Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. iPhone 12: Which phone wins?
Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. iPhone 12: Which phone wins?
In this Samsung Milky way S21 vs. iPhone 12 confront-off, nosotros pit these 2 phones against each other to see which is the best. Despite the fact that the iPhone thirteen is available to purchase, you might consider the iPhone 12 if you observe a skilful deal on one. The iPhone 12 has already proven to be a strong contender, with its OLED display, powerful A14 Bionic processor, and camera upgrades.
Just Samsung hasn't taking this one lying downward with the release of its new Galaxy S21 flagships. The Galaxy S21 is one of the all-time Android phones bachelor right now, with the latest Snapdragon 888 CPU from Qualcomm, a gorgeous brandish with a high refresh rate, and some of Samsung's best camera offerings.
- The all-time phones correct now: Where each phone ranks
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- Plus: Samsung calls iPhone 12 a 'downgrade' — yous be the estimate
This is a fierce battle with both phones putting up strong performances. The ultimate winner truly comes down to which works best for you, Android or iOS. Either way you get, you're getting extremely capable phones hither.
Where one phone does well, the other isn't far behind. Both are incredible devices — here'southward how this Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. iPhone 12 face-off shakes out. (To come across how the two telephone makers' larger phones compare, nosotros also have a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs. iPhone 12 Pro Max comparison.)
Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. iPhone 12: Specs
| Samsung Galaxy S21 | iPhone 12 | |
| Starting price | $799 | $799 on contract, $829 unlocked |
| Screen size | six.2-inch AMOLED (2400x1080) | 6.1-inch OLED (2532x1170) |
| Refresh rate | 48Hz - 120Hz | 60Hz |
| CPU | Snapdragon 888 | A14 Bionic |
| RAM | 8GB | 4GB |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB | 64GB, 128GB, 256GB |
| microSD | No | No |
| Rear cameras | 12MP (f/i.viii) wide; 12MP (f/two.2) ultrawide; 64MP (f/ii.0) telephoto 3x optical | 12MP (f/1.6) wide; 12MP (f/2.4) ultrawide |
| Front camera | 10MP (f/ii.ii) | 12MP (f/2.2) |
| H2o resistance | IP68 up to 1.5 m | IP68 up to half-dozen g |
| Battery size | 4,000 mAh | 2,815 mAh |
| Bombardment life | 09:53 (60Hz) / 06:31 (adaptive) | 08:25 |
| Size | v.97 x ii.8 ten 0.31 inches | 5.78 x 2.81 x 0.29 inches |
| Weight | 5.96 ounces | 5.78 ounces |
Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. iPhone 12: Price
Samsung learned a hard lesson with terminal twelvemonth's overpriced Milky way S20 series. For the S21 family, the company lowered prices by $200 beyond the lath. The base model S21 starts at $799, with the S21 Plus coming in at $999, and the S21 Ultra a lofty $1,199.
Apple technically kicks things off lower than the Galaxy S21 with the iPhone 12 mini, which starts at $699. The iPhone 12 costs $799 on contract (or $829 unlocked). The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max round out Apple tree's lineup, at $999 and $1,099, respectively.
The Milky way S21 and iPhone 12 are neck and neck in toll, every bit long as you buy the latter through a carrier — you pay an extra $30 to go the iPhone 12 unlocked. Even so, the S21 starts at 128GB of storage while Apple opted to start the iPhone 12 at 64GB.
Based on this and the unlocked price comparing, we retrieve the S21 wins, equally the storage disparity wipes out any price advantage Apple enjoys with the cheaper iPhone 12 mini option.
Winner: Galaxy S21
Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. iPhone 12: Design
Looking at strict measurements, the Galaxy S21 and iPhone 12 are very like in size and weight. The erstwhile measures v.97 ten 2.8 10 0.31 inches with a weight of 5.96 ounces. The iPhone 12, meanwhile is 5.78 x 2.81 x 0.29 inches and v.78 ounces. The differences are almost ephemeral in real globe use.
The Galaxy S21'southward design is an iteration on the one we saw with the Galaxy S20, simply with some refinements. Similarly, the iPhone 12 looks a lot like its predecessors, except that Apple decide to forgo the rounded edges and apply sharp corners instead. This won't exist to everyone's liking, and nosotros are torn internally on whether we like it or not. Some of my colleagues prefer the iPhone'southward flat edges; I don't, but this comes down to personal preference.
Samsung's biggest change with the Galaxy S21 design is the Contour Cut camera housing, which aesthetically integrates its trio of cameras into the chassis of the phone. The S21 keeps the hole punch cutout for the front end camera in the display, which is easily ignored once you outset using the phone. The iPhone 12's large notch heavily contrasts this.
The other major change in the iPhone 12's design is something you don't come across. There's a Ceramic Shield display that's designed to evangelize four times the drop protection of previous iPhones. It holds up very well in real-globe testing. Meanwhile the Milky way S21 is prone to shatter on its first drop.
In the end, both phones are marvels of engineering science. Using them daily is a cakewalk. However, i final way that Apple edges alee of Samsung is in h2o resistance. Both phones are IP68 rated, but the iPhone 12 can withstand water up to half dozen meters for 30 minutes. The Galaxy S21 can survive at depths of 1.v meters for 30 minutes.
Winner: iPhone 12
Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. iPhone 12: Brandish
You will not exist disappointed with the displays on either the Galaxy S21 or the iPhone 12. Both are OLED screens with punchy colors and deep blacks, and they have slap-up brightness ranges. From the coincidental observer'southward perspective, the displays on either phone are pretty shut to equal.
Information technology's getting into the finer details where we see some differences. Outset up, Samsung's 6.two-inch Dynamic AMOLED display, with its FHD resolution of 2400x1080, sports an adaptive refresh rate that can range from 48Hz all the way up to 120Hz for ultra shine scrolling and gameplay (where supported). You can also lock the S21's refresh charge per unit at 60Hz if you want to save on bombardment life.
The iPhone 12 packs a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with a slightly sharper 2532x1170 resolution. Apple tree didn't go for a high refresh rate for the iPhone 12 series, and so y'all're stuck at 60Hz. While iOS feels buttery polish already, Android at upwardly to 120 frames per second is sky. It's a divergence that's hard to unsee in one case you lot feel it.
For further technical performance, we expect to the results each display earned in our lab testing. The Galaxy S21, in its Natural setting, delivers 102.seven% of the sRGB colour spectrum and 77.4% of DCI-P3 with a Delta-E color accurateness score of 0.29. (The closer that last number is to nothing, the more than accurate the colors.)
Meanwhile, the iPhone 12 delivers 114.5% of the sRGB space and 81.one% DCI-P3 with a Delta-Due east score of 0.29. And then the iPhone'due south display is more than colorful though the screens recreate colors with equal accuracy.
In terms of brightness, Samsung's telephone outshines the iPhone 12. The Galaxy S21 can go up to 691 nits, while the iPhone 12 manages 569 nits at its highest setting in our lite meter tests.
While both telephone displays are very, very skillful, Samsung wins here. Not simply does the Galaxy S21 have that beautiful high refresh rate, but it gets noticeably brighter for outdoor employ. Looking at them both side-by-side, you'd be hard-pressed to pick ane every bit better than the other, but we prefer the S21.
Winner: Galaxy S21
Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. iPhone 12: Cameras
All four iPhone 12 models are amidst the best photographic camera phones that you can buy, regardless of whether you opt for the dual rear lenses plant on the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 or the triple photographic camera setup of the iPhone 12 Pro phones. That'southward considering hardware only tells some of the story for Apple'due south mobile photography. The neural engine on Apple'south A14 Bionic bit also delivers a lot of computational photography features that help every iPhone 12 produce superior shots.
For the Galaxy S21, Samsung kept the same photographic camera setup that nosotros saw on the Galaxy S20 final year — a 12MP main shooter along with a 12MP ultrawide sensor and 64MP telephoto lens. That'southward not all. The S21 benefits from what Samsung calls Infinite Zoom, which can offer 30x zoom photos. It'due south remarkable in real-world use, though information technology's more of a cool matter than something you're likely to utilise regularly.
This Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. iPhone 12 boxing largely comes downward to the cameras, since the phones are adequately equal otherwise. And the phone with the all-time camera depends heavily on what you're doing.
Starting off with max zoom photos, you tin run into the Galaxy S21's full 30x zoom is usable, if a bit noisy. Scaling back to 10x, you can clearly make out details on the apartment building, with even the shingles on the roof visible.
The iPhone's 12 max zoom, powered entirely by software, is clearly junior to the S21's zoom photos. Not only do you not get as shut to the subject area, but it's horribly blurred, despite my best attempts to stabilize my hand. A ton of detail is lost, especially in the foreground.
Heading outside, I snapped a quick movie of my street subsequently nosotros got a agglomeration of snowfall (for Virginia anyway). Each phone took a very different approach to this scene, as y'all can see.
The bush in the foreground of the Galaxy S21 shot is a vibrant green, almost too vibrant. The bluish Mazda off to the left is brighter than it actually is, and that burn down hydrant in the groundwork is very red. However, you can clearly make out the private bricks on the townhouse across the street. And the sky is true to life, since information technology was a gray, overcast mean solar day.
The iPhone 12 is noticeably dissimilar, darker in some ways. The bush that the S21 fabricated so verdant is much more than somber in this prototype. The Mazda off to the left is a much darker blue, much closer to real life. The fire hydrant, while nonetheless quite red, is a tiny bit more than muted. But with those bricks on the townhouse, it's harder to brand out each 1 individually, versus how clear they were in the S21'southward shot.
Since the day was overcast, I think the iPhone comes out on tiptop in this. This image is much, much closer to what my optics saw. The S21 was only too vivid.
Moving onto an indoor shot, this is a statuette of Merida with plenty of pocket-size details in her dress and paintwork. First up is the Galaxy S21. In this scene, the camera warmed everything up, giving my wall a faint reddish tint. The blue of her dress is flat and her hair is more orangish than it is in real life. And the candle off to the correct is way besides much of a warm yellow.
And and then there is the iPhone 12'due south shot. Right off the bat, you can tell that things are scrap libation than the S21'due south version. The wall in the background is truer to form, Merida's hair is that deep, fiery red, and the dark-green on her skirt looks richer. The iPhone 12 besides captures the shadows on the wall better, and the candle on the right is much more than accurate. The iPhone 12 is the obvious winner.
A hard photograph of my cat in her cat tree challenged both phones. The difficulty here is that there was a lot of light streaming in from the window and the true cat, who is already mostly black, is in the shadow of her true cat house with her face away from the light. The phones had to juggle giving enough exposure to see her while non bravado out the background.
With the Galaxy S21'southward photo, yous can meet clear details in the background through the sheer curtain and the scene itself is warm and true to life. You can brand out my cat'southward nose, her ears, and minor bits of her white mask without having to strain your optics.
For the iPhone 12, immediately, you'll notice the blown-out background. You probably can't even tell that in that location's a window there, allow alone visible details across the sheer curtain. The prototype itself is very cool, making the white of my cat's fur and whiskers a bit more brilliant than they actually are. The Galaxy S21 wins this one.
For portrait style, I took a photo of the keyboard I utilize most often. Information technology features a radiating RGB pattern with white pudding keycaps and a black plate. The Galaxy S21's portrait shot is pretty expert, capturing plenty of item, even if information technology feels a tad overexposed.
The iPhone 12, meanwhile, was pretty ambitious with blur radius, merely it captured the colors of my keyboard and deskmat beautifully. Information technology's hard to label one equally the winner here, so we'll call it a describe.
Testing out the night modes on both phones, yous can run across the results above. Both phones did very well making the number plate legible and capturing details of the light seedling within its fixture. The iPhone 12 made things noticeably brighter than the Milky way S21's shot. Otherwise, I'd take to give information technology to the iPhone 12 if pressed, but both shots work very well.
Finally, selfies. The Galaxy S21 captures the ruddiness of my face up and deeper red undertones in my beard better. Fifty-fifty though the sun had me squinting a bit, yous can encounter the blue of my eyes behind my glasses.
There's bear witness of confront smoothing here, simply it's not as well heavy-handed. Finally, the orange border on the Psycho Bunny logo on my shirt is true to life in the Galaxy S21 self-portrait, a sort of darker salmon colour.
This is the best selfie that the iPhone 12 put out. The sun was off to my right (left from the camera's perspective) and that blew out that side of my face. My hoodie looks brighter than it is in real life (it'south a medium-dark grey) and my beard is much darker than the S21'southward selfie. The blue of my shirt is besides a tad also bright in the iPhone 12'due south shot.
Personally, I prefer the S21's photo over the iPhone 12, and it's the one I'd cull were I to post to social media.
In other words, camera performance depends heavily on shots you like to take. The Galaxy S21 excels at zoom shots and portrait photos, while the iPhone handles colors and composition well. It's a category, that's besides close to call overall.
Winner: Depict
Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. iPhone 12: Performance
One area where the Galaxy S21 has trouble topping the iPhone 12 is raw performance. Simply put, the A14 Bionic flake inside the latest iPhones is the all-time-performing mobile processor we've tested in a phone, setting a high bar for any other chipset to clear.
Inside the S21, you'll notice 8GB of RAM and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888. Qualcomm says that the Snapdragon 888 can deliver a 25% boost in overall performance over the Snapdragon 865; similarly, the Adreno 660 GPU should improve the speed of graphics rendering by 35% over the previous chipset.
In our criterion testing, though, the S21 tin't match the iPhone 12. For example, Apple'southward A14 Bionic in the iPhone 12 scored an impressive multicore score of three,859 in Geekbench 5. The S21, meanwhile, topped out at 3,302. In our Adobe Premiere Blitz test, where a 4K video is transcoded to 1080p, the Galaxy S21 completed the test in 1 infinitesimal and 3 seconds. The iPhone did the same job in a blistering 26 seconds.
Benchmarks provide a clue to overall performance, simply they don't tell the full story. Using both phones together, there'due south hardly any noticeable difference in performance (non accounting for the smoother display on the S21). Neither phone is a slouch, but the iPhone 12 packs more than of a punch.
Winner: iPhone 12
Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. iPhone 12: 5G
While we'd have to spend a long menses of time testing 5G performance, we did pit the Milky way S21 against the iPhone 12 on low-ring Verizon 5G. The results were equally underwhelming, but they were also surprising. In our Galaxy S21 Ultra vs iPhone 12 Pro Max face up off, Samsung's phone handily vanquish the iPhone in 5G speed beyond AT&T and T-Mobile.
For our testing, we did v dry runs and 5 recorded tests in Ookla's SpeedTest app. Both phones were held in the same hand in the aforementioned position. Both reported a full point and they used the same Verizon SIM.
The iPhone came out alee with a mean download speed of 12.74 Mbps and the Galaxy S21 trailed with a hateful download speed of 10.34 Mbps. Again, neither speed is impressive — which is more than of a comment on the land of 5G these days — only it was interesting to see the iPhone 12 barely crush the S21, when the S21 Ultra proved so much faster than Apple'due south comparable device.
Winner: iPhone 12
Samsung Milky way S21 vs. iPhone 12: Battery and charging
Equally with 4G before information technology, early 5G tech has proven to exist hard on batteries. That's not surprising. iPhones normally fare pretty well in battery tests, but with the iPhone 12 series, all models only the 12 Pro Max saw disappointing results. By no means unusable, the iPhone 12, with its 2,815 mAh battery, is and then-and so in daily life — use it lightly and you'll exist fine, only push it too hard and you'll be looking for a charger.
In the Tom's Guide battery test, where devices are left to endlessly load webpages on a mobile broadband connectedness (5G in this case), the boilerplate is around 10 hours. This is considered good and some phones exceed that. That said, the iPhone 12 clocked a mere 8 hours and 25 minutes. The Galaxy S21 with its 60Hz way enabled scored nine hours and 53 minutes; that time fell to a disappointing 6.5 hours with adaptive mode on.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 has the leg upwards hither. Yes, it has a physically larger battery at 4,000 mAh, but Samsung has had a couple of generations of 5G tech now to get things right. The iPhone 12 is Apple tree's first 5G lineup, so some growing pains are inevitable.
In a surprise move, Samsung followed one of Apple's more controversial decisions with the iPhone 12. Only similar Apple tree's phones, the new Galaxy S21 phones ship without a charger, which Apple says is friendlier to the environment. You still become USB cables included, so you can buy fast charging bricks separately. Apple and Samsung are more than happy to supply you with i, for a fee.
Finally, nosotros test to come across how fast each telephone tin can charge from empty. In 30 minutes, the Galaxy S21 striking 55% while the iPhone 12 reached 31% in the same amount of time. It'southward worth noting that our lab used the wireless MagSafe charger on a 20W power brick for the iPhone 12's charge examination, whereas the S21 used a 25W charger.
Winner: Galaxy S21
Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. iPhone 12: Software and special features
The Galaxy S21 ships with Android xi pre-installed, merely future updates will exist touch-and-get. Samsung has launched a new policy to back up its devices with three major Android updates, but those unremarkably lag behind Google'south releases past several months. Previous Galaxy flagships were slow to become Android 11, for example, even though Google put out the update in September 2020. That doesn't leave me with much confidence nearly the speed with which the Galaxy S21 volition get Android 12.
iPhone users don't accept that result, of grade, since iOS updates are available at the same time for everyone. That ways the iPhone 12 runs the latest iOS 14 software, and when iOS 15 comes out this autumn, it will work with each iPhone 12 model.
With the Milky way S21, Samsung debuted OneUI 3.i. It continues Samsung's commitment to providing a more mature, cohesive software experience that rivals what Google and OnePlus offer. The three.1 update adds some new features, like Google Find integration on the dwelling house screen, Google Domicile device controls, Duo integration in the stock phone app, and likewise much more than to list here. The S21 benefits greatly from these.
The iPhone 12, meanwhile, uses iOS 14, the best version of Apple tree's mobile OS yet. The company has loosened things up a scrap, letting you lot cull your own default browser and email client. Yous can likewise shove all of your apps into the new App Library, which is like in some ways to Android's long-continuing app drawer. Everything just feels sleeker this time around. And iOS xv has some huge changes coming, similar changes to notifications, several core app overhauls, and more.
We recommend checking out our iOS vs Android face off if you're on the fence almost which mobile OS will be ameliorate for you. Both are exceptionally skilful at several things, and then it comes down to personal preference, though the availability of iOS updates gives the iPhone the edge by a whisker.
Winner: iPhone 12
Milky way S21 vs. iPhone 12: What about the iPhone xiii and Galaxy S22?
We now have to talk about the iPhone 13. The newest iPhones pack several key upgrades, possibly including a 120Hz refresh rate display (on the Pro models), ultrawide photographic camera improvements, and even a smaller notch. There are besides enhancements to the camera capabilities, like Photgraphic Styles and Cinematic mode.
These upgrades make the iPhone 13 an even more than serious competitor to the Galaxy S21, specially when it comes to the new A15 Bionic's operation.
But before we become to the Galaxy S22, there's nevertheless the Galaxy Z Flip three. This foldable starts at $999 and packs a lot of what makes the Galaxy S21 cracking into a foldable package. Just it suffers from terrible battery life and lacks a telephoto lens, so approach it carefully.
Galaxy S21 vs. iPhone 12: Overall winner
| Galaxy S21 | iPhone 12 | |
| Price (10 points) | eight | vii |
| Design (ten points) | eight | 9 |
| Display (15 points) | fifteen | fourteen |
| Cameras (20 points) | eighteen | 18 |
| Performance (15 points) | 11 | 15 |
| 5G (v points) | 2 | 3 |
| Battery and charging (15 points) | 12 | nine |
| Software and special features (10 points) | 9 | 10 |
| Overall (100 points) | 83 | 85 |
It's truly a very, very close race. The iPhone 12 just barely eeks out a victory over the Galaxy S21 and information technology could even be down to myriad variables. Both phones are incredible and you lot cannot go wrong with either. Simply one tin be "the all-time," though, and that's Apple tree's phone in this Samsung Galaxy S21 vs. iPhone 12 showdown.
Both phones cost the same, but yous get more storage with the S21 in exchange for a polycarbonate back. The S21's display is slightly amend thanks to the higher refresh rate, and it'due south more than reliable in the battery section, if you're willing to lock the brandish at 60Hz.
The iPhone 12, meanwhile, excels in performance and its over-the-top h2o resistance. It also trounce the S21 in some of our photographic camera tests, though it also fell behind in other shots.
Ultimately, which telephone really ends up being better for you comes downward to whether you prefer Android or iOS. Both the Milky way S21 and iPhone 12 have awesome cameras, great displays, and 5G support. They're also very pocketable, as well. If you're like me and tin can live with either OS, then you take a really tough selection to brand.
- More: How to remap the Bixby push on Samsung Milky way S21
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/samsung-galaxy-s21-vs-iphone-12-which-phone-wins
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