Head-To-Head: Apple iPhone 7 Plus Vs. Samsung Galaxy Note8

Mobile Showdown

Samsung's new Galaxy Note8 includes important enhancements to its display, processor and S-Pen – but is it enough to beat Apple? When Apple launched its iPhone 7 Plus in September 2016, the company added new features including a better processor, improved design and a removed headphone jack.

Samsung's newest 6.3-inch smartphone, which was released Wednesday and is available for pre-orders on Thursday, may be helpful for professionals in the workplace, while Apple's 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus might be a better fit for consumers – but it depends on what the end user is using the smartphone for. Following is a head-to-head comparison of Samsung's newest enterprise-targeted phone versus Apple's iPhone 7 Plus smartphone.

Display

Samsung has designed a bigger screen on its 6.3-inch smartphone – a feature that the company hopes will give enterprise customers more space to take notes, organize their calendar and send emails. This display is larger than the iPhone 7 Plus' 5.5 inches and extends across more of the phone's rounded surface – while the iPhone 7 Plus includes bezels around the display.

The Note8 also features a Super AMOLED Infinity Quad HD (2,960 x 1,440) display resolution, while the iPhone 7 Plus packs less pixels with an FHD (1,920 x 1,080) display – although the iPhone's Retina technology helps keep it bright and sharp.

Battery

The Samsung Galaxy Note7 models, released in August 2016, became infamous for catching fire due to a manufacturing glitch in the phones' batteries – an issue that ultimately led Samsung to issue a recall of the phone models in September 2016.

Apple's iPhone 7 Plus has a smaller 2,900 MaH battery than the 3,300 MaH battery of the Note8 – but customers might still be reeling from the Note7's battery issues. For the Galaxy Note8, Samsung has sought to reassure customers it has taken extra steps to check its batteries. emphasizing that its Note8's battery has undergone an eight-point battery safety check process, as well as additional testing from a third-party expert, Underwriters Laboratories.

Processor

The Galaxy Note8 features an Octa core 64-bit processor. This processor is 10 nanometers, meaning that the Note8 will have lowered drain on its battery and have more space inside the phone. The company said there are two options for processors – one that is clocked at 2.3GHz and can extend to 1.7GHz, and the other that has a clock speed of 2.35GHz and can extend to 1.9GHz. The iPhone 7 Plus, meanwhile, uses an A10 Fusion processor, which is clocked at 2.34GHz.

Memory and Storage

On the memory side, the phone contains 6 GB of RAM, as well as 64 GB of storage with expandable memory of up to 256 GB. The iPhone 7 Plus, meanwhile, features three options for internal storage, including 32 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB, and the phone contains 3 GB of RAM.

Cameras

The Galaxy Note8 has improved camera features – on the rear, the phone features two 12-megapixel cameras with Optical Image Stabilization on both the wide-angle and telephoto lenses – so that users can take pictures that control the depth of the field and take a close-up and wide-angle picture simultaneously. This seems enough to rival the iPhone 7 Plus, which has a 12-megapixel wide-angle and 12-megapixel telephoto camera on the rear, enabling enhanced optical zoom and digital zoom for photos.

On the front, the Galaxy Note8 has an 8-megapixel camera with smart autofocus, while the iPhone 7 plus has a 7-megapixel front camera.

Additional Features

The S-Pen has been one unique feature of the Galaxy Note lineup that differentiates the phone from its competition. The new Note8's S-Pen includes a finer tip and improved pressure sensitivity, as well as an improved translating feature that lets customers quickly translate text. The Note8 also adapts to Samsung DeX, the company's station accessory that helps transform the smartphone into an Android-powered desktop computer.

Apple, meanwhile, has omitted a headphone jack so that users can begin to adopt the company's new wireless EarPods, which use a Lightning connector. The Note8 still features a headphone jack and USB-C port for charging.

Water Resistance

Like the Galaxy S8, the Note8 comes with IP68 rating, so the device can survive in water for at least a half-hour at depths of up to 5 feet. The iPhone 7 Plus has an IP67 rating, which guarantees the phone can last for up to 30 minutes in up to 3.3 feet of water.

Security And Biometrics

The Galaxy Note8 features fingerprint and iris scanning biometric features. Samsung has also built features of its Knox platform into the software and hardware layers. Samsung said Knox will enable a secure folder that keeps users' personal and professional data separate. While Apple stays mum on its security platform for its phones, the Apple iPhone 7 Plus features fingerprint scanning biometrics as well as Touch ID.

Price

Samsung hasn't revealed pricing for its new smartphon, but said that pre-orders for the Galaxy Note8 will begin on Aug. 24 and the phone will be released on Sept. 15. The company will offer the phone in black and gray colors with both carrier and Unlocked by Samsung versions. Meanwhile, the iPhone 7 Plus, released in September 2016, has a starting price of $869.