It’s fair to say that it’s difficult to find someone in the UK who doesn’t own either an iPhone or a Samsung. They dominate the market!
Their grip on the market looks set to stay firm now that both companies have released their latest flagship phones.
But, which of their phones is the better option and are there better options out there?
Apple’s flagship phone, the iPhone X, was released in November of 2017 and it was met with… mixed reception.
Many have praised Apple for it’s big change in design and quality, with the edge-to-edge OLED screen offering Apple’s best quality image to date.
The introduction of Face ID has been very popular too! The camera’s ability to detail the owners face has resulted in greater security and new developments in apps, such as animojis and Apple Pay.
All this teamed with the iPhone’s usual super-fast processors has made this a premium product, but it comes with a hefty price tag!
For the base 64GB model, the asking price is £999 and the 256GB model retails for £1,149, if you wish to buy the phone outright! Is the phone worth this price?
The price jump did not sit well with customers!
Though the initial pre-order numbers for the phone were large, the hype around the phone seems to have died off with the X not meeting Apple’s sale targets.
Samsung also recently released their flagship Galaxy S9 and S9+ phones in March. Their pre-orders and initial sales haven’t wowed the competition either.
So, what is new in the Galaxy S9?
Just looking at the S9 and S8 side-by-side, it is hard to spot any differences in the design of the phone.
A change to the placement on the fingerprint scanner and a slightly bigger screen are the only real changes to the design.
This was to be expected though as the jump from the S7 to the S8 was big and very popular. Why fix something that isn’t broken?
The biggest change to the phone is in the camera technology!
Advancements in super slow-motion capturing at 960fps and the ability to perform well in high and low light are selling points of the phone.
However, to really benefit from the jump in camera technology, you’ll have to dig out some extra cash for the plus model with the dual-camera setup, much like what the iPhone X has.
Apart from these changes and general enhancements to the performance of the phone, not much else has changed from the S8.
Based on general comments from users and reviewers, the S9’s photography performance in low light isn’t all singing, all dancing like it’s hyped up to be.
To make up for the lack of light and colour, areas of an image are brightened or saturated with colour, which can sometimes leave an image looking unrealistic.
The iPhone X seems to perform better when optimising images, offering more detail and realism.
Don’t get us wrong, the Samsung still takes very good images and the issue probably won’t matter that much to the average consumer, but that creates a dilemma.
The S8’s camera is still very good quality, so you could argue what exactly about the S9 makes it appealing to the public?
With a drop in S8 prices now as well, is it worth spending around £250 more for a phone that isn’t that different from it’s predecessor?
It’s difficult to justify the price increases for both phones, especially considering their ‘cheaper’ siblings perform perfectly well in comparison.
So, whilst the latest flagship phones from Apple and Samsung are definite improvements on their current range, they both come with a major question:
Do they offer value for money?
