Cameras Compared: iPhone 7 Plus vs. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

Not to be mistaken with the airline-unfriendly Galaxy Note 7, the Galaxy S7 Edge is Samsung's other flagship smartphone. While the phone is a bit smaller overall, the S7 Edge's display is identical in size to what you'll get with the Apple iPhone 7 Plus, and most customers in the market for a higher-end smartphone will opt to purchase one of these two devices.

To help make the decision a bit easier, tech journalists have been shooting side-by-side comparisons, evaluating not only each device's functionality, but also the quality of the content it captures — this last point is especially important for frequent travelers who may often find themselves documenting their adventures with a smartphone, rather than a much bulkier point-and-shoot or interchangeable-lens camera.

One of my go-to tech bloggers, Sascha Pallenberg, posted a video comparing the quality of both devices and gave us permission to share his findings here. Given all the recent iPhone hype, I would have expected Apple's smartphone to come out ahead, but the GS7 actually seems to be the superior option both when it comes to video capture and stills. The Galaxy S7 also supports my current favorite 360-degree camera, the Samsung Gear 360, which I started using just a few weeks ago (check out a sample still in this review).

So, based on Sascha's review, it seems clear that Samsung's phone captures higher-quality content, though the iPhone 7 does a very good job as well. While image quality is only one factor when it comes to picking a replacement smartphone, it's absolutely worth considering. That said, I've opted to purchase the iPhone 7 Plus regardless (primarily because of the new 2x optical zoom lens), and I've been quite happy so far — but if image quality is especially important to you, it looks like there may be a better option.

So, iPhone 7 or Galaxy S7 Edge?