Apple iPhone 6S Plus vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
A spec-by-spec comparison of the Apple iPhone 6S Plus and the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
VS
Head to head
| Apple iPhone 6S Plus | Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | NZ$239 | NZ$259 |
| Our rating | 4/10 | 8/10 |
| Battery | 2,750 mAh | 3,600 mAh |
| RAM (max) | — | 4 GB |
| Storage (max) | 128 GB | 256 GB |
| Screen size | 5.5 in | 5.5 in |
| Main camera | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 192 g | 157 g |
| Released | Sep 2015 | Mar 2016 |
Summary: Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is ahead on our rating, battery, storage (max), weight (lower is lighter).
★ Which should you buy? Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is the stronger overall pick on the measured specs. If budget matters more than the extra capability, Apple iPhone 6S Plus is the cheaper option.
Display
| Apple iPhone 6S Plus | Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Retina HD IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, with 3D Touch | Super AMOLED, curved edge |
| Size | 5.5 inches, 83.4 cm2 (~67.7% screen-to-body ratio) | 5.5 inches, 83.4 cm2 (~76.1% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Resolution | 1080 x 1920 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~401 ppi density) | 1440 x 2560 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~534 ppi density) |
| Protection | Ion-strengthened glass, oleophobic coating | Corning Gorilla Glass 4 |
| Features | 500 cd/m2 max brightness (typical), Full sRGB standard, Dual-domain pixels for wide viewing angles, Display Zoom, Reachability | Always-on display |
Platform
| Apple iPhone 6S Plus | Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | iOS 9, upgradable to iOS 15.8.5 | Android 6.0 Marshmallow, upgradable to Android 8.0 Oreo, TouchWiz UI (later Samsung Experience) |
| Chipset | Apple A9 (14/16 nm) | Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 (14 nm) - USA/China; Exynos 8890 Octa (14 nm) - EMEA/Asia |
| CPU | Dual-core 1.84 GHz Twister | Quad-core (2x2.15 GHz Kryo & 2x1.6 GHz Kryo) - Snapdragon; Octa-core (4x2.3 GHz Mongoose & 4x1.6 GHz Cortex-A53) - Exynos |
| GPU | PowerVR GT7600 (six-core graphics) | Adreno 530 - Snapdragon; Mali-T880 MP12 - Exynos |
Memory
| Apple iPhone 6S Plus | Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge | |
|---|---|---|
| RAM | 2GB | — |
| Internal Storage | 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB NVMe | — |
| Card slot | No | microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot for dual SIM models, up to 256GB) |
| Internal | — | 32GB/64GB/128GB UFS 2.0 storage, 4GB RAM |
Main Camera
| Apple iPhone 6S Plus | Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge | |
|---|---|---|
| Single | 12 MP, f/2.2, 29mm (standard), 1/3.0", 1.22µm, PDAF, OIS | 12 MP, f/1.7, 26mm (wide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS |
| Features | Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR, Live Photos with stabilization, Autofocus with Focus Pixels, Panorama (up to 63 megapixels), Exposure control, Burst mode, Timer mode, Five-element lens, 5x digital zoom, Hybrid IR filter, Backside illumination sensor, Sapphire crystal lens cover, Auto image stabilization, Local tone mapping, Noise reduction, Face detection, Photo geotagging | LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama |
| Video | 4K@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 1080p@120fps, 720p@240fps, OIS for video, Slo-mo, Time-lapse with stabilization, Cinematic video stabilization, Continuous autofocus, Noise reduction, 8MP still photos while recording 4K video, Playback zoom, 3x digital zoom, Face detection, Video geotagging | 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps (gyro-EIS), 1080p@60fps, 720p@240fps, HDR, stereo sound rec., OIS |
Selfie Camera
| Apple iPhone 6S Plus | Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge | |
|---|---|---|
| Single | 5 MP, f/2.2, 31mm (standard) | 5 MP, f/1.7, 22mm (wide), 1/4.1", 1.34µm |
| Features | Face detection, HDR, panorama, Retina Flash | HDR |
| Video | 720p@30fps | 1440p@30fps |
Battery
| Apple iPhone 6S Plus | Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Non-removable Li-Ion 2750 mAh (10.45 Wh) | Li-Ion 3600 mAh, non-removable |
| Talk time | Up to 24 h (3G) | — |
| Internet use | Up to 12 h (3G / LTE / Wi-Fi) | — |
| Video playback | Up to 14 h | — |
| Audio playback | Up to 80 h | — |
| Standby time | Up to 16 days | — |
| Charging | — | Fast charging (Quick Charge 2.0), Fast wireless charging (Qi/PMA) |
Body
| Apple iPhone 6S Plus | Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm (6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 in) | 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm (5.94 x 2.86 x 0.30 in) |
| Weight | 192 g (6.77 oz) | 157 g (5.54 oz) |
| Build | Glass front (Ion-strengthened glass), aluminum back, aluminum frame (7000 series aluminum) | Glass front (Gorilla Glass 4), glass back (Gorilla Glass 4), aluminum frame |
| SIM | Nano-SIM | Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) |
| Protection | — | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) |
Comms
| Apple iPhone 6S Plus | Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge | |
|---|---|---|
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 4.2, A2DP, LE | 4.2, A2DP, LE, aptX |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS | — |
| NFC | Yes (Apple Pay only) | Yes |
| USB | Lightning, USB 2.0 | microUSB 2.0, OTG |
| Positioning | — | GPS, GLONASS, BDS |
| Radio | — | No |
Launch
| Apple iPhone 6S Plus | Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge | |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | September 9, 2015 | 2016, February 21 |
| Released | September 25, 2015 | — |
| Discontinued | September 12, 2018 | — |
| Status | — | Released 2016, March 11. Discontinued. |
Frequently asked questions
Which has the better battery, Apple iPhone 6S Plus or Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge?
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge — 2,750 mAh for the Apple iPhone 6S Plus versus 3,600 mAh for the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
Which is lighter, Apple iPhone 6S Plus or Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge?
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge — 192 g for the Apple iPhone 6S Plus versus 157 g for the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
Which is newer, Apple iPhone 6S Plus or Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge?
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge — Sep 2015 for the Apple iPhone 6S Plus versus Mar 2016 for the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
Is the Apple iPhone 6S Plus or the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge rated higher?
We rate the Apple iPhone 6S Plus 4/10 and the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge 8/10.