Motorola RAZR i (XT890) vs Samsung Galaxy S III

A spec-by-spec comparison of the Motorola RAZR i (XT890) and the Samsung Galaxy S III, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.

Head to head

Motorola RAZR i (XT890)Samsung Galaxy S III
Our rating6/108/10
Battery2,000 mAh2,100 mAh
RAM (max)—2 GB
Storage (max)32 GB64 GB
Screen size4.3 in4.8 in
Main camera8 MP8 MP
Weight (lower is lighter)126 g133 g
ReleasedOct 2012May 2012
Summary: Motorola RAZR i (XT890) is ahead on weight (lower is lighter). Samsung Galaxy S III is ahead on our rating, battery, storage (max), screen size.
★ Which should you buy? Samsung Galaxy S III is the stronger overall pick on the measured specs.

Display

Motorola RAZR i (XT890)Samsung Galaxy S III
TypeSuper AMOLED AdvancedHD Super AMOLED
Size4.3 inches4.8 inches, 63.5 cm2 (~65.9% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution540 x 960 pixels720 x 1280 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~306 ppi density)
ProtectionCorning Gorilla GlassCorning Gorilla Glass 2
FeaturesLight sensor, Proximity sensor—

Platform

Motorola RAZR i (XT890)Samsung Galaxy S III
OSAndroid 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich), upgradable to 4.4.2 (KitKat)Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich), upgradable to 4.3 (Jelly Bean) or 4.4.2 (KitKat) on some variants
ChipsetIntel Atom Z2460 (Medfield)Exynos 4412 Quad (International) / Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 Plus (USA)
CPU2 GHz single-core Saltwell with HTQuad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9 (Exynos) / Dual-core 1.5 GHz Krait (Snapdragon S4 Plus)
GPUPowerVR SGX540 @ 400 MHzMali-400MP4 (Exynos) / Adreno 225 (Snapdragon S4 Plus)

Memory

Motorola RAZR i (XT890)Samsung Galaxy S III
Internal8GB (approx. 5GB user available)16GB 1GB RAM, 32GB 1GB RAM, 64GB 1GB RAM (some variants had 2GB RAM)
RAM1GB LPDDR2—
Card slotmicroSDHC, up to 32 GBmicroSDXC (dedicated slot)

Main Camera

Motorola RAZR i (XT890)Samsung Galaxy S III
Single8 MP (3264x2448 pixels)8 MP, f/2.6, AF
FeaturesAutofocus, BSI sensor, LED flashLED flash, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR, Burst shot, Zero shutter lag
Video1080p@30fps1080p@30fps

Selfie Camera

Motorola RAZR i (XT890)Samsung Galaxy S III
SingleVGA (0.3 MP)1.9 MP, f/2.6
Features—Video call
Video—720p@30fps

Battery

Motorola RAZR i (XT890)Samsung Galaxy S III
TypeLi-Ion, non-removableRemovable Li-Ion 2100 mAh
Capacity2000 mAh—
Talk time—Up to 11 h 40 min (3G) / Up to 21 h 40 min (2G)

Body

Motorola RAZR i (XT890)Samsung Galaxy S III
Dimensions122.5 x 60.9 x 8.3 mm (4.82 x 2.40 x 0.33 in)136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm (5.38 x 2.78 x 0.34 in)
Weight126 g (4.44 oz)133 g (4.69 oz)
BuildKevlar back, Corning Gorilla Glass front, splash resistant coatingPlastic body
SIMMicro-SIMMicro-SIM

Comms

Motorola RAZR i (XT890)Samsung Galaxy S III
WLANWi-Fi 802.11 b/g/nWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth2.14.0, A2DP, EDR, aptX
GPSYes, with A-GPS—
NFCYesYes
USBmicroUSB 2.0microUSB 2.0 (MHL TV-out), USB On-The-Go
Positioning—GPS, GLONASS
Radio—Stereo FM radio with RDS (International model only)

Launch

Motorola RAZR i (XT890)Samsung Galaxy S III
Announced2012, September2012, May 03
StatusReleased 2012, OctoberReleased 2012, May 29

Frequently asked questions

Which has the better battery, Motorola RAZR i (XT890) or Samsung Galaxy S III?

Samsung Galaxy S III — 2,000 mAh for the Motorola RAZR i (XT890) versus 2,100 mAh for the Samsung Galaxy S III.

Which is lighter, Motorola RAZR i (XT890) or Samsung Galaxy S III?

Motorola RAZR i (XT890) — 126 g for the Motorola RAZR i (XT890) versus 133 g for the Samsung Galaxy S III.

Which is newer, Motorola RAZR i (XT890) or Samsung Galaxy S III?

Motorola RAZR i (XT890) — Oct 2012 for the Motorola RAZR i (XT890) versus May 2012 for the Samsung Galaxy S III.

Is the Motorola RAZR i (XT890) or the Samsung Galaxy S III rated higher?

We rate the Motorola RAZR i (XT890) 6/10 and the Samsung Galaxy S III 8/10.

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