Samsung Galaxy S8 Active vs Apple iPhone 12 Specs Comparison

Compare mobile phone specifications of up to three devices at once. Our specs comparison tool helps you find and compare the perfect phone for your needs.

9.0
Samsung Galaxy S8 Active
9.0
Apple iPhone 12
Samsung Galaxy S8 Active Apple iPhone 12
Released · Aug 11, 2017
Released · Oct 23, 2020
5.8-inch
6.1-inch
Single camera
Dual camera
4GB · 64GB
4GB · 64GB
4000 mAh
2815 mAh
Check prices

Design

Dimensions
5.99 x 2.95 x 0.39 inches
152.1 x 74.9 x 9.9 mm
5.78 x 2.81 x 0.29 inches (~0.35 inches with camera bump)
146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm (~8.88 mm with camera bump)
Weight
7.34 oz (208.0 g) 5.78 oz (164.0 g)
Materials
Back: Glass
Frame: Aluminum
Resistance
Water, Dust, Shock, Vibration, Temperature; IP68; MIL-STD-810 certified Water, Dust; IP68
Biometrics
Iris scanner, 2D Face unlock, Fingerprint (touch) 3D Face unlock
Keys
Left: Volume control, Other; Right: Lock/Unlock key Left: Volume control, Other; Right: Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Gold, Gray Black, White, Red, Green, Blue, Purple

Display

Size
5.8-inch 6.1-inch
Resolution
2960x1440px, 18.5:9 ratio, 568 PPI 2532x1170px, 19.5:9 ratio, 457 PPI
Technology
Super AMOLED OLED
Refresh rate
60Hz
Screen-to-body
74.89 % 87.24 %
Peak brightness
1200 cd/m2 (nit)
Features
HDR support, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 5), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor HDR support, Oleophobic coating, Scratch-resistant glass (Ceramic Shield), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware

System chip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 MSM8998 (10 nm) Apple A14 Bionic (5 nm)
Processor
Octa-core
2350 MHz
Kryo 280
Hexa-core
3100 MHz
GPU
Adreno 540 Yes
RAM
4GB (LPDDR4) 4GB (LPDDR4)
Internal storage
64GB 64GB (NVMe)
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 256 GB not expandable
OS
Android (9.0 Pie, 8.0 Oreo, 7.0 Nougat), Samsung One UI iOS (16.x, 15.x, 14.x)

Battery

Capacity
4000 mAh 2815 mAh
Type
Li - Ion Li - Ion
Charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, Qi and Powermat wireless charging USB Power Delivery, Qi wireless charging, MagSafe wireless charging
Charge speed
Wireless: 15.0W
PhoneArena Battery Tests
Battery Life Estimate
Untested
Browsing
Untested
Video
Untested
Gaming
Untested
Battery Life Estimate
4h 59min
Browsing
12h 33min
Video
6h 38min
Gaming
6h 46min

Camera

Rear
Single camera Dual camera
Main camera
12 MP (OIS, PDAF)
Aperture size: F1.7
Focal length: 26 mm
Sensor size: 1/2.55"
Pixel size: 1.4 μm
12 MP (Sapphire crystal lens cover, OIS, PDAF)
Aperture size: F1.6
Focal length: 26 mm
Second camera
12 MP (Ultra-wide, Sapphire crystal lens cover)
Aperture size: F2.4
Focal Length: 13 mm
Flash
LED LED
Video recording
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 2560x1440 (QHD), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (240 fps)
HDR, Time-lapse video, Hyperlapse, Continuous autofocus, Object tracking, Picture-taking during video recording, Video light, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (60 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (240 fps)
OIS, HDR, Time-lapse video, Continuous autofocus, Picture-taking during video recording
Front
8 MP (Wide Angle, Autofocus, HDR), Video capture: 2560x1440 (QHD) 12 MP (EIS, HDR, Slow-motion videos), Video capture: 3840x2160 (4K UHD) (60 fps)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.1, Yes 5.0
WLAN
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band,i
MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,ax(Wi-Fi 6),dual-band
MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
USB
Type-C, USB 3.1 Lightning
Hearing aid compatible
M4/T3 M3/T4
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer
Other
NFC, ANT+, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling)

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack No 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Multiple speakers
Features
Album art cover, Background playback Dolby Atmos
Screen mirroring
DLNA,Wireless screen share,MHL Wireless screen share
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation Noise cancellation

Cellular

5G
Bands n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n71, n77, n78, n79, n260, n261, Sub-6, mmWave
4G (FDD)
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 20(800 DD), 28(700 APT), 29(700 d), 30(2300 WCS) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 14(700 PS), 17(700 b), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 28(700 APT), 29(700 d), 30(2300 WCS), 32(1500 L-band), 66(AWS-3), 71(600)
4G (TDD)
Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+) Bands 34(2000), 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+), 42(3500), 46, 48(3600)
3G
Bands 5(850), 8(900), 4(1700/2100), 2(1900), 1(2100) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 8(900)
Data Speed
LTE-A Pro Cat 16 (1000/150 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, UMTS LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s
Dual SIM
Yes
SIM type
Nano SIM Nano SIM, eSIM
HD Voice
Yes Yes
VoLTE
Yes

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Jun 30, 2017
FCC ID value: A3LSMG892A
Measured SAR
Head: 0.57 W/kg
Body: 0.37 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.44 W/kg
Phablet: 3.88 W/kg

Buyers information

MSRP
$ 850 $ 829
In The Box
USB-C to Lightning Cable, Documentation

Availability

Officially announced
Aug 07, 2017 Oct 13, 2020

Alternative variants

for Sprint
4G (FDD) Bands 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 28(700 APT)
4G (TDD) Bands 41(2600+)
with 128GB storage
Internal storage 128GB
MSRP $ 879
for T-Mobile
4G (FDD) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 66(AWS-3), 71(600)
with 256GB storage
Internal storage 256GB
MSRP $ 979
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless