iPhone 6 Plus has been the most reputed smartphone that has been the focus of rumors and news before its release. Finally it was officially announced and displayed in the event on 9th September. This costly handset bears the price tag of$849. It has many new features and the most important is achieving the 128 GB mark. Although it is slightly bigger than iPhone 6 but has more features.
In competition with this Samsung came out with their flagship Galaxy Note 4. It was equally the big topic of rumors and news before it was launched. Samsung also loaded their gladiator with all the powers they could put in to it. They have facilitated the choice for the users who may wish to have a good phablet. Here in this review a comparison is made between the two. The readers may have a look for their general information or the knowledge before they made the purchase. The aim of this review is not to belittle the one before the other. It is a comparison only for the interest sake.
Appearance & Dimension
iPhone 6Plus is 3% longer than Galaxy Note 4 despite having a bit smaller screen as compare to Note 4 but it is thinner and slimmer. iPhone 6 plus measure 158 x 78 x 7.1mm and weighs 172 grams. Though the difference is not much but while making the comparison we have to be precise in describing them. On the contrary Galaxy Note 4 measures 154 x 79x 8.5mm and weighs 176 grams. On this account iPhone 6 plus has the winning edge by 2% being lighter than the Galaxy Note 4. So far we have compared dimensions in which iPhone6 plus have proved to be thinner than Note 4 and of account of weight it is 4 Gram lighter.
Make & Colors
The next element that we compared in these two phablets is again relating to their appearance. Let us see what we have here under this heading. iPhone 6 Plus has a unibody of smooth aluminum and gives a premium look to the handset; although taken some guidance from iPod touch. Note 4 is not bad at all but it is made of plastic giving a look of faux lather. It is smooth and comfortable to hold. In Note 4 the phablet has a metallic strip running all round its chassis which was missing in the earlier Galaxy Devices. They had this surrounding strip giving a look of metal but infect was plastic. Comparing the make of these two phablets iPhone6 plus has a better score.
Although, color may not be very important; some users do have liking for some specific colors. iPhone 6 is available in three colors; space gray, gold and silver. Note 4 has four colors; pink, white, gold and black. Incidentally none of the colors matches with that of other. They are all different.
Display Type, Size and Resolution
Display is the component that has the interaction with the users always. It is the display that serves and means of communication between the users and the operating system of the device. The display contains icon for the commands and apps. Colors and pictures and text appear here therefore display is the face of the device. iPhone6 plus has 5.5 inches display size whereas Galaxy Note 4 has 5.7 inches which is 7% more in volume than iPhone6 Plus. No doubt both are phablets but Note 4 has slightly bigger display. iPhone 6 Plus has 1920x1080 pixels resolutions with 401 ppi, on the contrary Note 4 has 2560x 1440 with 515ppi. Comparing the pixels Note 4 goes ahead of iPhone 6 plus it has more pixels density and Quad HD display. The 1080 pixels of iPhone 6 Plus gives satisfactory results and many users may not have any problem with this but certainly the Quad HD display of Note 4 has more pleasing effects.
iPhone 6 Plus has IPS display type which is inferior to Super AMOLED of Note 4. The display of Note 4 shows lack as real black and dark and colors on seen rich in hue. We cannot simply reject I Phone 6 Plus IPS display just because SUPER AMOLED has better colored display. That is equally good.
Software and Processor
iPhone 6 Plus operates on iOS 8 of course with some changes and incorporates keyboard with the iOS. Note 4 runs Android 4.4 KitKat with Samsung’s own designed TouchWiz UI between the device and the user. Both operating system have their own good points and unique features therefore we cannot comment on the merits and demerits of either.
Apple iPhone 6 Plus has the power of Apple A8 64 bit dual core processor. Galaxy Note 4 has inside it 2.7 GHz Quad Core 32 bit processor with Snapdragon 805 chipset. Note 4 LTE version has Snapdragon 805 but HSPA version will be equipped with Octa Core Samsung Exynos processor.
RAM AND Memory
Memory or the storage capacity is an important factor for the users who have extensive use of their phablet and they wish to pack everything in to the memory provided in the device. Sometimes users have a complaint of limited storage space and they make use of external memory card. Manufacturers have their own preferences for putting the memory into a device. iPhone 6 Plus has made a big jump by achieving 128 GB mark. It has three options in the device; 16 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB. On the contrary Note 4 has only two options; 32 and 64GB.
iPhone 6 Plus does not have any provision for the external memory card because it thinks 128 GB is enough space for any user therefore puts a limit on the memory. Note 4 have in-built memory of 64 GB but have the provision of extending it by external microSD card and can achieve 128 GB memory. We cannot say which device is better in memory because both has the upper ceiling of 128GB memory and seen to be equal on this score.
iPhone 6 Plus is powered with 2 GB RAM whereas Note 4 is provided with 3 GB RAM with certainly more capacity.
Camera
In all the devices camera carries an important place. Initially it was only for the photographic purpose and capturing the memorable moments of life. Moving a step ahead videos got the importance. Users want the live coverage and want to see the moving pictures and the talking images. Let us compare iPhone 6 Plus and Note 4 in this respect also.
iPhone 6 Plus is equipped with 8 mega pixel main camera at the rear and 1.2 mega pixel front camera. Galaxy Note 4 is equipped with almost double the power; 16 mega pixel rear and 3.7 mega pixel front camera. The difference is obvious and Galaxy Note 4 is much ahead of iPhone 6 Plus. We can not say whether Note 4 camera is similar to Galaxy S5 unless we see it physically and its performance is demonstrated by use.
Both have optical image stabilization. This is apart from size and pixels density. The optical image stabilization is the feature that compensates the shaky movement of the hand. Both the phablets have this feature installed in them.
Battery
iPhone 6 Plus is energized by Non removable Li-ion 1810 mAh battery giving it sufficient time on stand by for 355 hours and talk time for 14 hours in 2G and 12 hours on 3G network. Note 4 is powered with 3220mAh battery. iPhone 6 Plus does not have the power saving feature. Samsung has developed ultra power saving mode that saves the battery and more lets the phablet be without power it automatically turn the screen into multi touch and just the bare minimum applications and services remain available and even 10% remaining battery can take you to another 24 hours. This way Note 4 is better than iPhone 6 Plus.
iPhone 6 Plus does not have fast charging feature whereas Note 4 is capable of charging the battery form 0 to 50% within the span of 30 minutes. This is a big difference between the two phablets and we find iPhone 6 Plus not better than Note 4 in the power aspect.
Extra Features
Stylus
iPhone 6 Plus does not have any stylus whereas Note 4 is provided with a Stylus. Although the same action of swiping and taping can be done with finger but stylus is an extra facility provided with Note 4 Only.
Finger Print Sensor
Both the phablets have this feature and both are provided with finger print sensor ability. The finger print sensor in iPhone 6 plus is more convenient because you just have to place your finger on the home button and you are registered. Note 4 require swiping of finger to identify yourself to the handset before you operate it. This is not convenient because you may have to swipe some times more than once.
NFC
Both the devices are provided with NFC chip. It is new in iPhone 6 plus but not new for Galaxy Note 4 because Android handsets already have it.
NFC PAYMENTS
Both the phablets have this facility. Google Wallet and Galaxy Soft card are already in use. Apple has installed this feature in its iPhone 6 Plus as iPay. This has the winning edge over the others and that is purely because of the effective marketing like Apple. This intensive marketing and reaching to more places has made Apple pay more successful.
Heart Rate Sensor
Now we hear about heart rate sensor installed in many smartphones and even smart watches. In this case Apple has not provided the sensor in iPhone 6 plus. It has the provision of third party app to achieve this ability but it is said it is not efficient and is less accurate. Note 4 has heart rate sensor at the back and works efficiently with accuracy.
Split Screen
Apple has provided a screen of 5.5 inches to iPhone 6 Plus but surprisingly not need any provision for side by side Multi tasking. Note 4 have this feature that makes multi window operation convenient and useful for the user. In this way Note 4 is ahead of iPhone 6 Plus.
Single hand Use
iPhone 6 Plus has the sliding down screen feature to reach the icons on top with single hand. Sliding down the screen interferers with typing but otherwise is quite useful feature in single handed operations on the contrary Note 4 screen has the feature of shrinking with the tap on the screen making it more manageable with single hand. In this shirking movement the keyboards also shrinks and remain available for typing.
Infrared
Note 4 has Infrared blaster to access your TV and cable set light box whereas iPhone 6 Plus is without this feature.
Virtual Reality
iPhone 6 plus has no such feature whereas Galaxy Note 4 can take you to the matrix and the world of virtual reality. Samsung Note 4 is compatible with its new Gear VR headset.
Smart Watch compatibility
Both the devices have compatibility with the smart watches and can be paired with them. However these is a limitation that Apple iPhone 6 plus will pair up with Apple watch while the Note 4 is compatible with Android based smart watches.
Release Date and Price
iPhone 6 Plus has been released on September 9th along with iPhone 6. The Note 4 is already released and yet to come in the market. iPhone 6 Plus said to be available against the different prices according to the phablet capacity and memory option because the phablet will be available in three memory options. The price for Note 4 is also not known. Hopefully it will be in the range of previous Galaxy Notes.
Conclusion
In the above paragraphs we have given comparison of the two well known phablets. We are not commenting on the superiority of any but we have seen Galaxy Note 4 having more features and better specs than iPhone 6 Plus. It is the users own discretion to choose the phablet of their own liking.