By 
Droves descended upon Apple’s Cupertino campus today for our annual look at the manufacturer’s new iPhone refresh. Different this year, though, was the announcement of a second, larger smartphone, the iPhone 6 Plus. With a display measuring 5.5 inches, it’s clear that Apple’s tune is changing when it comes to ignoring the phablet category, and many see this new iPhone as a direct response to Samsung’s successful Galaxy Note line.
With the Galaxy Note 4 announced just last week, we thought a comparison between the two new devices was apt. Here’s how they stack up.
Display & Hardware
With the increase in size from the 4-inch display that graced the iPhone 5, 5c, and 5s to the comparably massive 5.5-inch display of the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple has finally passed into the realm of true 1080p HD. Still, at 1920×1080 pixels, the new iPhone falls short of the Galaxy Note 4’s 2560×1440 resolution. The larger 5.7-inch display of the Note 4 results in a pixel density of 551ppi, greater than the 401ppi of the iPhone 6 Plus, a spec particularly important to Apple and their Retina display (in this case Retina HD) marketing.
In other areas, the iPhone 6 Plus pales in comparison to the Note 4. Apple aficionados gets Apple’s latest A8 processing platform. Apple was typically tight-lipped about the details, but early impressions are that the chip retains a dual-core CPU and sees modest increases in processing power over the previous generation of devices (somewhere in the range of 1.4GHz). It’s 25% faster than last year’s model and offers 50 times the performance of the original iPhone. But that’s comparing Apples to Apples, and we’re comparing Apples to…Samsungs.
The Note 4? Quad-core Snapdragon 805 processing (and in some cases octa-core Exynos). Apple rarely reveals the amount of RAM in their phones, but it wouldn’t be crazy to think they chose to stick with 1GB, the same as the previous generation. Compare that to the Note 4’s 3GB of RAM. It’s a spec Apple has been seemingly reluctant to upgrade in recent years.
Apple made a big deal about the addition of NFC to this year’s iPhone line, a technology that has been common in Android phones for several years at this point. It’s a foregone conclusion that the Note 4 benefits from an NFC chip. Apple, however, is heavily pushing a new mobile payments system associated with the tech, a feature that has taken a backseat on recent Android releases (though most, including the Note 4, are fully capable).
Software: Health & mobile payments
The new iPhone ships with iOS 8. The Galaxy Note 4 comes with Android 4.4 plus Samsung’s TouchWiz interface. Both Android and iOS have their benefits and shortcomings, so we won’t spend too much time expounding on the common features of the two. Suffice it to say, on a surface level the choice between operating systems ultimately comes down to preference.
Apple, however, did unveil a few intriguing wrinkles to their popular mobile platform with its latest release. Namely, the new iPhone and iOS 8 come with an increased focus on health tracking and mobile payments (via the aforementioned NFC chip). The Note 4 features the S Health app to meet the demands of health-conscious consumers, but its feature set admittedly looks a bit thin compared to what Apple is offering (including partnerships with health care providers).
Apple’s mobile payments platform Apple Pay is much like the Android counterparts we have seen before. It’s a standard tap-to-pay solution, but Apple’s decision to finally back a mobile wallet method is what many believe will rocket the concept into the mainstream. Its connection to the cards stored in your iTunes account brings the service to an already huge base of potential users.
Both devices feature security options that include a fingerprint scanner. While the scanner introduced with the iPhone 5s featured limited functionality, thanks to iOS 8 Apple is opening up its services to third-party developers, creating some intriguing potential new uses (including as part of the mobile payments system). Samsung’s scanner is improved in the Note 4 as well, and includes tie-ins to PayPal for another take on secure mobile payments.
iOS, in general, has become a bit more open in its latest release. Some would say a bit more Android-like, even. This includes Apple finally allowing users to install third-party software keyboards (something that has been core to Android for years) as well as better integration for sharing data with third-party apps and services.
Camera
For the previous two generations of the iPhone, Apple has stood pat at 8MP for their camera, choosing instead to focus on improving other qualities of the sensor. The iPone 6 Plus again does the same, sticking with an 8MP rating for its new-and-improved image sensor. The sensor boasts faster focusing, better tone mapping, and improved noise reduction capable of producing images like the one above.
On the other hand, Samsung has steadily been upping the megapixel count with each new device announced. While we can argue in the comments about the actual importance of that megapixel number versus other aspects of the smartphone camera, on paper the Note 4’s 16MP camera is, at least initially, more impressive than the iPhone’s stagnant 8MP sensor.
Without a chance to test both in person, it’s hard to say how they will stack up exactly. Samsung has impressed with the image quality of its recent devices, but Apple has long been lauded as the king of mobile photography, and the iPhone is their prince. We have reason to believe the iPhone 6 Plus will carry on this tradition, but the competition should be close.
Availability & Pricing
Apple’s new iPhone models go on sale via all major carriers in the US (Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T) as well as many more around the globe in just under two weeks on Friday, September 19th. As the larger, slightly more premium model, the iPhone 6 Plus will retail starting at $299 on-contract (compared to the 4.7-inch iPhone 6’s $199 on-contract pricing) for a 16GB model up to $499 on-contract for a whopping 128GB of storage.
As for the Note 4, exact release and pricing details have not been made available, but it is expected to launch globally later this fall for a similar compliment of carriers. All four of the US carriers are on board. The Note 4 could retail for $199 with its slightly more eccentric variant, the Galaxy Note Edge, priced at the $299 premium level.
So which wins head-to-head? Which has earned the right to claim your cold, hard cash? Sound off in the poll below.
[polldaddy poll=8296358]
LG G3 Still a better phone…
Better than the 6+, yes
Better than GN4? Bwahahah :D
Where’s the “neither” option?
5.7 not 5.9
Glad to see Apple invent a lot of cool things today :)
This HAS to be sarcasm
No shi* genius.
Neither is an upgrade over my Note 3 so I will be staying with that for another year
Note4 is an awesome update over note3… But note3 deserve a year more of companionship.
My screen is fine and I don’t use the Spen that often so yeah I am sure thrid party devs will bring the other software fetures over and as for the camera I have a dedicated digtial camera that I use so that feature of mobile devices is a waste for me
6+ = 1 note (note 1)
Phandroid: please start including dimensions in your comparison charts…thank you.
-Loyal Phandroid Subscriber
Apple hadn’t provided dimensions when this was written, I don’t believe.
Very impressed. Especially with Apple Pay. Thinking the Plus is a phone where compromises won’t have to be made.
I was too with Google Wallet back in Sept 2011.
Yeah how’s the support for that going everywhere you go? I hear android users gripe about that all the time. Be grateful it will take off now.
Great. Been paying with Google Wallet at Walgreens and other places for over a year now. Very fast.
I’m glad Apple is getting NFC payments simply because it will become more prevalent. Apple disgusts me, however, at how much credit they attempt to take for “inventing”, “reinventing”, etc features that we have been using for months or years.
You can credit Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T for slowing the NFC mobile payment growth with stupid Softcard and blocking out Google Wallet. They made it easy for Apple to walk right over Google Wallet.
At&t has allowed Google Wallet for like a year now… well its been almost a year since I discovered it works.
I was using Google Wallet on Verizon in 2012 on the Galaxy Nexus even though it was never officially supported.
It’s actually not bad. Subway just started taking it, the local grocery stores have for a few months now, McDonald’s, a couple of the gas stations (not at the pump yet, but inside), CVS… Walgreen’s has the terminals, but they’re turned off.
Yeah, a lot of those businesses Apple mentioned have had the terminals for a while. I’m all for new businesses adopting the tech though.
again, google didnt do it right, so it never caught on. Watch apple’s Pay thing catch on and spread like wild fire.
LOL! How could they do it right when 3 of the 4 biggest wireless carriers blocked them out?!
just a matter of time. Like when iphone was only on att for awhile.
I’ve been using google wallet at several stores for years now. The problem isn’t google the problem is the stores have to implement terminals that support the technology. I assume apple pay will have same problem.
I think the main thing is that the carriers blocked it and so therefore most consumers couldn’t use it and were unaware of it, so the stores did not implement it. I feel like with Apple, since they aren’t blocked by anyone, and since Google now has full use of Wallet, the stores will finally adopt it. Android users now have access to Wallet, and iPhone users have access to Wallet (hopefully) and Apple Pay. So this would give stores incentive to adopt NFC payments.
Dude its not about stores that adopt it or not. This technology has been around for a very long time. Anything with PayPass will accept NFC payments. Apple uses this same technology. Vendors who’s had paypass will still have paypass… vendors that never paid the extra money for those paypass terminals won’t just because Apple came out with it.
I honestly think they’ll use the same terminals…no? Can’t imagine retailers will want to buy the new apple terminals when they already have tap to pay ones…
Not going to lie, when I heard about paying things with your phone, the 1st thing that ran through my mind was,,,,so I’m going to need to hand my phone to the bartender or waiter when I go out?
hmmm, I don’t know about that.
The battery and other sections of the chart are very misleading.
Unfortunately that is all Apple gives us
http://tinyurl.com/l87uco4
I love dearly my 3rd galaxy device, my s4. However anybody who has used an ipad for something other than web browsing, knows how much better it is for productivity than any android tablet. All the productivity apps were first designed for ipad. When I go to the dr, or to work with my financial advisor, u name it, if they are using a tablet for work related stuff it aint a android. This being a “phablet”, its no different. The software and apps are far ahead of android, hate to say it. Kick ass apps are always written for apple first, then android if we are lucky. My galaxy tablet feels like a POS after using an ipad. Yes on paper the higher res and more MP camera makes the android look better but better hardware dont mean squat unless the software written to use it is good, in which case, apple continues to win. Selling laptops for 3 thousand dollars all day with their macbook pro, no windows laptop with more ram or faster cpu will outperform the macbook pro, their software is killer and they know it, and thats why they can charge top dollar for it.
Just in regards to the last part of your comment about the Macbook Pro. I have owned two and played with the newest versions at Best Buy multiple times, and my $1200 Acer Aspire S7-392 is much faster and more responsive than any Macbook I have ever used. So that part of your comment is completely wrong honestly. I also don’t agree with the rest of your comment but I’m not gonna say anything lol
please buddy! haha! You havent used the latest gen macbook pro’s then. They are lightning fast, zero load times, fastest SSD of any drive built into a laptop. The problem is windows, it sucks. They get virus, malware, spam, toolbars blah blah blah everytime you turn it off to go home for the day you get “wait while update 1 of 173239 is installed”. Sorry but my macbook shutsdown and starts and im using it way faster than any windows regardless of what hardware its on, BAck to my point, the software is light years ahead.
to add to that I havent rebooted my macbook in months, havent had to. I am sure you had to hold the power down and hard reset your windows laptop many times cuz it froze, or cuz an app security update required a reboot, im guessing you reboot it atleast couple times a week. I dont have virus protection on my macbook cuz it dont need it like windows does. Any engineering team that has the money is using macbooks, not windows, if they have the choice.
I have owned my laptop since December. It boots from a full shutdown in about 6 seconds, fully hibernates in 3, and boots up from a hibernate in about 2-3. When I log in from a shut down, it instantly logs in and loads everything. I have never gotten a single virus on here, I only download programs I want to use and know, I don’t download shitty porn, and I don’t go on random websites. Macbooks and Mac OS can easily get viruses and malware, now that it is more commonly used. I literally click a program and it opens instantly. YOU have never used a good Windows laptop sir.
Yep I had a high end Sony Vaio, it was fast, but it required a smart techy guy to operate it and keep it running fast, which I am. Again hhad this macbok pro for 2 years now, no virus protection, runs as fast as the day i got it. I got a windows box i use for other things, and everytime i go to shut it down it has damn updates to install. Nomatter what high end laptop you get if its running windows you deal with that bulshit.
Idk it all depends. I guess what I meant is that Windows has a lot of different manufacturers and so far this Acer is the best Windows device I have ever owned. So when I said good laptop I specifically meant that you haven’t used this laptop that I own haha. I also turned off the automatic Windows updates and i just update them whenever is convenient for me.
But I personally didn’t like Mac OS, so it all comes down to your preference.
“Yep I had a high end Sony Vaio”
Bahahaa. Thanks for making my day. You should do better research if your top of the line PC was Sony. No wonder you ran to Apple for help. Do a bit of research and you’ll find phenomenal Windows machines.
Sony makes nice stuff, at the time it had all the latest hardware in it. This was 3 years ago, maybe they arent anymore. I had alienware in the past, built custom gaming desktops too with best of the best. Still none of them ran as well as my macbook pro. “phenomenal windows machines”. Think about that for a lil bit…haha. I am a network engineer for a living, I work for a company that hosts 90% of all online college classes for all colleges in the USA. You know what percentage of servers run windows vs linux variants? About the only windows servers we have are legacy, all new ones are linux, like mac, which is a derivative of free BSD Unix. The internet runs on linux, not windows, becuz windows sucks. If you love windows so much you should get a windows phone. Android, like mac, runs on a variant of linux as well, not windows, becuz windows sux my balls no matter what hardware u run it on.
Are we talking servers, computers, or phones here? Make up your mind. You don’t have to teach me about Linux, I know that it works, been there done that.
I’m not praising Windows. People have the stigma that Windows isn’t a viable option for everyday use because they buy crap hardware to begin with. You bought a Sony, you can throw whatever you want into it but the bloat will keep you at a snail’s pace. Any PC guy knows that.
Since I currently don’t have any needs for heavy use, I use Chrome OS. Fills my needs just fine and keeps it simple for the family.
Give me your IP address and I will give your mac a virus. They do exist, i remove them daily from devices. Not as many as windows, but trust me they are out there.
you wont get past my ASA buddy. Sounds good though. Didnt say they dont exist, but my family that has em dont need “tune ups” like my family that has windows boxes.
I pwn networks for a living. Paid by their owners to do it.
Def, agree with you on the whole Macbook pro thing, since I have one now and will never be look back( My 1st Apple laptop WOOHOOO)
But with phone’s, I do have the s5. I just don’t know now w/ the iPhone 6+. Do I make the change and go with Apple, like I did with MBPr and hope it turns out great………?
This depends on your preference. Try it out and see. I personally think iOS is too restrictive, and it’s not as perfect as people want you to believe (I just used an iPhone 5S for a week). But, I have an S4 and Samsung is quite laggy in comparison to my friend’s Moto X. So you could look into the new Moto X or the iPhone 6 Plus. I don’t really suggest Samsung honestly.
Thanks, yea my S4 turned into a piece of crap after 6 months. Couldn’t stand it anymore, got an S5, Kinda happy, but Not that is blowing my mind. Will look into Moto X or iPhone6+
I use a macbook pro as my daily driver. I haven’t seen this amazing experience that everyone talks about. I don’t have problems on it but I didn’t have problems on windows either. I have 4 kids and 4 windows computers to support. 1 of the computers will have malware problems about once a year. The computer I don’t think twice about is my wifes chromebook. I don’t worry about that ever except when it comes to limitations of not having silverlight or full blown office. With gigabit internet in the future everything will be in the cloud.
bwahahahaahaa mac’s are the first to be hacked in hacking contests… enjoy your head in the sand… LOL
Tired old rhetoric. Windows is pretty good.
it has gotten much better, yes, but isnt as good, certainly not better, than mac. I am the “family IT guy” for my extended family, guess what I recommend when its time for a new laptop? Guess who’s laptops are most fuct up and who’s are running just as fast as they day they got em? The macs I dont ever have to “tune up”, and the windows, jeez. If you want to stop being IT support for your family, recommend them apple products.
You must have a wealthy family. Not everyone can afford to pay 2-3 times more for an apple product.
I thought this was about the iPhone vs. Note, not Windows vs. Mac. Whether or not Mac OS is better than Windows has nothing to do with the iPhone 6.Try sticking to the subject.
Sorry Bucky, the the 6 Plus falls way behind the Note 4 in terms of Phablet style productivity. Show me Apple’s pen, and pen enabled apps, please.
What Tablet do you have? ive used the Samsung tabs and Notes in tablets aswell as ipads, i must say yes the ipad is better then the tabs (price shows you that) but when it comes to the Note Tab, the Note is better imo, much better. I love my Note Tablet and my ipad just sits there now, the wife and kids occasionally use it.
Anyone remember the term “future proofing” being thrown around… Yeah so much for that…
the 6 and 6 plus are garbage
The 6 is, the 6 + is acceptable.
Their biggest event was their biggest flop! Don’t get me started on the ‘crWatch’!
I haven’t gotten to fully read on the Watch but I saw one picture and it was honestly pretty ugly lol
Ugly is giving the watch a compliment. It’s downright horrifying! All the Swiss watchmakers are laughing their arses off!!
No doubt, the thing looks like it’s as thick a hamburger.
So much this^^^^ but I could def see people wearing it, especially the 15-20yr old crowd.
I wear watches (time pieces) for their style and look. Not for all this other ‘stuff’. Not for me..
I’ll stick with my stainless steel divers watch, that has a battery life of oh…4 years counting….
Reminds me of the Casio calculator watch I had when I was in elementary school.
At the iPhone can do landscape on the stock “launcher”
Hahahahaaaaaaaaa!
Sent via my rooted Note3
aaaand nothing…
5s + reading glass = iphone 6.
I’ll be skipping both. Waiting for the Nexus 6.
Semi related, I got a chance to see Motorola’s 6-inch device at their HQ. Wonder if its going to be the Nexus 6…
Do go on Sir.
Whaaaaaatttt???? And no hush hush NDA?
http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/thefw.com/files/2013/06/Minion-Meme.png
You had a Shamu sighting? …
Hmmm
……
Not impressed crApple
No innovation AGAIN from crApple. Are we not sure they went and bought up Samsung’s remaining supply of Galaxy III’s and rebranded them. iPhalaxy 6 by crApple.
Iphone 6+ sqmm face: 12300.18 with a 5.5″ screen
Note 4 sqmm face: 12065.1 with a 5.7″ screen
sqmm face ? how can it be bigger with a smaller screen ?
Bigger bezels?
Top and bottom bezels are bigger on the iPhone. Note 4 for me. I like my iPad, Mac mini and MacBook Pro (just saying I’m not anti apple) but won’t pocket a iPhone. Android phones, especially with sd card slots and removable batteries offer so much more flexibility. Plus the back button on android works and it’s in the same place all the time! Simple but saves so much effort.
$500.00 with contract for the highest mem Iphone Plus? With contract? $500.00? Hello Galaxy Note 4 – goodbye Iphone 5, glad my contract ends in two weeks.
Will it really be a “good”bye? its an iPhone.. I’d say that was a terrible-buy. O_o
Is the iPhone 6+ really FHD resolution? I thought it’s that 1336×750 crap?
Apple said FHD.
If the iPhone 6 were a TV it would be sold as HD ready, a cop out way of saying its HD but not full HD. The 6 is 1334×750 not sure why the did that and not 1280×720 which is proper 720p video will have to pixel fill to scalethe size up rather than play at native resolutions.
I think that’s right for the iphone 6, the 6+ is 1920×1080, the minimum these days if you ask me. Not sure if the Note 4’s extra pixels would matter to me or not.
Meh, im fine with 720p on small phones, but 4.7 in is just a bit too big for 720 IMO, but its close. Wouldn’t prevent me from getting the phone if it was good in other places (so not the iPhone 6)
I love Apple, but they’ve lost their innovative mojo since Steve Jobs died.
Without a doubt, its clear now.
Apples’s innovation era has ended
Honestly Cook should drop Acid. Then Apple will start to get innovative again, if he doesn’t get eaten by a giant rabbit.
I’ll wait for Iphone 6s
Lol was this really a poll on rather the iPhone 6 is better than the galaxy note? On a android blog? That’s like white castles going too Krystal’s asking everyone who’s burger is better
Even android nerds can think objectively (sometimes). That poll isn’t entirely objective, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who actually thought about the devices before casting my vote towards the note 4.
Even with objectivity, the poll will be biased as the readers here tend to prefer android, and smartphone preference is largely preference. So yes, the poll is biased. But it’s results are interesting nonetheless.
Everybody knows White Castles is better than Krystals! Mustard instead of ketchup on a burger?…blasphemy!
Despite what your chart says, the Note 4 has optical image stabilization and is dramatically improved from the Note 3 in other areas such as low-light.
where is the ‘neither’ option?
Oh you must want the Galaxy Note Edge…I understand :)
Na my boy, I got the LG G3!
I have the Note 3 but I’ll probably get the htc m8 next. Love the note series but I kind of want a change for a year.
Crapple put 1 GB of RAM in their phone. Bahahaha.
To be fair the UI is quite lite so it works fine. No need to put memory in if its not needed.
False, it’s necessary to put 2 GB of RAM. It struggles with multiple tabs on Safari. People are clamoring for it to get 2 GB at least on the iPad.
I can see what you mean, but web browsing seems to work better with multiple tabs under chrome, from the test I have just tried.
But you cannot use Chrome in full because iOS is not optimized to run all the native websites and it doesn’t have Flash player either. Safari is what most sites will work under. It’s a bummer.
I use chrome on iOS and don’t really have any issues. If the site requires flash it wont wok under chrome either. My daily driver is a Note 3 so maybe I don’t appreciate the problem you are having even though I use an iPad, iphone and iPod.
try to have at least 4-5 different tabs in the browser at the same time and switch between them. Now you understand.
Reasons why the iPhone is a child’s toy:
Uses coloring book theme to update the “UI.”
Simplified for toddlers.
Their iSheep behave like children. Insult their toy and they become defensive.
It reminds me of a Fischer Price product.
crapple? Isheep? Seriously, that adult talk sounds more like a baby. Let the apple users love their phones…and the android users love theirs. It’s America…it’s ok.
Their freedom of choice does not spare them from questioning if the economic decision is not as rational as it can be.
Wow this is all sooooooo silly….. I normally don’t type comments but I have seen enough android user mac hate now that I feel compelled to say…. This sheep thing is a load of crap. I went from a Samsung to an iPhone to a Samsung android. I miss my iPhone and am going back. I tried both and decided what works for me. And never in that process did I feel the need to bash anyone else for thinking differently. You androidists are getting scary. Are you the same people out carrying guns around Texas schoolchildren? I hope not but I am starting to wonder.
What does my choice in a cell phone OS have to do with politics? Get out of here if you have nothing to contribute. There is a simple silver lining: a better and cheaper alternative is more worthwhile than the expensive and limited product.
it’s hard to understand if youre just an average user. Ofcourse youre going back to the iPhone. It just feels better right?
Wow, listen to you rant like the child you speak of.
It’s a list, not a rant. Thanks for playing though.
GN4 Micro SD slot
No ability to change the UI to accommodate the big screen? So it’s just a big ass iPhone with a dual pane view in some apps in landscape mode? Damn thats sad.
Reminded me of when I saw the iPad and thought the same thing. The interface looked lost on the bigger screen.
1080p screen and 8mp camera. Welcome to 2011.
Apple has been riding their iPhone 1 wave for years and has fallen so far behind the technology curve it is sad. I used to really like the iPhone when it came out, but then the roadrunner showed up and Apple became the lonely coyote, still trying to suffice with things that work, but are old technology. I love my iMac but the iPhone, iWatch, nah, iWon’t
It’s Apple and/vs Orange comparison. Means NO comparison. Apple wins.
The only thing Samsung has going for it is an SD slot.
I don’t need that capability and either does most people that talk about it.
Good for you, here’s a cookie. Go spend your money on iCloud storage and data overages.
Haven’t had to do either of those.
I know how to back up so that is useless too.
lol, who pays for storage? apple users do
I have 40gb of music and videos on my phone and there is no dent in the amount of memory left on my phone…. because its on the SD card. My phone can take a 128gb memory card and apps can be partially installed onto it along with all other media. I love the way companies like Apple tell you that you don’t need an SD card “who needs all that space” but then sell you a phone with 128gb of memory at a cost that is multiple times larger than buying a SD card. Oh and when you take all those pictures and HD videos of your family (mine records 4k as well) and fill up your non SD capable phone, mine is on the SD card where there is no impact on my phones memory and I can swap it out for another SD card at a moments notice. Great whilst you are on holiday with no PC in site to offload them. The Samsung also has going for it… higher resolution screen and an s-pen, but who would need those things. Apple fanboys will when they appear on future generation iPhones, after all, No one wants a stylus and no one wants a big screen phone… Said Apple at previous conferences….
I have all my music stored free in the cloud. Easy access, no impact on my phone storage. Photos go there automatically too. Haven’t paid a thing for storage.
That’s good, I also have my stuff in the cloud, but when I haven’t got a Wi-Fi connection or data signal isn’t strong enough, my stuff is on my phone, its instant. Data on your phone and data in the cloud, are completely different entities and usable in different situation.
These pet names people give to products are really adorable.