The == operator compare whether two object references are refer to the same instance or not.

The equals() method compare the characters(contents) of two String object.

example:

String a="Hai";

String b="Hai";

String c=new String("Hai");

System.out.println(a==b); //True

System.out.println(a==c); //False

System.out.println(a.equals(b)); //True

System.out.println(a.equals(c)); //True