Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs Apple iPhone 12

57 out of 100

71 out of 100

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.4-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (with Exynos 9 Octa 9810) that was released on August 9, 2018, against the Apple iPhone 12, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 26 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 Note 9

Comes with 1185 mAh larger battery capacity: 4000 vs 2815 mAh
The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
Modern USB Type-C port
Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 512GB
Has a 0.3 inch larger screen size
Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
Fingerprint scanner
Has 2 SIM card slots
12% higher pixel density (514 vs 460 PPI)

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12

2.4x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1061K versus 437K)
Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
Shows 16% longer battery life (32:27 vs 27:58 hours)
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 2-months newer
The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
Ready for eSIM technology

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and Apple iPhone 12 crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Type	Super AMOLED	OLED
Size	6.4 inches	6.1 inches
Resolution	1440 x 2960 pixels	1170 x 2532 pixels
Aspect ratio	18.5:9	19.5:9
PPI	514 ppi	460 ppi
Refresh rate	60 Hz	60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	No	No
Max rated brightness	520 nits	625 nits
HDR support	Yes, HDR10	Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 5	Ceramic Shield
Screen-to-body ratio	84.32%	86%
Display features	- Always-On Display	- DCI-P3

RGB color space	144.6%	99.4%
PWM	227 Hz	226 Hz
Response time	8 ms	16 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

Height	161.9 mm (6.37 inches)	146.7 mm (5.78 inches)
Width	76.4 mm (3.01 inches)	71.5 mm (2.81 inches)
Thickness	8.8 mm (0.35 inches)	7.4 mm (0.29 inches)
Weight	201 g (7.09 oz)	164 g (5.78 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Rear material	Glass	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	Black, Blue, Brown	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	135620	221376
GPU	103023	336882
Memory	87524	136582
UX	108426	363783
Total score	437260	1061696

Max surface temperature	48.7 °C	41.2 °C
Stability	95%	77%
Graphics test	13 FPS	45 FPS
Graphics score	2333	7603

Web score	5059	-
Video editing	5466	-
Photo editing	9362	-
Data manipulation	5812	-
Writing score	6149	-

RAM size	6, 8 GB	4 GB
Memory type	LPDDR4X	LPDDR4X
Memory clock	1794 MHz	-
Channels	2	2

Storage size	128, 256, 512 GB	64, 128, 256 GB
Storage type	UFS 2.1	NVMe
Memory card	MicroSD	No
Memory card max size	Up to 512 GB	-

Operating system	Android 8.1 (Can be upgraded to Android 10)	iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17)
ROM	One UI 2.5	-
OS size	19 GB	7 GB

Capacity	4000 mAh	2815 mAh
Max charge power	15 W	18 W
Battery type	Li-Po	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes, Qi/PMA (15 W)	Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse charging	No	No
Fast charging	Yes, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (50% in 35 min)	Yes (58% in 30 min)
Full charging time	1:40 hr	1:30 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	09:13 hr	11:23 hr
Watching video	12:59 hr	12:11 hr
Gaming	04:40 hr	05:05 hr
Standby	93 hr	119 hr

Main camera
Matrix	12 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	4000 x 3000	4032 x 3024
Zoom	Optical, 2x	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 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
Slow motion	960 FPS (720p)	240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens	-	120°
Lenses	2 (12 MP + 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 (Dual Pixel) - 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
Telephoto lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 52 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4" (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus - 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 - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode
Samples	Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy Note 9 from DxOMark	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	August 2018	October 2020
Release date	August 2018	October 2020
SAR (head)	0.381 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
SAR (body)	1.509 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
Sensors	- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs Apple iPhone 12

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 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