How Does the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Compare to the Galaxy S7 edge and iPhone 6s Plus?

BY Sagar Gandhi

Published 10 Aug 2016

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The Galaxy Note7 is the latest flagship by Samsung and packs a whole bunch of new features as it becomes the Korean giant’s shiniest and most powerful baby ever. This begs the question: How does the specifications of the Note7 fair when compared to the Galaxy S7 edge or the Apple iPhone 6s Plus? Well, we decided to make it easier to see where each of those devices excel.

Design

  • Both the Galaxy Note7 and Galaxy S7 edge feature a dual-curve screen
    • In comparison, the iPhone 6s Plus only has a ‘flat’ screen
  • The iPhone 6s Plus has the lowest pixel density and screen resolution of 401ppi and 1,920 x 1,080 pixels respectively
    • The Galaxy S7 edge and Note7 both sport a QHD screen with 2,560 x 1,440 pixels
    • The Galaxy Note7 has a lower pixel density at 518ppi opposed to the 534ppi on the S7 edge
  • Both the Samsung Galaxy devices feature a glass back panel
    • The iPhone has an aluminium uni-body for the rear which is less prone to scratches
  • The iPhone has the largest size and weight, coming in at 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm and 192g despite the same screen size as the S7 edge
    • The S7 edge is the smallest at 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm and 157g
    • The Note7 is in-between the two at 153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9 mm and 169g
    • The Note7 has the largest screen at 5.7 inches, while the S7 edge and 6s Plus both have a 5.5-inch screen

Performance

  • The Galaxy Note7 and the Galaxy S7 edge, both use a 2.15GHz + 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor for the US market
    • In markets outside the USA, both the Galaxy devices are available with an octa-core Samsung Exynos 8890 processor (both processors are 64-bit)
    • Apple iPhone 6s Plus uses an A9 chip with a 64-bit architecture clocking in at 1.85GHz
  • iPhone 6s Plus comes with 2GB of RAM while the S7 edge and the Note7 have 4GB
  • The iPhone comes with the smallest built-in memory at 16GB, with a 64GB and 128GB variant
    • The Galaxy S7 edge comes with either 32GB
    • The Note7 only has a 64GB option
  • The Samsung devices feature expandable memory (up to 256GB) and dual-SIM
    • They Galaxy devices use a hybrid SIM card slot that lets one use either two SIM cards or 1 SIM card and a microSD card at any given time
    • The iPhone 6s Plus features neither

Camera

  • The Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy Note7 both use the same 12MP rear camera
    • This includes OIS, 1.4u pixels, f/1.7 aperture and Dual Pixel
    • The iPhone 6s Plus features a a 12MP camera with f/2.2, phase detection autofocus, OIS and dual tone LED flash
  • All three devices use a 5MP front facing camera
    • The aperture for the Samsung camera’s is f/1.7 that is paired with a wide-angle lens
    • The iPhone 6s Plus, however, uses a f/2.2 aperture

Battery

  • Surprisingly, the non-phablet Galaxy S7 edge has the largest battery capacity at 3600 mAh
    • The Note7 is slightly less at 3500 mAh
    • The iPhone has the least at 2750 mAh
  • Both the Galaxy Note7 and S7 edge support wireless charging
    • iPhone 6s Plus does support wireless charging and requires a special case to allow the same
  • The Note7 uses a USB Type-C charging port and is the first Samsung device to do so
    • The iPhone 6s Plus uses a similar, reversible lightning connector
    • The Galaxy S7 edge is still on the older micro-USB charging
  • Both the Galaxy devices can support fast charging as well as wireless fast charging
    • iPhone 6s Plus does not have this feature

Features

  • Only the Galaxy Note7 comes with a stylus dubbed the S Pen
  • The Note7 features a fingerprint and iris scanner (a first for mobile devices)
    • In comparison, the S7 edge and 6s Plus only feature a fingerprint scanner on the home button
  • The Samsung galaxy Note7 and Galaxy S7 edge are both IP68 certified
    • This would make the devices water and dust resistant, surviving up to 30 mins at a depth of 1.5 metres
    • The Apple iPhone 6s Plus on the other hand, is extremely weary of water and might stop working if dipped into a pool
  • Samsung’s Galaxy Note7 and S7 edge feature an ‘always on’ screen that displays the time and other notifications
    • This feature is not present on the iPhone 6s Plus
    • The always on display has faced controversy since it does consume a marginal amount of battery

For those who would prefer a nutshell comparison:

Specifications Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Apple iPhone 6S Plus
Display size, resolution 5.7-inch; 2,560 x 1,440 pixels 5.5 inches; 2,560 x 1,440 pixels 5.5 inches; 1,920 x 1,080 pixels
Pixel density 518ppi 534ppi 401ppi
Dimensions (Inches) 6 x 2.9 x 0.3 in. 5.9 x 2.9 x 0.3 in. 6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 inches
Dimensions (Millimeters) 153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9 mm 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm
Weight (Ounces, Grams) 6 oz.; 169g 5.5 oz.; 157g 6.77 oz.; 192g
Operating system Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow Apple iOS 9
Camera 12-megapixel 12-megapixel 12-megapixel
Front-facing camera 5-megapixel 5-megapixel 5-megapixel
Video capture 4K 4K 4K
Processor 2.15GHz + 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapgradon 820 processor (or Exynos, depending on region) 2.15GHz + 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor Apple A9 chip (64-bit)
Storage 64GB 32GB 16GB, 64GB, 128GB
RAM 4GB 4GB 2GB
Expandable storage 256GB 256GB None
Battery 3,500 mAh (non-removable) 3,600 mAh (non-removable) 2,750 mAh (non-removable)
Fingerprint sensor Yes Yes Yes
Connector USB-C Micro-USB Lightning
Special features S Pen stylus, water-resistant, wireless charging Water-resistant, wireless charging N/A
Price off-contract (USD) $850+ AT&T: $795, Sprint: $750, T-Mobile: $780, Verizon: $792, US Cellular: $780 $649 (16GB); $749 (64GB); $849 (128GB)

After comparing the specification, which device are you more inclined to purchase? Or would you wait for the new iPhone 7 to launch in September before deciding?