In the all-out battle for the best phone manufacturers, Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro and Samsung’s S21 Ultra are now some of the newest phones on the market, bringing the latest technology and features to our pockets.
In this comparison, we take a look through some of the specs, and everyday features that we all use in our phones to find out which phone is truly the better ones on the market.
Comparison – Samsung S21 Ultra vs iPhone 12 Pro
Design
Both the iPhone 12 Pro and Samsung S21 have used a new design for the phone, for better ergonomics for its consumers. The Samsung S21 features a new contour cut design that stakes the 5-lens camera pack into the back of the phone. Measuring in at 6.5 x 2.97 x 0.35 inches, this Samsung S21 is slightly bigger, and a little heavier (8.1 ounces) than the iPhone 12 Pro. The Samsung S21 ultra comes in a range of new colors such as the “Phantom Silver”, and “Phantom Black” from certain network carriers, but the traditional navy, titanium, or brown from Samsung directly.
On the other hand, Apple again features a flat-edge on the iPhone 12 Pro, similar to the older iPhone SE and iPhone 5. The iPhone 12 Pro measures 6.3 x 3.1 x 0.29 inches and weighs 8.03 ounces, so is quite similar to the Samsung, but is a tiny bit smaller and a little lighter, but this will be unnoticeable. The iPhone 12 comes in Silver, Graphite, Gold, and Pacific Blue.
As far as structural rigidity goes, the iPhone 12 Pro also has a higher water hesitance rating, which is IP68 up to 6 meters, which is 4.5 meters more than the Galaxy S21 can (1.5m).
Display
As ever, both of these phones have some of the best quality displays on the market. The Samsung S21 Ultra offers an AMOLED display that scales its refresh rate from 10Hz to 120Hz. The 6.8-inch screen on the Samsung S21 looks a little sharper than the iPhone. The Samsung S21 features a 3200 x 1400 resolution, which is roughly 515 pixels per inch.
(Image Source: Future)
Unlike Samsung, the iPhone 12 Pro features a screen that has a fixed refresh rate. The iPhone 12 Pro has a 60Hz display which looks a little less smooth than the Samsung. Not only this, but the iPhone 12 Pro’s resolution is only 2778 x 1284, working out at 458 pixels per inch.
Samsung keeps up the display pressure, with higher brightness for its screen. When tested, the Samsung S21 can reach a brightness of 819 nits, compared to the 650 nits for the iPhone 12 Pro.
(Image Source: Future)
Camera
Cameras on phones are constantly adapting to have the best and most updated technology on the phones, and both the iPhone 12 Pro and Samsung S21 have improved their cameras again. The Samsung S21 has 5-lenses (4 cameras, one autofocus). The main camera is a 108MP camera, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a dual-10MP telephoto lens for 3x and 10x optical zoom.
(Samsung Below)
The iPhone 12 Pro features a 12MP sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and a 12MP telephoto zoom lens with 2.5x optical zoom, which is added together with the LiDAR sensor to help with low-light photography. (Apple below)
Overall, both of these cameras are superb in natural light, and low-light respectively. Samsung’s improved AI improves the photo quality of all its pictures the moment you take it, improving the ability to separate background and figures such as the portrait mode. Apple has also improved the AI in their camera systems to ensure that it keeps up with Samsung.
Both of these cameras provide amazingly crisp, and detailed images. If you prefer slightly lighter and sharp edges, the Samsung S21 can provide a slightly brighter overview of all your images, whereas if you prefer heavy-detail, slightly more natural colors then the iPhone 12 Pro may be the one for you.
Battery
Something that we consumers love is having a phone that doesn’t need to be charged all too often. Both the Samsung S21 Ultra and iPhone 12 Pro have improved battery life, and battery efficiencies to make the battery's last long off a single charge. The Galaxy S21 makes use of its 5,000 mAh battery and can last up to 11 hours off a single charge. The iPhone 12 Pro can only last around 10 hours off a single charge when active.
Something to note from both of these phones, as a global initiative to cut wasted products, neither Apple nor Samsung have included a charger in the box – however, the Samsung and Apple devices are both capable of fast charging should you need it.
Software
On the Samsung S21, the software package that is running is the One UI 3.0 on Android 11, and it showcases some amazing widgets and features that haven’t been on some previous models from Samsung. Some of these include the quick panel to get things done a little quicker than usual, such as note-taking, cameras, and directors' view (front and back cameras simultaneously). Not only this, but the main feature is that the Samsung S21 features the “S Pen” which is bought separately but allows for amazing note-taking, and drawing should you want to use your phone for that.
Apple on the other hand released the iPhone 12 Pro with iOS 14 that brings some amazing features, just like the Samsung. IOS 14 hasn’t brought much new functionality, however, has made several amazing changes to pre-existing features that will make usability so much simpler, and easier which is what Apple prides itself off. If you prefer a simpler operating system, then the iPhone may be better for you!
Performance
The Samsung S21 showcases a Snapdragon 888 CPU with 12GB of memory, but during tests as well as on paper, is still behind the iPhone 12 Pro in terms of performance. The iPhone 12 Pro features an A14 Bionic chip, with only 6GB of memory. Although on paper the iPhone lacks memory compared to the Samsung, the iPhone utilizes this memory and its chip so much more efficiently when compared to the Samsung S21.
Tests with the device show the iPhone 12 Pro can transcode a 4K video to 1080p in 28 seconds when compared to the Samsung S21 which can do it in just over a minute.
Connectivity
With 5G well underway for full deployment, the iPhone 12 Pro and Samsung S21 both feature the capability of using 5G. Unfortunately, iPhone 12 Pro is still behind Samsung when it comes to the stats of the Samsung. With this being said, the Samsung S21 Ultra features a much more powerful x60 Qualcomm modem built-in, which the iPhone just can’t offer at this time. 5G depending on where you are in the world will still be in the 60-120mbps range for the iPhone and 100-200mbps+ for the Samsung.
Price
In the ever-changing modern world, phones are getting slightly more expensive. In the past, Samsung has been cheaper for their base model phones, however, Apple has undercut Samsung’s price this year.
As standard, you can buy the Samsung S21 Ultra for $1,199 from Samsung.com.
On the other hand, you can buy the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max for $1,099 from Apple.com
Conclusion
When taking all of the above into consideration, there is quite a tear down the middle. The iPhone 12 Pro has a nicer, sleeker design than the Samsung, a slightly better camera in terms of pure quality, and much better performance than the Samsung S21. On the other hand, the Samsung S21 has a much better battery life when in use. Coupled with the better, and brighter display, the Samsung S21 does make the race for best consumer phone super tight. The Samsung S21 also offers cheaper accessories that the iPhone does not support, however, the iPhone 12 Pro is still on top of the Samsung S21.
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