What’s on the next iPhone? Check out Samsung’s new Galaxy S21

Do you know what I could do with all this time saved? Probably … nothing.

You would be forgiven if you had completely missed the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S21 a few weeks ago. There are no whiz bang features and you may have been distracted. Still, the trio of new phones – the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra – are the best Samsung has released in years and the best Android phones for money right now. The S21 starts at $ 799, minus $ 200 compared to last year’s model.

It’s what I like to call a year of Samsung refinement. (For other examples, see the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S10.) The company has improved and enhanced some of its best features introduced earlier, such as the fingerprint sensor, the 120Hz screen that cools down quickly, and the the S21 Ultra ‘s 10X zoom lens.

Not coincidentally, these are some of the features that Apple will probably incorporate in its next iPhones, whether branded iPhone 12S, iPhone 13 or iPhone Super Max Crazy Deluxe 2021.

Apple has been working on fingerprint technology on the screen and has considered including both Touch ID and Face ID on the same device, two former Apple employees told me. While they couldn’t confirm the company’s plans, other reports, including one from Bloomberg, claim that Apple is testing fingerprint sensors on the screen on its next iPhone.

Apple declined to comment on its future products.

While there are additional industry reports indicating that Apple is adopting improved and faster OLED displays and an additional telephoto camera, I can also point out a little called … history. As you’ll see in the video above, I represented the last five years at Apple following Samsung with the hardware features and Samsung following Apple.

There’s a clear pattern: Samsung makes the most advanced feature available (e.g., water resistance, wireless charging, 5G connectivity) as soon as possible, according to my estimates, two or three years before Apple. Apple continues when it believes the technology is ready for the masses. When Apple outperforms Samsung in the marketplace, it is often used with proprietary technology, such as AirPods or Face ID, or by eliminating features such as the headset connector.

“For people who love Samsung, there’s nothing too early,” said Drew Blackard, vice president of product management at Samsung Electronics America. It highlights the value the company gets from the comments of early adopters. “They help us refine what becomes the product two years later.”

And so it syncs: at the same time, Samsung is perfecting its previous features, as it did with the Galaxy S21, you can trust that Apple usually does not lag behind with its own variations.

Fingerprint sensor on the screen

The Galaxy S21’s fingerprint sensor lives below the bottom half of the screen. When needed, a fingerprint icon appears to show you where to click. It is fast and reliable, recognizes the sides of the fingers and even the lightest touch. It wasn’t always like that.

With the Galaxy S10 and S20, technology was slower, often sending error messages again and failing with wet fingers. The improvements are the result of Qualcomm‘s

second generation ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. Now the sensor covers a larger area, runs 50% faster, and captures more fingerprint data in your scans, making it more accurate.

Qualcomm declined to say if Apple was another customer of its ultrasound technology.

A former Apple employee, who worked on Apple’s Touch ID, said the company had been working with optical sensors for reading fingerprints on the screen. The person said that optical detection can be more reliable than ultrasonic. Apple has filed several related patents back in 2014. A recent patent shows a recognized fingerprint when placed anywhere on the screen. Apple declined to comment on its patents.

Former employees stressed that with any solution Apple adopts, it should meet the security standards of its current Touch ID, which is still used on the iPhone SE, iPad and MacBooks.

120Hz OLED screens

Please take your seats for the Rudimentary Refresh Rate class. To transmit motion, all screens are updated a certain number of times per second (often 60). It is measured in hertz, so “60Hz”. Because video typically has 60 frames per second or less, this works for the most part. But if the refresh rate is doubled to 120 Hz, some animations may seem even smoother, especially scrolling and menu transitions. You can also reduce latency when writing with a stylus and improve some video games, which can run at more than 60 frames per second.

Really, can it be differentiated if the two are not compared side by side? No, but it’s very nice. The biggest retention of technology has been the battery. Last year’s Galaxy S20 had the 120Hz option, but was disabled by default due to battery depletion. With the Galaxy S21, it is enabled by default, with improved screen energy efficiency and new adaptive frame rates that adjust to the screen content. On the Galaxy S21 Ultra, Samsung uses a new lower-power 6.8-inch OLED screen that reduces power consumption by 16%, though it still has a high resolution.

It has been reported that Samsung, which regularly manufactures components for iPhone, will provide this type of screen for future iPhones. Plus, Apple already has the marketing lingo for that. The iPad Pro’s LCD screens have 120 Hz refresh rates, which they call “ProMotion”.

According to Ming-Chi Kou, an analyst at TF International Securities, the iPhone Pro 2021 models will have 120 Hz screens, with a long trajectory of accurately predicting the future functions of the iPhone. Apple tested it on the iPhone 12, it says, but dropped it due to battery and performance issues.

An ultra zoom camera

Last year I called the “Space Space” of the Galaxy S20 Ultra – which could enlarge photos digitally up to 100X – to a fluid camera. This year, the optical capacity is even better. The Galaxy S21 Ultra has four rear cameras, including a telephoto lens with 3X optical zoom and another with 10X optical zoom.

Translation: crazy photos when you’re crazy, far away.

Is it still creepy? Sure, but is it also useful when trying to take a picture of a deer in the distance or your child in the middle of the football field? I’m sure.

Apple has been exploring a larger telephoto lens, according to Mr. Kou, though he is not sure at the moment. Apple has also filed patents related to this, including one just this week, which refers to a camera that includes “two light-folding elements.”

Reduce the picture and the picture is clear: whether Apple is buying Samsung technology or inventing its own, it is working to offer iPhones many of the features that Galaxy owners already have under their thumb.

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Write to Joanna Stern to [email protected]