Samsung Galaxy S3 vs. Apple iPhone 4S

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Amelia Hunter. She compared the Samsung Galaxy S3 against Apple iPhone 4S. Both are the latest smartphone for each company. 

Now that the Samsung Galaxy S3 has finally arrived and is widely available it is being heralded as the best smartphone ever created?

The months of hype surrounding the Korean company’s flagship phone certainly appealed to the public, with over 9 million pre-orders of the device and the expectancy that the phone is going to become the biggest selling gadget of all time.

So is this the phone that everyone must have, or is there an alternative?

Well, of course there are alternatives; the main one being Apple’s iPhone 4S which still has a very large user base and is still regarded by many as the best smartphone out there, but does it have enough to tempt you away from choosing the latest Galaxy when your next upgrade is due?

Let’s put the two head-to-head and find out!

Build

The Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 4S couldn’t be any different in terms of build.

The S3 continues the newest trend in smartphones by opting for a large screen – obviously, this makes for a large phone.

Apple on the other hand sticks with the classic iPhone design, which is a definite winner when it comes to build quality and aesthetics.

The design of the iPhone looks and feels better in the hand than the S3, which is rather plastic-like. At 133g in weight compared to 140g and 8.6mm compared to 9.3mm in width, the S3 does win some points for style.

Overall though, it is hard to beat the iPhone in terms of build.

Screen

The screen on the latest Samsung is really something to behold – it is just fantastic, sporting a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD 720×1280 pixel 309ppi capacitive touch display.

The sheer size of the screen makes the iPhone’s Retina Display 3.5-inch LCD 960 x 640 display seem insignificant.

The iPhone’s smaller screen does mean that it has a better pixel density at 326ppi, but it is not enough to match the real estate and clarity of the S3.

Power

Sadly, this category is one in which Apple just cannot compete with Samsung.

The S3 uses Samsung’s own Exynos 1.4GHz quad-core processor with 1GB RAM, while Apple is powered by a 1GHz dual-core A5 chip and 512MB RAM.

While, the Apple is by no means a poor device in terms of power and performance, it is blown away by the speed of the S3.

Storage

Apple offer their usually 16/32/64GB storage options which has always put the iPhone above any other smartphone on the market in terms of storage capabilities – until the newest Galaxy came along that is.

Samsung also offer 16/32/64GB flash memory versions, but further enhance storage options by including a microSD card slot and offering 50GB of free Dropbox storage. “Anything you can do I can do better” comes to mind.

Camera

Both phones have an 8MP rear-facing camera, each with 1080p video recording.

Samsung outdo Apple once again with a 1.9MP front-facing camera compared to the iPhone’s 0.3MP effort.

It terms of picture and video quality, both phones are superb and it is very hard to tell the two apart.

The S3’s zero shutter lag, burst mode and Best Shot features give Samsung the overall advantage once again.

Software

No real winner when it comes to this category, it’s really about personal preference.

Apple’s IOS 5 and the S3’s Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS are equally as good as each other. Apple does have the better app store but Google Play is quickly catching up.

Apple’s outstanding feature Siri has also been rivaled by Samsung’s S-Voice, which despite obviously being copied off Apple, offers a lot more in terms of what it can do.

Battery

The Samsung Galaxy S3 comes with a 2100mAh battery compared to the iPhone’s 1420mAh battery.

The bigger battery goes in Samsung’s favor and gives the S3 more talk, browsing and standby time than the 4S.

Price

So the Samsung Galaxy S3 has better features… Do you think it’s more expensive, too?

Nope!

The SIM-free versions of both phones have nearly the same price ($500–700, depending on your location), while the monthly fees of the Galaxy S3 are cheaper than those of the iPhone 4S, at least in the UK.

Verdict

Quite clearly, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is the better phone, making what is an outstanding phone like the Apple iPhone 4S seem quite dated in comparison.

Smartphone technology moves fast and if you’re looking for something cutting edge, the S3 is what you need.

Guest post: This article is written is by Amelia Hunter. If you would like to contribute too, please contact me.