Since the launch of Galaxy Note 8, Samsung has risen in the smartphone world, however, has it risen enough to challenge the authority of Apple, is the question. The smartphone arch rivals unveiled their flagships last month. While Apple released the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus along with a heavily loaded iPhone X, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note 8. They probably had a fire truck on standby. (Remember the Note 7’s fire fiasco?)
Even though they are competitors, Samsung and Apple are both hoping that the iPhone X will be a success. Why? Because Samsung manufactures the OLED display on the iPhone X, and it gets a share of the profit from the sale of every single unit.
Having said that, the South Korean smartphone maker is all set to take on the completion from the iPhone 8. And according to the latest reports, Samsung seems to be the one winning. Let’s take a look at how the best of Samsung and Apple stack against each other in this battle for smartphone dominance.
Design
The iPhone 8, which retains the design and form factor of its predecessor, comes with a front mounted fingerprint scanner and a glass front and back. Apple finally introduced wireless charging in the latest series of iPhone along with improved camera and display.
Samsung, on the other hand, went with a more futuristic approach with a near bezel-less display and an improved S-pen stylus. Ditching the home button, Samsung has moved the fingerprint sensor at the back of the phone. Despite the taller-than-usual aspect ratio of 18.5:9, Note 8 is easier to hold.
Ergonomically, Note 8 wins.
Features and Specifications
The iPhone 8 comes with a 4.7-inch Retina HD True Tone display, runs the latest iOS 11 and is powered by the newly launched A11 Bionic chipset. The company claims to have improved GPU to be 30 percent more efficient as compared to the earlier variants. The iPhone 8 has IP67 certification for water and dust resistance. Though Apple is still a step back when it comes to protection against dust and water, the “toughest glass” on the back of the device might make up for it.
The Galaxy Note 8 packs a 6.3 Super AMOLED Display along with IP68- water and dust resistance certification. The Samsung flagship runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat out-of-the-box and is powered by a Samsung Exynos octa-core SoC, coupled with 6GB of RAM.
On paper, Note 8 looks good. But we know that the iPhone software-hardware integration can do wonders! This round goes to iPhone 8, marginally.
Camera
iPhone’s reign in the terms of camera might be cut short as the results from the DxOMark camera testing declare a tie between iPhone 8 and Galaxy Note 8 cameras.
The iPhone 8, unlike the dual camera trend, sports a single 12-megapixel rear sensor and a 7-megapixel selfie snapper. The smartphone comes with a 4K video recording capabilities.
The Galaxy Note 8, on the other hand, features a dual camera setup consisting of a 12-megapixel wide-angle lens and another 12-megapixel telephoto lens. The front camera has an 8-megapixel sensor for them gram worthy selfies.
Another tie.
Price
While we sit here and argue about the features and specifications, the final verdict comes down to the almighty dollar. The larger than life Note 8 is available in Indian markets for Rs. 67900, while the majestic iPhone 8 is priced at Rs. 64,000 and Rs. 77,000 for the 64GB and 256GB variants respectively.
Android loyalists might lean towards the revamped Note 8, while an Apple lover might not mind throwing in a few extra bucks for an updated iOS and an A11 chipset.
Note 8 edges ahead, but only barely. But remember, we were comparing it to iPhone 8. We can be certain that iPhone X will be nearly untouchable!
