difference between a light tap or a hard press that activates the vibration so the iPhones approach to a button was home button is more consistent and maintains the feel of hardware better apples touch ID is also more familiar for the iPhone faithful with Samsung moving the s8 fingerprint sensor to the rear ergonomically I shift the galaxy in my hand less to unlock so here I prefer the occasionally smudged camera over the greater likelihood that I might drop a phone when using it one-handed where Apple used to have a nice lead for biometric security Android is largely caught up especially for mobile payments and third-party app support where the s8 takes the win is in greater flexibility for securing your phone as simple or as strong as you want from face unlock to the fingerprint sensor to the iris scanner encryption and passwords galore you should be able to keep prying eyes out of your more sensitive information for big multi media focused bright screen phablets the iPhone takes a win for runtime in our battery tests the S eights larger battery capacity closes the gap well but Apple's smaller screen and OS optimizations deliver noticeably better efficiency the script flips on recharging we're using the included chargers the iPhone is one of the slowest we've reviewed to top off the fuel tank the s8 is a solid performer here and offers wireless charging is a fun perk now we have crazy in-depth camera reviews for both phones if you check out the playlist link in this video's description you can see in-depth performance and compare these two directly as a quick summation core photography performance for both phones feel similar to their respective predecessors the iPhone will be one of the most consistent performers for folks relying on auto modes has better HDR output and better slow-motion video the secondary zoom sensor is also a fun feature in good light but not one that will be relied on as a core photography improvement the s8 takes the win for low-light performance still has the absolute fastest autofocus performance we've ever tested and is a boon for folks who want to dig a little deeper into manual controls and options as the better all-rounder for a larger swath of our audience the galaxy takes a win here and I honestly never thought I would say this in a comparison against Apple but the s8 also takes a win for audio we enjoy the stereo speakers on the seven-plus but the 10 year earpiece can introduce some unpleasant highs in some audio while the s8 is only a Mono firing speaker it performs much better against the iPhone than last year's phones samsung also kept the headphone jack and we're happy to report this year it delivers playback numbers right in line with apples quality is the near time so Samsung wins for the convenience of not having to diddle a dongle and the Galaxy arrives with nicer earbuds in the box lastly it is important to reference software I don't think anyone would be surprised that the iPhone has the more cohesive ecosystem Samsung's editions provide terrific flexibility in customizing but that also means Samsung inherits some of the deficiencies of the Android platform one such deficiency that's been coming up a lot with my family's messaging apps just trying to set up a video call with relatives almost sells iOS all by itself that said the SA is an absolute powerhouse for multitasking split view and multimedia performance thanks in large part to Samsung's customizations and ditto ergonomic considerations we're not only the width of the hardware but software plays a part in making the galaxy a bit easier to use on the go so let's wrap this up where's that leave us between the Galaxy S 8 plus vs. the iPhone 7 plus we're giving the s 8 the overall win here for pushing more boundaries but the bang for buck battle is a bit closer than we would have imagined for all the talk of an Apple tax $19 more will double the built-in storage over NSA plus and these two still reach parity on a number of lifestyle features like enhanced water resistance dollar for dollars you do get more stuff with the galaxy but the core feature comparison gets us a lot closer than we would have thought so this really sets the stage for Apple's next iPhone we're seeing a general squeeze on premium hardware we're sales at the high end or plateauing and mid-range err competition is fierce rumors point to the most aggressive hardware update and Apple iPhone history but Rosso expecting to match as luxury gadgets get closer and closer to that thousand dollar mark we'll be revisiting this battle later in the year to see if Apple leapfrogs the galaxy and how a future note might rejoin the battle and of course we want to hear from you what can manufacturers do to continue encouraging consumers to part with more and more cash at the high end of this market share your thoughts by dropping us a comment down below this video hey folks if you're looking to protect the glass on your Galaxy S a give it a little bit more grip or prevent all of those gnarly fingerprint smudges you should just wash your hands head on over to D brandori they've got a whole collection of really awesome skins for you to customize the look and feel of your Galaxy smartphone there's a link for their wares down below this video and we thank D brand for supporting production on this channel as always thanks so much for watching be sure to subscribe to this channel for our full galaxy as 8 coverage with more comparisons on the way and help us out with some sharing on your favorite social networks for pocket now I'm Juan Carlos bag now so I'm gadget guy on Twitter and Instagram and I will catch you all on the next review