iPhone X vs Samsung Galaxy Note 8 – Which Is The Best Device To Buy?

If you have some serious cash to spend on your next phone upgrade but don’t know which camp to be in (Android or Apple) chances are, the decision will come down to one of two major devices: the iPhone X or the Galaxy Note 8.

While Apple touts its latest phone as the “future of smartphones” thanks to its lock screen face detection and bezel-less display, some might argue that Samsung got there first, with the Galaxy Note 8 boasting these same features since its release several months ago.

We’ve pitted the iPhone X and Galaxy Note 8 head to head on paper to see which one deserves your cash.

DESIGN

 iPhone X:- 143.6×70.9×7.7mm, 179g

 Galaxy Note 8:- 162.5×74.8×8.6 mm, 195 g

First thing’s first: design. The iPhone X isn’t too dissimilar to the Galaxy S8 when it comes to looks. Both phones feature a premium all-glass design surrounded by a metal frame, and both are dominated by their respective bezel-less displays. Well, sort of. Unlike the Galaxy S8, which sports a curved ‘Infinity display’, the iPhone X features a small ‘notch’ at the top of the display, where you’ll find the front-facing camera and sensors.

The iPhone X is much lighter than the Note 8, however, at 179g compared to 195g, and it’s also more compact so should fit into your skinny jeans pockets a little easier, being 4mm skinnier than Samsung’s flagship.

However, this is because of the Note’s much bigger screen, so it depends what’s more important to you. A bigger display or a smaller, more compact overall design, but both phones are fairly evenly matched when it comes to skinny-jean-pocket-ability.

The iPhone X is also slightly slimmer, measuring 7.7mm thick compared to the 8.6mm thickness of the Note 8.

In terms of colours on offer, the iPhone X will be made available in Space Grey and Silver, while the Galaxy S8 is available in Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Arctic Silver, Coral Blue and Maple Gold.

DISPLAY

 iPhone 8:- 5.8in Super Retina (2436×1125, 458ppi) OLED edge-to-edge display

 Galaxy Note 8:- 6.3in Super AMOLED (1440×2960, 521ppi) edge-to-edge

The Galaxy Note 8, with its gorgeous 6.3in Super AMOLED, would usually win any iPhone battle with previous iterations. However, it now has some proper competition in the form of the iPhone X, which is the first Apple smartphone to also pack an edge-to-edge display.

Although not curved like that on the Note 8, the iPhone X’s 5.8in OLED panel stretched to fill the front of the phone, albeit for its odd-looking ‘notch’. What’s more, the ‘Super Retina’ display on the iPhone X, at 2436×1125 and 458ppi, is the highest-resolution screen to feature on an iPhone yet, and the first to make use of OLED and Apple’s True Tone tech, which adjusts the white balance to suit your environment.

However, the Galaxy Note 8 comes out on top in terms of sharpness, as its QHD panel serves up an eye-popping 521ppi pixel density.

HARDWARE AND STORAGE

 iPhone X:- A11 Bionic CPU, 3GB RAM, 64GB or 256GB storage

 Galaxy Note 8:- Exynos 8995 octa0core CPU, 6GB RAM, 64GB storage, microSD up to 256GB

The iPhone X debuts Apple’s new A11 Bionic CPU, coming paired with an Apple-built GPU. This six-core CPU is divided into two low-performance cores and four high-performance cores, with the regular cores being 25 per cent faster than the previous A10 chip, and the high-performance cores being up to 75 per cent faster than the A10 SoC.

The Galaxy Note 8, in the UK at least, ships with Samsung’s homegrown octa-core Exynos 8995 processor, which has two more cores than Apple’s latest chip, packing some major braun.

In terms of memory, the iPhone X packs 3GB RAM, compared to double of that in the Note 8, which boasts a whopping 6GB, and a choice of 64GB or 256GB built-in storage. Although the Galaxy Note 8 is made available with only 64GB, it offers customers the ability to expand via its onboard microSD slot, something the iPhone X doesn’t have.

SOFTWARE

 iPhone X:- iOS 11

 Galaxy Note 8:- Android 7.0 Nougat

You can never truly compare Android and iOS, mainly because almost everyone has their own preferences when it comes to the operating system they use.

The iPhone X will ship running iOS 11, bringing some pretty neat features along with it which will only be available on the pricey flagship, including animated emoji (or ‘Animoji’), new gestures for navigating home and multitasking, and portrait lighting and selfie modes.

The Galaxy Note 8 runs Android Nougat, and Samsung’s skin, although scaled back compared to previous efforts, equips the device with a handful of custom features (aka bloatware), including Galaxy Apps, Samsung’s own Gallery app and a tool for pairing your Samsung-branded wearable.

Both phones also offer face-scanning tech, with the iPhone X debuting ‘Face ID’, which Apple claims is the most accurate and secure face authentication tech available.

The Note 8’s face-scanning tech isn’t quite on par, but Samsung does offer customers a rear-facing fingerprint scanner, while Apple has binned Touch ID altogether.

CAMERA

 iPhone X:- Dual 12MP (f/1.8 and f/2.4) with OIS, 7MP front-facing

 Galaxy Note 8:- Dual 12MP (f/1.7 and f/2.4), 8MP front-face

The iPhone X touts a dual camera setup similar to that which debuted on the iPhone 7 Plus. However, the two 12MP sensors have been upgraded, and can now shoot 4K video at up to 60fps and 1080p slo-mo video at 240fps.

The Galaxy Note 8 sports a similar setup, with dual 12MP cameras with 2x optical zoom and simultaneous 4K video and 9MP image recording.

BATTERY

 iPhone X:- 21 hours quoted talk-time, fast charging, wireless charging

 Galaxy Note 8:- 3,300mAh, fast charging, wireless charging, USB-C

Apple is remaining tight-lipped about the size of the battery inside the iPhone X, but has said that it’ll last two hours longer than the iPhone 7 and will get you 21 hours of talk time.

The Galaxy Note 8 packs a 3,300mAh battery, which for its size, might seem a little underwhelming on paper. However, in For a phone of this size, a 3,330mAh battery seems lacking, especially when compared to the Galaxy S8’s 3,500mAh offering.

According to Samsung, this is because the Note 8 has to fit an S Pen into its chassis, and it’s likely the overheating issues that plagued last year’s Note 7 also had a part to play in the firm’s decision to scale back on the battery.

That being said, in our full Note 8 review, the device breezed through a day and a half before having to re-juice.

PRICE

 iPhone X:- From £999

 Galaxy Note 8:- From £869

While it has the most promising list of specs ever for an iPhone, Apple’s upcoming flagship is also expected to be Apple’s most expensive to date, with pricing starting at £999 for the 64GB model.

However, the Galaxy Note 8 isn’t far off, and is available from £869, making the iPhone X only £130 more expensive than Samsung’s biggest, bestest smartphone.

OUR VERDICTS

The iPhone X and the Galaxy Note 8 are quite similar in terms of what they offer, for example: high-end glass and metal designs, edge-to-edge displays and a heck of a lot of power with their hexa-core and octa-core processors, respectively.

However, there’s also some important differences. While the iPhone X beats the Galaxy Note 8 with it’s more compact design, the Note 8 has a bigger, more impressive display, slightly better internal specs and built-in microSD slot.