Research Report Apple Vs Samsung (Which is the Suitable Smartphone for our Staff)

Reference List

Appendix

Specifications

We've taken to calling today's flagship phones "glass sandwiches" because they have almost-all-display front sides made of glass, and generally these devices are all glass on the back, too (except for certain camera components). Thankfully, they typically use a material dubbed Gorilla Glass that is much stronger than, say, a drinking glass, and Gorilla Glass has improved in durability year after year. Those glass backs enable wireless charging, which isn't possible through some other common gadget materials.

Galaxy S10+ review: Too many compromises for the sky-high price

However, Gorilla Glass is still not as durable as steel or aluminum. We've discussed materials at length before, and there aren't big changes on that front in the S20 phones compared to last year's S10 models. They feel nice, they look nice, but they're generally not that durable and they're fingerprint magnets. Both of these phones have the same upsides and downsides.

There are some newer developments worth highlighting. First up, Samsung has long made a marketing blitz of criticizing Apple for dropping the headphone jack from its phones starting back in 2016. But just over three years later, Samsung has also dropped the headphone jack in the Galaxy S line, launching its own AirPods competitors (which also support iOS, by the way). Samsung was one of the last flagship phone-makers to take this leap.

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  The Galaxy S20s, with their new back-camera arrangements.
  

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  The front and back of the S20.
  

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  The three phone sizes, next to each other.
  

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  The S20 Ultra has this wild camera block. That's a 4x (not 100x) periscope camera at the bottom.
  

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  The size of the camera bump.
  

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  Specs for the Galaxy S20.
  

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  Specs for the Galaxy S20+.
  

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  Specs for the Galaxy S20 Ultra.
  

New Bluetooth standard copies best features of Apple, Qualcomm’s proprietary tech

Because of proprietary technology, Apple's AirPods offer a generally better experience than today's Android-friendly true-wireless headphones do. But that will likely change over the next year or so with the introduction of the first Bluetooth LE Audio devices, which will use a new Bluetooth audio standard that adopts some of the same benefits AirPods users have enjoyed.

In terms of design differences between the Galaxy S series and iPhones, Samsung offers its flagships in three sizes: the S20 at 6.2 inches, the S20+ at 6.7 inches, and the S20 Ultra at a basically tablet-sized 6.9 inches. The iPhone 11 Pro is available in 5.8- and 6.5-inch variants.

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  The rear cameras on the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max.
  

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  The front of both phones, side by side.
  

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  The back of both phones.
  

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  The iPhone 11 Pro.
  

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  The front of the device. Nothing's changed here.
  

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  The back looks quite a bit different too! The finish is totally different.
  

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  It still has a Lightning port.
  

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  The stainless steel sides look the same.
  

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  The other side.
  

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  And there are still no distinguishing features on the top.
  

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  Here's a closer look at the camera array.
  

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  The iPhone 11 Pro Max.
  

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  Here's the front.
  

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  And the back, with that new, matte finish and prominent camera setup.
  

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  Still Lightning.
  

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  The volume-controls side.
  

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  The SIM tray side.
  

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  The featureless top.
  

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  The three camera lenses.
  

Samsung Galaxy S10 fingerprint sensor defeated by a $450 3D printer

Both have very different front-facing camera designs and authentication technologies. The Galaxy S phones have in-screen fingerprint readers, whereas the iPhone 11 Pro uses a sophisticated 3D sensor array that shares space with the front-facing camera to confirm that it's you trying to unlock the phone.

That 3D sensor array (called TrueDepth) involves a lot of components, and it's the reason for the noticeable "notch" at the top of the phone's screen. That notch contains a lot of hardware. By contrast, Samsung just has a regular front-facing camera in the S20, and it has avoided including a notch by essentially punching a small hole in the center-top of the display.

Whether you prefer a notch or a hole punch is surely a matter of preference, as is whether you prefer Apple's Face ID or Samsung's in-screen fingerprint authentication.

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