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Head to head

Samsung Galaxy S24 vs iPhone 17

They split the 10 rankable specs evenly, with nothing to separate them on cost.

Catalog as of September 1, 2026

Why, in numbers

Manufacturer list price, not a live offer. Confirm current pricing before you buy.

Samsung Galaxy S24
$7995 spec wins
Swap
iPhone 17
$7995 spec wins
Swap

Buying for

Every rankable spec counts once. Pick a lens to score only what matters for your phone.

Your devices

Select your ecosystem to flag non-functional features or platform lock-in.

Straight answer

Overall: 5 to 5

A genuine coin flip overall.

  • Same price and an even split on everything we can rank.
  • Dimensions: 147.0 × 70.6 × 7.6 mm vs 149.6 × 71.5 × 7.95 mm
  • Build: Gorilla Glass Victus 2 front/back, Armor… vs Aluminum frame with color-infused glass back

Decide on dimensions, or tick a deal-breaker below.

5 Samsung Galaxy S2410 rankable of 48 specsiPhone 17 5

Deal-breakers

tick what would make you walk away

  • row

    No pen input for handwritten notes or markup.

    Trips:Samsung Galaxy S24 · NoTrips:iPhone 17 · No
  • row

    Wired headphones need a USB-C dongle.

    Trips:Samsung Galaxy S24 · NoTrips:iPhone 17 · No
  • row

    Budget another $20 to $40 for a fast charger.

    Trips:Samsung Galaxy S24 · NoTrips:iPhone 17 · No
  • row

    Storage is fixed at what you buy.

    Trips:Samsung Galaxy S24 · NoTrips:iPhone 17 · No

At a glance

The handful of numbers that decide most purchases in this category.

5 of 6 differ

Weight

Samsung

167 g

Apple

177 g (6.24 oz)

Size

Samsung

6.2 inches

Apple

6.3 inches

Chipset

Samsung

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy (4 nm)

Apple

Apple A19 (3 nm)

RAMsame

Samsung

8 GB

Apple

8 GB

Max optical zoom

Samsung

3x optical (30x digital Space Zoom)

Apple

2x (sensor crop)

Capacity

Samsung

4,000 mAh

Apple

3,600 mAh

True 3-Year Cost of Ownership (TCO)

Upfront price + 3 years of consumables, fees & essential add-ons

Samsung Galaxy S24

Upfront list price$799
Essential add-ons (25W USB-C charging brick (no charger in box))+$25
3-Year Estimated Total$824

iPhone 17

Upfront list price$799
3-Year Estimated Total$799

The 90-Day Owner Regret Check

Documented ergonomic quirks, hardware annoyances, and maintenance realities reported by real owners.

Post-Purchase Truths

Samsung: What to watch for

  • Hidden Cost

    No wall charging adapter included in the retail box.

    Packaging contains only a Type-C cable; high-speed wall charging bricks must be purchased separately if you do not already own one.

Apple: What to watch for

  • Hidden Cost

    No wall charging adapter included in the retail box.

    Packaging contains only a Type-C cable; high-speed wall charging bricks must be purchased separately if you do not already own one.

Body

leads 1-0
Body specifications. Middle column is Samsung Galaxy S24, right column is iPhone 17.
Dimensions147.0 × 70.6 × 7.6 mm149.6 × 71.5 × 7.95 mm
Weight167 g (wins this row: lower)177 g (6.24 oz)
BuildGorilla Glass Victus 2 front/back, Armor Aluminum 2 frameAluminum frame with color-infused glass back
Water / dust ratingIP68 (1.5 m / 30 min)IP68 (up to 6m for 30 mins)
ColorsOnyx Black, Marble Gray, Cobalt Violet, Amber YellowBlack, White, Lavender, Mist Green, Ultramarine
StylusNoNo

Display

leads 3-1
Display specifications. Middle column is Samsung Galaxy S24, right column is iPhone 17.
TypeDynamic LTPO AMOLED 2XSuper Retina XDR OLED with ProMotion
Size6.2 inches6.3 inches (wins this row: higher)
Resolution1080 × 2340 (FHD+)2556 × 1179 (wins this row: higher)
Pixel density~416 ppi460 ppi (wins this row: higher)
Refresh rate1–120 Hz LTPO120 Hz (ProMotion)
Peak brightness2,600 nits peak (wins this row: higher)2,500 nits outdoor peak / 1,000 nits typical
HDRHDR10+HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG
ProtectionCorning Gorilla Glass Victus 2Ceramic Shield (latest generation)
Always-on displayYesYes

Platform

5 differences
Platform specifications. Middle column is Samsung Galaxy S24, right column is iPhone 17.
Operating systemAndroid 14, One UI 6.1iOS 19
Software support7 major OS updates + 7 years security patches5+ years estimated (typically 6-7 years)
ChipsetSnapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy (4 nm)Apple A19 (3 nm)
CPU8-core (1× Cortex-X4 + 5× A720 + 2× A520)6-core CPU (2 performance + 4 efficiency)
GPUAdreno 7505-core Apple GPU with hardware ray tracing

Memory

2 differences
Memory specifications. Middle column is Samsung Galaxy S24, right column is iPhone 17.
RAM8 GB8 GB
Storage128 GB UFS 3.1128 GB
Storage options128 GB / 256 GB128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
microSDNoNo

Rear camera

leads 2-1
Rear camera specifications. Middle column is Samsung Galaxy S24, right column is iPhone 17.
Main50 MP, f/1.8, 24 mm, 1/1.56", Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS (wins this row: higher)48 MP Fusion (f/1.6, 26mm, sensor-shift OIS, 2x telephoto crop)
Ultrawide12 MP, f/2.2, 13 mm, 120°48 MP (f/2.2, 13mm, 120° FOV, autofocus macro) (wins this row: higher)
Telephoto10 MP, f/2.4, 67 mm, 3x optical zoom, PDAF, OISNone (2x optical-quality sensor crop via 48MP main)
Max optical zoom3x optical (30x digital Space Zoom) (wins this row: higher)2x (sensor crop)
StabilizationOIS on main and telephoto lensesSensor-shift OIS on main camera
Video8K 30 fps, 4K 60 fps, 1080p 240 fps4K at 24/25/30/60 fps, Dolby Vision HDR, Spatial Video

Front camera

leads 1-0
Front camera specifications. Middle column is Samsung Galaxy S24, right column is iPhone 17.
Selfie camera12 MP, f/2.2, 26 mm, Dual Pixel PDAF24 MP TrueDepth with Center Stage (f/1.9, autofocus) (wins this row: higher)
Selfie video4K 60 fps4K at 24/25/30/60 fps, Dolby Vision HDR

Battery & charging

leads 1-0
Battery & charging specifications. Middle column is Samsung Galaxy S24, right column is iPhone 17.
Capacity4,000 mAh (wins this row: higher)3,600 mAh
Wired chargingNot on the official sheet25 W fast wired (50% in 30 min)Up to 50% in 30 min with 20W+ adapter
Wireless charging15 W Fast Wireless25W MagSafe / 15W Qi2
Reverse wireless4.5 W Wireless PowerShare4.5W wired reverse charging via USB-C
Charger in boxNoNo

Audio

1 differences
Audio specifications. Middle column is Samsung Galaxy S24, right column is iPhone 17.
SpeakersStereo speakers tuned by AKGStereo speakers with Spatial Audio
Headphone jackNoNo

Connectivity

6 differences
Connectivity specifications. Middle column is Samsung Galaxy S24, right column is iPhone 17.
Cellular5G (sub-6 + mmWave)5G (sub-6 GHz and mmWave in US)
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6EWi-Fi 7 with Apple N1 wireless chip
BluetoothBluetooth 5.3Bluetooth 5.4
NFCYesYes (Apple Pay)
USBUSB-C 3.2 Gen 1USB-C 2.0 (up to 480 Mbps)
SIMDual nano-SIM + eSIMDual eSIM (US model, no physical SIM tray)

Features

3 differences
Features specifications. Middle column is Samsung Galaxy S24, right column is iPhone 17.
BiometricsUltrasonic in-display fingerprint + Face unlockFace ID (TrueDepth camera)
Extra controlsPower and Volume keysAction Button, Camera Control button
Standout featuresCircle to Search, Live Translate, Note Assist, Samsung DeX120Hz ProMotion screen, Apple N1 chip, Camera Control button, Action button, Apple Intelligence, Dynamic Island
Most rows are from the official spec sheet. Marked rows are other published figures or our summary, not lab tests we ran.

Which one should you buy

Pick this one if

Samsung Galaxy S24

Compact Android powerhouse with 6.2-inch 120Hz LTPO display, 3x telephoto, and Galaxy AI suite.

  • Extremely lightweight and compact 167g pocket-friendly design
  • Dedicated 3x optical telephoto camera on a base model
  • Bright 2,600 nit 1-120Hz LTPO display

What you give up

  • Charging capped at 25W wired
  • Base model starts with 128GB UFS 3.1 storage

Pick this one if

iPhone 17

6.3-inch iPhone 17 with Apple A19 chip, 48MP dual Fusion cameras, 120Hz ProMotion display, and Apple N1 wireless chip.

  • Upgraded 120Hz ProMotion display on the base model
  • Apple A19 3nm chip with Apple Intelligence integration
  • New 24MP Center Stage selfie camera and Apple N1 Wi-Fi chip

What you give up

  • No dedicated optical telephoto zoom lens (2x in-sensor crop)
  • USB 2.0 transfer speed over USB-C port

Best for each use

Photos

Camera first: zoom reach, sensors, stabilisation and video

A genuine coin flip on photos.

  • Same price and an even split on everything we can rank.
  • Telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4, 67 mm, 3x optical zoom, PDAF,… vs None
  • Stabilization: OIS on main and telephoto lenses vs Sensor-shift OIS on main camera

Battery & updates

All-day battery, fast top-ups and years of software support

Too close to call on battery & updates from the spec sheets. Only capacity is rankable here.

  • Wired charging: 25 W fast wired vs Up to 50% in 30 min with 20W+ adapter
  • Wireless charging: 15 W Fast Wireless vs 25W MagSafe / 15W Qi2

Games & video

Games and streaming: chip, refresh rate, brightness, speakers

A genuine coin flip on games & video.

  • Same price and an even split on everything we can rank.
  • Chipset: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy vs Apple A19
  • GPU: Adreno 750 vs 5-core Apple GPU with hardware ray tracing

Every answer above is scored from published figures. A lens uses only the rows that matter for that use, including marked rows that are not on the official sheet. Switch lenses interactively in the panel above.

Done deciding?

Open the full standalone spec sheet for either device.

Manufacturer pages: Samsung Galaxy S24 · iPhone 17

Common questions

Which is cheaper, the Samsung Galaxy S24 or the iPhone 17?

Both list at the same price.

What is the biggest catch with the Samsung Galaxy S24 or iPhone 17?

Both has this deal-breaker: no stylus. No pen input for handwritten notes or markup.

Which is better for photos, the Samsung Galaxy S24 or the iPhone 17?

A genuine coin flip on photos. Same price and an even split on everything we can rank. Telephoto: 10 MP, f/2.4, 67 mm, 3x optical zoom, PDAF,… vs None

What cannot be compared from spec sheets?

Of the 48 specs tracked here, 38 are descriptive and cannot be ranked on numbers alone. Spec sheets also cannot measure subjective factors like build quality, real-world performance, or comfort.

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