The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are here, but many are wondering exactly how Apple's newest smartphones compare with other flagships in play.
Apple is unofficially moving into the phablet market with the iPhone 6 Plus, given the form factor and size, but it faces tough competition, especially from seasoned phablet veteran Samsung and the new Galaxy Note 4. Read on to find out just how the devices compare.
Design
The design of the iPhone 6 Plus is very similar to previous iPhone's, however the device is a little slimmer and has curved edges. The iPhone 6 Plus, like other iPhone's before it, simply looks premium.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is a little shorter than the iPhone 6 Plus, but it is wider and thicker. It would be fair to say that the Galaxy Note 4 certainly has a less "premium" look to it, with the faux leather on the back. Despite this, the metal frame and front certainly look pretty classy.
Display
The iPhone 6 Plus' display is a step up from other iPhones, but it's still not really anything to write home about. The company has finally decided to step up and offer a 1920 x 1080 resolution HD display on an iPhone, which for now is only found on the iPhone 6 Plus.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4, on the other hand, takes it a step further and offers a QHD display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440. For those who enjoy a higher resolution display and as sharp a display as possible, the Galaxy Note 4 is the way to go.
Power
The iPhone 6 Plus offers Apple's new A8 processor, which allows for 64-bit processing. While we don't know exactly how much processing power this chip offers, early benchmarks pin it at around 1.4 GHz.
The Galaxy Note 4 offers a quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor, Qualcomm's flagship mobile chip. This chip offers a whopping 2.7 GHz of power, giving the Samsung the edge over the iPhone.
Camera
Apple has really stepped up its game with the iPhone 6 Plus, giving its 8-MP camera optical image stabilization (OIS). Despite this, the Galaxy Note 4 remains one step ahead, also offering OIS, but putting it on a 16-MP camera.
Other Specs
As far as storage and memory goes, the Galaxy Note 4 offers 3 GB of RAM over the iPhone 6 Plus' 1 GB. However, the iPhone 6 Plus goes up to 128 GB of storage, beating out the Galaxy Note 4's 32 GB of internal storage. This shouldn't be too much of a problem, however, as the Galaxy Note 4 allows users to expand the internal memory with a microSD card of up to 128 GB.
Pricing and Availability
The iPhone 6 Plus will be available to users on Sept. 19, while the Galaxy Note 4 goes on sale sometime in October. The iPhone 6 Plus costs $299 on-contract. We do not yet know the price of the Galaxy Note 4, although it will likely be a little cheaper than the iPhone.
Conclusions
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 beats out the iPhone 6 Plus in most of its specs, although many users may find the iPhone design and Apple's newest iOS operating system compelling enough to grab it over the Galaxy Note 4. Clearly not everyone needs the specs that the Galaxy Note 4 offers, but for those who want superior processing power, a better camera and Android, it's a winner.
