Last week, smartphone giants Samsung and Apple released their next generation flagship phones namely Samsung Galaxy note and Galaxy note edge and the iphone 6 and iphone 6 plus.
The two electronic giants also released watches, with iphone making its debut with the iwatch which comes in three variants including an 18k gold edition.
For Apple, the iphone 6 launch is the beginning of a new era as the American owned company joins for the first time the league of phone makers like Samsung who already produce“Phablets”(coined from merging phone and tablet.
However when it comes to phablets, one company comes clearly to mind. Samsung single handedly created the phablet category with the introduction of the Galaxy Note around the point when Apple famously argued that making larger phones were pointless.
However old things have passed and apple seems to be choking on its words with the release of its first gen iPhone 6 Plus.
See a chart that compares the two devices below:
Galaxy Note 4 – Strength
The Note 4 ships with a S Pen allowing users to annotate documents or photos, take screenshots, enter text and control apps. It is able to detect 2048 points of pressure – so it’s useful for design work too.
Samsung has kept the removable back cover, allowing users to replace the battery when it starts to wane after 6-12 months of heavy usage. It’s also possible to carry about a spare from the get-go if you’re a power user.
The Note 4 squeezes a bigger screen into a smaller chassis than the iPhone 6 Plus.
All Note 4 devices will ship with 32GB of internal memory and come with 50GB of free Dropbox storage for 2 years. If you need extra physical storage it’s possible to insert a micro SD card into the chassis.
In an effort to attract customers, Samsung has teamed up with various partners to include free trials for apps like The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Parallels.
Samsung has packed in a raft of high-end components from display through to the quad-core processor and 3GB of RAM. In selected regions, the Note 4 also ships with Category 4 LTE (4G) compatibility – meaning that it will theoretically support download speeds of up to 300Mbps.
Galaxy Note 4 – Potential Weaknesses
Although the device uses a beautiful Quad HD Super Amoled display, the 5.7in size may be too big for some users.
Whilst Samsung has simplified the interface, the Note has numerous software features that some users may find unnecessary and others which can be hard to find.
Software updates are irregular as Samsung has to customise Android with its own skin and requires networks to push out updates.
The Note 4 is not waterproof.
iPhone 6 Plus – Strengths
The large screen will provide the best web browsing and multimedia experience on iPhones to date. It’s a significant step up from the cramped 4in screens on previous generations. Apple has also tweaked the interface so the 6 Plus can be used in a similar way to the iPad range.
Apple has finally added NFC and teamed up with American Express, Mastercard and Visa to develop a mobile payments systems known as Apple Pay. You can use you iPhone to pay for goods in stores if you wish.
The iPhone 6 Plus will ship with the latest version of iOS 8 and you’ll get yearly software updates pushed out directly from Apple.
Support for 4G download speeds of up to 150Mbps and Wi-Fi calling
Apple is offering 16, 64 and 128GB of physical storage.
iPhone 6 Plus – Potential Weaknesses
Apple continues to shun the stylus, something which helps the Note 4 standout as it has a number of viable use cases.
There’s no way to expand physical storage – so users have to rely on the iCloud or transferring content on and off devices when running low on memory.
The use of just 1GB of RAM could affect performance of high-end apps.
No mention of the sapphire crystal displays – so fragility could still be an issue.
Like the Galaxy Note 4, the iPhone is not waterproof.
This article was originally published on the 9/9/14 and was updated on the 10/9/14 to include the confirmed specs for the iPhone 6 Plus.
After reading carefully the comparison of the two phablets- Iphone 6 plus and the Galaxy note 4, here is hoping it helps you form a decision when you want to upgrade.