Samsung spent 2017 delivering fantastic flagship after flagship. But a lot of that momentum was lost when Apple joined the bezel-less party with the iPhone X. Now, Samsung is back with a worthy response.

Unlike years past, where Samsung throws everything but the kitchen sink into its new phones, the Galaxy S9 is much more even-keeled. Sure you get the cutting edge Snapdragon 845 processor, 4GB of RAM, 12MP camera and 5.8-inch QHD+ display, but you also get the fingerprint scanner in a more natural position, reduced bezels and a slew of new color options.

The iPhone X was a big shift in design for Apple. In many ways, it followed Samsung’s lead. Apple finally answered Samsung’s best with an equally (or better) device, complete with a 5.8-inch OLED display, dual camera setup, glass and metal design, and wireless charging.

Which one is better? Both are fantastic devices options that will deliver. Check out out the head to head spec breakdown below for a more in-depth comparison.

Samsung - Galaxy S9 Apple - iPhone X
Display Size 5.8-inch, 1440 x 2960 pixel display (568 ppi) 5.8-inch, 1125 x 2436 pixel display (463 ppi)
Resolution X 1440 1125
Resolution Y 2960 2436
Display Type Quad HD + Curved Super AMOLED Super Retina HD
Operating System Android 8 (Oreo) at launch iOS 11 (at launch)
Processor 10nm, 64-bit, Octa-core processor (2.8 GHz Quad + 1.7 GHz Quad) A11 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture
RAM 4GB 3GB (unofficial)
Storage
  • 64GB
  • 64GB
  • 256GB
External Storage Yes No
External Storage Specs
  • microSD up to 400GB
Main Camera (Back) 12MP 12MP
Secondary Camera (Front) 8MP 7MP
Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.0 (LE up to 2mbps) Bluetooth 5.0
Battery 3000mAh N/A
NFC Yes Yes
Connectivity
  • MST
  • USB type-C
  • Lightning port
Sensors
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
  • Barometer
  • Fingerprint
  • Geomagnetic
  • Gyro
  • Hall
  • HR
  • Iris
  • Pressure
  • Proximity
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
  • Barometer
  • Face ID
  • Proximity
  • Three-axis gyro
GPS
  • BeiDou
  • Galileo
  • Glonass
  • GPS
  • Assisted GPS
  • Digital compass
  • GLONASS
  • Galileo
  • QZSS
Height 147.7 mm (5.81 inches) 5.65 inches (14.35 cm)
Width 68.7 mm (2.70 inches) 2.79 inches (70.9 mm)
Depth 8.5 mm (0.33 inches) .30 inches (7.6 mm)
Weight 163 g (5.75 oz) 6.14 oz (174 g)
Colors Midnight Black, Coral Blue, Lilac Purple Space Gray Silver
Supported Audio Formats MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, APE, DSF, DFF AAC-LC, HE-AAC, HE-AAC v2, Protected AAC, MP3, Linear PCM, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital (AC-3), Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC-3), and Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+)
Supported Video Formats MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM HEVC, H.264, MPEG-4 Part 2, and Motion JPEG