With the launch of the iPhone 6s, comparisons between Apple and Samsung, two of the most prominent names in the tech world are driving tech-freaks up the wall.
While Apple has always been a leader when it comes to UI, Samsung boasts of better features on paper. The former may not be able to compete with the latter in terms of numbers and stats, but it definitely is a smoother device to work on. The fluidity and smoothness of any Apple device is unmatched by even the best gadgets in the market. Therefore, the new iPhones; 6s and 6s Plus, can be expected to deliver the same fluidity to the user. Apple gadgets, after-all, have always been more than just big numbers.
However, Apple is likely to lose the race with Samsung in terms of design. While iPhones have followed pretty much the same pattern in its external features, Samsung has an edge because of its constant innovation with design.
Let’s take a closer look at the features both Apple and Samsung have to offer, this time around.
Screen and Display:
At a 5.7 inches, Samsung Galaxy Note 5 has a larger panel than the 4.7 inches of the iPhone 6s. Note 5 comes equipped with a pixel-packing quad-HD display with a resolution of 2560 X 1440 and 518ppi pixel density. iPhone 6s loses out to its Samsung counterpart in the pixel-war with a 1334 X 750-pixel resolution and 326 ppi.
Design:
As mentioned above, this is a category in which Samsung is almost certainly going to have an edge over the iPhone 6s. Metal and glass have now replaced the plastic and faux-leather combination Samsung had been employing in its phones so far, as was seen in last year’s Note 4. The design of Note 5 seems slightly disappointing, especially in contrast with its sturdier, smarter predecessor. At the same time, it also seems like an echo of the S6 Edge. However, the glass back seems to be a bit of a concern, in terms of the phone’s hardiness.
iPhone 6s pretty much follows suit with its predecessors without having much to offer in terms of innovation in design.
Features:
The S-Pen, a little stylus that enables one to doodle away on their phone, is by far one of the best features of the Note series. It has continued to evolve ever since its inception and now Note 5 too, will come equipped with the stylus in its new, improved version. Its abilities have expanded with each new release and we’re happy to say it’s still here with the Note 5. Though the highly speculated auto-eject feature won’t be part of it, the stylus will pop out when pressed down. Also, it will be slimmer than before. Samsung will have an edge over Apple in terms of software as well, which in this case will be especially made for larger phones. Two apps can be simultaneously opened on the Note 5 and can be made into floating windows as well, if need be. Similar multi-tasking features have been part of Apple’s iPads in the past.
What 6s has to offer in reply to this is the 3-D Force Touch Display.The phones feature a next-generation version of a Force Touch seen in the latest MacBook trackpads and the Apple Watch. While the trackpads and Apple Watch work on two levels, namely of press and tap, this updated version of Force Touch features a deeper press, in addition to these. Thus, the feature has been rightly termed ‘3-D Touch’. The sensors take into account three different types of touch rather than two.
Memory:
This is another feature in which iPhone 6s loses out to its counterpart because even though there are three options to choose from -16 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB, Apple has gotten rid of its 32 GB iPhone as opposed to Samsung’s 32 GB version, along with a 64 GB one, of course.
Power:
Note 5 is pretty much a twin to Galaxy S6 in terms of its internal features with an Exynos 7420 chipset with a 2.1GHz quad-core and a 1.5GHz CPU. It also boasts of a Mali -T760MP8 GPU and, most importantly – 4GB RAM. This is four times the amount of RAM of the A8 chip that the iPhone 6 Plus brings with it. Though the iOS is very efficient at making the best of limited amounts of RAM, buyers still hope for a 2 GB version at least.
If speculations are to be believed, A9 is expected to be a better performer than the Exynos of S6. With the new iPhone less than a week old, there are only a couple of hazy expectations and hopes minus any concrete facts so far.
Battery:
Note 5 has a new battery of 3,000 mAh, but this makes it only slightly bigger than the 2,915 mAh version on the iPhone 6 Plus which doesn’t even need to sustain a quad-HD display.
The older iPhone model of the 6 Plus matches up to its Samsung rival in being able to run for two days without needing full charge. After the disappointing battery performance of Galaxy S6, it would be interesting to see what Apple has to offer in its new iPhones. The Note 5, on the other hand, allows the feature of wireless charging, along with QuickCharging, both of which are missing from the iPhone 6 Plus.
A Force Touch promotional video released by Apple seems to confirm that the battery of the newest iPhone will be less than its predecessor. Speculations about the reduced battery capacity of the iPhone 6s Plus have been doing the rounds for weeks now. Finally this video comes across as some sort of an acknowledgement of the rumours. According to GSMArena, it shows the battery at a “1715 mAh”, less than the iPhone 6’s 1810 mAh. Along with this, an updated 4G LTE chip is likely to consume less power and therefore make the iPhone 6s more power-efficient. Find the full story here.
Camera:
Like the similarity in the internal features of both S6 and Note 5, the camera in the latter is a twin to that of the former. In front of the puny 8 MP of the 6s Plus, Note 5 boasts of a 16 MP with UHD video recording. However, both cameras come equipped with optical image stabilisation for low-light, blur-free shots.
The front cameras of both the Note 5 and 6s Plus are worth a comparison. While the former stands at 5 MP, the latter is no more than 1.2 MP. While both Samsung flagship phones have a 16 MP camera, the 6s Plus does not go beyond 12 MP. However, the iSight camera will now allow you to record videos in 4K resolution like the two Samsung phones.
Here are the specs of the two phones, and just for added fun, we have added S6 Edge Plus to the list as well.
| Samsung Galaxy Note 5 | Samsung S6 Edge Plus | iPhone 6s | |
| Display | 5.66 inch Quad HD | 5.5 inches | Retina HD display with 3D Touch, 4.7-inch |
| Resolution | 1440 x 2560 pixels (~518 ppi pixel density) | 1080 x 1920 pixels (~401 ppi pixel density) | 1334 X 750-pixel resolution at 326 ppi |
| Processor | Octa core (2.1GHz Quad + 1.5GHz Quad), 64 bit, 14 nm process | Quad core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2.1 GHz Cortex-A57 | Embedded M9 motion coprocessor |
| RAM | 4 GB | 4 GB | – |
| Storage | 32 GB | 32 GB | 16, 64, 128 |
| Expandable Upto | Not expandable | Not expandable | Not expandable |
| Rear Camera | 16 MP | 16 MP | 12 MP iSight |
| Front Camera | 5 MP | 5 MP | 5 MP |
| Battery | Li-Po 3000 mAh battery | Li-Po 3000 mAh battery | Not yet declared |
| Processor | Lollipop v5.1.1 | Lollipop v5.0.2 | A9 chip with 64-bit architecture, iOS 9 |
