The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are the latest phone in town which seems to be causing so many ripples. As usual, any new entrant into the market from Apple causes lots of commotion in the mobile phone industry and in all our lives! Many have saved since the beginning of this year with the hopes of having enough money to make a purchase by the time the iPhone 6 is released.
But aside from the buzz and hype that surrounds every new Apple product, is there really a big deal to the iPhone 6? Or is it just the same ‘old’ features repackaged with a bigger screen and some ‘’effizzy’’?
Let’s dig deep into this shall we? We’re gonna be comparing two of the latest titans in the market today – Samsung Galaxy Note 4 vs iPhone 6 Plus.
Camera
Let’s start from the feature most ‘’Instagram Celebs’’ care about.
Where camera is concerned, the Note 4 carries 16MP sensors with optical image stabilization (OIS) and 4K video recording at 30fps. The front camera is a wide-angle up to 120 degree 3.7MP camera which in essence will enable users take the best group shots with friends
In the other corner, the iPhone 6 Plus carries an updated 8MP iSight sensor with true-tone flash and f/2.2 aperture. It also has optical image stabilisation (OIS) sensors (the first iPhone to have such).
Design
The Note 4 has a similar design as its predecessor – the faux leather back with the metal strip that runs around the edge of the handset.
This time around Apple decided on a unibody construction which is similar to that of the HTC One M8.
In terms of breadth, width and height, the iPhone 6 Plus is slightly thinner than the Note 4 with both handsets measuring 158.1mm x 77.8mm x 7.1mm and 152 x 80 x 7.6 respectively.
The 6 Plus wins when it comes to weight, this is rather impressive considering its metallic design, although the victory is small as it weighs 172g compared to the Note 4 at 176g.
The Note 4 comes with the signature stylus pen that follows Samsung’s Note series. The S Pen introduces a more user-friendly Air Command functionality along with other intuitive features such as Action Memo, Screen Write, Image Clip and Smart Select that allow users to create and collect content with ease. A new Smart Select feature enables users to easily piece together content from different origins, and share it with ease. Considering the size of the phone, this is a very welcome feature. Apple however, felt it was unnecessary as no stylus is included in the frame of the 6 Plus.
Both have rather unique designs; the Note 4 is water resistant with in-built heart-rate monitor but the 6 Plus is sleek with its metallic design.
Display
The display is one of the most important components of any smartphone. The Note 4 packs an impressive 2560 x 1440 (515ppi) screen, (Quad HD – one of the first available on a smartphone) 5.7 inch display with Super AMOLED, QHD resolution for incredibly sharp and vibrant pictures and wide viewing angles. Its screen is highly usable and responsive in sunlight.
The 6 Plus which is the first of the iPhone family to clock a full HD resolution packs a slightly smaller 1920 x 1080 (401ppi) resolution 5.5 inch display. The 6. It has lower resolution with 401ppi pixel density and IPS LCD panel for excellent brightness.
While the 6 Plus screen may have 185% more pixels than the iPhone 5s, its resolution is nearly 45% less than the Note 4. Samsung outdoes Apple here as the Note 4 has better resolution with a noticeable 114ppi lead.
Software
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 runs on the Android 4.4.4 KitKat OS as well as its very own TouchWiz UI which makes the large screened phone deft with multitasking, windowing and split-screening options. It is powered by faster Snapdragon 805 chip, 1.9 GHz Octa-Core processor or 2.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor depending on the country
The iPhone 6 Plus debuts the latest version of Apple’s iOS 8 software. This comes with a quick menu which slides the on-screen content down so you can touch apps positioned further up with one hand. Notable changes are the specially made keyboard, with dedicated copy, cut, and paste keys. The home screen is also responsive in the new landscape mode. The 6 plus is powered by the new A8 dual-core processor which clocks at about 1.9GHz.
Each platform has intuitive control methods in their ecosystem with intuitive interfaces and a whole lot of apps to play with. They both have their advantages and disadvantages but the better of the two platforms would greatly be determined by the preferences of each user.
Storage
The Note 4 comes with only 32GB internal storage with external microSD card support up to 128GB. The 6 Plus skipped the 32GB storage option providing internal storage options of 16GB, 64GB and a new additional option of 128GB. Apple didn’t give details about the RAM size of both the iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus but reviews have suggested that the iPhone 6 Plus is limited to 1GB of RAM while the Note 4 on the other hand has a whooping 3GB RAM which is beefy enough to handle simultaneous gaming, video watching an other activities.
Hardware
The Samsung phablet packs Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 805 quad-core chip processor which makes the phablet superfast at multitasking and gaming.
The 6 Plus packs a new A8 chip processor with 20 nanometre architecture, updated graphical power to increase its performance compared to its predecessors.
Both phablets support 4G, 3G, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi capable. The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has an MHL port for TV connectivity, an infrared blaster (to make the phone a remote control) and can perform contactless payments on PayPal and other platforms using its fingerprint scanner and Google Wallet. The Apple iPhone 6 Plus also supports contactless payments on PayPal and other platforms via a Touch ID Home key. It supports 20 LTE bands, Wi-Fi Calling (only available in the UK), Voice Over LTE calling and NFC (finally Apple includes this feature to the iPhone).
Battery Life
The Note 4 battery has been improved up to 7.5% and it sits at a 3220mAh rating, Fast charging is a new and improved battery technology feature in the Note 4 that allows your battery charge from 0-50% in just 30 minutes while it also has the Ultra Power Saving Mode feature as seen in the S5.
Again there were no words about battery life from Apple during the launch.
Now that we have dissected both phones, the question is which do you prefer? The Galaxy Note 4 with a better resolution and stylus pen excellent for multitasking? Or the iPhone 6 Plus with its stylish metallic body and extra 128GB storage option?
Drop your comments and let me know which you prefer.