Samsung Galaxy S2 and Apple iPhone 4S: How Do They Stack Up?

The battle between high-end smartphones is getting hotter by the day, with two most talked-about phones being Samsung Galaxy S2 and Apple iPhone 4S. Both the phones promise blazing performance but there still could be some differences between the two that could influence consumers when it comes to choosing one.

Apple Inc. unveiled the iPhone 4S, instead of the eagerly-anticipated iPhone 5, on Oct. 4. As it turned out, the smartphone featured some important upgrades that were rumored to be a part of the imaginary iPhone 5, like the 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU, an Apple A5 chipset and a 8-megapixel camera. It also has a 3.5-inch TFT Retina multi-touch display and is loaded with the latest Apple operating system iOS 5.

However, missing were prominent specs like edge-to-edge design, a larger display, 4G LTE and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. It also comes with alternating antennae for better call reception, CDMA and GSM support, a personal assistant called Siri, iCloud and Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology.

The Apple smartphone has a Li-Po 1,420 mAh battery, with 8 hours of talk time on 3G networks and up to 14 hours on 2G networks (GSM). With a two-year contract, the iPhone 4S costs $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for the 32GB model and $399 for the 64GB model. Apple-listed prices for a contract-free phone in the United States are $649 for the 16GB model, $749 for 32GB and $849 for the 64GB.

Samsung Galaxy S2 has officially sold 10 million units since its global launch in late April. Galaxy S2, which runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS and sports Samsung's TouchWiz UI, comes with an 8-megapixel camera with flash and can record HD video in 1080p offering the richest video content on a smartphone. The phone also has the front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video chat.

The Galaxy S2 comes in three variants, on AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, whose version is called Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch. All versions of the Galaxy S2 will get 4G treatment, offering data speed up to four times faster than Apple's iPhone 4.

Both the devices from Samsung and Apple offer quite a blazing performance thanks to dual-core processing power. But there are enough differences between the two that could make you choose one over the other.

Here is a comparison between Apple iPhone 4S and Samsung Galaxy S2:

Operating System: Samsung's Galaxy S2 runs on the latest version of Google’s smartphone operating system, Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS. On the other hand, Apple’s iPhone 4S runs on iOS 5, which is the newest of the OS versions. The new iOS 5 comes with 200 new features that will include Improved Notifications System, News Stand and iMessage.

Though Gingerbread isn't quite as refined as iOS yet, it has true multitasking support and is Google's best bet yet against iOS -- at least until it releases Ice Cream Sandwich. It is left to see which platform will outsmart the other in the long run.

Size: Samsung Epic 4G Touch on Sprint comes with a 129.5 x 68.6 x 9.6 mm dimension and weighs 129 grams, while the T-Mobile version has 131 x 70 x 9 mm dimension. As the AT&T version retains 4.3-inch display, it is expected to feature 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm and weighs 116 grams. Apple iPhone 4S comes with 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm and weighs 140 grams.

Display: Both the T-Mobile and Sprint versions of Galaxy S2 has 4.52-inch display screen whereas AT&T version retains 4.3-inch screen of original Galaxy S2 version sold worldwide. The Galaxy S2 Epic Touch 4G comes with 4.52-inch (~206 ppi pixel density) 480 x 800 pixels Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen display.

Processor: The Sprint and AT&T variant of the Galaxy S2 is powered by a dual-core 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 Mali-400MP GPU Orion chipset, while the T-Mobile variant is powered by a 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm APQ8060 processor. iPhone 4S, which comes in an A5 chipset, is powered by 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU.

Camera: Both the smartphones sport a rear-facing 8-megapixel LED flash camera with 1080p HD video capture capability. Galaxy S2 has an additional 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video calling, while iPhone 4S has a VGA camera for video chat.

Storage: Galaxy S2 boasts of 16/32 GB internal storage and via a microSD card slot it can expand up to 32 GB, while iPhone 4S has fixed 16/32/64 GB internal storage.

3G/4G: The T-Mobile Galaxy S2 version has HSDPA 42 Mbps support while the AT&T version has HSDPA 21 Mbps support. And Epic 4G Touch has Rev. A up to 3.1 Mbps. Apple iPhone 4S, on the other hand, has HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, and HSUPA 5.8 Mbps support. iPhone 4S also has CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz) technology.

WLAN/Bluetooth/USB: Galaxy S2 has Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n DLNA support and an added Wi-Fi Direct feature. Samsung's phone uses 3.0+HS version Bluetooth with A2DP and EDR along with MHL microUSB version 2.0 for HDMI support.

iPhone 4S has Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n support and the phone can be used as a Wi-Fi hotspot. Apple's phone uses most advanced 4.0 version Bluetooth with A2DP along with USB version 2.0.

Battery: Samsung Epic Touch 4G has Li-Ion 1800 mAh battery support, which will offer more than 10 hours of talk time, while AT&T versions retain Li-Ion 1650 mAh battery found in original Galaxy S2. The T-Mobile variant of Galaxy S2 has Li-Ion 1850 mAh battery support. The Apple smartphone has a Li-Po 1420 mAh battery, with 8 hours of talk time on 3G networks and up to 14 hours on 2G networks (GSM).

Pricing: Galaxy S2 is priced at $199.99 with a two-year contract both on Sprint and AT&T, while the T-Mobile variant is priced at $229.99.

With a two-year contract, the iPhone 4S costs $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for the 32GB model and $399 for the 64GB model. Apple-listed prices for a contract-free phone in the United States are $649 for the 16GB model, $749 for 32GB and $849 for the 64GB.

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