Motorola Photon 4G vs Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch
A spec-by-spec comparison of the Motorola Photon 4G and the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
Head to head
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| Our rating | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Battery | 1,700 mAh | 1,800 mAh |
| Storage (max) | 32 GB | 32 GB |
| Screen size | 4.3 in | 4.52 in |
| Main camera | 8 MP | 8 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 158 g | 130 g |
| Released | Jul 2011 | Sep 2011 |
Summary: Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch is ahead on our rating, battery, screen size, weight (lower is lighter).
★ Which should you buy? Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch is the stronger overall pick on the measured specs.
Researched with AI assistance by infozme.com from manufacturer and retailer sources — see how we research & rate phones.
Display
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| Type | TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors | Super AMOLED Plus |
| Size | 4.3 inches | 4.52 inches |
| Resolution | 540 x 960 pixels (qHD) | 480 x 800 pixels (WVGA) |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass | Corning Gorilla Glass |
Platform
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| OS | Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread), upgradable to 2.3.6 | — |
| Chipset | NVIDIA Tegra 2 AP20H | Samsung Exynos 4210 Dual |
| CPU | Dual-core 1.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 | Dual-core 1.2 GHz |
| GPU | ULP GeForce | Mali-400MP |
Memory
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| Card slot | microSDHC, up to 32 GB (dedicated slot) | microSDHC (dedicated slot, up to 32GB) |
| Internal | 16 GB | — |
| RAM | 1 GB LPDDR2 RAM | 1GB |
| Internal Storage | — | 16GB |
Main Camera
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| Single | 8 MP, autofocus, dual-LED flash | — |
| Features | Digital zoom | LED flash, geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection |
| Video | 720p@30fps | 1080p@30fps |
| Modules | — | 8 MP, AF |
Selfie Camera
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| Single | VGA (0.3 MP) | — |
| Video | Used for video chat | No |
| Modules | — | 2 MP |
Battery
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| Type | Removable Li-Ion 1700 mAh | Li-Ion 1800 mAh, removable |
| Talk time | Up to 10 hours (CDMA), 9.1 hours (WCDMA), 10.4 hours (GSM) | Up to 8 h 42 min |
| Stand-by | Up to 13.1 days (WCDMA), 12.2 days (GSM) | Up to 252 h |
Body
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| Dimensions | 126.9 x 66.9 x 12.2 mm (5.00 x 2.63 x 0.48 in) | 129.8 x 69.6 x 9.7 mm (5.11 x 2.74 x 0.38 inches) |
| Weight | 158 g (5.57 oz) | 130 g (4.59 oz) |
| Build | Front glass (Corning Gorilla Glass), plastic back | — |
| SIM | Mini-SIM | Mini-SIM |
| Other | Built-in kickstand | — |
Comms
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, dual-band (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz) | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 2.1, A2DP, EDR | 3.0, A2DP, EDR |
| Positioning | GPS, A-GPS | GPS with A-GPS |
| NFC | No | No |
| Radio | No | No |
| USB | microUSB 2.0 | microUSB 2.0 (MHL TV-out) |
| HDMI | microHDMI port | — |
Launch
| Motorola Photon 4G | Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch |
|---|
| Announced | Q3 2011 | August 2011 |
| Status | Discontinued | Released September 16, 2011 |
| Release Date | July 31, 2011 | — |
| OS | — | Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread, upgradable to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean |
Frequently asked questions
Which has the better battery, Motorola Photon 4G or Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch?
Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch — 1,700 mAh for the Motorola Photon 4G versus 1,800 mAh for the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch.
Which is lighter, Motorola Photon 4G or Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch?
Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch — 158 g for the Motorola Photon 4G versus 130 g for the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch.
Which is newer, Motorola Photon 4G or Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch?
Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch — Jul 2011 for the Motorola Photon 4G versus Sep 2011 for the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch.
Is the Motorola Photon 4G or the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch rated higher?
We rate the Motorola Photon 4G 6/10 and the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch 8/10.
Best phone lists →
