If you’re a Samsung Galaxy S II owner and you’re satisfied with it, you’re probably thinking about upgrading to the newest flagship of the company, the Samsung Galaxy S III which has been first available in Dubai and has since been released in numerous other regions. After all, it’s only the logical thing to do. Here are a set of considerations that you can think about as a guide for upgrading from the Galaxy S II to the Galaxy S III.

Since the Galaxy S III is the current flagship of Samsung, it clearly wins hands down if you’re just considering hardware specifications. However, there are a few things that make the Galaxy S II attractive too because it has been replaced as the top smartphone in Samsung’s camp. We’ll get to those in a bit but for now, let’s look at the hardware first.

The Galaxy S III is powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos processor. It will be dual-core S4 in some cases like in Japan but that phone is also equipped with 2GB of RAM unlike the international version which has 1GB. Needless to say, the Galaxy S II with its dual-core 1.2GHz Exynos is less powerful. Both phones have 1GB of RAM.

As for storage, the Galaxy S III, at its largest, has 64GB (which can still be expanded via a 64GB microSD card) while the Galaxy S II has 32GB (expandable via 32GB microSD card). This is one selling point of these phones too as their memory can be expanded unlike, say, with the iPhone or the Galaxy Nexus. Anyway, that means there’s more to store all those photos you take with the camera of the Galaxy S III which, by the way, is 8MP with a host of features like burst shot and best shot which we have discussed here.

The Galaxy S II also has an 8MP back camera but the Galaxy S III has more features therefore it has more imaging prowess. Both cameras have flashes. The Galaxy S III has a 1.9MP front snapper while the Galaxy S II has a 2MP front snapper. Both back phones can record 1080p Full HD video with their back cameras.

To see those videos, the S III connects to a TV via Micro HDMI while the S II has Micro USB. Both can wirelessly connect with TVs though, especially Samsung Smart TVs.

Another option is to view your video using the smartphones’ screens. The Galaxy S III takes the higher spot here again, although that’s somewhat debatable. It’s equipped with a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED screen while the Galaxy S II has a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen.

That plus there is the reason why some are saying the S II screen is better. However, when you look at the screen resolutions, the S III wins since it has a resolution of 720p or 1,280×720 pixels while the S II has an 800×480 pixels screen.

Therefore, the Galaxy S III has a pixel density of 305 pixels per inch while the Galaxy S II has 217 ppi. This means that the screen of the S III is denser in terms of pixels so images should appear better with it. Think of it as the screen of the S III having more smooth images because you can’t possibly discern individual pixels on its screen unless you put it under a magnifying glass or a microscope.

Next up, we have wireless connectivity. Both the S II and the S III have Wi-Fi, as expected, but it’s the S III which is equipped with 4G. There are some varieties of the S II which has 4G, however, but we’re talking about the international versions here. Anyway, both phones can act as Wi-Fi hotspots, both have NFC, and both have Bluetooth. However, the Galaxy S III has Bluetooth 4.0 while the Galaxy S II has Bluetooth 3.0.

Next up, we have the sensors of the phones. Both the S III and S II have Assisted GPS, accelerometers, compasses and gyroscopes. The Galaxy S III, however, has this nifty little feature called Smart Stay that uses the phones sensors like its front camera to keep the screen alive as long as you are looking at it. This can come in handy while reading a book, or reading a particularly long email as you don’t have to constantly tap on the screen to keep it from going to locked mode. The S III also has this feature where you can call someone from when you are texting them by simply putting the phone up to your ear.

There are also some other things you should consider. If you like music, both smartphones have FM and can take any headset as long as it has a 3.5mm plug. As for size, the Galaxy S III is understandably bigger since that screen is more massive than the screen of the Galaxy S II.

However, to accommodate the screen without having to greatly increase the size of the phone, Samsung has thinned the bezel of the S III so it only measures 136.6×70.6×8.6mm. The S II comes in at 125.3×66.1×8.5mm so it is thinner. The S II is also lighter weighing at 116g while the S III is 133g. Maybe the Galaxy S III is heavier to accommodate that bigger battery to power than bigger screen. It has a 2,100mAH battery which is bigger than the 1,650mAh batter of the Galaxy S II.

What you’re getting with the Galaxy S III, however, is a more fluid experience. Or at least that’s what Samsung wanted to convey when it launched the phone. It’s apparent from what they discussed at the launch that they have tried to give the Galaxy S III an experience unique to it. It has Smart, Stay, 50GB of Dropbox storage, S Beam, S Voice, and a bevy of other features.

With that said, now that the new flagship is out, the Galaxy S II will be more affordable for people.  This is for those who are thinking about whether to buy the Galaxy S II or the Galaxy S III.   Take note, however, that it’s already more than a year since it has been launched. It was launched in February of 2012. The Galaxy S II is also smaller which is a plus for those who may be daunted by the largeness of the Galaxy S III. It also has a Super AMOLED Plus screen which has a full set of subpixels. Those who don’t have a micro SIM will also benefit from the Galaxy S II being a regular SIM card phone. More importantly, it’s still a very capable phone.

Whatever you decide, take to consideration what you would do with the device. List the things you will be making use of the smartphone for and weigh the features of the phone with other things like your budget, your comfort with the size of each device, how much you want the latest, what you consider to be the more beautiful device, and other concerns like these.

It’s apparent though that a lot of people are going for the Galaxy S III and with good reason. It’s already considered the most preordered Android smartphone ever and its preorders as of May 20 were more than 9 million. However, if you ever go for the Galaxy S II, it’s still a solid smartphone. Whether you go for the Galaxy S II or the Galaxy S III, you’re sure to have picked a very capable device which will please you.

Images 1, 2, 3 & 4 from Sham Hardy, Mia is a Geek, mtlin & Sham Hardy on Flickr (CC)

About Solon Harmony Dolor

A passion for technology and journalism makes this upcoming writer very interested in social media and technology news. Fresh from finishing an English and Journalism degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman, he aims to bring interesting news to our readers .