The Samsung Galaxy S II and Apple iPhone 4S are two top-tier smartphones available in the market today. The Galaxy S II has been a strong contender for the best Android smartphone since its release in the second half of 2011. In contrast, the iPhone 4S is the latest upgrade to Apple’s flagship iPhone series.
While the Galaxy S II operates on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the iPhone 4S dominates the market with the cutting-edge iOS 5. These two devices epitomize the ongoing battle between the Android and iOS platforms, which began when Samsung launched its original Galaxy S phone in 2010 as a competitor to the highly successful iPhone 4. Here’s a brief comparison between the Galaxy S II and iPhone 4S under some common parameters.
Form Factor:
In terms of form factor, the Galaxy S II holds a clear advantage over the iPhone 4S. The Samsung phone is one of the slimmest smartphones, with a thickness of 8.49mm. The new Galaxy S phone has dimensions of 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5mm, whereas the iPhone 4S maintains the same 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3mm dimensions as its predecessor, the iPhone 4.
Display:
The Galaxy S II features a large 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, making it one of the leading smartphones with a large screen. On the other hand, the iPhone 4S retains the standard 3.5-inch screen size of all its predecessors. The new iPhone’s screen employs IPS LCD technology and boasts a 960 x 640-pixel resolution. Many Apple enthusiasts have been calling for an increase in the iPhone’s screen size, which could result in the upcoming iPhone 5 featuring a 4-inch or larger display.
Processor:
The Galaxy S II is powered by a robust dual-core 1.2 or 1.5GHz Cortex A9 Exynos 4210 SoC processor, complemented by 1GB of RAM and an ARM Mali 400 MP GPU. Meanwhile, the iPhone 4S houses a 1GHz dual-core Cortex A9 processor with Apple’s renowned A5 chipset. The PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU gives the iPhone 4S an edge in graphical performance.
Camera:
The Galaxy S II was among the first smartphones to feature an 8-megapixel rear camera, capable of capturing Full HD 1080p video at 30fps with additional features such as autofocus, LED flash, and geo-tagging. For video chatting, the Galaxy S II includes a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. The iPhone 4S also sports an 8-megapixel camera with 3264 x 2448 pixels, a CMOS backlit sensor, and 1080p HD video recording capability. However, it only has a VGA front-facing camera for video calls.
Samsung designed the Galaxy S II to compete with the 2011 iPhone model. As Apple postponed the iPhone 4S release until late in the year, the Galaxy S II battled the iPhone 4 in the market for several months. With the debut of the iPhone 4S, several other high-end Android smartphones, such as the HTC Rezound and Motorola Droid RAZR, emerged as well. Consequently, the Galaxy S II’s significance waned. Currently, the Korean tech manufacturer is focusing on developing the Galaxy S III to counter the forthcoming iPhone 5 challenge from Apple.
Manuel Marino is a seasoned Senior Producer, Music Composer, and Artist with over a decade of experience. He specializes in branded entertainment across various mediums, including video games, films, and advertising campaigns. With 20+ years as a game music composer, Manuel has worked on numerous platforms, creating diverse orchestral soundtracks. HIRE ME
I’m not an Apple fanboy, but it does look like the iPhone 4S is the better device, the same way the S2 was better than the iPhone 4, and the same way the Galaxy S3 will be better than the iPhone 4S. Apple and Samsung are besting each others by turn at this point.
I use Galaxy S II as it more cost effective. But no doubt iPhone 4s is more popular
Galaxy S III is even more impressive. I’ve been lucky to study it carefully. No words. The friend who bought it asked me for a review. I can’t really say a word. It’s perfect. Now I just wait the iPhone 5 and I will choose carefully which one to buy.