Galaxy S II review: The dual-core super-thin 2011 hit that made Samsung an Android powerhouse.
The phone that made Samsung a giant.
Galaxy S II was a breakout — a razor-thin dual-core powerhouse with a gorgeous Super AMOLED Plus that sold over 40 million. It established Samsung as the Android flagship maker and set the template the line followed for years.
01Display
74/100At 74/100 this is one of the strongest display showings among flagship phones of 2011 — 11 points above the cohort average.
02Camera
56/10056/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2011.
03Performance
50/10050/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2011.
04Battery
50/10050/100 is one of the weaker battery results among flagship phones of 2011 — 6 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.
05Build
56/10056/100 trails the 59-point cohort average for flagship phones of 2011.
06Value
58/100At 58/100 this is one of the strongest value showings among flagship phones of 2011 — 12 points above the cohort average.
- Dual-core Exynos was blazing for 2011.
- Just 8.5 mm thin.
- Super AMOLED Plus (RGB matrix).
- Sold over 40 million units.
- WVGA resolution dated quickly.
- Plastic build.
- Mono speaker.
- TouchWiz over Gingerbread.
How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 70-phone cohort of flagship devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .