Samsung Galaxy S7 vs iPhone 6S

Your Samsung vs Apple phone comparison for 2016

Every six months we either get a new Samsung flagship or a new iPhone, and right on time, the Samsung Galaxy S7 is here to challenge Apple's iPhone 6S.

It's the smartphone comparison that never changes the minds of iOS and Android diehards, but I know plenty of curious fence sitters who wonder what the other side is like.

Tempted to make the switch? I don't blame you, especially given the last two years. Samsung began to design higher-end phones at the same time Apple finally increased its screen size.

What we have here are two phones that increasingly look alike, but are different underneath. There are enough unique hardware features and software perks on each to sway you back and forth and back again until you become dizzy.

Design

No one will mistake your Samsung Galaxy S7 or iPhone 6S for a cheap phonemade of plastic. These two handsets define "premium" among smartphones with the best build materials around.

Metal and glass come together to form the Galaxy S7, and both the front and back hold up with strong Gorilla Glass 4. Ex-iPhone 4 and 4S owners shouldn't fear another glass-backed phone.

The S7 measures 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9mm and weighs in at 152g. Even with its 0.4 inches of extra space, its dimensions are only marginally bigger than Apple's: 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1mm and 143g.

Aluminum envelopes the entire iPhone 6S, not just its frame, and it has this polished feel look and feel that's only unconvincing when it slips out of my hand. It's best outfit this one in a case.

I felt like I was able to hold onto and operate this smaller iPhone a little better in my palm, which made one-handed operation a cinch. You really don't need to wait for the iPhone SE.

Apple includes more bezel and less screen space vs the S7, yet Samsung managed to squeeze in a microSD card slot and waterproofing (up to 30 minutes, 1.5 meters down) into its design.

The Galaxy S7 has a larger screen at 5.1-inches, and it's much, much higher resolution at QHD, where Apple's got the smaller 4.7-inch choice but has a rather low-res 720p pixel count - the difference is marked between these two when it comes to the display.

Screen

Both the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6S have brilliant displays, even with their markedly different screen technologies and resolutions.

Apple's 4.7-inch display is an LED-backlit IPS LCD with a 750 x 1334 resolution. In other words, it has a few more pixels than your old 720p HDTV, but not as many as newer full HD 1080p sets.

Samsung's 5.1-inch panel is the company's own Super AMOLED tech, and it has double the pixels found in a 1080p HDTV, with a 1440 x 2560 resolution. It's the best smartphone display available.

The Galaxy S7 also has a nifty always-on display. It lights up just a few pixels when the phone is put to sleep, showing the time, date, battery percentage and notification icons.

The larger size, higher resolution and always-on display make Samsung's screen superior to Apple's in every way. That said, you won't be spotting individual pixels on the iPhone 6S either; clarity and brightness are top-notch on both phones.

Interface and apps

This is where the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6S contrast the most and why people usually stick with one phone over the other. Yes, they have many of the same apps, but the look and feel of each operating system is completely different.

Samsung runs Android Marshmallow skinned with its own TouchWiz interface, and it's no longer as unnecessarily complex as it has been in the past. Don't be afraid if the Galaxy S5 or Galaxy S4 scared you away.

What's here now is straightforward-looking software that has more customization than you'll find on an iPhone, and widgets are a big part of that. Having the weather, my to do list, my calendar and the Google search bar right on the home screens is better than staring at nothing but a grid of square icons.

Samsung does pre-load its phones with useless repeats apps, though. S Voice needs to not exist anymore in a world where Google Now fetches me what I want and does it successfully the first time. Google has it beat and Samsung knows it; S Voice has been shoved in a folder inside the app drawer. But like many pre-loaded apps, it can't be uninstalled, only "turned off." Worse, I don't need the generic email app when Gmail is here and now supports POP3. Yet it can't be deleted or turned off. It will always exist. I will always have two email apps on my phone.

The same goes for the dozen of carrier-imposed and Amazon-sponsored apps that came with my Galaxy S7 review unit in the US. You won't find such junk on any Apple phone.

iPhone 6S runs iOS 9.2.1, with iOS 9.3 on the brink, and its more streamlined and easier to use than any other operating system out there. It's the software that makes Apple's phones so appealing.

It's the idea of convergence that makes the default apps echo the Steve Jobs line "It just works." I can easily switch between a call, message and FaceTime video with ease, and iMessages is by far my favorite app to chat in. It sends all calls and messages - SMS included - to my phone, iPad and Mac, whether or not my phone are within Wi-Fi range.

The iPhone 6S has a slick layout that's only going to get better with iOS 10 beta this summer, and its pressure-sensitive 3D Touch shortcuts make navigating the phone a tiny bit quicker. Just don't expect widgets in any forthcoming update. I've given up hope for those.

Specs and performance

The best part of upgrading your phone is that you're greeted with fresh specs that are faster and more powerful than your old phone, and the iPhone 6S and Galaxy fulfill that promise.

Samsung's phone is technically the fastest on the planet, with either a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor in the US or a Samsung Exynos 8890 chip in the UK and everywhere else.

I didn't experience slowdown when using the "slower" US variant of the S7, and I really don't expect to, thanks to the 4GB of RAM. It keeps everything snappy.

I may run out of internal storage space eventually, as Samsung only included one option: 32GB. But that's where the returning microSD card slot becomes an essential feature.

The iPhone 6S takes advantage of the Apple-designed A9 processor, and while the phone only has 2GB of RAM, it feels just as fast.

That's because it runs a different operating system, one that Apple developed hand-in-hand with the hardware. Even with slower benchmarking scores, the 6S exhibits no noticeable slowdown.

With 16GB, 64GB and 128GB choices, there are three times as many internal storage options compared to what Samsung gives you. Just don't look for a microSD card slot. It's not the Apple way.

You're not going to be disappointed with either phone when it comes to specs and performance, unless you go with the paltry 16GB iPhone that suckers you into iCloud in a hot minute.

Battery

Battery life is a constant struggle for Apple and Samsung phone owners alike, and there's no lithium bullet that brings an end to the struggle for the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6S.

Samsung was able to squeeze in a 3,000mAh battery that we usually see reserved for larger phablets, and it makes a difference. I was able to go a day on a single charge and still have 20% left by bedtime. That's with the always-on screen enabled.

More scientific lab testing occurred when I ran a 90-minute HD video and the battery dropped by from 100% to 84%, just 16% off from where it started.

Apple's iPhone battery isn't as large at 1715mAh, and it shows. I barely get through a full day with the same heavy use, and the 90 minute video test brought it down to 68%, a drain of 32%.

Moreover, charge times were noticeably faster for the Galaxy S7 when using the Fast Charging wall adapter, and the phone supports wireless charging. It took 1 hour and 29 minutes to fully charge.

iPhone 6S clocks in at just under two hours. You can charge it slightly faster with an iPad charger, but it's still slower than Samsung's included Fast Charger for the S7. Don't go looking for wireless charging either. Apple hasn't gotten onboard despite using similar pad technology for the Apple Watch.

Camera

"The best camera you have is the one with you" is the famous quote that defines smartphone photography, and you won't be disappointed with a Galaxy S7 or iPhone 6S in your pocket.

Samsung Galaxy S7

iPhone 6S

The Galaxy S7 has a 12MP camera with an incredibly fast f/1.7 aperture, and it's hands-down the best camera phone you can own. It backs away from the Galaxy S6 16MP, but it's in an effort to let in more microns, 1.4µm to be specific. The result is stunning low light photography.

Samsung Galaxy S7

iPhone 6S

The iPhone 6S snaps brilliant photos, too, and the camera app has always been simple to use. But it's 12MP is outclassed again this year with a slower f/2.2 aperture and 1.22 µm. It's a great camera, but only until you compare to the shots taken by a Galaxy S7.

Samsung's camera produces punchier colors in bright outdoor conditions and it doesn't lose as much clarity when moving indoors.

The S7 also as far more robust photo and video controls. For example while both phones have a 5MP front-facing camera, only Samsung has gesture shots to initiate this selfies, so you're not always having to awkwardly lurch forward and touch the on-screen shutter button.

Price

Either phone can be considered an investment because it's something you use everyday, and it costs you a small fortune for the device and service plan.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 price is a little easier to swallow, depending on how and where you shop. It's $199 on-contract, or $23.17 a month for 30 months via AT&T. It's $27.09 a month at Sprint, $27.91 a month at T-Mobile and $28 a month at Verizon for 24 months. You won't find an unlocked Galaxy S7 in the US at this time.

In the UK, it's a more straightforward £569 SIM-free, and in Australia, the price has increased dramatically to AU$1,249.

The iPhone 6S price isn't better. In fact, it can be more expensive in some cases. It costs $199 on-contract in the US, but $21.67 a month on AT&T for 30 months (better), all the way up to $33 on Verizon for 24 months (worse). SIM-free from the Apple Store's it's $650.

In the UK, the iPhone 6S costs £539 and in Australia it's AU$929.

Verdict

I switch back and forth between a dozen smartphones every week, and I keep coming back to Samsung for its camera and the iPhone for its software.

That says a lot about these two phones, of the many I could choose from. The Galaxy S7 has the best camera, display and battery. It also future proofs your purchase with both a microSD card slot for expandable storage and waterproofing for dropping it in the ocean and/or toilet.

I'm still partial to Apple's ecosystem. It has built an empire of seamless and easy-to-use apps, and no Google phone has a true equivalent to iMessages. Every time I switch from an iPhone to something else, I get cut out of my friends' group messages. I'm also able to use a mix of Apple and Google apps, which I can't do on an Android.

There's nothing I want more than the merger of these two phones. They're brilliant in different areas, but truth be told, you're not going to go wrong by picking up either.