The Samsung Galaxy S21+ and iPhone 12 Pro are two smartphones with monstrous spec sheets and price tags to match. The Galaxy S21+ was recently unveiled at the Galaxy Unpacked event and features a starting price of $999. The iPhone 12 Pro was unveiled in October of last year and offers big gains over its predecessor, including 5G. Also starting at $999, Apple's iPhone 12 Pro is the second most expensive phone in the company's arsenal, behind the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Both the Galaxy S21+ and iPhone 12 Pro offer nearly the same benefits as their ‘Ultra” and “Max” siblings, barring camera hardware. Despite not being the absolute best Samsung and Apple have to offer, the Galaxy S21+ and iPhone 12 Pro are quality smartphones with capable hardware backed by reliable software. More importantly, there are quite a few differences between Samsung's Galaxy S21+ and Apple's iPhone 12 Pro.
Both phones are covered with high quality and durable glass on the front and back, although the iPhone 12 Pro uses a polished stainless-steel frame compared to the aluminum frame on the Galaxy S21+. In terms of design, the iPhone 12 Pro seems slightly more dated, due to the wide notch on the front. Another aspect to consider is the the size as the iPhone 12 Pro is a relatively compact phone compared to the larger Galaxy S21+. Both smartphones also come with great displays, although the Galaxy S21+ is brighter and supports a higher refresh rate. On the other hand, the iPhone 12 Pro screen sports a higher resolution than that of the Galaxy S21+. If battery life matters, the greater capacity of Samsung’s battery gives it a clear advantage, despite the superior iOS battery optimization.
Galaxy & iPhone Cameras, Performance & Software
For optics, the triple camera setups on both the Galaxy S21+ and iPhone 12 Pro have a 12-megapixel sensor at the helm. The two phones also use 12-megapixel ultrawide cameras, while the S21+ has a higher 64-megapixel telephoto camera instead of the iPhone 12 Pro’s 12-megapixel sensor. Again, Samsung has the edge here due to the bigger sensors, but the iPhone 12 Pro does also come with a LiDAR scanner that powers AR experiences, can capture accurate depth information, and so much more. There are many reasons to prefer one setup over the other, but the higher resolution telephoto lens on the Galaxy S21+ will offer better results while zooming in, and LiDAR on the iPhone 12 Pro will result in excellent portrait shots.
Both the Galaxy S21+ and iPhone 12 Pro support 5G and come loaded with flagship chipsets built on a 5nm process. It is worth noting that Exynos chips have failed to keep pace with their Qualcomm counterparts in the past. That being said, the Snapdragon 888 in the U.S. Galaxy S21+ and iPhone 12 Pro's A14 Bionic are arguably the best smartphone SoCs to date. Another important difference between the two is the software. The Galaxy S21+ runs on Android 11 with a One UI 3.0 skin while the iPhone 12 Pro relies on iOS 14. The choice of smartphone software will depend on the user, although Apple's iPhone models tend to enjoy a longer update cycle than Android phones. In other words, the iPhone 12 Pro will likely receive software and security updates for longer than the Galaxy S21+.
The Galaxy S21+ and iPhone 12 Pro are excellent smartphones and both reiterate Samsung and Apple’s commitment to delivering quality devices. Choosing one will ultimately come down to personal preference with some of the main differences being the size, the operating system, resolution, refresh rate, and so on. Samsung and Apple each make a compelling case with their latest flagships, as both offer the best hardware and software.