Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy S9 and Apple iPhone 17 - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Apple iPhone 17

47 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S9
VS
92 out 100
Apple iPhone 17
Samsung Galaxy S9
Apple iPhone 17

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S9 Manufactured in March, 2018, with display 5.8 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810, vs Apple iPhone 17, Manufactured in September, 2025 with chipsetApple A19. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S9
  • Higher pixel density: 568ppi
  • Lighter design: 163g vs 177g
  • Supports newer USB: 3.1 vs 2
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 17
  • Larger display: 6.3in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 3692mAh vs 3000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 4/64 GB
- 4/128 GB
- 4/256 GB		 - 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S9 and Apple iPhone 17
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
Smartphones:
Samsung Galaxy S9
vs
Apple iPhone 17

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Super AMOLED OLED
Size 5.8 in 6.3 in
Resolution 1440x2960 pixels 1206x2622 pixels
Aspect ratio 18.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 568 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes
Max brightness 658 nits 3000 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10 Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 84.1 % 91.1 %
Features Always-On Display - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S9
657 nits
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time7 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S9]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 147.7 mm (5.81 in) 149.6 mm (5.89 in)
Width 68.7 mm (2.7 in) 71.5 mm (2.81 in)
Thickness 8.5 mm (0.33 in) 8 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 163 g (5.75 oz) 177 g (6.24 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Gold
- Gray
- Blue
- Purple		 - White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes rear No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S9
84.1 %
Apple iPhone 17
91.1 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S9 and Apple iPhone 17 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810 Apple A19
Max Frequency 2900 MHz 4100 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (4 + 4) n/a
Architecture - 4/1.9 (Cortex-A55)
- 4/2.9 (Exynos M3)		 n/a
Process Samsung n/a
Transistor Size 10 nm n/a
Neural Processor Yes n/a
Graphics Mali-G72 MP18 n/a
GPU Cores 324 n/a
GPU Frequency 572 MHz n/a
FLOPS 370.6 GFLOPS n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S9
734
Apple iPhone 17
3720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S9
1894
Apple iPhone 17
10589
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)7343720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)189410589
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S9
470496
Apple iPhone 17
2116678
CPU137633510193
GPU168155792974
Memory86184367866
UX78524445645
NanoReview Score4704962116678
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S9
2272
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Max Surface Temp.39.2 °Cn/a
Stability93 %n/a
Graphics Test13 fpsn/a
Graphics Score2272n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy S9]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S9
6347
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Writing score6325n/a
Web score5265n/a
Video editing5496n/a
Data manipulation5694n/a
NanoReview Score6347n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 4 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 1794 MHz n/a
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity64 GB256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.1NVMe
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 8.0 (Upgradeable to Android 10) iOS 26
OS Size 14 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI 2.5 n/a

Battery

Volume 3000 mAh 3692 mAh
Max Charging Power 15 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes Qi/PMA (10 W) Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes
Fast Charging Yes (40% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:35 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S9
15:09
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Web Browsing05:32 hn/a
Video Playback09:42 hn/a
Games03:45 hn/a
Standby Mode75 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash Dual 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 240 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens n/a 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.5 - 2.4f/1.6
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung SAK2L3n/a
Sensor size1/2.551/1.56
Pixel size1.4 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrixn/a48 MP
Aperturen/af/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
Sensor sizen/a1/2.55
Pixel sizen/a0.7 μm
Stabilizationn/aDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S9
104
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S9
91
Apple iPhone 17
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S9
99
Apple iPhone 17
n/a

Front camera

Matrix 8 MP 18 MP
Photo resolution 3264x2448 pixels n/a
Aperture f/1.7 f/1.9
Focal length 25 mm 23 mm
Sensor Samsung S5K3H1 n/a
Sensor size 1/3.6 n/a
Pixel size 1.22 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Optical
Video resolution 1440p at 30 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No Yes

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 6.0
Bluetooth features PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.1 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*2n/a
SIM TypeNanoeSIM
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotYesNo
2G BandsGSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900n/a
3G BandsHSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
LTE Bands*LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2300/B2500/B2600)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B66/B71)
LTE category18n/a
5G SupportNoYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack Yes No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S9
86 dB
Apple iPhone 17
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced February, 2018 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date March, 2018 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 720 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 799
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included n/a No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 17 the clear winner in this comparison.

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