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
Released June, 2012
At 133g, it's pretty easy to carry, too.
by GSM Arena (May, 2012)
 
  • Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
  • 4G
  • 5.5"
  • Quad core 1.6 GHz
Released November, 2012
And we're not saying that a big screen and a stylus is exactly what makes a near perfect smartphone better.
by GSM Arena (Oct, 2012)
 

Conclusion Which is better for you?

99%
95%
View Details
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?
View Details
100%
100%
View Details
84%
88%
View Details

Winner

SamsungGalaxy Note II

79
80

Features Key features of the Samsung Galaxy S III compared to the Samsung Galaxy Note II

GHz1.5

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean 4G

Angle view of Samsung Galaxy S III
The first chart shows better sharpness over the S II - it's especially noticeable in the small numbers below the color patches.
by GSM Arena (Oct, 2012)
Angle view of Samsung Galaxy Note II

1.6 GHz

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean 4G

Quad core is clearly fast.
Rated 100% by by pepper45322 (Dec, 2012)

screen size

4.8"
5.5"
The pretty large, sharp display with great colors makes reading a joy.
Galaxy S III by GSM Arena (Oct, 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.
Galaxy Note II by Christian-D.-Brown (Nov, 2012)

screen resolution

Samsung Galaxy S III
Samsung Galaxy Note II
The videos themselves are impressively smooth and with plenty of detail.
Galaxy S III by GSM Arena (May, 2012)
Strong contrast, you'll lose a little detail in the shadows, but everything else looks wonderful.
Galaxy Note II by Photo-King (Jan, 2013)

memory

0 GB
2 GB

2 GB
2 GB

processor

Samsung Galaxy S III
Samsung Galaxy Note II
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 S III by c|net (Jun, 2012)
Thanks to quad core processing and plenty of RAM, it's a powerhouse device.
Galaxy Note II by volsfan--volsfan (Nov, 2012)

camera resolution

0 MP
8 MP

8 MP
8 MP
After all, the outdated assumption that the more megapixels you have the better simply isn't true (and here's why).
Galaxy S III by c|net (Jun, 2012)
So far, the Galaxy Note 2 looks like it will carry on Samsung's legacy for high-performing 8-megapixel cameras.
Galaxy Note II by c|net (Sep, 2012)
 

Performance Real world tests of Samsung Galaxy S III vs Samsung Galaxy Note II

cpu speed

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.
Galaxy S III by GSM Arena (May, 2012)
The speed with this quad core processor is great.
Galaxy Note II by praisedpal
 

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

Rated 87%
Read the review (Jun, 2012)
Wi-Fi, GPS, Wi-Fi Direct, and Bluetooth 4.0 are other communication features, along with NFC (which powers stuff you can do with TecTiles and Google Wallet).
Rated 87%
Read the review (Oct, 2012)
Read the review (Sep, 2012)
Dolcourt/CNET). Still, to rely on the handwriting software day in and out, recognition must be consistently accurate, reliable, and fast.
Rated 79% by 11 users at amazon.com
Samsung SIII received, but I'm not satisfied with the product quality is not enough, the material is quite simple, I do not recommend.
Rated 20% by by ebusemih (Jul, 2012)
It's super fast, the UI is very fluid and responsive, and it's light with a large, well-lit screen.
Rated 100% by by John-Buford (Aug, 2012)
The touch screen is the best I've seen.
Rated 100% by by Robert-Koch (Aug, 2012)
Rated 87% by 257 users at amazon.com
People gave me compliments on the street saying it was "beautiful" This mixed in with the screen can make this a very attractive phone.
Rated 100% by by Crysis-Complex (Oct, 2012)
I was amazed at the size and thought to myself if i could fit it in my pocket, use android, and enjoy the whole experience the Note would be.
Rated 100% by by Dallas (Jan, 2013)
After I unplugged it at 7 am at 100%, then I used the phone for several calls, hundreds of texts, some you tube videos, about an hour of web browsing, played several games, Wi-Fi was on, and the screen brightness at medium, when I came back home at about 7pm, the phone still had about 70% charge remaining.
Rated 100% by by shan (Nov, 2012)

expandable

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 IslandDave (Oct, 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 100% by by M.-Ormandy (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.
Samsung Galaxy Note II 32 GB | Rated 80% by by Johnny-Saigon® (Nov, 2012)

storage

The internal storage will come in three capacities - 16GB, 32GB and 64GB.
Samsung Galaxy S III Dual core - 16GB - North American Edition | by GSM Arena (May, 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 87% by by c|net (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.
Samsung Galaxy Note II 32 GB | Rated 100% by by Paul-S (Oct, 2012)

operating system

I installed a Sandisk class 10 64gb micro sd card, it had the android on the cover.
Samsung Galaxy Note II 32 GB | Rated 60% by by Photo-King (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).
Samsung Galaxy Note II 32 GB | Rated 80% by by Aaron (Jan, 2013)

carrier

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 S III Dual core - 16GB - North American Edition | Rated 87% by by c|net (Jun, 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.
Samsung Galaxy Note II 32 GB | Rated 60% by by Ruby-K-Adkins (Nov, 2012)

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November 19, 2012
Games and processing power

Which is better s3 or note 2?

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November 15, 2012
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 :) ...

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