Head-To-Head: Apple iPhone X Vs. Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus

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Apple's redesigned iPhone model, the iPhone X, launched pre-orders on Friday and the company has been describing the early demand as "off the charts." Translation: Getting an iPhone X may not be easy. Of course, the X is not your only option for a large-screen smartphone. Samsung's Galaxy S8 Plus remains a strong choice for anyone looking for a powerful, premium smartphone.

Which is the better fit for you?

In the following slides, the CRN Test Center compares Apple's iPhone X vs. Samsung's Galaxy S8 Plus on specs and price.

Display

Both the iPhone X and the Galaxy S8 Plus have larger displays than the typical smartphone release of recent years. But there's still a gulf between the two in terms of size—the iPhone X screen measures 5.8 inches, while the Galaxy S8 Plus measures 6.2 inches. Both smartphones feature OLED technology (the display on the iPhone X is actually made by Samsung) and very high resolution. The S8 Plus resolution comes in at 2,960 x 1,440, while the iPhone X is a bit shorter on pixels at 2,436 x 1,125.

A defining feature of both phones is that the bezel around the display is minimal. Importantly, though, the iPhone X does have a notch cut out at the top of the screen for a camera system and other sensors. So, in terms of having an edge-to-edge design, the Galaxy S8 Plus is closer to the mark.

Processor & RAM

As the iPhone X hasn't been released just yet, we don't know how it truly fares on performance against the Galaxy S8 Plus. But, Apple did design the iPhone X to run a new, faster processor, the A11 Bionic, which features six cores. Two of the cores are for high performance, while the remaining four cores are for maximizing power efficiency of less-intensive tasks.

The Galaxy S8 Plus, on the other hand, runs a speedy eight-core processor—Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835. Samsung also includes more RAM in the S8 Plus, 4GB, than Apple does in the iPhone X, which has 3GB of RAM. The bottom line, though: The performance on either phone should be top notch.

Battery Life & Charging

Judging by the promises from Samsung and Apple, the Galaxy S8 Plus should come out the winner on battery life. Samsung pledges up to 16 hours of battery life on LTE for the S8 Plus, or 14 hours on 3G for the phone. Apple, by comparison, promises up to 12 hours of Internet usage on the iPhone X (no breakouts by LTE or 3G).

Both phones feature glass backing, which enables wireless charging. The iPhone X and Galaxy S8 both offer Qi wireless charging capabilities, which just requires resting the phone on a charging pad. The devices also both support fast-charging.

Biometrics & Home Button

Apple is eliminating both the home button and Touch ID fingerprint recognition with the iPhone X. Instead, Apple is introducing Face ID facial recognition for unlocking the phone, along with an upward-swipe gesture to get to the home screen.

For the Galaxy S8 Plus, Samsung also offers facial recognition as an authentication option. But the S8 Plus retains fingerprint recognition as well--the fingerprint scanner is on the back of the device—and offers iris scanning as a third biometric option. Also, Samsung keeps the home button on the Galaxy S8 Plus.

Camera

In our comparison, only the iPhone X comes with a dual-camera setup. The iPhone X has two 12-megapixel cameras--wide-angle and telephoto--with optical image stabilization. Among the special camera features is "portrait lighting," which improves the lighting of the contours over a subject's face. The cameras are also specially calibrated for use with augmented-reality apps. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S8 Plus includes a 12-megapixel rear camera with dual-pixel technology, which has benefits including compensating for poorly lit situations.

Storage

The iPhone X and the Galaxy S8 Plus have the same starting point for internal storage, 64 GB. The devices each have options for more storage, though they have different approaches. The highest-end iPhone X model comes with 256 GB of total internal storage, while the Galaxy S8 Plus can add 256 GB on top of the internal storage via a microSD card. The iPhone X doesn't have an option for expanding storage with a card.

Price & Availability

As mentioned, pre-orders for the iPhone X began Friday, with shipping set to start on Nov. 3.

Famously, Apple's starting price for the iPhone X is $999, for the 64 GB model. That's a good bit above the starting point of the Galaxy S8 Plus, which is priced at $824.99 unlocked from Samsung.

For the 256 GB model of the iPhone X, you'll pay $1,149, while S8 Plus owners that want the 256 GB microSD card will pay $150 above the base price. A wireless charging pad will tack on $40-$60.