Apple iPhone 12 mini vs Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 12 mini Manufactured in November, 2020, with display 5.4 with chipsetApple A14 Bionic, vs Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, Manufactured in March, 2018 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 12 mini
  • Lighter design: 135g vs 189g
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
  • Larger display: 6.2in
  • Higher pixel density: 531ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 3500mAh vs 2227mAh
  • Fingerprint scanner

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 4/64 GB
- 4/128 GB
- 4/256 GB
- 4/64 GB
- 6/64 GB
- 6/128 GB
- 6/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 12 mini and Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED Super AMOLED
Size 5.4 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1440x2960 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 18.5:9
Pixel density 476 ppi 531 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 625 nits 631 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes HDR10
Screen-to-body ratio 84.8 % 83.6 %
Features DCI-P3 Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 12 mini
622 nits
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
629 nits
PWM (Flicker)n/a215 Hz
Response timen/a7 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 131.5 mm (5.18 in) 158.1 mm (6.22 in)
Width 64.2 mm (2.53 in) 73.8 mm (2.91 in)
Thickness 7.4 mm (0.29 in) 8.5 mm (0.33 in)
Weight 135 g (4.76 oz) 189 g (6.67 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Red
- Black
- Gold
- Gray
- Red
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor No Yes rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 12 mini
84.8 %
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
83.6 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 12 mini and Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A14 Bionic Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810
Max Frequency 3100 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 8 (4 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Icestorm)
- 2/3.1 (Firestorm)
- 4/1.9 (Cortex-A55)
- 4/2.9 (Exynos M3)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 5 nm 10 nm
Neural Processor Apple Neural Engine Yes
Graphics Apple A14 GPU Mali-G72 MP18
GPU Cores 256 324
GPU Frequency 1278 MHz 572 MHz
FLOPS 654.3 GFLOPS 370.6 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 12 mini
1957
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
751
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 12 mini
5062
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
1909
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)1957751
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)50621909
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 12 mini
1041022
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
467429
CPU295247142642
GPU309462140091
Memory14000899705
UX29630584991
NanoReview Score1041022467429
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone 12 mini
7655
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
2328
Max Surface Temp.n/a40.7 °C
Stability69 %95 %
Graphics Test45 fps13 fps
Graphics Score76552328
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Apple iPhone 12 mini
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
6261
Writing scoren/a6167
Web scoren/a5425
Video editingn/a5459
Data manipulationn/a5611
NanoReview Scoren/a6261

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 4 GB 6 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency n/a 1794 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 64 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
64 GB
Storage TypeNVMeUFS 2.1
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS iOS 14.1 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2) Android 8.0 (Upgradeable to Android 10)
OS Size n/a 13.9 GB
UI Skin n/a One UI 2.5

Battery

Volume 2227 mAh 3500 mAh
Max Charging Power 20 W 15 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (7.5 W) Yes Qi/PMA (10 W)
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging Yes (60% in 30 min) Yes (40% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:29 h 1:40 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 12 mini
16:11
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
16:44
Web Browsing06:04 h06:05 h
Video Playback10:15 h10:25 h
Games03:53 h04:17 h
Standby Mode79 h84 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 2x
Flash Quad LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 240 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.6f/1.5 - 2.4
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX372Samsung SAK2L3
Sensor size1/3.41/2.55
Pixel size1.4 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a12 MP
Aperturen/af/2.4
Focal lengthn/a52 mm
Sensor sizen/a1/3.6
Pixel sizen/a1 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.4n/a
Focal length13 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX503n/a
Sensor size1/2.55n/a
Pixel size1.4 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 12 mini
128
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
104
Video quality
Apple iPhone 12 mini
129
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
91
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 12 mini
117
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
99
Bokeh55n/a
Preview76n/a
Zoom57n/a

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 8 MP
Photo resolution 4290x2800 pixels 3264x2448 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.7
Focal length 23 mm 25 mm
Sensor Sony IMX514 Samsung S5K3H1
Sensor size 1/3.6 1/3.6
Pixel size n/a 1.22 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1440p at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor Yes No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 12 mini
127
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone 12 mini
140
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type No USB Type-C
USB version n/a 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
- QZSS
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*12
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesNo
Hybrid SlotNoYes
2G BandsGSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B30/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B46/B48/B66)LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2300/B2500/B2600)
LTE category1818
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPhone 12 mini
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
85.6 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced October, 2020 yr February, 2018 yr
Release Date November, 2020 yr March, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 700 840
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 12 mini the clear winner in this comparison.

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