Galaxy S II vs iPhone 4

I believe iPhone 4 is not a direct competitor to Galaxy S2. The direct competitor of Galaxy S2 from Apple will be iPhone 5 — or whatever else it’s called — when it launches sometimes after August. But because many people want a comparison between Galaxy S2 and iPhone 4 — most likely because both are priced over Rs 30,000 — I will do one here.

Design and build quality: Galaxy S2 feels cheap and iPhone 4 stylish. Both feel fragile. Though, in reality, the plastic on S2 is likely to deal better with falls and bumps due to its flexibility. iPhone 4 is all glass and doesn’t take very well to falls.

In terms of usage, iPhone 4 fits well in hand and is comfortable to use. S2 may feel too big for people with smaller palms.
Winner: iPhone 4

Screen: S2 screen is drop-dead gorgeous due to the use of Super AMOLED Plus technology. Colours pop out and its 4.3-inch screen, compared to the 3.5-inch screen on iPhone 4, gives it an advantage. In terms of resolution, iPhone 4 is better. It has a resolution of 960x640, compared to 800x480 pixels of Galaxy S. This means sharper display on iPhone 4.

Text indeed looks sharper on iPhone 4. For everything else, S2 screen is better. Unlike the older Android phones, screen responsiveness is no issue on S2. The bigger size of S2 screen means a lot better web browsing and video playback experience.
Winner: Galaxy S2

OS & user interface: Galaxy S2 runs on Android, customized with TouchWiz 4.0. The iPhone 4 uses iOS 4.3. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. While it’s difficult to cover the Android vs iOS debate in a few lines, here is a summary: iOS is very simple to use. It is simple, effective and efficient. There are no hidden options, few ‘long press’ options and mostly you get what you see.

But this same simplicity may not appeal to everyone. Android, in comparison, is highly customizable. And it's not as complex as many would like you to believe. Most of the settings are easy to access, and if you are familiar with computers, you will not have much trouble. For power users, Android opens up a host of opportunities that can make a smartphone truly a ‘magical experience’.

The performance, especially the speed of navigating between apps and scrolling through web pages is great on both iPhone 4 and Galaxy S2. Earlier, Android had issues with browsing performance. They are not there anymore. As a bonus you also get Flash content on Android. The iOS doesn’t allow any Flash content.
Winner: Tie (iOS is simpler to use. Android gives more options)

Camera: S2 sports an 8MP primary camera. iPhone 4 has a 5MP camera. In still photography, the S2 camera slightly edges out the one in iPhone 4. In video capture, there is no comparison as S2 can record some decent quality full HD videos while iPhone 4 can only manage 720P recording.
Winner: Galaxy S2

Multimedia: This one is easy. Galaxy S2 is hands down the best smartphone when it comes to playing videos. On iPhone 4, you can play only 720P videos. This too depends on the kind of codec used and quality of encoding. The S2, on the other hand, can handle all popular video formats and codecs in 1080P.
Winner: Galaxy S2

Ecosystem and apps: Apple claims that it has better ecosystem (read number of apps and their quality) than its competitors. And we agree. On iPhone 4, you will have access to better quality of apps. On Android, even though all popular apps are available, there could be a time when you do not find the app you want. Also, many apps — especially games — on Android may lack quality and optimization similar to what is found on the iOS side.
Winner: iPhone 4

Worth the money: As far as I see it, Galaxy S2 is rightly priced (Rs 32,890 MRP) and iPhone 4 (Rs 34,500) overpriced for what the devices do. As I said earlier, it will be iPhone 5 that will be the natural competitor to S2. iPhone 4 is too old now. Galaxy S2 is simply a better device.

Of course, if you prefer Apple (as many do, supposedly because of better brand image, better aftersales service and the ‘premium’ tag attached to it), all this doesn’t matter. Still, my two cents: wait for iPhone 5. Once it arrives, go for it. Through a friend or relative who lives abroad. Or, maybe, by some other means. Or, maybe, it will come to India within weeks of its global launch. But iPhone 4 is too costly for what it does.