Two smartphone leaders and their flagship devices, Apple with its iPhone 12 and Samsung with its Galaxy S21, go head to head to see which is best for watching movies and listening to music. It's a fierce battle as both smartphones feature powerful processors, gorgeous displays, and crisp sound. While one device might put forth a stronger performance in a particular area, the other is never far behind.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 received a total overhaul this year, sporting a complete camera module redesign and a new matte finish. Apple’s iPhone 12 has also received dramatic updates and boasts a new OLED display and a new design. The Galaxy S21 and iPhone 12 are similarly priced, sport similar screen sizes, and both devices boast long battery life, but they do have several differences that set them apart.
Screen size and display are important features to consider to determine which performs better in terms of watching movies. The Apple iPhone 12 boasts a 6.1-inch display, which is just slightly smaller than the 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 display. Both are OLED screens and both are high-quality, with the iPhone 12 offering 460 pixels per square inch and the Galaxy S21 offering 421. The displays on both devices offer deep blacks, vivid colors, and impressive brightness ranges,. As far as displays go, they stand pretty much equal.
Comparing Processors, Resolution, And Refresh Rate
One notable difference between the two comes in the refresh rate. The iPhone 12 has a 60Hz refresh rate, while the Galaxy S21 boasts a 120Hz refresh rate. This is important as a higher refresh rate means smoother interactions on the screen. Clearly, this gives the edge to the Galaxy S21. Apple’s iPhone 12 delivers sharper resolution, but the Galaxy S21’s 120 frames per second is a delight when watching movies and offers quite an impressive experience.
The iPhone 12 has a pair of stereo speakers, one is inside the screen notch, and the other is at the bottom of the device. The speakers support spatial audio and offer deep base, exceptional mid-range, and impressive high-notes as well. Overall, the sound quality is as excellent. The Galaxy S21 sports a familiar speaker setup with an earpiece that doubles as a tweeter and a standalone speaker on the bottom of the device. While the bass is full and booming, the mids are tinny sounding, resulting in sound quality that's not on par with the iPhone 12. Of course, most people watching movies or listening to music on their device will do using headphones, so speaker quality perhaps becomes less of an issue. Although Samsung and Apple both have headphones that integrate best with their own products, the differences aren't so great that they'd significantly affect movie or music listening.
For those mostly using headphones, the Galaxy S21 is likely the better choice based mostly on the refresh rate. For listening to movies or music via speakers, though, the better sound quality of the iPhone 12 might just be enough to swing it. In the end, the Galaxy S21 and the iPhone 12 are both excellent devices that will perform well and provide great quality multimedia experiences for any movie and music fan.