iPhone 6S vs Samsung Galaxy S7: Which one is best? - The Week UK

Samsung's Galaxy S7 has been a massive hit with critics, building on the solid credentials of the previous generation, the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, while introducing new hardware and bringing back some fan favourites.

It was revealed towards the start of 2016, prior to the Mobile World Congress, where it took centre stage. Apple will reply in September with its next smartphone, the iPhone 7, but for now, the Cupertino firm squares off with its 2015 release, the iPhone 6S.

Is Samsung's latest offering enough to tempt iOS users over to Android and away from Apple's current and future iPhone offerings? Here's how the two phones shape up.

Design

Both phones represent minimal design changes from their predecessors – not necessarily a bad thing, considering they are two of the best-looking handsets on the market. If a light and slim smartphone is high on your list, the iPhone just nudges it in terms of dimensions. It's slightly lighter, at five ounces to the Galaxy's 5.4oz, and at 0.27ins thick, it's fractionally thinner, too.

Apple's 6S design is virtually similar to that of the iPhone 6, albeit a little thicker due to the use of more durable aluminium alloy, but does have the addition of a rose gold colour option. It's an aluminium unibody, with curved edges, exposed antenna bands and a protruding camera module.

As for the Galaxy S7, its case is a metal and glass setup. It's nice, but PC Advisor warns it marks easily and can become grubby without a case. It has a slightly curved back, making it easier and more comfortable to hold, while the S6's camera bump has been almost eliminated, too, allowing it to lie more or less flush when placed on a table.

One key design advantage the S7 has over the iPhone 6S is durability. The new Samsung flagship has an IP68 water and dustproof-rating so it can go underwater to depths of up to five feet for a maximum of half an hour.

Displays

Both phones are available with two screen sizes – a standard and a more expensive phablet-style display.

The larger models – the iPhone 6S Plus and Galaxy S7 Edge – both have 5.5ins touchscreens, with the Samsung getting a dual curve display feeding around the edges of the phone. The standard devices, meanwhile, come in as 4.7ins for the iPhone 6S and 5.1ins for the Galaxy S7.

Samsung is carving a reputation for making phones with bright, colourful displays and the technology in the S7 is impressive - a Super AMLOED unit with a pixel density of 577ppi (534ppi on the S7 Edge). Indeed, Know Your Mobile says the display is the best you can buy, particularly for brightness, sharpness and the deepness of its blacks. It also praises the "Always On" display, which is handy for peeking at the time and doesn't drain battery. Clever polarising techniques make it sunglasses-friendly, too.

The 6S has quite different tech, using an Apple LCD Retina Display with a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch (401 on the iPhone 6S Plus). While still sharp, it cannot match the Galaxy S7 for contrast, clarity and brightness.

However, says Forbes, while the Samsung has beauty on its size, the iPhone has brains. It gets 3D Touch – a pressure-sensitive screen with new shortcuts and ways to navigate the phone.

The tech isn't developed enough to overhaul Samsung's brilliant-looking displays, but it could be a big feature in the near future, adds the site.

Hardware and performance

The Galaxy S7 uses the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset, although the UK version gets an Exynos 8890 octa-core processor instead, mated to 4GB of RAM.

It's at least more powerful on paper than the iPhone 6S, which weighs in with only 2GB RAM and makes use of Apple's A9 chip.

According to The Guardian, benchmarking tests of the UK spec Exynos 8890 against the Apple A9 and the US-spec Qualcomm 820 suggest, in terms of raw performance, that it loses out. But while this may look like a raw deal, the paper argues that overall, "the choice of processor doesn't matter" as they will all provide a smooth experience capable of most tasks.

It could be a deal-breaker if mobile gaming is high on your agenda, though. According to a benchmarking test carried out by Gizmodo, the iPhone came out on top in several areas against its Android rivals, including the Galaxy S7.

CPU and GPU benchmarks don't tell the full story when it comes to real-world performance and according to their tests, iPhones 6, 6S, and SE could all consistently hit frame rates of 60fps while gaming, against the dropped frames seen on Android phones. The Galaxy S7 specifically hovers around 44fps when playing some of the most taxing titles.

On the surface, this looks like a hardware issue, but it's actually down to how most games and apps are optimised. According to Gizmodo, iOS typically receives the bulk of a developer's attention and apps are usually launched on Apple's system first.

Android has a larger share of the smartphone market worldwide, while iOS only appears on Apple's devices, meaning there's only one or two hardware configurations for which its developers need to optimise their apps compared to the "hundreds of different devices with a wide variety of processor and display capabilities" of its rival.

Both phones are fitted with fingerprint scanners for added security and can be used for Apple Pay and Android Pay.

Memory and storage

The Galaxy is only available as a 32GB model compared to 16GB, 64GB and 128GB on the iPhone, but the micro SD card slot for expandable storage makes a welcome return after being absent on the S6. Looking at it purely from a baseline perspective, the 32GB of the Galaxy S7 far outweighs the tiny 16GB capacity of the cheapest iPhone 6S.

The SD card slot means the Galaxy S7's storage can be boosted by 200GB and given that around 8GB of the phone's memory is already occupied by pre-installed apps straight out of the box, it's a feature that's bound to be popular.

Early fears that the removable memory function wouldn't be compatible with apps have now subsided after Samsung told journalists at the launch they could be safely transferred onto an external card.

According to Forbes, the functionality of the SD card is a welcome feature, but it highlights the need for Samsung to put models beyond the 32GB device on sale in Europe.

Battery life and charging

Neither the iPhone 6S not the Galaxy S7 has a removable battery, but the Samsung's is much larger – a 3000mAh cell that can be charged wirelessly compared to its rival's 1715mAh.

Consequently, Samsung should be the obvious winner, but in reality, "battery life is a lot more complex, and depends heavily on the display, operating system, usage and more," Digital Trends says. Nevertheless, Apple has "long been at war" with device thickness at the expense of battery size and has often opted to compromise on power in a bid to achieve a slimmer silhouette. And while it may be possible to "squeeze enough juice out of the iPhone 6S Plus for a full day’s use, Samsung seems more concerned with getting its users through the day than offering the slimmest device possible".

Charging is also quicker and easier with the Galaxy. It supports the two leading wireless-charging standards, PMA and Qi, allowing the handset to be powered up in a charging station rather than having to attach a cable. It also reaches max in 90 minutes via its Quick Charge 3.0 charger, GSM Arena says, while an iPhone 6S takes almost three hours to charge completely. 

Camera

Samsung has actually reduced the overall megapixel count of its camera hardware down to 12MP, putting it on par with the iPhone 6S. However, there has been a vast improvement in optimisation and the hardware, making for better shots in the dark and marking an overall improvement in image quality, with brighter photographs and more detailed shots.

Both phones can record 4K video and have 240fps slow-motion functions, although the Galaxy S7 also sports optical image stabilisation and has a better front-facing camera.

The iPhone 6S's hardware seems trumped on paper, then, but Apple could step up its game with the iPhone 7 – a dual camera is rumoured as being on the way, featuring optical zoom capabilities and marking a massive increase in performance.

Software

Samsung's Galaxy S7 ships with Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 hidden beneath the firm's TouchWiz user interface – a sticking point for Trusted Reviews.

The site thinks the altered Android UI is a little cluttered and comes with too much bloatware, like previous releases. In the past, the skin has caused problems for upgrades, too. Android's fragmentation means issuing specific software updates to different phones, old and new, is trickier than the full upgrade roll-out you'll see on Apple devices. Updates can take time and some phones get left behind altogether, although the S7 will get decent support for the first few years of its lifespan.

It is possible to rid the S7 of TouchWiz in favour of completely stock Android, as PC Advisor says, but it's not something beginners will find easy.

On the other side of the argument, Apple's iOS system is very much a centrally-planned, closed shop and support for the latest versions often spans across older Apple devices, with updates issued in a timely, synchronised fashion. Trusted Reviews says it's a cleaner, smoother, more consistent experience than you'll find on the TouchWiz Samsung, which is why, from a software perspective, it believes the 6S is the better phone.

At present, Apple devices are on iOS 9.3.2. iOS 10 will release this September, alongside the iPhone 7.

When it comes to software, however, personal preference will guide most users. Those with experience of Android will find the S7 absolutely fine to use and likewise, those previously on an iPhone will find Apple's eco system a sure bet.

Price

The Galaxy comes in slightly above the iPhone, with prices starting from £569 for the standard S7 and £639 for the 5.5ins S7 Edge.

As for the iPhone 6S, the 4.7ins model starts from £539 – some £30 less. It's a similar saving with the Plus, which comes in at £619.

However, for the £539 starting price of the iPhone 6S, you only get 16GB. Apple's device doesn't have an SD card slot for expandable memory and most users will have to opt for the 64GB version, which matches the £619 price of the entry level but equally 16GB-shod iPhone 6S Plus.

Verdict

TrustedReviews feels the Samsung Galaxy S7 is an "absolute beast of a smartphone", with more than enough to beat the iPhone 6S. 

"It features a more robust processor, twice the memory, a higher aperture camera and comes loaded with Google’s oh so sweet Android Marshmallow operating system."

However, this "really isn't a surprise", it says, considering the Galaxy S7 is still box fresh and the iPhone 6S is now halfway through its lifecycle. The big battle comes later this year, when Apple reveals the iPhone 7.

According to TechRadar, it would appear the usual battle lines have been drawn. They conclude the Galaxy is the more functional option and the iPhone the simpler one.  The S7 is a "strong showing" and "all the right elements are there", they add.

It would appear Galaxy S7's functions and features definitely triumph. Alphr says it has the iPhone 6S beaten in most key areas, including display, features and battery life. BGR also thinks the Samsung wins in several key areas, plus there is the welcome addition of water and dust-proofing. In terms of design, the S7 is also believed to be a better device and the Edge is considerably more comfortable than the iPhone 6S Plus.

As it stands now – before we know exactly what the iPhone 7 will have – Refinery 29 says the Samsung Galaxy S7 is an "incredibly fast, beautiful piece of hardware" that could be the Android phone to tempt iOS users out of Apple's ecosystem.

In particular, it says, the S7's display and camera outperform the iPhone 6S, the build quality is "great" and overall, it's an "excellent smartphone".

"If you were to consider making the jump from iOS to Android, grabbing a Galaxy S7 would be a shrewd move," the site adds.

Know Your Mobile also throws its backing behind Samsung's latest effort, saying it "is much superior to the iPhone 6s. It beats it in almost every regard".

There's a running theme here and not a particularly surprising one – Samsung's phone is newer and stronger on paper and while the iPhone 6S remains a great smartphone, Apple needs a new flagship to compete.