Here’s how the iPhone X compares to the Essential Phone, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and the LG V30

The Apple iPhone X is, without a doubt, the most powerful, capable, and well-designed phone the company has ever released. That being said, while it’s certainly impressive in comparison to its new iPhone siblings, it’s important to put the iPhone X into context with its mobile competitors.

To begin with, the iPhone X’s most obvious differentiating factor is that it runs Apple’s latest iOS 11 software, whereas the Essential Phone, Galaxy Note 8 and LG V30 all run variations on Android 7.1 Nougat.

Specs

iPhone X

Essential Phone (PH-1)

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

LG V30

Display

5.8-inch, OLED True Tone display, 2436 x 1125 pixels

5.71-inches, IPS LCD display, 2560 x 1312 pixels, 19:10 aspect ratio

6.3-inch, Super AMOLED display, 1440 x 2960 pixels, 18:5:9 aspect ratio, HDR 10

6.0-inch, Quad HD+ display, 2880 x 1440 pixels, 18:9 aspect ratio

Processor

A11 Bionic chip

Snapdragon 835

Snapdragon 835 (Exynos 8895)

Snapdragon 835

RAM

3GB of RAM

4GB of RAM

6GB RAM

4GB of RAM

Storage

64GB, 256GB

128GB

64GB (expandable up to 256GB)

64GB (expandable up to 2TB)

Dimensions

143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7mm

141.5 x 71.1 x 7.8mm

162.5mm x 74.6mm x 8.5mm

151.7 x 75.4 x 7.3mm

Weight

174g

185g

195g

158g

Rear Facing Camera

12-megapixel (f/1.8, OIS) + 12-megapixel (f/2.4, OIS), quad-LED 'True Tone' flash

13-megapixel, (f/1.85)

12-megapixel (f/1.7) + 12-megapixel (f.2.4, OIS, AF) dual-LED flash

16-megapixel (f/1.6, OIS) + 13-megapixel (f/1.9)

Front Facing Camera

7-megapixel (f/2.2)

8-megapixel, (f/2.2)

8-Megapixel (f/1.7)

5-megapixel (f/2.2)

OS

iOS 11

Android 8.1.1 Oreo

Android 7.1 Nougat

Android 7.1.2 Nougat

Battery

2,716mAh

3,040mAh

3,300mAh

3,300mAh

Network Connectivity

GSM / HSPA / LTE / Band 66

GSM / HSPA / LTE / Band 66

GSM / HSPA / LTE

GSM / HSPA / LTE

Sensors

TrueDepth Camera Sensor, Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer

Rear Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Proximity Sensor, 10 finger multitouch, Accelerometer, Magnetometer , Compass sensor, Ambient light Sensor

Iris scanner, fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, heart rate, SpO2

Fingerprint sensor, Barometer, Three-axis gyro, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor

SIM Type

Nano SIM

Nano SIM

Nano SIM

Nano SIM

Launch Date

November 3, 2017

May 30, 2017

August 23, 2017

September 21, 2017

Misc

Colours: space grey and silver| Glass front and back, IP67 water/dust resistant, calibrated for AR, Qi wireless charging

Colours: Black Moon, Stellar Grey, Pure White, Ocean Depths | Modularity, USB Type-C, No headphone jack, Bezel-less, Titanium build

Colours: Black, Blue | IP68 water/dust resistant, S-Pen, 18:9 aspect ratio, wireless charging, USB type C

Colour: Cloud Silver | Bluetooth 5.0 BLE, NFC , USB Type-C 2.0 (3.1 compatible), IP68 water/dust resistant, 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC, Daydream Certified

Indeed, for many potential smartphone owners, the differences in the processor, battery size, screen size, SD card slot, RAM, and total onboard storage are secondary factors. Ultimately, the differences between the iOS and Android ecosystems might be enough to determine whether one invests in the latest iPhone or the latest premium-tier Android flagship.

For those looking past software differences, however, the physical differences between the iPhone X, the Essential Phone, the Note 8 and the V30 might not be as surprising as one might assume.

All three phones feature a beautiful, bright, relatively bezel-less, edge-to-edge display. All four phones feature dual-camera set-ups. All four phones have more than enough RAM to perform power-heavy tasks. All four devices come with plenty of onboard storage for most people. Not to mention all four devices also support wireless charging.

As for the processor, the three Android devices feature the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip, while the iPhone X features Apple’s latest A11 Bionic chip.

Of course, if there’s any one particular difference of note, it’s not ecosystem — it’s security. The iPhone X is the only one of these devices without a dedicated fingerprint sensor, instead allowing users to unlock their phones using facial recognition, dubbed ‘Face ID.’ That being said, both the Note 8 and V30 have some form of facial recognition (V30 has facial and voice recognition while the Note 8 has Iris scanning), so it’ll be interesting to see how Apple’s software compares to Samsung’s and LG’s.