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SirRahikkala

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 7, 2016
140
172
Does anyone get the feeling there is a slight arrogance to Apple in that they design all their internals without actually checking/deconstructing competitor products?

Like, how would you release a premium device that doesn't beat the cheesy android version? lol. It should not only beat it but completely destroy it. A newer device that had time to learn from the competitor product and upstage it comes out "slightly" worse than it? what in the..

As a user who has used Apple products since iBook G4 and iMac G3, I have noticed the downward spiral. I would say Steve dying and leaving the ship was turning point but then again, Steve was not level headed guy either so we don't know what could have changed. I feel that Apple product quality went down subsequent years. Was it Retina displays peeling, macbook batteries bloating or several iPhone issues along the generations. Sure everyone has problems but Steve used the iron fist so that the issues would not repeat. And the products were truly better and more innovative than competitors.

These days Apple is happy with their walled garden ecosystem and exponentially grown user base so they are milking it as much they can. They are getting we arrogant by not doing competitor analysis before creating their products, like in this case. Like you pointed.
 

MrX8503

macrumors 68020
Sep 19, 2010
2,293
1,615
The S7 has a larger sensor...so you can't beat that. Overall the S7 will take better photos, but I prefer iPhone's truer colors and less processing. The front camera of the iPhone 7 seems to be quite a bit better than the S7 if you're into selfies.


SuperSaf video review:

I don't believe he tests the 7+'s telephoto lens in good lighting? Everyone should be aware that the telephoto lens doesn't have OIS and doesn't activate (uses digital zoom) in low light. You're supposed to use the zoom lens in daylight and in that case, it'll outperform any single lens camera phone.
 

ahostmadsen

macrumors 65816
Dec 28, 2009
1,109
854
I think there are some misunderstandings in the replies here, like "they're both good" and "it comes down to personal preferences." Yes, any camera takes good pictures in bright light with stationary subjects. No need to bring a DSLR. Whether or not one is better than the other comes down to the image processing software, and personal preferences.

Where there can be a significant and objective difference is in low light performance, and autofocusing. Low light performance comes down to simple physics: f-number and sensor size (with a slight difference due to sensor electronics). Samsung has a larger sensor and lower f-number, and that is not something the iPhone can beat -- no tests really necessary. And it seems from reports that Samsung also has better focusing. So, yes, unfortunately (because I don't like Android), Samsung has the better camera.

So, why did Apple not put in a larger sensor? Perhaps to make room for the dual camera in the plus? Just speculating.
 

Atomic Walrus

macrumors 6502a
Sep 24, 2012
878
434
I think there are some misunderstandings in the replies here, like "they're both good" and "it comes down to personal preferences." Yes, any camera takes good pictures in bright light with stationary subjects. No need to bring a DSLR. Whether or not one is better than the other comes down to the image processing software, and personal preferences.

Where there can be a significant and objective difference is in low light performance, and autofocusing. Low light performance comes down to simple physics: f-number and sensor size (with a slight difference due to sensor electronics). Samsung has a larger sensor and lower f-number, and that is not something the iPhone can beat -- no tests really necessary. And it seems from reports that Samsung also has better focusing. So, yes, unfortunately (because I don't like Android), Samsung has the better camera.

So, why did Apple not put in a larger sensor? Perhaps to make room for the dual camera in the plus? Just speculating.

This. We can talk about the subjective parameters of photos indefinitely, but Samsung's larger sensors and autofocus tech puts them way ahead in terms of actually capturing action in lower light situations.

I owned the Note 7 for a few weeks before returning it and there's really no comparison; It can maintain lower shutter time in low light conditions, which allows you to capture movement without as much blur, and it can focus significantly faster. It's also another laggy (YMMV), PWM-flicker-y, prone to explosion Samsung device which will never receive updates and runs 140 mysterious system services at all times.

So... yeah. I really wish Apple had brought a larger sensor this year. I'd much rather stick with iOS, and I'm actually pretty happy with the 7/7+ in all non-camera regards. The zoom lens is a cool add-on, one that I've been waiting for in smartphone cameras for a long time, but right now I'm not sure how I feel about the trade in overall performance.
 

MrX8503

macrumors 68020
Sep 19, 2010
2,293
1,615
I think there are some misunderstandings in the replies here, like "they're both good" and "it comes down to personal preferences." Yes, any camera takes good pictures in bright light with stationary subjects. No need to bring a DSLR. Whether or not one is better than the other comes down to the image processing software, and personal preferences.

Where there can be a significant and objective difference is in low light performance, and autofocusing. Low light performance comes down to simple physics: f-number and sensor size (with a slight difference due to sensor electronics). Samsung has a larger sensor and lower f-number, and that is not something the iPhone can beat -- no tests really necessary. And it seems from reports that Samsung also has better focusing. So, yes, unfortunately (because I don't like Android), Samsung has the better camera.

So, why did Apple not put in a larger sensor? Perhaps to make room for the dual camera in the plus? Just speculating.

Historically, the iPhone camera module has been smaller than Samsung's. It's possible Apple wasn't willing to increase the size of the module. Samsung's camera bump is quite a bit larger, especially in the S6 series and no one complained about that. Yet everyone screamed bloody murder over the 6S's bump.

Personally I care more about PQ than a camera bump.
 
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