Comparing flagships from Samsung and Apple has become a tradition in recent years. And, of course, this is inevitable when it comes to two (nominal) premium bezels with OLED – displays. Today we will try to find out which is better: iPhone X or Samsung Galaxy S8.
Design
Although iPhone X and Galaxy S8 are not identical, they are much more similar than iPhone 7 and Galaxy S7. Both devices pay tribute to the fashion for the almost complete absence of frames around the display, but this task is solved in them in different ways. The curved display of the Galaxy S8 has virtually no padding around the edges, but black bars are visible at the top and bottom. The glass back completes the look of the smartphone – which looks great.
Apple decided to “stretch” the screen on all four sides, but leave a small notch at the top for the microphone, camera and sensors. Although this part looks rather strange, in general this smartphone is as close to the title of frameless as possible. And like the Galaxy, they also added glass over the back.
In general, both smartphones are good and the choice is purely a matter of taste. The Galaxy S8 benefits from its curved screen, which creates the illusion of no bezels on either side. iPhone The X is pretty too, but the notch in the display is definitely not for everyone.
Screen
iPhone X has a 5.8-inch OLED non-standard aspect ratio display with HDR support … but the same can be said for the Galaxy S8. However, these displays are definitely not the same.
It's worth starting at least with the fact that the iPhone has a flat screen, while the “galaxy” has a curved side. In addition, the S8 has the advantage of higher resolution: 2960 x 1440 pixels (571 ppi) versus 2436 x 1125 (458ppi) in iPhone X. And of course iPhone has a notch which takes up some usable space at the top of the display.
Even so, the display iPhone X still looks great. The colors look much more vivid on it than on LCD – screens of previous models. And it should be noted that displays for the anniversary iPhone are supplied by none other than Samsung! While the Galaxy S8 has the advantage of higher resolution, it's hard to notice in everyday use. But the significantly higher maximum brightness at iPhone X is immediately visible.
The display in the flagship from Apple also has a couple of additional tricks. This is True Tone technology, which automatically adjusts colors to match lighting so that colors are always displayed realistically. This model also inherited 3D Touch, which adds additional interaction with the interface.
When comparing displays, we get a sure draw. Both screens are amazing and that says it all.
Camera
Two cameras are not always better than one, but in the case of iPhone X the second module adds some nice features.
iPhone X was equipped with two lenses: one wide-angle (f / 1.8), the other telephoto (f / 2.4) – both with optical stabilization. Thanks to this, iPhone X features lossless optical zoom and an advanced portrait mode. The new Portrait Lighting feature allows you to control lighting on set, simulating studio lighting. It does not work perfectly yet, but it is still only a beta version.
At the same time, the Galaxy S8 has only one 12 megapixel (f / 1.7) main camera module, but it shoots perfectly. Thanks to a number of software enhancements, the camera is even better than the Galaxy S7 and produces crisp, vibrant photos. However, Samsung still has a lot to learn from the Google Pixel 2 XL and HTC U11 cameras.
Overall, both cameras are good, but if you want to use your smartphone more for portraits, the iPhone X offers more options here.
Performance
While the power of the A10 Fusion in last year's iPhone 7 is still comparable to the Exynos 8895 in the Galaxy S8, then the iPhone X with the A11 Bionic leaves Samsung far behind.
According to benchmarks, the A11 Bionic beats all other smartphones in terms of performance. In the single-core test iPhone, the X is twice as fast as the Samsung S8, and in the multi-core test it beats it by more than 50%. This is sheer madness: the results bypass even modern MacBook Pros! And that's with just 3GB of RAM, while the Galaxy S8 has 4GB.
However, benchmarks are benchmarks. Will you see the difference in everyday use? Hardly. The Galaxy S8 runs very fast with Android Nougat and is perfectly adapted – just like iPhone X with iOS 11.
Battery
iPhone X got support for wireless charging – this feature has long been the Galaxy S's advantage over iPhone. Apple managed to do this by making the back panel of the flagship glass. However, at the moment, wireless charging iPhone X can hardly be called fast, although this should be fixed in a future update. The smartphone supports wired fast charging, but this will require two additional accessories at once: a USB-C to Lightning adapter and, in fact, a USB-C adapter with fast charging support.
As for the battery capacity, the iPhone X has 2,716 mAh. In everyday use, the flagship lasts a little longer than the iPhone 8 Plus. Usually it is enough for about a day of work, or a little more if you use your smartphone less actively. The Galaxy S8 has a 3,000mAh battery that also lasts an entire day. The smartphones are quite close in this parameter, but the advantage is still on the side of Samsung.
Additional features
Apple offers iPhone X in two versions: with 64 and 256 GB of internal memory, as they lack a memory card slot. 64 GB is considered insufficient by most users, so you have to pay extra for the 256 GB version. At the same time, Galaxy buyers can easily grab the 64GB version and expand it as needed.
In iPhone X Apple abandoned the now familiar Touch ID, offering an alternative in the form of Face ID, which allows you to unlock your smartphone at a glance. In general, the new technology works well, but there are also failures, so sometimes you will still be required to enter a password. It's better than the Galaxy S8's 2D face scans, but the latter has the advantage of a good old-fashioned fingerprint scanner. It is located, however, inconvenient: right next to the camera, so it's pretty easy to miss.
Let's not forget about another TrueDepth camera feature in iPhone – yes, Animoji. It may not be the most useful, but many users like it. Just remember the trend at Animoji karaoke.
Samsung has a number of hardware advantages: support for Gear VR and the new version of DeX, which has not yet gone on sale. DeX allows you to connect your smartphone to the docking station and connect a monitor to use the Galaxy S8 as a personal computer. Development is definitely niche, but it's nice to have such an option.
At least for the support of micro SD and VR, the flagship Samsung can be called the winner on this point.
Price and verdict
Apple iPhone X and Samsung Galaxy S8 have their own advantages while remaining some of the best smartphones out there today. But one point of comparison, which we haven't talked about yet, may be decisive for many when choosing a smartphone: price.
The difference between these devices in Russian retail is almost 40 thousand rubles (if we compare the 64 GB versions). The Galaxy S8 is undoubtedly an expensive smartphone, but the price difference between it and, say, the OnePlus 5 is definitely worth it given the advantages of the S8. It is especially pleasant that the starting price of 54,990 rubles dropped first to 49,990, and now to 41,990.
Does this mean that iPhone X for 79,990 rubles gives users more options? For most people, the answer is no. And spending 80 thousand on a smartphone seems like something wild, if we are not talking about a status purchase.
iPhone X – the choice of fans of technology Apple. For the rest, the much smarter choice would be the Samsung Galaxy S8 – or iPhone 8 if iOS is your favorite. These are also flagships of 2017, albeit without an anniversary status.