To celebrate 10 years of the iPhone, this week Apple announced the special anniversary edition, the iPhone X. Considering it comes with an eye-wateringly high price tag, let's see how it stacks up, specs-wise, with its main competitor, Samsung's Galaxy S8 and S8+.
Size
The new iPhone is a fair bit shorter and thinner than both Galaxies, but a little wider.
Weight
Tipping the scales at 174 g, the iPhone X is a little on the heavy side as far as phones go, but you won't exactly strain a muscle lifting it to your ear.
Colors
While Apple sticks to classy, understated shades of gray and silver, Samsung offers a little more color, with gold and blue options.
Build
For the first time in a few generations, the iPhone X is backed with glass, but this time it isn't purely a stylistic choice: it's there to allow the device to be wirelessly charged. The Galaxy phones also use glass front and back, framed with aluminum.
Water resistance
A rating of IP67 means that the iPhone X is completely dust-tight, and can withstand immersion in water to a depth of 1 m for 30 minutes. The Galaxy S8's IP68 means it can, theoretically, survive that long down to 1.5 m. In practice, while you still shouldn't take them swimming, both phones should survive any quick, accidental dunks in a pool or bathtub.
Display size
The iPhone X has the same decent-sized screen as the Galaxy S8.
Display resolution
Samsung makes better use of that space though, with the Galaxy S8 cramming in 570 pixels per inch, compared to the iPhone X's 458 ppi. That gives the Galaxy a higher resolution of 2960 x 1440.
Display type
Apple has finally ditched the IPS LCD screen in favor of OLED, which should provide deeper blacks and brighter colors. Samsung has been calling its displays "Super AMOLED" since 2010, and it mostly means the switching on and off of pixels happens faster.
Display edge
Bezels aren't cool anymore, with both phones stretching the screen all the way to the edges – and in the Galaxy's case, curving it around the sides a little as well.
Home button
With the screen taking up so much more room on the front, both phones have dropped the physical Home button we're used to. Each company has handled that key functionality differently: Samsung has opted for a capacitive on-screen version of the button, while the iPhone X lets you return to the home screen by swiping up.
Fingerprint sensor
The fingerprint sensor has also been muscled off the front of both phones by the screen. Samsung has moved that sensor to the back of the Galaxy, while Apple has done away with the function altogether, in favor of unlocking the device via facial recognition.
Face recognition
Apple is positioning "Face ID" as the key selling point of the iPhone X, but the Galaxy S8 and S8+ can already be unlocked with a quick face scan too. Apple's tech seems to be more advanced, taking a full 3D scan into account, while Samsung's system can apparently be fooled by a photo.
Processor
The Galaxy phones are powered by Qualcomm's latest and greatest Snapdragon processors, while the iPhone X (along with the 8 and 8 Plus) is running Apple's newest chip, which it calls the A11 Bionic. For the first time, the A11 has an integrated GPU, which is designed to boost the device's graphical grunt for games and enable machine learning.
RAM
Apple has remained tight-lipped on how much RAM the new iPhone packs, but the rumor mill reckons it's 3 GB.
Built-in storage
Both phones come with a generous 64 GB of onboard storage space as standard, but for an extra US$150 iPhone users can up that to 256 GB.
MicroSD
Samsung allows that 64 GB of storage to be bolstered with MicroSD cards if need be, while the traditionally-uncustomizable Apple would prefer you stick with what you're given.
Battery
Apple doesn't usually give mAh figures for the batteries in its devices, but leaks have revealed the iPhone X's capacity to be 2,716 mAh. That's low in the straight numbers game, but in terms of battery life Apple's devices go toe-to-toe with the competition, thanks to an operating system that's been optimized for efficiency.
Fast charging
Apple has caught up with its competitors and offers the option for fast charging. But there's a catch: it can only do so with a separate USB-C adapter, not wirelessly or through the Lightning port.
Wireless charging
Both phones have the option for wireless charging, but only with separately-purchased accessories.
Cameras
In sheer megapixel count, the cameras on the Galaxy phones have the iPhone beat, but Apple's front-facing camera, dubbed TrueDepth, can sense faces in 3D dimensions, and has a few other nifty tricks up its sleeve.
Rear camera aperture
The main camera on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ has a slightly wider aperture, which should help with low-light photography.
Image stabilization
Both phones have Optical Image Stabilization.
Operating system
The iPhone X is running Apple's newest operating system, iOS 11, while the Galaxy series comes loaded with Android 7 Nougat – recently usurped by Android Oreo – enhanced with a proprietary user interface called Samsung Touchwiz.
Release date
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ have been out for about 5 months now, while the iPhone X is due for release on November 3.
Price
Apple is pushing the iPhone X as a premium product, meaning it's a bit pricier than Samsung's offerings, to the tune of US$1,149 for the 256 GB model.
