Key Difference: Samsung announced that it has added a new phone to its lineup that combines the ruggedness of the older Samsung Xcover with the features and oomph of the new Galaxy S4. S4 Active is dust and water-proof. The phone comes with a 5-inch Full HD TFT capacitive touchscreen that differs from the AMOLED used in the S4. The iPhone 5 is the latest innovative product of the Apple Company. They have made the new phone slicker, thinner and lighter with even more packed features. iPhone 5 supports a 4-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD screen with 640 x 1136 pixels and 16 million colors. The phone also offers safety features such as corning gorilla class as well as oleophobic coating that keep fingerprints off the front screen.

Samsung announced that it has added a new phone to its lineup that combines the ruggedness of the older Samsung Xcover with the features and oomph of the new Galaxy S4. S4 Active is dust and water-proof and aims to provide direct competition to the Sony Xperia Z. The phone is aimed at the users that require their phone to be durable as well as provide extra features. According to the CEO and President of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics, JK Shin, the phone is designed for the people who love the outdoors.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active shares many features with the S4, but differs in terms of design and aesthetics. The S4 Active is thicker and heavier at 151 grams; the weight is mostly because of the added water and dust proof. The phone has a diamond-pattern textured back that makes it easier to hold the device. The company has also removed the capacitive buttons and replaced them with hardware buttons. The top of the phone houses the 3.5mm headphone jack and has the words waterproof etched next to it. The top also houses the secondary mic and the IR emitter. The volume rocker is on the left side of the phone, while the right side has the power/lock key. The bottom of the phone has the microUSB / MHL 2.0 port that is sealed with a plastic flap. The proximity sensor, light sensor and the IR motion detector are placed on the front above the screen near the speaker. The back of the screen houses the camera and the LED flash.

The phone comes with a 5-inch Full HD TFT capacitive touchscreen that differs from the AMOLED used in the S4. It has ~441 ppi pixel density and is protected by corning gorilla glass 3. The phone is powered by 1.9 GHz Krait 300 Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600, has Adreno 320 GPU and 2GB RAM. The phone comes with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. The TouchWiz UI changes certain Jelly Bean features offering users with more options. The lockscreen features new widgets such as displaying personal messages overlaid on photos from the TripAdvisor. The water ripples effect has been replaced by the lens flare effect, but can be switched or disabled completely. The lockscreen also offers multiple screen on which users can add widget. Another cool feature is the Quick Glance feature that uses a proximity sensor to detect nearby movement and automatically lights up to display time and notifications.

The company has replaced the 13 MP camera with an 8MP rear camera that as a capability to work underwater. The volume rocker can be changed into a temporary camera shutter button that allows users to click photos and record videos underwater. The hardware buttons are also provided for the same purpose. The phone offers 16 GB internal storage capacity of which around 11 GB is available to the user. However, the storage can be expanded by 64 GB using a microSD card.

The same amazing features that were offered in Galaxy S4 is available in the S4 Active; including gestures, hovering, air wave, smart play, smart scroll and many other fun features. The phone also comes with an Aqua Mode that can be applied to increase visual quality and clarity for enhanced underwater images. The company has also added certain helpful Samsung Apps including Samsung Hub, S Travel (Trip Advisor), S Health and S Translator that can translate as well as pronounce many different kinds of language. The camera also comes with many different features such as Drama Shot, Sound&Shot, Story Album and Group Play. However, it is unsure if the phone offers Dual Shot or Dual recording. The phone also comes with a IR blaster that can covert the phone into a remote.

The Apple iPhone 5 is the successor to the company’s Apple smartphone flagship. It is one of the most popular products that have been constantly boosting the company’s sales. Though, Apple originally was assumed to have the most technologically innovative products, many other companies have stepped in to give it good competition.

The iPhone 5 is the latest innovative product of the Apple Company. They have made the new phone slicker, thinner and lighter with even more packed features. Apple claims that the iPhone 5 is 18% thinner, 20% lighter, and has 12% less overall volume compared to the iPhone 4S. iPhone 5, bigger than its predecessors, supports a 4-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD screen with 640 x 1136 pixels and 16 million colors. The phone also offers safety features such as corning gorilla class as well as oleophobic coating that keep fingerprints off the front screen. iPhone 5 comes with the latest Apple iOS 6 that is upgradeable to 6.1. It includes a 1.2 GHz dual core Apple A6 processor, PowerVR SGX543MP3 and 1GB RAM. The phone is available with non-expandable 16, 32 or 64 GB internal storage capacity.

The problem with the new OS is that many features that work only with the iOS 6 do not work in certain territories and Apple has a rolling program that it said will take time to implement across more regions. The phone can also act as a hotspot and can share internet connection over WiFi, Bluetooth, or USB. Similar to the older versions, iPhone 5 is equipped with Siri that allows the user to operate the iPhone via vocal commands. However, Siri has been improved to and supports additional features such as being able to make restaurant reservations, launch apps, make twitter updates, search the internet for queries, etc. iOS 6 features several new and/or updated apps, which includes Apple Maps and Passbook. Apple Maps has also faced hostility as it does not execute properly and has also been known to give wrong directions. The Passbook app is able to retrieve documents such as boarding passes, admission tickets, coupons and loyalty cards. The phone also offers a new charging port, which is much smaller and more compact compared to the old chargers. They will also require a converter if you want to use them with the old charger, docks and other accessories. The phone has also shifted the headphone jack to the bottom of the phone.

The information for the detailed table about the two phones has been taken from Samsung Press website, Apple website and GSMArena.com.

Image Courtesy: spigen.com, samsung.com