Samsung Galaxy S7 edge vs Galaxy Note 5 vs iPhone 6s Plus specs comparison: a Mexican standoff

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Apart from the Galaxy S7, Samsung today unveiled its larger and "edgier" counterpart - the intriguing Galaxy S7 edge, a device that shines on all fronts. It's indeed another noteworthy big-screen phone from Samsung, which joins the ranks of the Note 5 and S6 edge+. Still, the S7 edge has the potential to be better on all fronts.

The Note 5, in particular, is considered one of the best devices right now - S-Pen, hardware specs, and design that truly set it apart. Of course, the S7 edge does not dwell on the same plane of functionality, but this does not mean that the two are not comparable. On the contrary, we just decided to pit them against one another and devise a brief specs comparison. 

Oh, and don't frown at the sight of the iPhone 6s Plus - it's another fine device that not only deserves a mention, but also deserves to get featured alongside the two Samsung warriors.

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Samsung Galaxy Note5 Apple iPhone 6s Plus

Design

Dimensions
5.94 x 2.86 x 0.30 inches
150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm
6.03 x 3.00 x 0.30 inches
153.2 x 76.1 x 7.6 mm
6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 inches
158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm
Weight
5.54 oz / 157.0 g 6.03 oz / 171.0 g 6.77 oz / 192.0 g
Materials
Back: Glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 4)
Frame: Aluminum
Back: Glass
Frame: Metal
Back: Aluminum
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP68
Biometrics
Fingerprint (touch) Fingerprint (touch) Fingerprint (touch)
Features
Touch sensitive control keys Stylus, Touch sensitive control keys Notification light
Keys
Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Black, Gold, Silver, White, Pink gold, Black pearl, Coral blue Black sapphire, Gold platinum, Silver titan, White pearl Gold, Silver, Rose gold, Space gray

Display

Size
5.5-inch, 76.09% screen-to-body 5.7-inch, 76.62% screen-to-body 5.5-inch, 67.91% screen-to-body
Type
Super AMOLED Super AMOLED IPS LCD, 500 nits
Resolution
2560x1440px, 534 PPI 2560x1440px, 518 PPI 1920x1080px, 401 PPI
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass 4 Corning Gorilla Glass 4
Features
Pressure-sensitive, Oleophobic coating, Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware

System chip
Snapdragon 820 MSM8996 (14 nm) Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 7420 (14 nm) Apple A9 APL1022
Processor
Quad-core
2200 MHz
Kryo
Octa-core
2100 MHz
ARM Cortex-A57 and ARM Cortex-A53
Dual-core
1840 MHz
Twiste
GPU
Adreno 530 Mali-T760 MP8 PowerVR GT7600
Memory
4GB (LPDDR4)/32GB
4GB/32GB
4GB/64GB
4GB (LPDDR4)/64GB
4GB/32GB
2GB (LPDDR4)/128GB
2GB/16GB
2GB/32GB
2GB/64GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 200 GB not expandable not expandable
OS
Android (8.0 Oreo, 7.0 Nougat, 6.0 Marshmallow) Android (7.0 Nougat, 6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop) iOS (15.x, 14.x, 13.x, 12.x, 11.x, 10.x, 9.x)

Battery

Type
3600 mAh, Li - Ion 3000 mAh, Li - Ion 2750 mAh, Li - Ion
Charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0
Qi and Powermat wireless charging
Qi and Powermat wireless charging

Camera

Rear
Single camera Single camera Single camera
Main camera
12 MP (OIS, PDAF)
Aperture size: F1.7
Focal length: 26 mm
Sensor size: 1/2.5"
Pixel size: 1.4 μm
16 MP (OIS, PDAF, CMOS image sensor, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F1.9
Focal length: 28 mm
Sensor size: 1/2.6"
Pixel size: 1.12 μm
12 MP (Sapphire crystal lens cover, OIS, PDAF, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.2
Focal length: 29 mm
Sensor size: 1/3"
Pixel size: 1.22 μm
Flash
LED LED Dual LED
Video recording
4K UHD (30 fps), 1080p (60 fps), 720p (240 fps)
HDR, Picture-taking during video recording, Video calling, Video sharing
4K UHD (30 fps), QHD, 1080p (60 fps), 720p, VGA
OIS, Continuous autofocus, Object tracking, EIS, Video calling
4K UHD (30 fps), 1080p (120 fps), 720p (240 fps)
OIS, Time-lapse video, Continuous autofocus, Video calling, Video sharing
Front
5 MP (HDR) 5 MP 5 MP (HDR)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.2 4.2 4.2
WLAN
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band,e
Multiple antennas, MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, e
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Hotspot
802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
USB
microUSB, USB 2.0 microUSB, USB 2.0 Lightning
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Gesture, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Hearing aid compatible
M4/T3 M3/T4
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BeiDou GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Other
NFC, ANT+, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, ANT+, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync, AirDrop

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features
Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback
Screen mirroring
Wireless screen share Wireless screen share
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation Noise cancellation, Video recording

Cellular

4G (FDD) Bands
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 18, 19, 20, 29, 30 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 26, 28 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29
4G (TDD) Bands
38, 39, 40, 41 40 38, 39, 40, 41
3G Bands
1, 2, 4, 5 5, 8, 2, 1 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
Data Speed
LTE-A Cat 9 (450/50 Mbit/s), HSPA LTE-A Cat 9 (450/50 Mbit/s), HSPA, HSUPA, UMTS LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSPA, HSUPA
SIM type
Nano SIM Nano SIM Nano SIM
HD Voice
Yes Yes
VoLTE
Yes Yes

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Feb 12, 2016
FCC ID value: A3LSMG935F
Date approved: Jul 15, 2015
FCC ID value: A3LSMN920A
Date approved: Sep 09, 2015
FCC ID value: BCG-E2944A
Measured SAR
Head: 0.27 W/kg
Body: 0.66 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.96 W/kg
Head: 0.22 W/kg
Body: 0.76 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.27 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.98 W/kg
Head: 0.91 W/kg
Body: 1.14 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.56 W/kg
Wireless Router: 1.14 W/kg

Availability

Officially announced
Feb 21, 2016 Aug 13, 2015 Sep 09, 2015
Prices (MSRP)
$799 $949


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