In our recent review of the Apple iPhone SE, I spoke about how the latest compact smartphone from Apple’s device is an excellent flagship product, albeit a restricted display size and overpricing in terms of the Indian market. Among other elements, the camera does not achieve as much as you would expect from a top-of-the-line iPhone. To put this to test, we pit the iPhone SE alongside another compact flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S7.
Outdoor Daylight: Left: Samsung Galaxy S7; Right: Apple iPhone SE (Click to enlarge)
On an overall note, the Samsung Galaxy S7 is a more able flagship, primarily because of the screen size, and 32GB of internal memory. In comparison to the 5.1-inch display of the Galaxy S7, the iPhone SE packs a 4-inch display, and is only slightly smaller than the former. Samsung’s latest design language, introduced with the Galaxy S6 lineup, spells good looks and a compact form, along with a screen size that can be deemed amply large for today’s nature of content consumption. The iPhone, meanwhile, preserves the looks of possibly the best iPhone design ever conceptualised.
Outdoor Daylight: Left: Samsung Galaxy S7; Right: Apple iPhone SE (Click to enlarge)
In terms of cameras, the iPhone SE houses the same sensor used in the flagship iPhone 6s lineup – a 12-megapixel iSight camera powered by Sony’s IMX315 image sensor. Samsung, meanwhile, uses either the 12-megapixel Sony Exmor RS mobile image sensor (as seen on Sony’s Xperia Z5 lineup), or its own S5K2L1 ISOCELL image sensor of the same megapixel count. Among major points of difference, the iPhone SE houses an f/2.2 lens, while the Galaxy S7 has an f/1.7 lens. The Samsung Galaxy S7 also includes Dual Pixel – the phase detection autofocus technology that employs 100% of the sensor’s pixels as phase detection pixels, thereby facilitating faster focussing along with superior performance in low light. It also supports subject tracking and optical image stabilisation, which the iPhone SE misses out on. Both the cameras support 4K video shooting, while the Galaxy S7 can also shoot RAW images. In terms of specifications, it is the Galaxy S7 that clearly has the upper hand over the iPhone SE.
Studio White Lights: Left: Samsung Galaxy S7; Right: Apple iPhone SE (Click to enlarge)
Quite often, though, we have seen specifications not translating to real world usage. The iPhone SE, despite delivering flagship-class performance, does not have the best camera around. It lives up to the reputation of iPhones preserving better colour accuracy and delivering flat pictures that can be cropped to a slight extent. In broad daylight situations, the iPhone SE shoots decent images, capable enough in their own right for casual usage. The iPhone SE performs similarly across most well-lit conditions, although the flat colour tone here is a cause of slight concern. Photographs shot with the device look slightly undersaturated, and although images are reasonably sharp, a slightly higher contrast level would have been the ideal true-colour reproduction. While even this is manageable, the iPhone SE truly misses out on low light photography. It fails to reduce noise significantly and effectively, and ends up with rather noisy cameras and poorly lit frames.
Low Light: Left: Samsung Galaxy S7; Right: Apple iPhone SE (Click to enlarge)
On its own right, the Samsung Galaxy S7 takes photographs that are slightly less sharper than the iPhone SE, but what makes the S7’s images appear better in terms of casual usage is the ample contrast level on photographs. Samsung has also employed a far superior noise reduction algorithm, which keeps noise at bay even in situations that are not very well-lit. Images shot by the Samsung Galaxy S7 do appear oversaturated, but many would like it in terms of overall usage. In brightly lit conditions, photographs clicked by the Samsung Galaxy S7 look vibrant, and will get the overall favour. At 100% crop, photographs clicked by the iPhone SE have better sharpness of image subjects, but the ones shot by the Galaxy S7 look better in terms of vibrance.
Low Light: Left: Samsung Galaxy S7; Right: Apple iPhone SE (Click to enlarge)
Comparatively, the Samsung Galaxy S7 has much faster focussing, and its low-light performance is far superior. Both the devices have fast, smooth camera apps, and shutter response is flawless. In terms of overall usage, the iPhone SE looks more neutral, and would please everyone who prefers to use a wide range of custom filters made available by third party apps. The Samsung Galaxy S7 renders sharp, bright photographs by default, and the presence of a much faster focussing mechanism, coupled with optical image stabilisation, more control and RAW shooting capabilities make it the overall better camera, by a margin.
Both the devices are excellent flagships, and perform without any glitches. The presence of a 5.1-inch display also gives the Samsung Galaxy S7 the overall edge (pun intended). It is Samsung that takes the cake here, over what is possibly the last 4-inch smartphone to be ever made, the Apple iPhone SE.