Samsung Galaxy Note 7 vs Apple iPhone 7 Plus: Samsung’s new phablet faces its stiffest competition from the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
Samsung recently launched the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to rave reviews, pairing because it does the superior layout of this Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge using all the business-orientated features of this Note tablet range.
Given the time of its launch in mid-August, Samsung’s new mobile has just had a month to develop a lead over Apple’s new flagship phone, the iPhone 7. However, now that Apple has performed its hand, how can both devices compare?
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Table of Contents
Comparing Samsung Galaxy Note 7 vs. Apple iPhone 7 Plus
[amazon bestseller=”Smartphones” items=”6″ template=”list”]Design
As alluded to previously, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 borrows a lot of its layout in the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge – that, as regular readers will know, it is pretty much our favorite phone design available in the industry at the moment.
It’s that alluring dual-curve screen, an all-glass rear (which can be curved), which shiny finish that varies based on this lighting angle.
Unexpectedly, the iPhone 7 appears very similar to the last season’s iPhone 6S – a dead ringer for 2014’s iPhone 6 that, even at the moment, was not seen as much of a looker.
There are gaps in this iPhone 7. However, they are slight. The rejigged antenna layout partly rectifies one of the most bizarre aspects of this iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6S. As broadly promoted, Apple has also done away with the 3.5millimeter headphone jack – completely. Not, this has some substantial aesthetic posture. Nor does the iPhone 7’s recently fixed house button.
There is excellent news for people who were lovers of this all-black iPhone of older. Black is back, and in 2 colors no less. Out goes Space Grey and incomes Dark Black and glistening Piano Black – all the best to co-ordinate with these all-black Apple Watch versions.
We had possibly back the iPhone 7 when it comes to robustness. The iPhone 6S has been a very rocky mobile that could resist overall nicks and scratches surprisingly well, so we’re anticipating the iPhone 7 to become comparable. On the other hand, Samsung’s current layouts look to scratch and dink if you so much as look at these harshly – and you will find reports of this Note 7 being fairly scratch-prone, regardless of the existence of Gorilla Glass 5.
The Galaxy Note 7 will probably be more demanding than the iPhone 7 when taking a dip. The Samsung is IP68 certified, while none of Apple’s telephones have been up to now. Sure, the iPhone 7 includes an IP67 certificate.
Hardware
Apple and Samsung have done their best to discharge exquisitely polished curved rectangles with cameras around the back and home buttons on the front. On both phones, the screen takes up a substantial part of the front, and whatever color you decide to buy dominates an otherwise featureless rear.
That all may seem generic, but it makes a good point: the two phones appear more similar than previously. We are comparing Apple’s Black iPhone 7 Plus into Samsung’s Dark Onyx Note 7, and it is tough to tell them apart from across an area when they’re sitting face up. If we’d been able to procure a Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus, a feat that’s in the time of composing near hopeless, the gaps could be less noticeable. This stage is intriguing for two reasons. One, it is uncommon for Apple to launch a telephone beyond the S cycle, which does not have a substantial external redesign; and 2, Samsung’s industrial layout is that damn great today.
After you pick up the Note 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the gaps become clearer. The matte black iPhone supplies a textured surface with a small grip, while Samsung’s glass rear motivates you to grasp the sides to avoid slipping securely. This detail is much more critical for the bigger iPhone 7 Plus, whose entire body makes it hard to reach all of the screen’s ways using a thumb. Apple has done nothing to improve the screen-to-body ratio over the seven series that produces a bigger system compared to Note 7 even though a more compact screen.
The screen is not just smaller; it is also packing a lesser resolution – 1080p at 1440p – also is a complete less compact. There is simply no competition between both of these screens. Samsung provides a brighter panel using sharper text, and the curved AMOLED layout means pictures only fall off the edge of the telephone. Both screens even make use of their brand new, 26% broader DCI-P3 Color Gamut, which usually means you are seeing true-to-life colors more akin to a human eye. Reds are redder and yellows more bright.
Earlier I called this iconic indented circle around the front of the iPhone 7 Plus as a button, but that is no more true. There is no actual button anymore, simply pressure-sensitive glass along with a fingerprint sensor. That is Apple’s “Taptic Engine,” very similar to what you will see in an Apple Watch or a MacBook trackpad. In Apple’s additional adventures, this vibration engine delivers an exceptional experience which not only correctly simulates a button press but provides enjoyable visual feedback in a non-disruptive way.
On the iPhone 7 Plus, this adventure will not entirely mimic the press of a button. You feel that the click all of the way through the telephone’s entire body, which is somewhat disorienting for the first day or two, which you utilize it. One thing it doesn’t do is negatively affect the operation of Touch ID, which remains among the most excellent fingerprint detector experiences available now. It is no longer or less suitable than it had been earlier, so it offers something almost equal to what you get about the Galaxy Note 7. The only real advantage for this new layout will be located over time, without acquiring the house button substituted after two decades of competitive use.
It would not be a Note with no S Pen, and as with each prior year, Samsung has improved pressure sensitivity and created a few moderate ergonomic adjustments. You rely on such a pencil daily and appreciate it exists, or you pull it out after to confirm it’s rather than use it, and that is alright. It is a fantastic tool for people who want the attribute, and that is what Samsung is about at this time. Samsung also has been a 3.5millimeter headphone jack, removable storage, and wireless charging. None of those features can now be found on the hottest iPhone, and if one or more, one of these features must exist has been a heated topic of debate.
The two of these phones feel and look great from the moment you pick them up in the morning to the minute you place down them to bill at night. The build quality for both would be outstanding, which these telephones are among the only two which sit with this costly base as genuinely premium experiences are essential.
Software
It will not usually make a great deal of awareness to compare iOS on Android. Google and Apple concentrate on entirely different matters, and at the close of the day, you place significance in glossy singularity or merged diversity. Android joins as many aspects of the programs to each other to get an excellent overall experience. For iOS, every program is its unique playground, which only talks to a few different programs, but it is a very wonderful playground. Simply speaking, this section isn’t going to debate the merits of both iOS and Android.
Instead, it is essential to charge Apple for this incredibly polished software encounter on iOS 10, thanks in no small part to the total amount of management Apple has over its processor. To put it differently, the iPhone 7 will be the quickest phone in life now. Downloading programs out of the App Store occurs in the blink of an eye, and launching those programs has never been quicker. This iPhone 7 Plus frequently requires the Note 7’s lunch money regarding functionality, in the smoothness of rotating from portrait to landscape into the sub-second launch of the camera program. It is more than a bit remarkable, and you will feel it in each feature of the program.
That is having been said; it is time for Apple to catch up with a few much-desired features. It does not do the consumer any good to create the camera launching this quickly should you still need to jump through hoops for it at the first location. Samsung’s house button dual tap means I will reach in my pocket and have the camera program loaded before I am even prepared to line up the photo I wish to take. Apple requires an equivalent; it does not exist because they are only just now figuring out that people need a clear all button to get their notifications.
If Apple could be dinged for moving too slowly on prominent features, Samsung has to be held liable for stuffing everything but the kitchen sink in its Android version. Between company bloatware, a retina scanner compared to only works sometimes, and entirely separate programs shop with its own rules, it is simple to be inundated with Samsung’s offerings. Some of it’s well concealed, such as the Virtual Reality stage, which only activates once you connect your telephone to the Samsung Gear VR, but maybe not everything treats the consumer with the same amount of esteem.
If Apple could be criticized for moving too slowly on incorporating features, Samsung has to be held liable for stuffing everything but the kitchen sink in its Android version.
Samsung and Apple both confront intriguing application challenges this season. Apple is shining themselves into a corner, making UI encounters where you will find back buttons at the notification tray and layout guidelines that cause frequent casual taps. Samsung still lacks full optimization and contains a horrible habit of shoving things onto the consumer. Neither experience is “the ideal way” for everybody, but it is not tough to understand how so many could visit Apple’s offering because of the palatable option.
Read also: Samsung Galaxy Note 7: Everything you need to know!
Screen
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 includes a gorgeous 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED screen. It is the absolute best in the company, bar none. The Quad HD resolution is still the same as previously, to get a 518ppi pixel density. Where Samsung has improved things is with the addition of Mobile HDR, which contributes to an even more vibrant, high-contrast image on your movies.
Unexpectedly, Apple’s mobile screen technology stays a little inactive. The business opts for the same 4.7-inch screen using a 326ppi pixel density to your iPhone 7 and a 5.5-inch using a 401ppi pixel density to your iPhone 7 Plus. Additionally, it is employed the same IPS LCD panel technology for many years now, and it finds itself tracking Samsung on nearly all counts.
That is not to mention the iPhone 7 screen is not an improvement over previous versions, however. Apple has given it a much wider color gamut, much as it did with all the iPad Pro, resulting in a more vibrant image.
We will have to go hands-on to be certain, but we can not see how this will be sufficient to close the considerable gap between the iPhone 6S screen and that of those Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
Naturally, both screens have additional tricks up their sleeves outside a fantastic assortment of colors. In the instance of this Galaxy Note 7, it takes the shape of the S Pen stylus. Popping from the apparatus’s base allows you to jot down your ideas and messages in a pragmatic manner. This time you receive improved 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, also, and it is also possible to use it to immediately translate foreign text or produce fast GIFs from YouTube videos.
The iPhone 7we receive a continuation and a growth of this 3D Touch technology that surfaced with the iPhone 6S. This allows you to access additional UI components by pressing a little harder on the screen and can accompany a subtle chain of vibrations through a sophisticated vibration engine.
With iOS 10 places to shoot these 3D Touch components even further, the iPhone 7 screen should provide a lot more depth and nuance than your regular phone.
But over the Galaxy Note 7? That remains to be seen.
We ought to have this opportunity to mention a single connected region of this iPhone 7 that has unexpectedly taken a jump over the Galaxy Note 7 – its own audio output.
Though the Samsung phablet is stuck using weedy mono noise from one speaker, Apple has fitted the iPhone 7 using another speaker in the gadget’s earpiece. This means proper stereo audio for landscape gaming and video.
It is a shame, actually – that the Galaxy Note 7’s phenomenal display ought to have left it the press king. Having a pair of headphones is pretty much, but if you leave these at home, you are out of luck.
Conversely, of course, in case you’ve got a costly pair of wired headphones, then you’re going to want a fiddly adapter to make them operate together with the jack-less iPhone 7. You can not have everything, it seems.
Read also: iPhone 7 vs iPhone 7 Plus – Which Apple Phone Should You Pick? [New 2021]
Performance
The Galaxy Note 7 isn’t what you would call home, but it uses the identical processor as the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. This means either the Snapdragon 820 or Exynos 8890 CPU, based on your geographical area.
Both chips are competent, and they nudge before their iPhone 6S’s A9 CPU in many regions. However, the iPhone 7 has surfaced Apple’s next-gen A10 Fusion processor, and it is looking to be a monster.
Apple has continued with its speed of CPU performance improvement. The A9 was 50 to 70% quicker than the A8, and the A10 marks a 30% improvement over the A9.
We will have to conduct some hands-on evaluations to be specific, however, the iPhone 7 is looking set to be the newest mobile CPU champ – in a range of the critical situations (we will not enter the practical differences between a dual-core and quad-core installment here).
The Galaxy Note 7 will have double the RAM of the iPhone 7 – 4GB versus 2GB, together with all the iPhone 7 Plus with 3GB, apparently – but that has never been an incredibly useful metric for comparison. Android and iOS are just too different, as well as Samsung using its clunky custom made components, Apple’s telephones have always felt markedly smoother than people of Samsung.
Camera
Ew areas from the smartphone world are as aggressive and participating because of the camera. For many years Apple was the title as it arrived at the ideal telephone camera, but the previous two years’ Samsung and many others have awakened in really significant ways. Apple furthered that dialog with the inclusion of another detector and lens at the iPhone 7 Plus, which delivers 2X optical zoom (a 56mm equal focal space) without having to rely on electronic zoom.
That small difference in aperture turns out to imply there is a gap in low light photography, and it typically functions in Samsung’s favor.
Samsung’s focus this season is on a single good 12MP camera using an f/1.7 aperture and OIS. On paper, it is very like Apple’s 12MP detector, paired together with lenses in f/1.8 or f/2.8 based on if you are triggering the zoom. Both mobiles capture lots of detail and brilliant colors, but Apple also takes photographs in precisely the same DCI-P3 Wide Colour Gamut as the iPhone 7 Plus screen, so those colors are more true to life. Samsung’s Note 7 detector will catch many excellent paints, but it could sometimes seem unnaturally saturated.
That small difference in aperture turns out to mean there is a small gap in low light photography, and it typically functions in Samsung’s favor. Night photographs with iPhone 7 Plus will be considerably improved over its predecessor but introduce sound to compensate for the shadow. You also don’t wish to use the 2X zoom mode at night whatsoever if you need good shots, which can be unfortunate. Despite being slightly less low light-capable, Apple asserts precisely the same motion-capture capability at nighttime, and Samsung now doesn’t. Low lighting blurriness is not a constant problem for Note 7, but it could sometimes ruin an otherwise fantastic picture.
You honestly can not go wrong with either camera. They are both fantastic for smartphones, along with the quality differences between the two are so slight you are unlikely to be able to tell the two apart – something we put to the test very lately with a blind camera evaluation.
Video: iPhone 7 Plus vs Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Camera Test Comparison
Storage
These two (OK, three) telephones provide you with vastly different choices on the front. Samsung has gone with one fixed memory rate of 64GB, backed up with a MicroSD slot for up to 256GB of growth.
Apple still does not encourage microSD using the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but it will provide three adjusted storage choices – and they have been radically increased over previous decades.
In the last, the weedy 16GB alternative is not any longer. In its location yields the 32GB unit, now as an entry-level alternative. We approve; however, let us not eliminate sight of how this should have occurred years ago.
The mid-tier solution is a far more capacious 128GB, whereas the top grade provides a whopping 256GB of fixed storage. If you are a 4K video-shooting fiend, that is likely to sound mighty attractive.
The Galaxy Note 7 possibly boasts the storage for these 4K film manufacturers (although a fast 256GB microSD does not come cheap), which 2K screen is going to do a far better job of representing your handiwork in regards to viewing it back to the apparatus.
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Which should you buy?
Finally, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 unique is the group of great ideas that you can mold to the encounter, which is most appropriate for you. There is no single attribute or meeting that catches you as this exceptional item. Still, the capability to place these personal thoughts together and make your no-compromise telephone with its fun pair of features is superb. Additionally, it is somewhat clumsy and perplexing if all you need is a “cellphone that does programs” and enables you to post to Facebook.
The iPhone 7 Plus signifies over another iteration in Apple’s layout and applications; it is another iteration of Apple’s entire ethos. This is a telephone that works nicely, provided that you use it the way Apple thinks you ought to use it. Apple “courageously” established a singular experience that’s beautiful and strong in its manner and weirdly restricting and sometimes artificial in ways that are just plain unnecessary.
Which should you buy? But if you would like a phone, you may research and create your own, understanding its features you will probably never use but may nevertheless be a fantastic general experience, you desire a Note 7. If you’d like the most effective mobile with the truest to life imagery and do not mind being told you do not require the other features you may discover interesting to get that expertise, the iPhone 7 Plus is outstanding.