Apple iPhone 7 Plus vs Samsung Galaxy Note 9

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 7 Plus Manufactured in September, 2016, with display 5.5 with chipsetApple A10 Fusion, vs Samsung Galaxy Note 9, Manufactured in August, 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 7 Plus
  • Lighter design: 188g vs 201g
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy Note 9
  • Larger display: 6.4in
  • Higher pixel density: 514ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 4000mAh vs 2900mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5 vs 4.2
  • Supports newer USB: 3.1 vs 2

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 3/32 GB
- 3/128 GB
- 3/256 GB
- 6/128 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 7 Plus and Samsung Galaxy Note 9
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 IPS LCD Super AMOLED
Size 5.5 in 6.4 in
Resolution 1080x1920 pixels 1440x2960 pixels
Aspect ratio 16:9 18.5:9
Pixel density 401 ppi 514 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 625 nits 520 nits
HDR support No Yes HDR10
Screen-to-body ratio 67.7 % 84 %
Features n/a Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
674 nits
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
657 nits
sRGB gamut99.9 %144.6 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a227 Hz
Response time26.5 ms8 ms
Contrast1591:1∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 158.2 mm (6.23 in) 161.9 mm (6.37 in)
Width 77.9 mm (3.07 in) 76.4 mm (3.01 in)
Thickness 7.3 mm (0.29 in) 8.8 mm (0.35 in)
Weight 188 g (6.63 oz) 201 g (7.09 oz)
Water resistance IP67 IP68
Back panel Metal Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Gold
- Red
- Pink
- Black
- Blue
- Brown
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button Yes rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
67.7 %
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
84 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 7 Plus and Samsung Galaxy Note 9 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A10 Fusion Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810
Max Frequency 2340 MHz 2700 MHz
CPU Cores 4 (2 + 2) 8 (4 + 4)
Architecture - 2/1.05 (Zephyr)
- 2/2.34 (Hurricane)
- 4/1.9 (Cortex-A55)
- 4/2.9 (Exynos M3)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 16 nm 10 nm
Neural Processor No Yes
Graphics PowerVR GT7600 Mali-G72 MP18
GPU Cores 192 324
GPU Frequency 650 MHz 572 MHz
FLOPS 249.6 GFLOPS 370.6 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
724
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
828
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
1929
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
2026
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)724828
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)19292026
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
398082
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
457443
CPU130186147238
GPU87953137906
Memory7454386902
UX10540085397
NanoReview Score398082457443
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
2632
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
2333
Max Surface Temp.44.9 °C48.7 °C
Stability67 %95 %
Graphics Test15 fps13 fps
Graphics Score26322333
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
n/a
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
6325
Writing scoren/a6182
Web scoren/a5312
Video editingn/a5462
Data manipulationn/a5867
NanoReview Scoren/a6325

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 3 GB - 6 GB
- 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency n/a 1794 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 32 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
Storage TypeNVMeUFS 2.1
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS iOS 10 (Upgradeable to iOS 15.8.1) Android 8.1 (Upgradeable to Android 10)
OS Size 12.5 GB 19 GB
UI Skin n/a One UI 2.5

Battery

Volume 2900 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 5 W 15 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No (7.5 W) Yes Qi/PMA (15 W)
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging No Yes Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (50% in 35 min)
Full Charge Time 4:01 h 1:40 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
18:07
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
19:26
Web Browsing06:20 h07:31 h
Video Playback10:24 h11:36 h
Games04:07 h05:01 h
Standby Mode98 h96 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 2x Optical, 2x
Flash Quad LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (720p) 960 fps (720p)
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.5 - 2.4
Focal length28 mm26 mm
SensorApple iSight CameraSamsung SAK2L3
Sensor size1/31/2.55
Pixel size1.22 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.8f/2.4
Focal length56 mm52 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung
Sensor size1/3.61/3.4
Pixel sizen/a1 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
90
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
107
Video quality
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
84
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
94
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
88
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
103

Front camera

Matrix 7 MP 8 MP
Photo resolution 3088x2320 pixels 3264x2448 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.7
Focal length 32 mm 25 mm
Sensor BSI CMOS Samsung S5K3H1
Sensor size n/a 1/3.6
Pixel size 1 μm 1.22 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 1440p at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 4.2 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 2 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*12
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoNo
Hybrid SlotNoYes
2G BandsGSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsHSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100HSDPA 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/B27/B28/B29/B30/B38/B39/B40/B41)LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2300/B2500/B2600)
LTE category1218
5G SupportNoNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
81.4 dB
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
71.6 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2016 yr August, 2018 yr
Release Date September, 2016 yr August, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 769 1000
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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