Samsung has recently become a strong rival for Apple, since the Samsung Galaxy S3 came out, and many believe it to be far superior to the iPhone 4S. We will have to compare the features of the two, to see if this is really the case and whether Apple will be down for the count until the iPhone 5 comes rolling in.
Samsung Galaxy S3 vs iPhone 4S
The screen of the Samsung Galaxy S3 comes out on top, being 4.8 inch in size, and 720×1280 and Super AMOLED HD in nature, whereas the 4S has 960×640 pixels and a smaller 3.5 inches in screen real estate. The only thing you can say for the 4S on this front is that it is smaller and therefore a little easier to handle. Speaking of size, it’s also worth mentioning that the S3 is 136×70.6×8.6mm in size, weighing in at 133g, and the 4S is 115.2×58.6×9.3mm, weighing in at 140g, despite the Galaxy S3 packing a larger display.
Design: It’s hard to say which one is better on this front as each user has different taste and requirements in their device. The build of the iPhone 4S is of good quality and well designed, whilst the S3 is lighter and more slender, whilst being larger in size. If I had to pick, I would go with the iPhone 4S as the S3 feels a little too plastic-ky for a premium smartphone in my opinion.
When we look at performance of each device, and their power, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is a clear winner, with a quad-core processor to the 4S’s dual-core, and 1GB RAM to the 4S’s 512MB. Battery life is also an important point, and the S3 has a far larger battery than the 4S, with 2100mAh as opposed to 1420mAh on the 4S. This equates to standby time of over 3x more than the 4S, and not only that – the battery is removable, unlike any Apple device.
Cameras are the next point of comparison. The specs of the S3 camera are as follows: 8MP rear-facing with burst mode and zero shutter lag, and 1.3MP front-facing. The 4S also packs 8MP on the back, but just 0.3MP on the front so clearly falls behind on in this category. The S3 also has the same chip in its camera as the 4S which indicates the picture quality would be similar in different conditions and therefore the 4S does not have any possibility of outshining the S3 here theoratically.
With the Samsung Galaxy S3 having the latest Android OS (Ice Cream Sandwich) and the 4S packing iOS 5.
From this run-down of the specs of each device, it is obvious that the Samsung Galaxy S3 is superior (as it should be) but then again the 4S is expected to be replaced by the iPhone 5 in autumn this year, even though it hasn’t been announced yet. So if you are looking to purchase a new smartphone right now, you would be wise to go for the just-released Samsung Galaxy S3 rather than the soon-to-be outdated iPhone 4S.
