iPhone 7 Plus vs Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Full Comparison

The big boys face off! We compare the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has been out for a short while, but is facing a massive recall program due to issues with exploding batteries. It’s sure to hit the market again once fixed and in short order we expect, but with Apple having just launched the iPhone 7 Plus there is plenty of new competition for it to contend with. Which is the better phablet?

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 vs iPhone 7 Plus: Major Specs
Samsung Galaxy Note 7

Display: 5.7in, 2560×1440 pixel QHD, 518 ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Storage: 64GB + expansion via MicrosSD for another 256GB
CPU: Samsung Exynos Octa 8890 (64-bit); Quad-Core 2.3GHz Exynos M1 “Mongoose” + Quad-Core 1.6GHz ARM Cortex-A53
RAM: 4GB
Front Camera: 5MP
Rear Camera: 12MP with OIS, f/1.7 aperture, dual-pixel phase detection autofocus
Other: S-Pen Capacitive Stylus, IP68 Water And Dust Proofing, Fingerprint Scanner, Iris Scanner
iPhone 7 Plus

Display: 5.5in IPS LCD Retina 1920×1080 pixel resolution (401ppi), 3D Touch, Wide Colour Gamut
Storage: 32GB, 128GB, and 256GB
CPU: A10 Fusion processor
RAM: 3GB
Front Camera: 7MP with wide angle lens
Rear Camera: Dual-12MP, OIS, f/1.8 aperture, telefoto and wide-angle lens
Other: IP67 Waterproof, Capacitive Touch ID Home key
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 runs on the firm’s existing Exynos Octa 8990 chipset, the very same silicon running inside the Galaxy S7 and, as we know with that device, performance wise its a real workhorse of a chip, and quite battery friendly too. Although the 6GB of RAM that was rumoured didn’t materialise, it still has a hefty 4GB (note that the 6GB Galaxy Note 7 did launch…exclusive to China…yeah). Against this, Apple has introduced its new A10 Fusion chipset with 3GB of RAM, offering 40% faster speeds from the A9 with one fifth the battery consumption

On the storage side of things the Galaxy Note 7 has a single 64GB internal variant with microSD support up to 256GB (again, a larger 128GB variant is available in China). Apple has switched its storage options to include 32GB, 128GB and 256GB models and of course none of them support cards.

In short, Samsung has just about covered the bare essential of onboard storage but offers the flexibility of card storage, conversely, Apple hits all the right notes on internal capacity but if you need card support you are, as ever, out of luck.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 vs iPhone 7 Plus: Design & Features
The Galaxy Note 7 looks like a big Galaxy S7 EDGE, complete with the curved display, and metal and glass bodywork. It packs an S-Pen stylus, fingerprint and iris scanners for biometric security, and full IP68 water and dust proofing.

Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus likeiwse looks like a big iPhone 7, with the new discrete antenna band design, new black and Jet Black (gloss) colour options, and a capacitive (and Haptic) touch Home key. There are a few big firsts on the iPhone 7 series too though, including IP67 water and dust proofing and stereo speakers. It’s also ditched the 3.5mm headphone jack in favour of a multi-role Lightning port which now does audio as well as data and charging.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 vs iPhone 7 Plus: Display
Samsung is pretty much the king when it comes to display tech and that hasn’t changed with the Galaxy Note 7 – it is using the same critically acclaimed Super AMOLED setup found in the Galaxy S7, but of course on a larger 5.7in scale. This time it has a QHD resolution for stunning clarity, combined with Super AMOLED’s usual high quality contrast, colour, and brightness.

Apple’s display is a little smaller at 5.5in. It’s still an IPS LCD Retina panel with a 1920×1080 pixel FHD resolution and looks pretty damn sharp. Apple has also boosted the brightness by 25% and implemented a new wide colour gamut for improved visual quality. Is it better than the Note 7 though? Sadly until we get both in our hands we can’t say, but somehow we doubt it will best Samsung.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 vs iPhone 7 Plus: Camera
Despite a swirl of rumours surround the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung opted for a fairly straightforward imaging setup pulled directly from the Galaxy S7 flagship – a 12MP sensor with an f/1.7 aperture and Samsung’s unique, best-in-class dual-pixel phase detection autofocus, dual-LED flash, optical image stabilisation (OIS), 1/2.5″ sensor size, and 1.4 µm pixel size. Is it the best camera on the market? No. But it’s pretty damn good, up there with the best of them, and extremely user friendly and easy to get great results with.

Apple’s camera changes are a bigger deal this time round. The iPhone 7 Plus has a 12MP dual-sensor camera with one featuring a telefoto lens and the other a wide-angle setup, with specially made 6-element and 5-element lenses, a bespoke image signal processor, an f/1.8 aperture, an optical image stabilisation module.

source