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

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

You’ll be forgiven for completely missing Samsung’s Galaxy S21 launch a few weeks ago. There are no whiz bang features and you might be distracted otherwise. Yet the trio of new phones – the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra – are the best Samsung has offered in years, and the best Android phones at the moment. The S21 starts at $ 799, less than $ 200 compared to last year’s model.

This is what I like to call a Samsung refinement year. (For other examples, see the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S10.) The company has polished and enhanced some of its best features previously introduced, including the fingerprint sensor, the fast-refreshing 120Hz screen and the 10X zoom lens on the S21 Ultra.

These happen to be some of the features of Apple AAPL -3.74%

will likely be included in its next iPhones, whether it’s the trademark 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. Although they could not confirm the company’s plans, other reports, including one from Bloomberg, say that Apple is testing the fingerprint sensors on the screen on the next iPhone.

Apple declined to comment on its future products.

While there are additional industry reports suggesting that Apple is adopting improved, faster OLED screens and an additional telephoto camera, I can also point to something called history. As you’ll see in the video above, I’ve been mapping out Apple’s hardware features over the past five years – and Samsung’s following Apple.

There’s a clear pattern: Samsung is putting out the latest feature (e.g. water resistance, wireless charging, 5G connectivity) as soon as possible – in my estimation two to three years ahead of Apple. Apple follows when they consider the technology ready for the masses. When Apple hits Samsung in the market, it is usually with proprietary technology, such as AirPods or Face ID, or by removing features such as the headphone jack.

“For people who love Samsung, there is nothing too early,” said Drew Blackard, vice president of product management at Samsung Electronics America. He emphasizes the value the company derives from the feedback from the early contractor. They “help us become the refined product two years later.”

And so it fits together: The moment Samsung refines its previous features – as with the Galaxy S21 – you can trust that Apple is usually not far behind with its own variations.

On-screen fingerprint sensor

The Galaxy S21’s fingerprint sensor lives below the bottom half of the screen. A fingerprint icon appears if needed to show you where to print. It’s fast and reliable, it recognizes the edges of my fingers and even just the lightest touch. This was not always the case.

With the Galaxy S10 and S20, the technology was slower, frequently produced error messages and failed with wet fingers. The improvements are the result of Qualcommsay

second generation ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. The sensor now covers a larger area, functions 50% faster and captures more fingerprint data in its scans, making it more accurate.

Qualcomm declined to say whether Apple was another customer of its ultrasonic technology.

A former Apple employee, who worked on Apple’s Touch ID, said the company worked with optical sensors to read fingerprint reading on the screen. The person said optical observation could be more reliable than ultrasound. Apple has already filed several related patents in 2014. A recent patent shows a fingerprint that is recognized when placed on the screen. Apple declined to comment on its patents.

The former employees stressed that the solution that Apple comes up with must meet the security standards of the current Touch ID, which is still used on the iPhone SE, the iPad and MacBooks.

120Hz OLED screens

Take your seat for the Rudimentary Refreshment Rate Class To transmit motion, all screens refresh a certain number of times per second – often 60. It is measured in hertz, so ’60Hz’. Since video is usually 60 frames per second or less, it usually works. But doubling the refresh rate to 120Hz can make some animations look smoother, especially for scrolling and switching between menus. It can also reduce the delay when writing with a stylus, and improve some video games, which can run faster than 60 frames per second.

Can you really see the difference unless you compare the two side by side? No, but it’s nice to have. The biggest boom in technology was the battery. Last year’s Galaxy S20 had the 120Hz option, but that was by default due to battery drain. With the Galaxy S21 it’s up to standard, with improved on-screen efficiency and new customizable frame rates that match what’s on-screen. On the Galaxy S21 Ultra, Samsung uses a new 6.8-inch lower-power OLED screen that reduces power consumption by 16%, yet has a crazy high resolution.

There are reports that Samsung, which regularly makes iPhone components, will provide this type of screen for the following iPhones. In addition, Apple already has the marketing language for it. The iPad Pro’s LCD screens have 120Hz refresh rates – what he calls ‘ProMotion’.

The 2021 iPhone Pro models have 120Hz screens, according to Ming-Chi Kou, a TF International Securities analyst with a long track record of accurately predicting future iPhone features. Apple tested it on the iPhone 12, he says, but pulled it out due to battery issues and performance.

An ultra-zoom camera

Last year, I mentioned the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s Space Zoom – which could magnify photos up to 100X digitally – as a crawler camera. This year, the optical capability is even better. The Galaxy S21 Ultra has four rear cameras, including one telephoto with 3X optical zoom and another with 10X optical zoom.

Translation: Color photos if you stand crazy far away.

Is this still creepy? That’s for sure, but is it also useful if you’re trying to take a picture of a deer in the distance or your child in the middle of the soccer field? That’s for sure.

According to Kou, Apple has investigated larger magnification of telephones, although he is not sure of the timing. Apple has also filed related patents, just one this week, referring to a camera with ‘two light-fold elements’.

Stretching and the picture is clear: whether Apple buys Samsung’s technology or invents its own, it works to give iPhones many of the features that Galaxy owners already have under the thumb.

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Write to Joanna Stern at [email protected]