When the Samsung Galaxy S III made its debut as the manufacturer’s flagship smartphone just over two months ago in May 2012, it had few contenders that could go head to head with it. Frankly speaking, its specifications are still more impressive than any other smartphone out there and probably will only be surpassed when the iPhone 5 arrives on the scene.
The fact of the matter is that the Note 2 and S III do not compete with each other directly. On the one hand, the S III is a smartphone (albeit with a rather large screen) whereas the Note 2 is what has become known as a ‘phablet’. Also, although the Note 2 is due to be announced sometime soon, there are as yet no official details regarding its specifications.
That being said, based on the abundant rumors, speculation, and logical expectations it is interesting to see how the S III’s specifications compare to what the Note 2 will probably end up packing beneath its bezel.
Form Factor & Display
Although the Samsung Galaxy S III is called a smartphone, the truth is that it has an extremely large screen for one, at 4.8 inches. Its dimensions measure up at 136.6 mm x 70.7 mm x 8.6 mm, making it large but sleek at the same time, with curved edges and round corners that soften its size somewhat. The 4.8 inch Super AMOLED display that it boasts has a resolution of 1280 x 720 and uses PenTile technology.
While a 4.8 inch screen may be considered large, that is really nothing compared to the expected 5.5 inch Super AMOLED screen that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is supposed to feature with a possible resolution of 1600 x 900. Of course, the Note 2 makes no pretense of being a ‘smartphone’ and the size of its screen is its hallmark.
Still, if the rumors are to be believed, despite having a larger screen size than its predecessor the Note 2 will retain roughly the same dimensions due to a smaller bezel. That will mean that it should measure somewhere in the vicinity of 146.85 mm x 82.95 mm x 9.65 mm. In short, it is definitely larger and slightly less sleek than the S III.
Some other rumors peg the resolution of the Note 2′s screen to be 1920 x 1080, and although it is possible for a 5.5 inch screen to sport that kind of resolution, it isn’t likely. Whatever the case, the bottom line is that the screen on the Note 2 should definitely beat the S III, but it will come at a price in size and bulkiness.
Processor, GPU & RAM
There are two main variations of the Samsung Galaxy S III. The first is the North American version that makes use of a Snapdragon S4 SoC with a 1.5 GHz dual core Krait processor and an Adreno 225 GPU. The second version is what has been dubbed the International version of the S III and it features an Exynos 4 Quad SoC with a 1.4 GHz quad core ARM Cortex-A9 processor and a Mali-400 GPU.
On the RAM front, some models of the S III come with 1 GB of RAM while others have an impressive 2 GB.
It is widely expected that the Galaxy Note 2 will roughly mirror the International Galaxy S III in terms of its processor and GPU, and will probably feature the same 1.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 Exynos 4 SoC processor and Mali-400 GPU. Still, there are some rumors that suggest it might actually ‘one up’ the S III and feature an Exynos 5250 SoC.
Furthermore there is no consensus regarding the amount of RAM that will be on board the Galaxy Note 2 either. The only thing that can be said for certain is that it will at least have 1 GB of RAM, though it wouldn’t be surprising if it turned out to have 2 GB just like the S III.
In a nutshell, the Galaxy Note 2 should mirror or surpass the S III slightly in terms of raw processing power.
Operating System
At its launch, the Samsung Galaxy S III featured the latest version of Android at the time, version 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. However knowing that Jelly Bean was right around the corner, Samsung upgraded some variants of the S III with extra RAM to future proof it and ensure that it could run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean when it was released. Right now, an update for the S III that will bring Jelly Bean to the device is expected in the fourth quarter of 2012.
It is possible that the Galaxy Note 2 will follow a similar route and launch with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich before eventually getting an upgrade to 4.1 Jelly Bean later on. However that seems less likely especially now that Jelly Bean is already rolling out on some devices and chances are that the Note 2 will come with Jelly Bean already installed and ready to go.
Seeing as both the S III and Note 2 are Samsung devices, they both utilize the custom TouchWiz UI overlay that the manufacturer is renowned for, and are fairly similar in terms of OS and software.
Internal & External Storage
Various models of the Galaxy S III have been made available with different internal storage capacities. The two most commonly available are 16 GB and 32 GB while a 64 GB version is supposedly upcoming. All of these different models have micro SDXC capability however and can thus support an additional 64 GB via an external card.
On the other hand, the original Galaxy Note only came in a 16 GB variant, though it did have support for an additional 32 GB via a micro SD card. It is expected that Samsung may opt to have the same storage capacity on the Note 2, though micro SDXC capability might be added so that it can support an additional 64 GB via an external card.
Considering the extendable memory of both devices, it is unlikely that storage will be an issue though the S III may very well retain its slight edge in this regard.
Camera Quality
The 8 Megapixel rear camera on the S III comes complete with auto-focus, zero shutter lag, image stabilization, and a LED flash, making it one of the best cameras out there. It is even capable of recording in HD video in 1080p. Equally impressive is the front camera that weighs in at 1.9 Megapixels and can record HD video at 720p which exceeds what most cameras for video calls possess.
That being said, the predecessor to the Galaxy Note 2 shared similar specifications with an 8 Megapixel rear camera and 2 Megapixel front camera. Some of the most frequent rumors about the Note 2 has been that its rear camera will be getting a sizable boost and reports even suggest that it might feature a 12 or 13 Megapixel camera. At very least, Samsung is expected to improve the camera sensor to enable it to capture clearer images.
Assuming the rumors turn out to be true, the camera quality on the Galaxy Note 2 could exceed the S III considerably.
Connectivity Options
Truth be told the Samsung Galaxy S III has most of the modern day connectivity options that you’d expect from a smartphone and it supports GSM, HSPA+, and UMTS networks. The one shortcoming is that the International version does not support 4G LTE networks while the North American version does. Of course both versions also support WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 as well as feature the standard 3.5 mm audio jack and micro USB port.
On the flipside, the Galaxy Note 2 should support similar connectivity options though it is likely to come with 4G LTE support as well on all its variants, just like its predecessor did.
Pricing and Release Info
While the Samsung Galaxy S III has been out for just over 2 months now, it still retails at about the $800 to $900 range, which is roughly what the Galaxy Note 2 is expected to be priced at when it comes out sometime in late September or later.
Right now the only semi-realistic date associated with the Galaxy Note 2 is the August announcement date, and only after that will details regarding the release date and price become more widely available. All the estimates that are gunning for a late September release could be overly optimistic, and it is far more likely that the device will only show up on shelves sometime in October or November.
Verdict: Size Does Matter
Looking at the breakdown of the differences between the Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note 2, the one thing that you should notice is that there really is expected to be very little between both these devices in terms of processing power, storage, connectivity, camera quality, and so on.
So it really all boils down to one big difference: Screen size and form factor.
Admittedly the Galaxy S III is no slouch in that department at 4.8 inches, but the 0.7 inch difference represents an approximately 14% larger screen real estate that the Galaxy Note 2 can use to better display content such as websites. It also means a larger on-screen keyboard for easier input, and with the use of a stylus can even enable faster writing and drawing.
Of course, that larger screen is the Note 2′s downfall as well, and it makes it a much chunkier device than the S III that somehow manages to remain sleek despite being large for a smartphone. At the end of the day, that is really all that separates this smartphone, and this phablet.
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