iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 2 full comparison

The comparison might be called unfair since the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is a hybrid between a smartphone and a tablet while the iPhone 5 is just a smartphone. But since they are both fairly new and they both run the latest versions of their respective operating systems, let’s see how they do side by side. To speak nothing of the fact that they have similar screen sizes.

The iphone 5 is among the most popular devices of the last few months. There were over five million requests for it before it even hit the store shelves. The Samsung Galaxy Note sold the same number of devices in five months but the company thinks that the new Samsung Galaxy Note 2 will outperform the predecessor.
Each of the two devices runs a different OS. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean while the iPhone 5 has the latest Apple operating system, namely iOS6.

For now, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is only sold in South Korea while the iPhone 5 is already available in many other countries besides the US. But we do have technical specifications for the devices and we’ll see how they compare at least in terms of hardware.

The connectivity part

When it comes to the wireless technology they hold, both the iphone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 have very similar specifications. They both have 2G and 3G support and can do LTE. They both have 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth and WiFi hotspot capabilities.
The Apple iPhone 5 has a new connector for the dock and it’s called Lightning Connector. This means that old Apple accessories will be useless for the device. The price for an adapter that can make a union of the new connector and old accessories costs about $30.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has a microUSB 2.0 port, the same port found in the majority of smartphones and tablets. This means you will be able to use a wide variety of accessories with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, even if they’re not Samsung-branded. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has WiFi Direct and NFC that can send files to other NFC-compatible smartphones and tablets. It can also be used to make mobile payments.

In regards of connectivity, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is the clear winner here, there can be no doubt about that.

Size and dimensions

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is way bigger than the iPhone 5. The Apple device has 123.8 mm in height and 58.6 mm in width. It weighs 112 grams. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 weighs 183 grams and has 151.1 in height and 85.5 in width. The thickness of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is of 9.4 mm. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has the advantage that it can play videos on a much larger screen and you can do web browsing and see the websites on a wider screen. The disadvantage is that the device is larger than the iPhone 5 and so it takes much more space in your pocket. So the winner in the size department is the iPhone 5.

Screen

The iPhone 5 has a display of 4 inches and has the Retina Display technology built-in. The resolution is of 640 x 1136 pixels and the screen is protected by what is known to be Gorilla Glass. The pixel density of the screen of the iPhone 5 is of 326 ppi.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has a 5.5 inch screen, a Super AMOLED HD that has a 16.9 aspect ratio. The resolution of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is of 720 x 1280 pixels. It is protected by Gorilla Glass 2. It also has a HD display.

Since it’s bulky in size, the iPhone 5 wins this round for being able to please the user if he wishes to type with only one hand.

Internal and external memory

Both the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 have an internal memory of 64GB but the thing is the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 allows one to expand this memory through an external microSD that can bring up to 64GB extra space on the device. The RAM memory in the iPhone 5 is of 1GB; as for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, it has 2GB RAM memory. In this case, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is a detached winner.

The cameras

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has borrowed its camera from the Samsung Galaxy S3. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has an 8 mega pixel sensor that can auto focus, has LED flash, HD support when it comes to video recording, smile and face detection capabilities and geotagging.
The iPhone 5 has an 8 mega pixel camera that has LED flash, can simultaneously record HD video and can auto focus. it also has face autodetection, geotagging features, HDR, Full HD recording capabilities and a BSI sensor.
The images taken with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and iphone 5 are the same in quality, so we’ll have to talk about the conditions these pictures are taken in. The iphone 5 can take images in low light conditions and is therefore declared the winner.

CPU

We’re talking about an A6 that is dual-core and the Exynos 4 Quad that is clocked at 1.6 GHz.
The iPhone 5 has a “homemade” dual-core SoC that is Apple proprietary and is based on ARMv7 technology. The GPU is three times as fast as the one in iPhone 4. The A6 processor can do up to 1.3GHz. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 CPU is a 1.6 GHz one and has quad-core graphic processing.
The winner in the CPU battle is clearly the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

How’s the battery life you ask?

The iPhone 5 can do up to 225 hours of standby with its 1,440 mAh battery. It can also do 8 hours of 2G or 3G.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has an enormous 3,11 mAh battery that can do 980 hours of 2G and 890 hours of 3G. This is comparable to battery times found in modern tablets. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 can last for up to 25 hours in standby mode when using 2G and 16 hours of standby mode if using 3G. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is the winner because it has longer battery life and clearly outlasts the iPhone 5.

Design features

The iPhone 5 has a glossy look to it and is made of aluminum and glass. It’s available in black and white. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and it’s made of plastic. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 loses this battle and the iPhone 5 wins in design.

The iOS vs Android

It’s hard to tell which of the two operating systems is best. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 runs Android, the iPhone 5 has iOS 6 on it. Each of them have quirks and features. Both devices (the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and the iPhone 5) run the latest versions of their respective operating systems. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is customizable in terms of its OS, the iPhone 5 on the other hand has a fairly stable OS.

The iOS 6 has a new Maps application since Apple has decided to lose Google Maps in favor of their own application. Many users didn’t like that. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has Google Maps and this brings it an extra point. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has TuchWiz UI, Smart Alert, Smart Stay and Direct Call among others. There are some cool features in the Android version the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 uses. So the point goes to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

And the conclusion is…

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is the winner in this side by side comparison. The iPhone 5 is triumphant in Dimensions, in Display, in Camera and Design, but the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 got all the rest.