Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus vs Apple iPhone XS

70 out of 100

57 out of 100

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.7-inch Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus (with Exynos 9 Octa 990) that was released on February 11, 2020, against the Apple iPhone XS, which is powered by Apple A12 Bionic and came out 17 months before. 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 S20 Plus

Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
Comes with 1842 mAh larger battery capacity: 4500 vs 2658 mAh
Has a 0.9 inch larger screen size
Has 2x more RAM: 8GB versus 4GB
Modern USB Type-C port
Shows 25% longer battery life (28:25 vs 22:46 hours)
Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1000GB
Fingerprint scanner
Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
18% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (707K versus 600K)
Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
Delivers 25% higher peak brightness (801 against 641 nits)

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone XS

The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
13% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1310 and 1159 points

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus and Apple iPhone XS crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Type	Dynamic AMOLED	OLED
Size	6.7 inches	5.8 inches
Resolution	1440 x 3200 pixels	1125 x 2436 pixels
Aspect ratio	20:9	19.5:9
PPI	524 ppi	458 ppi
Refresh rate	120 Hz	60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	No	No
Max rated brightness	800 nits	625 nits
HDR support	Yes, HDR10+	Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 6	Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio	90.5%	82.9%
Display features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display	- DCI-P3

RGB color space	99.7%	98.8%
PWM	214 Hz	240 Hz
Response time	9 ms	4.4 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

Height	161.9 mm (6.37 inches)	143.6 mm (5.65 inches)
Width	73.7 mm (2.9 inches)	70.9 mm (2.79 inches)
Thickness	7.8 mm (0.31 inches)	7.7 mm (0.3 inches)
Weight	186 g (6.56 oz)	177 g (6.24 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Rear material	Glass	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	Black, Gray, Red	Silver, Gold, Gray
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, in-display	No

Chipset	Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 990	Apple A12 Bionic
Max clock	2700 MHz	2490 MHz
CPU cores	8 (2 + 2 + 4)	6 (2 + 4)
Architecture	- 4 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 2 cores at 2.5 GHz: Cortex-A76 - 2 cores at 2.73 GHz: Exynos M5	- 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Tempest - 2 cores at 2.49 GHz: Vortex
L3 cache	2 MB	-
Lithography process	7 nanometers	7 nanometers
Graphics	Mali-G77 MP11	Apple A12 GPU
GPU shading units	704	256
GPU clock	550 MHz	1100 MHz
FLOPS	~1126 GFLOPS	~576 GFLOPS

CPU	200722	151927
GPU	194919	141208
Memory	132605	104587
UX	175768	200467
Total score	707030	600311

Max surface temperature	48.1 °C	44.8 °C
Stability	53%	63%
Graphics test	25 FPS	34 FPS
Graphics score	4298	5700

Web score	8553	-
Video editing	5864	-
Photo editing	31253	-
Data manipulation	8577	-
Writing score	12260	-

RAM size	8 GB	4 GB
Memory type	LPDDR5	LPDDR4X
Memory clock	3200 MHz	2133 MHz
Channels	2	2

Storage size	128 GB	64, 256, 512 GB
Storage type	UFS 3.0	NVMe
Memory card	MicroSD	No
Memory card max size	Up to 1000 GB	-

Operating system	Android 10.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)	iOS 12 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17)
ROM	One UI 4.1	-
OS size	23.6 GB	11.8 GB

Capacity	4500 mAh	2658 mAh
Max charge power	25 W	15 W
Battery type	Li-Ion	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes (15 W)	Yes, Qi (10 W)
Reverse charging	Yes, (wireless)	No
Fast charging	Yes (100% in 84 min)	Yes (50% in 60 min)
Full charging time	1:25 hr	2:40 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	09:33 hr	07:30 hr
Watching video	13:44 hr	09:19 hr
Gaming	03:54 hr	04:43 hr
Standby	92 hr	80 hr

Main camera
Matrix	12 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	4000 x 3000	4032 x 3024
Zoom	Optical, 1.1x	Optical, 2x
Flash	LED	Quad LED
Stabilization	Optical	Optical
8K video recording	Up to 24FPS	No
4K video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
Slow motion	960 FPS (720p)	240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens	120°	-
Lenses	4 (12 MP + 64 MP + 12 MP + 0.3 MP)	2 (12 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.76", Samsung S5K2LD (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Apple iSight X (CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens	- 64 MP - Aperture: f/2.0 - Focal length: 29 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.72", Samsung Bright S5KGW2 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 52 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4" (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization
Ultra-wide lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Samsung S5K2LA (ISOCELL CMOS)	-
Depth lens	- 0.3 MP - Aperture: f/1.0	-
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support
Samples	Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus from DxOMark	-

Selfie camera
Megapixels	10 megapixels	7 megapixels
Image resolution	2592 x 3872	3088 x 2316
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.2
Focal length	26 mm	32 mm
Pixel size	1.22 microns	1.12 microns
Sensor type	CMOS	CMOS
Sensor size	1/3.2"	-
Video resolution	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS	1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS

Wi-Fi standard	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax)	Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features	- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display	- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version	5	5
Bluetooth features	LE, A2DP	SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type	USB Type-C	No
USB version	3.1	2
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG
GPS	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
NFC *	Yes	Yes
Infrared port	No	No

Number of SIM *	2	1
Type of SIM card	Nano	Nano
Multi SIM mode	Standby	-
eSIM support *	Yes	Yes
Hybrid slot	Yes	No
LTE Cat *	22	16
5G support	No	No

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

Category	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	February 2020	September 2018
Release date	March 2020	September 2018
SAR (head)	0.38 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
SAR (body)	1.57 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
Sensors	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Compass - Fingerprint	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor

Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus vs Apple iPhone XS

Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus vs Apple iPhone XS

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