Its predecessors, the Galaxy S2 and the Galaxy Nexus, have already given Apple a run for its money over the past couple of years but they haven't entirely managed to dethrone the king of smartphones.
And it's not just Samsung vying for the iPhone's crown. HTC, Sony and Nokia are all packing their latest handsets with enough bells and whistles to turn heads.
If you're upgrading your phone this year, or entering the world of smartphones for the first time, the variety of handsets can make it a difficult choice.
To help you decide, we asked owners of some of the most popular handsets at MoneySupermarket what they love and loathe about them, and what smartphone they'd go for if they were upgrading.
iPhone 4S
Andreas upgraded from the iPhone 4 to the 4S and says the processor seems a lot faster: "The actual call quality is the best I've ever experienced and Siri is a nice bonus to have."
Just like every smartphone, the 4S seems to have battery issues, as Andreas explains: "The battery life isn't the best and it's quite annoying that it needs charging every day."
HTC Sensation XE
Rachael has a Sensation XE and is one of the few HTC users to the have already acquired the Ice Cream Sandwich software upgrade.
Plus points for the XE, says Rachael, are the 4.3" touchscreen, the red detailing on the casing and a free pair of Beats by Dre headphones.
Apart from missing out on iPhone-only apps, Rachael says there's little to complain about with the Sensation XE. When it comes to upgrading, the quality of the HTC One's camera (8 megapixel) could be the clincher, she says.
Blackberry Bold 9700
Mark has the "appalling" Bold 9700 and plans to get rid of it soon. Though he likes the keyboard because it allows for faster typing than on a touch screen, there are a few things he doesn't like.
Lack of apps, a lacklustre processor which "just doesn't seem capable of carrying out basic functions" and a screen which is too small to read things on the internet are just some of the things irritating Mark, who says he may upgrade to the iPhone 5 if it's out by July.
HTC Desire HD
I jumped the Apple ship last year for the Desire HD. I was fed up of iTunes and wanted to be able to customise my phone a bit more.
The phone seems to 'lose' the SD card fairly regularly though, telling me it cannot find the memory card containing all my music, photographs and other data - even though it's in the phone.
The battery also leaves a lot to be 'desired'. If I want a full day's use of the phone it usually means juggling the wifi and mobile network connections.
Finally, though I am a fan of the Android platform, I and my fellow Desire HD users are still patiently waiting for the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) upgrade.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Samsung's last big handset, the Galaxy Nexus, was generally well received by critics, but Amrit isn't a fan.
He said: "I hate my Google phone. I hate Android - the amount of time you have to spend to get it as functional as an iPhone? If I wasn't lazy, I would have exchanged my phone for an iPhone 4S within the 14 day period."
Amrit's other complaints include crashing apps and poor sound quality, especially when using services like Spotify. He plans to upgrade to the iPhone 5 when it arrives.
Nokia N8
Stefan loves the N8's impressive 12 megapixel camera and 16GB internal memory, but dislikes the Symbian operating system, which means he can't get apps found on the Apple app store or Play store (formerly Android Market).
Again battery life is a concern, but Stefan is keeping his options open when it comes to upgrading in the autmun.
What does this tell us?
Battery life, processing power and operating systems seem to be main factors swaying smartphone users for or against handsets.
Sluggish software, weak batteries and the absence of popular apps seem to be causing the most frustration, while only one smartphone user commented on the actual call quality of the phone (though this does highlight the fact that the iPhone has been criticised in the past for its call quality.)
Whether or not the Galaxy S3 topples the iPhone remains to be seen, but our modest survey shows one happy Apple customer and one unhappy Samsung customer.
Outside of the Apple/Samsung battle, perhaps the most satisfied customer was Rachael, owner of the HTC Sensation XE - but as a relatively unimpressed HTC user, I may be upgrading to the Galaxy S3 when I can, provided the reviews are good.
If you'd prefer to compare handset features for yourself, head over to our mobile phones channel by clicking here.
Please note: Any rates or deals mentioned in this article were available at the time of writing. Click on a highlighted product and apply direct.
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