Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro and Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Plus both cost a lot, but which premium phone wins out in a straight fight?
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus and the iPhone 12 Pro both sit right near the top of their respective ranges, just a notch below the pinnacle. If you’re looking to spend around $1,000 / £1,000 on a new smartphone, they probably represent the best and certainly the most popular options available to you in early 2021. While these two classy handsets are similarly priced, however, there are a number of key differences between them. Let’s take a look and see which phone is best for you. The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus landed on January 29, 2021 in most regions. Prices start at $999 / £949 / AU$1,549 for the 128GB model. There’s also a 256GB iteration, which will cost you $1,049 / £999 / AU$1,649. The iPhone 12 Pro was released on October 23,2020, with prices from $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 for the 128GB model. If you want to double your storage to 256GB, you’ll need to come up $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,899, while the top-of-the-range 512GB model costs $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$2,219. We’re looking at a tie for value here, with a slight edge given to the Galaxy S21 Pro for 256GB. Also, in our experience you’re more likely to find a hefty discount on Samsung’s phones than on Apple’s as time ticks along. Both phones represent design overhauls for their respective ranges, though they’ve taken refreshingly different approaches. The Galaxy S21 Plus is arguably less radical a change, though it’s no less impressive. We found the phone to be really quite striking in purple and rose gold tones, though you can also get it in black, white, gray, pink and red. Whichever color you opt for, your eye will be drawn to the distinctive new camera module Samsung has implemented. The way it swoops and flows into the chassis of the phone is something to behold, and certainly more interesting than the iPhone 12 Pro’s run of the mill ‘squared circle’ approach. Unlike the regular S21, the back of the phone is clad in glass. Together with a matte finish it has a sophisticated yet sober look and feel. At 161.5 x 75.6 x 7.8 mm and 200g, it’s quite a hefty beast, certainly compared to the 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm and 189g iPhone 12 Pro. That’s partly because the display on the Galaxy S21 Plus is significantly larger than the iPhone 12 Pro’s. It’s similarly flat though, which represents a change in Samsung’s approach. We prefer the practicality of a flatter display – there are fewer false presses and a cleaner picture – but it does take one prominent point of interest away from the phone. The iPhone 12 Pro arguably represents an even bigger shift in design, albeit one that owes a fair deal to a bygone era. Its sharp edges, dead-flat surfaces, and rounded corners hark back to the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 before it. But it’s a massive departure from the rounded, slightly bland designs of the post-iPhone 6 years. You can pick up the iPhone 12 Pro in just four colors: Silver, Graphite, Gold, and Pacific Blue. Not as diverse or eye-catching as Samsung’s offering, perhaps, but we’re suckers for that deep Pacific Blue. These two phones take a very different approach to housing their front-mounted cameras. Apple’s intrusive notch is well known by now, taking a massive bite out of the top of the screen as it does. Samsung takes a mere nibble by comparison, with a perfectly round hole-punch notch in the centre of the screen. Apple’s phone is fronted by a ‘nano-crystalline’ Ceramic Shield, which supposedly provides four times the drop protection over regular display glass. It might just stand up to face-plants and scratches better than the Galaxy S21 Plus, though we’re still far too careful/scared to put that to the test. Interestingly, while both phones boast an IP68 dust/water resistance rating, the iPhone 12 Pro has been tested to a water depth of 6 metres next to the Samsung’s 1.5 metres. All in all, much of this particular part of the face-off comes to down to personal preference. While we probably prefer the look of the iPhone 12 Pro, its sharp angles make it less pleasant to hold. Both of these phones have beautiful AMOLED displays, capable of outputting rich yet accurate colors and deep blacks. However, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus has the edge in a couple of ways. For one thing, the Galaxy S21 Plus display is much bigger at 6.
