- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How they compare
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- LG Nexus 4
- Nokia Lumia 920
- HTC One X
- Sony Xperia Z
- Apple iPhone 5
- Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
- 4G
- 4.8"
- Dual core 1.5 GHz
by GSM Arena (May, 2012)At 133g, it's pretty easy to carry, too.
- Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
- 4G
- 5.5"
- Quad core 1.6 GHz
by GSM Arena (Oct, 2012)And we're not saying that a big screen and a stylus is exactly what makes a near perfect smartphone better.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the Samsung Galaxy S III compared to the Samsung Galaxy Note II
GHz1.5
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean 4G
by GSM Arena (Oct, 2012)The first chart shows better sharpness over the S II - it's especially noticeable in the small numbers below the color patches.
1.6 GHz
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean 4G
screen size
4.8"
5.5"
Galaxy S III by GSM Arena (Oct, 2012)The pretty large, sharp display with great colors makes reading a joy.
Galaxy Note II by Christian-D.-Brown (Nov, 2012)As of the screen its not as big as everybody says it is and this is coming from a skinny ass boy lol it fits perfectly in my hand so its a big phone but its not TO big.
screen resolution
Galaxy S III by GSM Arena (May, 2012)The videos themselves are impressively smooth and with plenty of detail.
Galaxy Note II by Photo-King (Jan, 2013)Strong contrast, you'll lose a little detail in the shadows, but everything else looks wonderful.
memory
| 0 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB |
processor
Galaxy S III by c|net (Jun, 2012)From the outside in, it has a large, vibrant HD display; Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich; a sharp 8-megapixel camera; 4G LTE support; a zippy dual-core processor; and tons of internal memory and 2GB RAM.
Galaxy Note II by volsfan--volsfan (Nov, 2012)Thanks to quad core processing and plenty of RAM, it's a powerhouse device.
camera resolution
| 0 MP | 8 MP | 8 MP |
Galaxy S III by c|net (Jun, 2012)After all, the outdated assumption that the more megapixels you have the better simply isn't true (and here's why).
Galaxy Note II by c|net (Sep, 2012)So far, the Galaxy Note 2 looks like it will carry on Samsung's legacy for high-performing 8-megapixel cameras.
Performance Real world tests of Samsung Galaxy S III vs Samsung Galaxy Note II
cpu speed
Galaxy S III by GSM Arena (May, 2012)Samsung seems to have done quite well here as the speed increase goes further than the 16% or so CPU frequency advantage that the Galaxy S III has over its predecessor.
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the Galaxy Note II
| Supports Adobe Flash | Yes | vs | No |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somewhat common; Many games and videos on the Internet require Adobe Flash | |||
| Store much more stuff | 64 GB | vs | 32 GB |
| 2x more storage capacity; free yourself from memory cards | |||
| Much lighter | 133 g | vs | 180 g |
| Around 30% lighter | |||
| Significantly smaller | 137 x 71 x 9 mm | vs | 81 x 151 x 9 mm |
| Around 30% smaller | |||
| Sharper screen | 305 ppi | vs | 267 ppi |
| More than 10% sharper PPI; enjoy photo-realistic, crisp images | |||
| Thinner | 9 mm | vs | 9 mm |
| Around 10% thinner | |||
Advantages compared to the Galaxy S III
| More cores | Quad core | vs | Dual core |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twice as many cores; each additional core lets your phone do more without visible UI slowdowns and jerkiness | |||
| Much more battery capacity | 3,100 mA·h | vs | 2,100 mA·h |
| Around 50% more battery capacity | |||
| Much better theoretical download speed | 168 Mb/s | vs | 84 Mb/s (HSPA+) |
| 2x better theoretical download speed; enjoy lightning fast downloads on modern networks | |||
| Bigger screen | 5.5" | vs | 4.8" |
| More than 10% bigger screen | |||
| More highly reviewed by consumers | 88.12% | vs | 83.79% |
| Around 10% more highly reviewed by consumers | |||
| Faster processor | 1.6 GHz | vs | 1.5 GHz |
| Around 10% faster processor; run computation-intensive applications, such as photo editing, faster | |||
| Marginally newer | Nov, 2012 | vs | Jun, 2012 |
| Release date 4 months later | |||
Reviews Word on the street
Samsung Galaxy S III | Samsung Galaxy Note II | ||
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|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Rated 20% by by ebusemih (Jul, 2012) Rated 100% by by John-Buford (Aug, 2012) | Rated 100% by by Crysis-Complex (Oct, 2012) Rated 100% by by Dallas (Jan, 2013) Rated 100% by by shan (Nov, 2012) | |
expandable
Samsung Galaxy Note II 32 GB | Rated 100% by by IslandDave (Oct, 2012)It cost me a few dollars to insert a 64Gb flash memory card in addition to the 16Gb on board memory and I will buy a spare battery to insert if I do run it down.
Samsung Galaxy Note II 32 GB | Rated 100% by by M.-Ormandy (Nov, 2012)It also has a MicroSD slot which takes 64gb UHS-1 exfat cards (mine will be in in three days, temporarily using 32gb card).
Samsung Galaxy Note II 32 GB | Rated 80% by by Johnny-Saigon® (Nov, 2012)And if it wasn't for the fact of pi$$-poor Verizon customer service at their call centers, and that it only had 16GB of memory with no microSD card option, I would have made the switch.
storage
Samsung Galaxy S III Dual core - 16GB - North American Edition | by GSM Arena (May, 2012)The internal storage will come in three capacities - 16GB, 32GB and 64GB.
Samsung Galaxy Note II 32 GB | Rated 87% by by c|net (Oct, 2012)Behind the back cover rests the microSD card slot, which can hold up to 64GB in external memory.
Samsung Galaxy Note II 32 GB | Rated 100% by by Paul-S (Oct, 2012)Used IPhone for 6 Years, was tired of getting little upgrades every version paying far more for each upgrade, did my homework and researched all phones avalable today and found this Quad Core 1.6GHz 16Gb (upgradable to 80Gb) just by buying a 64Gb Micro SDXC.
operating system
Samsung Galaxy Note II 32 GB | Rated 60% by by Photo-King (Jan, 2013)I installed a Sandisk class 10 64gb micro sd card, it had the android on the cover.
Samsung Galaxy Note II 32 GB | Rated 80% by by Aaron (Jan, 2013)I also ordered the 64gb san disk card and so far no issues with that I put it in the phone and pow I had 59 gb available plus the 9 gb that is available on the phone when you recieve it (16gb but really only 9 gb due to OS).
carrier
Samsung Galaxy S III Dual core - 16GB - North American Edition | Rated 87% by by c|net (Jun, 2012)At the time of writing, U.S. Cellular had recently launched its 4G LTE network in select cities in Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin, populations that cover 25 percent of the carrier's customers.
Samsung Galaxy Note II 32 GB | Rated 60% by by Ruby-K-Adkins (Nov, 2012)With all that capability you'd think they'd release this phone with a 32GB and 64GB option at the same time on all the carriers.
Competition What else you should consider
| | 1 | LG Nexus 4 Newest on the market |
| | 3 | HTC One X 3-way tie: Supports Flash |
| | 7 | Apple iPhone 4S Middle-of-the-pack browser performance |
| | 8 | Samsung Galaxy S4 Longest battery life during active use |
Popular Questions
Unanswered Questions
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Which device has better screen, Galaxy S3 or Galaxy Note2?
I am wondering which device has better screen... I know that the S3 has better pixel density but the Note2 has Non-Pentile display and RGB matrix... Please make a compassion between these two :) ...








