Smartphone wars: Samsung Galaxy S8+ vs. Apple iPhone 7 Plus

NOW Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8+ are official, how do they stack up against Apple’s iPhone 7 and 7 Plus? We break it down.

SAMSUNG’S flagship smartphones launch in just 29 days, giving investors less than a month to decide whether to opt for Apple, go for the Galaxy, or try something else entirely.

To make the decision easier, we’ve pitted the top two smartphones from both market leaders against one another: Samsung Galaxy S8+ versus Apple iPhone 7 Plus.

While their names are just one number apart, each has its own strengths and weaknesses, and your decision may depend on whether you prefer bigger screens or more cameras.

REVIEW: Samsung Galaxy S8 & S8+

NEW PHONES: Samsung’s resurrection

SCREEN

Apple’s biggest phone features a 5.5-inch LED backlit touchscreen that qualifies as a Retina Display. That’s because its resolution, at 401 pixels per inch, means you can’t pick out the individual dots even under close inspection with the naked eye.

However, Samsung wins this category as its S8+ not only packs a larger screen into similarly sized body, at 6.2 inches, but delivers a resolution of 529 pixels per inch. Its display is also certified as a Mobile HDR Premium screen, meaning it’s ready to display the wider colour range offered by new video formats.

Winner: Samsung

The Galaxy S8 features a larger display than its predecessor, the Galaxy S7, and sports a voice assistant intended to rival Siri and Google Assistant. Picture: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

CAMERA

The biggest change to Apple’s top iPhone was its photographic redesign. The iPhone 7 Plus added two 12-megapixel cameras — one wide-angle and one telephoto — delivering a 2x optical zoom.

Samsung refreshed the front camera on its latest phone, adding an extra three megapixels and autofocus, as well as a new Anti-Blur feature to its rear 12-megapixel camera.

On paper, it seems like Apple wins this round, though we have yet to test the new Samsung camera.

Winner: Likely Apple

Apple's iPhone 7 Plus features a camera with two lenses and water resistance for the first time, though it omits a headphone jack. Picture: Supplied

ASSISTANT

Samsung’s smart voice assistant, Bixby, makes its debut inside the S8+ and it comes with big promises.

The company says it will offer more commands, and command combinations, in Bixby-supported apps, will be aware of what you’re doing in an app, will let you combine touch and voice controls, and ask you more questions rather than give up on requests.

However, Bixby is still an untested proposition.

Apple’s Siri has been around since late 2011 and has become more useful over time. You can ask it to find nearby Japanese restaurants, open apps, or place video calls. It’s not infallible but it’s certainly useful.

Winner: Apple

Apple’s Siri has been around since late 2011 and has become more useful over time. Picture: Supplied

CONNECTIVITY

Apple’s big iPhone supports the latest wi-fi standards, Bluetooth 4.2 for use with its bonkers wireless earbuds, and an NFC connection exclusively for Apple Pay.

However, the newest iPhones don’t have a headphone jack any more, and the new Samsung phones kept theirs for good reason.

Even if they had given up the industry standard connection, the S8+ would win the connectivity stakes. It supports download speeds up to one gigabit per second (LTE Category 16), Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, and features a USB-C port.

Winner: Samsung

A more efficient processor means faster downloads, longer battery life, and less wasted energy. #UnboxYourPhone. https://t.co/pHVmdc8ZNj pic.twitter.com/oDVCK387so

— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) March 29, 2017

ACCESSORIES

Samsung’s new Galaxy S8+ accessories are both advanced and innovative.

The DeX dock plugs into a monitor, keyboard and mouse so this phone can be used to power an Android-based desktop computer experience.

The new Gear 360 camera looks even more promising, and can connect to the phone to live-stream 360-degree video to Facebook or YouTube.

There’ll also be a new Gear VR headset with a controller for this phone.

Apple is not short of accessories, however. From gimbals and connected baby monitors, to macro camera lenses and robotic balls, the biggest iPhone has a lot of bases covered.

Winner: Tie

The Samsung DeX dock plugs into a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Picture: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

STORAGE

Can you guess how much you’ll want to store on your phone now, or do you want to adapt later?

Neither Apple’s nor Samsung’s top models scrimps on storage.

Samsung’s Galaxy S8+ comes with 64GB as standard, and will support memory cards adding 256GB more.

Apple’s built-in flash storage might be faster to use, though you have to decide upfront whether you’ll need just 32GB, or as much as 256GB.

Winner: Tie

The Apple iPhone 7 Plus, right, doesn’t scrimp on storage. Picture: AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File

PRICE

Annoyingly, it’s hard to directly compare prices for these two phones.

Both sit comfortably at the high end of smartphone pricing, with a starting price of $1269 for Apple, and $1349 for Samsung.

But that doesn’t tell the whole story. The cheapest iPhone 7 Plus only gives you 32GB storage, while the Samsung Galaxy S8+ comes with 64GB and room to expand.

If you were to buy a 64GB MicroSD card for $30 from Officeworks, you could get a top model Samsung with 128GB storage for $40 less than its Apple equivalent.

Winner: Samsung by the cost of a DVD

People test out the new Samsung Galaxy S8 at its launch in New York. Picture: Supplied

OVERALL

With three out of possible eight wins, Samsung appears to claim technological victory, however it’s an indisputably close race and as little as six months until the next iPhones arrive and the battle begins afresh.

Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson travelled to New York as a guest of Samsung.