Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Apple iPhone 12

53 out of 100

71 out of 100

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 5.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S9 (with Exynos 9 Octa 9810) that was released on February 25, 2018, against the Apple iPhone 12, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 32 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Differences
Review
Specs
Benchmarks
Battery life
Camera
Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone

Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S9

Modern USB Type-C port
23% higher pixel density (568 vs 460 PPI)
Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 400GB
Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
Fingerprint scanner
Has 2 SIM card slots
CPU with a higher amount of cores (+2)
Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12

2.3x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1061K versus 457K)
Shows 58% longer battery life (32:27 vs 20:36 hours)
Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
Has a 0.3 inch larger screen size
Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
More energy-efficient CPU – Apple A14 Bionic
Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
The phone is 2-years and 8-months newer
The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
Ready for eSIM technology

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S9 and Apple iPhone 12 crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Type	Super AMOLED	OLED
Size	5.8 inches	6.1 inches
Resolution	1440 x 2960 pixels	1170 x 2532 pixels
Aspect ratio	18.5:9	19.5:9
PPI	568 ppi	460 ppi
Refresh rate	60 Hz	60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	No	No
Max rated brightness	658 nits	625 nits
HDR support	Yes, HDR10	Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 5	Ceramic Shield
Screen-to-body ratio	83.6%	86%
Display features	- Always-On Display	- DCI-P3

RGB color space	-	99.4%
PWM	240 Hz	226 Hz
Response time	7 ms	16 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

Height	147.7 mm (5.81 inches)	146.7 mm (5.78 inches)
Width	68.7 mm (2.7 inches)	71.5 mm (2.81 inches)
Thickness	8.5 mm (0.33 inches)	7.4 mm (0.29 inches)
Weight	163 g (5.75 oz)	164 g (5.78 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Rear material	Glass	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	Black, Gold, Gray, Blue, Purple	White, Black, Blue, Green, Red
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, rear	No

Chipset	Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810	Apple A14 Bionic
Max clock	2700 MHz	3100 MHz
CPU cores	8 (4 + 4)	6 (2 + 4)
Architecture	- 4 cores at 1.9 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 4 cores at 2.9 GHz: Exynos M3	- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm - 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm
Lithography process	10 nanometers	5 nanometers
Graphics	Mali-G72 MP18	Apple A14 GPU
GPU shading units	324	256
GPU clock	572 MHz	1278 MHz
FLOPS	~370.6 GFLOPS	~654.3 GFLOPS

CPU	141516	221376
GPU	136666	336882
Memory	82698	136582
UX	92188	363783
Total score	457170	1061696

Max surface temperature	39.2 °C	41.2 °C
Stability	93%	77%
Graphics test	13 FPS	45 FPS
Graphics score	2272	7603

Web score	5108	-
Video editing	5490	-
Photo editing	9516	-
Data manipulation	5720	-
Writing score	6311	-

RAM size	4 GB	4 GB
Memory type	LPDDR4X	LPDDR4X
Memory clock	1794 MHz	-
Channels	2	2

Storage size	64 GB	64, 128, 256 GB
Storage type	UFS 2.1	NVMe
Memory card	MicroSD	No
Memory card max size	Up to 400 GB	-

Operating system	Android 8.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 10)	iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17)
ROM	One UI 2,1	-
OS size	14 GB	7 GB

Capacity	3000 mAh	2815 mAh
Max charge power	15 W	18 W
Battery type	Li-Po	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes, Qi/PMA (10 W)	Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse charging	No	No
Fast charging	Yes (40% in 30 min)	Yes (58% in 30 min)
Full charging time	1:35 hr	1:30 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	06:04 hr	11:23 hr
Watching video	10:57 hr	12:11 hr
Gaming	02:42 hr	05:05 hr
Standby	70 hr	119 hr

Main camera
Matrix	12 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	4000 x 3000	4032 x 3024
Zoom	Digital	Digital
Flash	Dual LED	Quad LED
Stabilization	Optical	Optical
8K video recording	No	No
4K video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording	Up to 240FPS	Up to 60FPS
Slow motion	960 FPS (720p)	240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens	-	120°
Lenses	1 (12 MP)	2 (12 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.5 - 2.4 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Samsung SAK2L3 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization
Ultra-wide lens	-	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Sensor: 1/3.6" (CMOS)
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode
Samples	-	Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 from DxOMark

Selfie camera
Megapixels	8 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	3264 x 2448	4032 x 3024
Aperture	f/1.7	f/2.2
Focal length	25 mm	23 mm
Pixel size	1.22 microns	-
Sensor type	ISOCELL CMOS	BSI CMOS
Sensor size	1/3.6"	-
Video resolution	1440p at 30 FPS	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS

Wi-Fi standard	Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features	- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot	- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version	5	5
Bluetooth features	PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP	LE, A2DP
USB type	USB Type-C	No
USB version	3.1	-
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG	- Charging - USB-Storage mode
GPS	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo	GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
NFC *	Yes	Yes
Infrared port	No	No

Number of SIM *	2	1
Type of SIM card	Nano	Nano
Multi SIM mode	Standby	-
eSIM support *	No	Yes
Hybrid slot	Yes	No
LTE Cat *	18	18
5G support	No	Yes

Speakers	Stereo	Stereo
Headphone audio jack	Yes	No
FM radio	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes

Category	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	February 2018	October 2020
Release date	March 2018	October 2020
SAR (head)	0.362 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
SAR (body)	1.18 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
Sensors	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor

Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Apple iPhone 12

Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Apple iPhone 12

Key differences

Review

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Display

Design and build

Performance

Benchmarks

Memory

Software

Battery

Camera

DxOMark camera tests

Connectivity

Sound

Other

Conclusion