This week’s showdown steps up a gear as the latest Apple iPhone goes head-to-head with Samsung’s flagship smartphone the Galaxy S II.
It’s Apple versus Android in the fight for your hard-earned cash – but which one will win?
In the smartphone market, the iPhone 4S is flying, with sales hitting 4million in only 3 days, and the Galaxy S II is riding high, reaching the 10million milestone faster than any other Samsung phone.
So let’s take a closer look and see how these handsets fare alongside each other.
Design
There is a fairly big size difference with these two mobile phones. This is largely down to the screens as the iPhone 4S features a 3.5 inch Retina display (just like the iPhone 4) whereas the Galaxy S II has a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED Plus screen.
Both displays are incredibly detailed and boast rich colours and vivid images, although the iPhone 4S nudges ahead with 960×640 pixels resolution compared to the S2’s 800×480 pixels. However, as you might expect with these two big hitters, the fight is closely fought and the S II regains some ground thanks to its bigger display which is better for gaming and watching movies.
The Galaxy S II also wins when it comes to slimness, with an incredible 8.5mm thickness versus the iPhone 4S’s 9.3mm frame. And while it is taller and wider than the 4S it weighs a mere 116g (24g lighter than its Apple rival).
So it’s debatable which handset wins the design round. For build quality and sheer sharpness of image display, we have to hand it to the iPhone but for screen size and sleakness, the S II.
Power and OS
Dual-core, the iPhone 4S and Galaxy S2 provide speed and support for multi-tasking – one with a 1GHz A5 chip and the other with a 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor.
The A5 is super quick and recent tests revealed the iPhone is faster than the S II.
When it comes to operating systems, this will probably come down to personal preference, iOS or Android? The iPhone 4S runs on iOS 5 which delivers over 200 new features and supports Apple’s new intelligent assistant technology Siri; whereas the Galaxy S II runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and brings with it all the Google functions you could want.
Images
Again, the Apple and the Samsung smartphones are close in the photography round. Sporting high-end 8-megapixel snappers and 1080p video recording capabilities, the S2 just steals into the lead thanks to its 2-megapixel front-facing camera. However, the iPhone 4S does have video calling support with a VGA front camera.
Storage and battery
The iPhone 4S comes in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models.
The Galaxy S II is offered in 16GB and 32GB versions but with up to 32GB of microSD cards, meaning maximum storage is also 64GB.
With regard to battery, the S II is the winner as it supports up to 600 hours on standby, up to 18 hours of talk time on 2G and up to 8 hours of talk time on 3G. This compares with the iPhone 4S’s battery which runs for up to 200 hours on standby, up to 14 hours of talk time on 2G and up to 8 hours of talk time on 3G.
Verdict
Premium and desirable, the iPhone 4S and Galaxy S II are two of the hottest handsets currently on the market.
But when it comes to the overall winner, this one’s too close to call – Apple fans will no doubt choose the iPhone and Android enthusiasts the S II.
You decide: Is the iPhone 4S or Galaxy S II the winner?
| iPhone 4S | Samsung Galaxy SII | |
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| Operating System | iOS 5 | Android OS, v2.3 (Gingerbread) |
| Colours | Black, White | Black, White |
| Processor: | 1 GHz dual-core A5 | 1.2GHz dual-core A9 |
| Dimensions: | 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm | 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm |
| Weight: | 140 g | 116 g |
| Display Type: | LED-backlit IPS TFT | Super AMOLED Plus |
| Display Size: | 3.5″ | 4.3″ |
| Camera: | 8 MP | 8 MP |
| Video: | 1080p | 1080p |
| Data Speed: | HSDPA:14.4Mbps
HSUPA:5.8Mbps |
HSDPA:21Mbps
HSUPA:5.76Mbps |
| RAM: | 512 MB | 1 GB |
| Internal Storage: | 16/32/64 GB | 16/32 GB |
| External Storage: | up to 32GB | up to 32GB |
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