For the first time in four years, Apple surpassed Samsung in worldwide smartphone sales in the final quarter of 2020. This, according to Gartner, was due to the launch of the iPhone 12 series, which helped Apple achieve double-digit growth in the same quarter and for all of 2020.

Samsung, on the other hand, saw a 14.6% year-over-year decline. Of course, Samsung's Galaxy S21 launched outside that window in January, but based on our iPhone 12 vs. Galaxy S21 matchup, Apple holds the lead. Apple also won our detailed iPhone 12 Pro Max vs Galaxy S21 Ultra comparison and iPhone 12 Pro vs Galaxy S21 Plus Plus battle.

Why does Apple keep winning? Yes, iOS is superior to Android in some areas in terms of ease of use, and if you include other products like MacBooks, Apple Watch, AirPods, and iCloud, Apple's ecosystem is more robust than Samsung's. But for me, it all comes down to the camera.

I know what you are thinking. The standard iPhone 12 doesn't even have a telephoto camera, while the Galaxy S21 offers 3x hybrid optical zoom and 30x space zoom (digital). In other words, Apple is losing out on versatility from the get-go. [The Galaxy S21 Ultra is even more powerful, with a dual 10x optical and 100x digital telephoto zoom lens. iPhone 12 Pro Max has 3.5x optical and 12x digital zoom. The Galaxy S21 Ultra's zoom test outperforms the iPhone 12 in this regard.

However, when one actually looks at the image quality offered by both brands, Apple still leads. In fact, Samsung's phones are struggling under certain conditions.

Take this portrait of my colleague Jordan: the Galaxy S21 Plus photo looks filmy and his face is washed out; the iPhone 12 Pro photo is almost too warm, but it shows more detail in his hair and beard; and the iPhone 12 Pro photo is too warm, but it shows more detail in his hair and beard.

The same thing happens indoors. In this photo of a golden retriever, the fur looks more golden when shot with the iPhone 12 Pro Max; the Galaxy S21 Ultra's image is flat and lacks contrast.

This outdoor photo shows a similar pattern: the Galaxy S21 shot appears hazy next to the iPhone 12 Pro; in the iPhone photo, the shadows are more defined and there is a sense of depth.

In a less dramatic example, the iPhone 12 again wins when compared side-by-side with the Galaxy S21 in the photo of Merida's figurine. Her hair is redder in the iPhone photo and her green skin appears richer.

The iPhone 12 series' night mode also tends to perform better than the Galaxy S21. This comparison shows that bricks, house numbers, and windows all appear brighter and crisper. Also, the figurines blend more into the background in the S21 image.

This is not to say that the Galaxy S21 series cameras are bad by any means. In fact, in some cases, Samsung phones top the list.

In this photo of stir-fried chicken, the peppers in the S21 Ultra photo look a bit richer. Here, the Samsung has the edge. Also, as already mentioned, Samsung's phone outperforms the iPhone when it comes to zoom.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra series also has photo and video features that I wish Apple had. This includes Single Take, which uses multiple lenses to capture many photos and videos at once. There is also Director's View, which allows you to record using the front and back cameras at the same time.

Overall, however, Samsung needs to catch up with Apple when it comes to calculated photography. The camera hardware in the Galaxy S21 series is solid. However, post-processing and machine learning to get the best out of the images is still a step behind Apple's efforts.