iPhone 5 vs Galaxy S3 – Which is Best?
On September 21st the iPhone 5 was finally released for sale to the public, after what seemed like a very long wait. The iPhone 5 has been getting mixed reviews, lots of people love it, and lots of people are slating it, claiming the Samsung Galaxy S3 is the new leader in the smartphone market. So, we’re going to compare the two devices and see which one really is the better of the two.
Let’s start with a video review courtesy of pocket now video, this video gives a nice comparison of the iPhone 5 vs the Galaxy S3, you get to see some nice shots comparing the design elements of both devices. Here it is:
The video should of given you a nice comparison of the two devices so you should have a very good idea of how the two devices compare visually and design-wise, as well as some idea of the features and specifications of each device. We’ll compare the specifications more closely below, so lets get to it:
The Design
There aren’t many design changes in the iPhone 5 compared to the iPhone 4S, Apple have always said that they take changing the iPhone very seriously, and they never set out to create a new phone, but rather, better the current one. In the iPhone 5 the most noticeable change on first glance is the bigger screen, it’s now 4-inch – we talk more about the screens in the next section. Another big change is the change in materials; the back of the device is no longer glass (which I’m sure many of you who have shattered 4S back’s will be happy to hear), it’s now an aluminium back-plate which looks very sleek.
On to the sizes: the iPhone 5 is 123.8 x 58.5 x 7.6mm and weighs 112g, compared to 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6mm and 133g in weight on the Galaxy S3. So, if you couldn’t tell from the video, the iPhone 5 is slimmer and smaller than the Galaxy S3, much more “pocket-able” – it fits easily in your pocket, the Galaxy S3 is heading more towards mini tablet size, rather than a mobile phone.
Since people have been able to get their hands on the iPhone 5 they have been putting it through all kinds of different tests, one of those tests is the “drop test”. This test really is as simple as it sounds, they drop the iPhone 5 from various heights to see how it fairs. I found a drop test comparison for the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S3, and the iPhone 5 won hands down – with very little damage on the iPhone 5 with drops from most heights, whereas the Galaxy S3 come to pieces with a low drop. That’s probably largely due to the Galaxy being made up of plastic parts, and the iPhone 5 being a uni-body aluminum shell.
The Design Winner: iPhone 5
The Screen
The iPhone 5’s screen is the first iPhone screen to be increased in size – ever. For the first time it’s been increased from a 3.5-inch screen to a 4-inch 16:9 screen. It’s no wider than the screen on the iPhone 4S, just taller; Apple say that this way it still fits perfectly into your hand, but you can still see more of your apps. There is also enough extra space on the screen to house another row of app icons on your home screen.
The Samsung S3 has a mammoth 4.8-inch display, so it’s almost an inch larger than the iPhone 5 screen.
According to some testing which has been done on the screens of both the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5 has a better pixel density (326 PPI over 306 PPI on the S3), it is brighter than the S3 screen and it has greater colour saturation than the S3, the only thing the S3 screen has on the iPhone 5 is its size, and its resolution. The S3 runs a resolution of 720 x 1280 and the iPhone runs a resolution of 640 x 1136.
Overall the iPhone 5 is the better quality screen, providing better quality viewing. But, the Galaxy S3 does have the bigger screen – so, if you’re after quality then you’re looking at the iPhone 5, if you’re after size then it’s the S3!
The Screen Winner: iPhone 5
The Camera
The camera specifications haven’t been updated much at all on the iPhone 5; it’s still the same specification as the camera on the iPhone 4S. The difference on the iPhone 5 is that the lens cover is now made of sapphire crystal instead of glass – this should make it more resistant to scratches.
The iPhone 5 does bring some cool software updates to the camera in iOS 6 though, firstly the panorama mode which lets you capture huge panoramic images simply by moving your iPhone across the path of what you want to photograph. Another change is the automatic face detection, which can now also detect multiple faces – it works well.
The iPhone 5 has updated the front facing FaceTime camera; it’s gone from being low quality VGA to being capable of delivering 720p video – so finally it has a good quality front facing camera.
The Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5 both have an 8 megapixel camera and can both record in Full HD 1080P video. The photo comparisons which I have seen (where the same photo has been taken on both the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5) seem to favour the iPhone 5’s camera – just take a look at the image at the top of this section to see the comparison between the two.
The Camera Winner: iPhone 5
The Processor & Battery
With the iPhone 5 we got the A6 processor, delivering twice the processing and graphics power as the A5 chip while shrinking the processor 22%. This new processor apparently runs at 1.3GHz, which compares to the 1.4GHz quad processor which is in the Galaxy S3.
Even though Samsung have clearly claimed that their device has better and more powerful specifications than the iPhone 5 does, this doesn’t seem to stop the iPhone 5 from beating the S3 hands-down on almost every single test which they are pitched up against each other.
The one test which I have seen the S3 beat the iPhone 5 on is processing speed, but whether that is a noticeable difference in speed or not I don’t know – I wouldn’t of thought so.
The Processor & Battery Winner: iPhone 5
So, which is best?
It’s clear that both devices are very impressive, and without a doubt, two of the best smartphones on the market to-date. But, for me, the iPhone 5 definitely wins it. It’s better build quality, it shatters all of the tests where it’s pitched up against the Galaxy S3. The only thing I think the Galaxy S3 has over the iPhone 5 is it’s huge screen, but I think the iPhone 5 screen is a much better size for a mobile phone!
iPhone 5 is our over-all winner!
What do you think? Do you own the iPhone 5 or the Galaxy S3? Are you happy with it? Which smartphone will you be buying?
Author Bio: Nathan loves all Apple products, especially the iPhone 5. He runs a service to Unlock the iPhone 5 quickly and easily from his website Unlock iPhone Worldwide.
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