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iPhone 5 versus Samsung Galaxy S 3
Posted by Unknown
on
02.10
sources from trusted review
The iPhone 5 is here, and selling by the million. As expected, it features a larger screen, a faster processor and a slightly-improved camera. But the real question is - which one should you buy, the iPhone 5 or the Samsung Galaxy S3?
We’ve taken a look at the features of both phones, put them in the ring and told them only one is coming out alive. Here's how they fared…
UPDATE: Two months on...We've spent a good old while with these two phones, and have come to some conclusions about which is right for you. Below you'll find the same old specs comparisons if you want in-depth technical info, but here's what they're actually like to use.
Firstly, the difference in feel, thanks to the metal and plastic finishes respectively, soon fades away - more so than with the previous iPhone 4S. It's down to the type of metal used in the iPhone 5's construction. The new iPhone is made of aluminium, and it feels so very light that it doesn't quite have the solidity of the previous-gen models. A bit like a size-0 model, the iPhone 5 is teeny but it doesn't quite feel as healthy as some of the old phones.
Conversely, you get used to the plastic bod of the Samsung Galaxy S3 after just a short time. Quite how lightweight its plastic armouring is only becomes apparent when you take the battery cover off. And who really does that too often?
The adaptability of us humans makes us get used to things terribly quickly, and it helps on the screen front too. Upon first getting hold of the Samsung Galaxy S3 it felt that bit too big, but two months on it just doesn't. We even got used to the 5.5in Galaxy Note 2 pretty quickly.
However, if you have small hands you should definitely take note of the size issue. Even adaptability has its limits.
The giant screen of the Samsung Galaxy S3 makes it our top choice for web-browsing. With a screen this big, this high-resolution, there's so need to even thing about using mobile sites any longer. On this front, the Samsung Galaxy S3 has the edge over the iPhone 5.
On the fun front, though, the iPhone 5 has this argument on lock down. With such a healthy games and apps ecosystem, we found that we downloaded far more games with the iPhone 5 than the Samsung Galaxy S3. Yes, we spend more money but had more fun (or wasted more time) in the process.
If either gaming or web browsing are your key priorities, the choice seems a fairly easy one. Have other priorities? Check out the rest of our comparison below.
Release Date and Sales
iPhone 5 - Available now, 12 September unveiling, 21 September available date
Samsung Galaxy S3 - Available now, unveiled May 2012
The iPhone 5 is out there. Early supply issues meant that demand oustripped supply, but looking at the numbers it's no surprise. The iPhone 5 sold five million units in its first weekend on sale, and two million in its first 24 hours.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 has already been released, of course, and has done extremely well in its short time on this Earth. Back in July we heard that the phone had already broken through the 10 million sales barrier, making it a faster seller than either of its predecessors, the original Galaxy S and the hugely popular Galaxy S2.
By the end of 2012, analyst predictions suggest the iPhone 5 will sell around 26 million units. Samsung's own JK Shin has said he expects the Samsung Galaxy S3 to sell 30 million by the end of the year. Let's not forget that the Samsung Galaxy S3 has been on sale for a lot longer, though.
Watch our video comparison of the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3 >
Design
iPhone 5 - 7.6mm thick, metal casing, non-removable battery
Samsung Galaxy S3 - 8.6mm thick, plastic casing, removable battery
Apple has taken aggressive measures to make the iPhone 5 as thin as possible. The rear layer of glass has gone, the phone uses a teeny nano-SIM and the screen technology merges its constituent layers to squish everything down as far as possible. As a result it's just 7.6mm thick, a full millimetre less than the Samsung Galaxy S3 - which is 8.6mm thick.
It's extremely impressive, and Apple has also tweaked the design of the phone to make it feel a bit less severe in the hand, despite being mega-thin. Its edges are slightly bevelled, rather than stepped, so it feels little more… hand-friendly. You still might want to grab a case for the utmost in hand comfort though. Crucially, the new etched aluminium back is much less slippy than previous versions and build quality is exceptional.
There is one slight issue, though, that's a bit of a problem if you opt for the black version of the iPhone 5. As its rear is aluminium, it is quite scratch-prone. In the black edition, any scratches are clearly visible as they reveal the bright silver of the aluminium underneath.
It's not such a problem with the white version, but has already left many new iPhone owners a little annoyed. Apple has admitted this issue, but says it's normal for an aluminium device.
Check out the iPhone 5's new design in our iPhone 5 preview gallery >
Samsung's great white (well, pebble blue and white) hope for 2012 has an all-plastic finish that uses a flimsy, ultra-thin back cover. This is the one part of the phone that has caused the most criticism, as it doesn't make it feel all that much like a device you should be spending £500 on, even if in practical terms it's just as tough.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 is also significantly larger than the iPhone 5, thanks to its ginormous 4.8in screen. It's 71mm wide, while the iPhone 5 is around 58mm wide. Our top recommendation is to get hold of a Galaxy S3 before buying if it's on your hit list. Some will find it a bit too big for comfort.
Accessories
iPhone 5 - new-design Earpod headphones, new Lightning power connector
Samsung Galaxy S3 - microUSB charge cable, Samsung noise isolating IEM earphones, adapter
We don't normally compare the accessories of phones when we give them the head-to-head treatment, but Apple's accessories this time around are of note. The iPhone 5's headphoneshave been given a completely new design, one you just don't see elsewhere.
The headphones are called Earpods, and they're not the typical iPhone buds of old, or the common noise isolating IEM type either. They're small, made of plastic and are designed to nestle into your ear canals, offering a bit more noise isolation than the earbuds of old.
They're incredibly comfortable and fit securely too, and crucially for fellow train/coach/car/plane passengers, the Earpods leak much less sound to the outside world. They also sound pretty good too. Apple has completely redesigned the sound ports to boost bass and even out mid-range. The result is a surprisingly good listen, with good bass response and a notably wide sound stage. That said, they still don't block out external noise enough for our liking and we're only talking good for a £25 set of earphones - don't ditch your custom IEMs just yet.
The power cable of the iPhone 5 is also different, using the new 8-pin socket rather than the 30-pin type that has been in use for years. Apple calls it Lightning, which linguistically fits-in rather nicely with its Thunderbolt computer port. You also get a power adapter for the cable and a SIM removal tool.
Samsung's Galaxy S3 is more ordinary in its approach, though no less useful. It features a microUSB charge cable, a power adapter to plug this cable into and a standard pair of Samsung-branded IEM noise isolating earphones. The latter offer some external noise isolation but aren't actually that great when it comes to sound quality.
Screen
iPhone 5 - 4in IPS, 1,136 x 640 resolution
Samsung Galaxy S3 - 4.8in Super AMOLED, 1,280 x 720 resolution
Every generation of iPhone since the original of the species back in 2007 has uses the same size screen - 3.5in. That has all changed with the iPhone 5. It now has a widescreen 4in display of 1,136 x 640 pixels.
The iPhone 5 is here, and selling by the million. As expected, it features a larger screen, a faster processor and a slightly-improved camera. But the real question is - which one should you buy, the iPhone 5 or the Samsung Galaxy S3?
We’ve taken a look at the features of both phones, put them in the ring and told them only one is coming out alive. Here's how they fared…
UPDATE: Two months on...We've spent a good old while with these two phones, and have come to some conclusions about which is right for you. Below you'll find the same old specs comparisons if you want in-depth technical info, but here's what they're actually like to use.
Firstly, the difference in feel, thanks to the metal and plastic finishes respectively, soon fades away - more so than with the previous iPhone 4S. It's down to the type of metal used in the iPhone 5's construction. The new iPhone is made of aluminium, and it feels so very light that it doesn't quite have the solidity of the previous-gen models. A bit like a size-0 model, the iPhone 5 is teeny but it doesn't quite feel as healthy as some of the old phones.
Conversely, you get used to the plastic bod of the Samsung Galaxy S3 after just a short time. Quite how lightweight its plastic armouring is only becomes apparent when you take the battery cover off. And who really does that too often?
The adaptability of us humans makes us get used to things terribly quickly, and it helps on the screen front too. Upon first getting hold of the Samsung Galaxy S3 it felt that bit too big, but two months on it just doesn't. We even got used to the 5.5in Galaxy Note 2 pretty quickly.
However, if you have small hands you should definitely take note of the size issue. Even adaptability has its limits.
The giant screen of the Samsung Galaxy S3 makes it our top choice for web-browsing. With a screen this big, this high-resolution, there's so need to even thing about using mobile sites any longer. On this front, the Samsung Galaxy S3 has the edge over the iPhone 5.
On the fun front, though, the iPhone 5 has this argument on lock down. With such a healthy games and apps ecosystem, we found that we downloaded far more games with the iPhone 5 than the Samsung Galaxy S3. Yes, we spend more money but had more fun (or wasted more time) in the process.
If either gaming or web browsing are your key priorities, the choice seems a fairly easy one. Have other priorities? Check out the rest of our comparison below.
Release Date and Sales
iPhone 5 - Available now, 12 September unveiling, 21 September available date
Samsung Galaxy S3 - Available now, unveiled May 2012
The iPhone 5 is out there. Early supply issues meant that demand oustripped supply, but looking at the numbers it's no surprise. The iPhone 5 sold five million units in its first weekend on sale, and two million in its first 24 hours.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 has already been released, of course, and has done extremely well in its short time on this Earth. Back in July we heard that the phone had already broken through the 10 million sales barrier, making it a faster seller than either of its predecessors, the original Galaxy S and the hugely popular Galaxy S2.
By the end of 2012, analyst predictions suggest the iPhone 5 will sell around 26 million units. Samsung's own JK Shin has said he expects the Samsung Galaxy S3 to sell 30 million by the end of the year. Let's not forget that the Samsung Galaxy S3 has been on sale for a lot longer, though.
Watch our video comparison of the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3 >
Design
iPhone 5 - 7.6mm thick, metal casing, non-removable battery
Samsung Galaxy S3 - 8.6mm thick, plastic casing, removable battery
Apple has taken aggressive measures to make the iPhone 5 as thin as possible. The rear layer of glass has gone, the phone uses a teeny nano-SIM and the screen technology merges its constituent layers to squish everything down as far as possible. As a result it's just 7.6mm thick, a full millimetre less than the Samsung Galaxy S3 - which is 8.6mm thick.
It's extremely impressive, and Apple has also tweaked the design of the phone to make it feel a bit less severe in the hand, despite being mega-thin. Its edges are slightly bevelled, rather than stepped, so it feels little more… hand-friendly. You still might want to grab a case for the utmost in hand comfort though. Crucially, the new etched aluminium back is much less slippy than previous versions and build quality is exceptional.
There is one slight issue, though, that's a bit of a problem if you opt for the black version of the iPhone 5. As its rear is aluminium, it is quite scratch-prone. In the black edition, any scratches are clearly visible as they reveal the bright silver of the aluminium underneath.
It's not such a problem with the white version, but has already left many new iPhone owners a little annoyed. Apple has admitted this issue, but says it's normal for an aluminium device.
Check out the iPhone 5's new design in our iPhone 5 preview gallery >
Samsung's great white (well, pebble blue and white) hope for 2012 has an all-plastic finish that uses a flimsy, ultra-thin back cover. This is the one part of the phone that has caused the most criticism, as it doesn't make it feel all that much like a device you should be spending £500 on, even if in practical terms it's just as tough.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 is also significantly larger than the iPhone 5, thanks to its ginormous 4.8in screen. It's 71mm wide, while the iPhone 5 is around 58mm wide. Our top recommendation is to get hold of a Galaxy S3 before buying if it's on your hit list. Some will find it a bit too big for comfort.
Accessories
iPhone 5 - new-design Earpod headphones, new Lightning power connector
Samsung Galaxy S3 - microUSB charge cable, Samsung noise isolating IEM earphones, adapter
We don't normally compare the accessories of phones when we give them the head-to-head treatment, but Apple's accessories this time around are of note. The iPhone 5's headphoneshave been given a completely new design, one you just don't see elsewhere.
The headphones are called Earpods, and they're not the typical iPhone buds of old, or the common noise isolating IEM type either. They're small, made of plastic and are designed to nestle into your ear canals, offering a bit more noise isolation than the earbuds of old.
They're incredibly comfortable and fit securely too, and crucially for fellow train/coach/car/plane passengers, the Earpods leak much less sound to the outside world. They also sound pretty good too. Apple has completely redesigned the sound ports to boost bass and even out mid-range. The result is a surprisingly good listen, with good bass response and a notably wide sound stage. That said, they still don't block out external noise enough for our liking and we're only talking good for a £25 set of earphones - don't ditch your custom IEMs just yet.
The power cable of the iPhone 5 is also different, using the new 8-pin socket rather than the 30-pin type that has been in use for years. Apple calls it Lightning, which linguistically fits-in rather nicely with its Thunderbolt computer port. You also get a power adapter for the cable and a SIM removal tool.
Samsung's Galaxy S3 is more ordinary in its approach, though no less useful. It features a microUSB charge cable, a power adapter to plug this cable into and a standard pair of Samsung-branded IEM noise isolating earphones. The latter offer some external noise isolation but aren't actually that great when it comes to sound quality.
Screen
iPhone 5 - 4in IPS, 1,136 x 640 resolution
Samsung Galaxy S3 - 4.8in Super AMOLED, 1,280 x 720 resolution
Every generation of iPhone since the original of the species back in 2007 has uses the same size screen - 3.5in. That has all changed with the iPhone 5. It now has a widescreen 4in display of 1,136 x 640 pixels.
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