Hard choice iPhone 6 Plus or Samsung Note 4

[jpxyz]

An AMOLED display isn't ever as good and bright as an IPS display is IMO
and i don't understand why samsung is manufacturing IPS displays but they are still using AMOLED...
AMOLED displays get burnings over time and they haven't that true colors and white tones etc as IPS displays have...

aaaaand.. for those who say "but they have higher resolution!!!!" (AMOLED).. you CAN'T see the pixels, the human eye just CAN'T see higher ppi as high definition.


ah.. and who says the battery life on the 6+ is crap and the samsung is better..
you might be using a faulty phone, or you don't look at the screen on times. because android is consuming more battery than iOS does and maybe the battery on the note 4 is slightly better, but 9 - 10 hours of usage on the 6+ AREN'T BAD.

 

[iN8ter]

An AMOLED display isn't ever as good and bright as an IPS display is IMO
and i don't understand why samsung is manufacturing IPS displays but they are still using AMOLED...
AMOLED displays get burnings over time and they haven't that true colors and white tones etc as IPS displays have...

aaaaand.. for those who say "but they have higher resolution!!!!" (AMOLED).. you CAN'T see the pixels, the human eye just CAN'T see higher ppi as high definition.


ah.. and who says the battery life on the 6+ is crap and the samsung is better..
you might be using a faulty phone, or you don't look at the screen on times. because android is consuming more battery than iOS does and maybe the battery on the note 4 is slightly better, but 9 - 10 hours of usage on the 6+ AREN'T BAD.

Calm down. No one said the battery life on the 6+ was bad, I said I don't have faith in the battery life of the SIX (no Plus) which is why I'm still going to get a phablet sized phone even though I'd prefer something the size of an S5 or iPhone 6 (without the Plus).

Secondly, the AMOLED Display on the Note 4 is better than the panel on the iPhone 6+. Pretty much everyone with knowledge on the subject agrees with that.

With Auto-Brightness on, the panel can ramp up to 750 nits or so in direct sunlight, so readability isn't an issue the way it was in past phones like the S3-generation display panels.

Secondly, there is legit reason for Samsung to go for a higher resolution beyond simply spec pumping. AMOLED using a different subpixel arrangement than LCD so you actually need more pixels to get an image that is equivalent to same-resolution LCD panels in sharpness, but the Note 4 is over 100PPI better than the 6 Plus so it easily wins there.

Pretty sure I said my Note 3 screen was fine. It's only 386PPI, less than the 6+. And since it's Super AMOLED, it's actually closer to Retina in sharpness... Even then, it was fine, even for readability outdoors unless my screen was cruddy and reflecting all over the place...

Also said I was responding to poster about the display things. I don't need to defend things that basically every reputable and knowledgeable reviewer has stated (the Note 4, hands down, has a superior display to the 6+ and it doesn't matter which display tech they use, it's better).

Lastly, the battery life between the two devices is very similar. That's pretty well-known. However, there is more room for optimization in that area with the Note 4 due to the screen tech and the fact that the screen is the main battery beater on practically every smartphone in existence these days. True Black Wallpaper, True Black App themes, etc. That can all noticeably increase the battery life on Samsung devices.

You aren't going to get 9-10 hours of screen on time with anything considered real world use on either of these phones. Get an Xperia Z3 if you want that kin of endurance. Sony has a talent for power management. Both of these phones will struggle to reach 7 hours screen on time with battery life that doesn't make you start throttling your usage for fear of it dying. The Note 4 has Rapid Charging, and you're completely overstating the differences in power usage between the two OSes. The fact that more Apps can run in the background and do more there doesn't equate to the "Android OS" using significantly more power.

 

[zerog46]

No offense, but the iPhone 6+'s screen doesn't even hold a Candle to the Note 4's. Go look at them side by side. The 6+ would have compared quite well against the Note 3, though.

The screen on my Note 3 is perfectly fine for me and I have no issues at all with AMOLED so it's not like it's some huge deciding factor for me, anyways. I was responding to another pos.

Went to order a 64GB 6+ and by the time I got to the payment screen, it was back on back-order.

I was starting to get a bit uneasy at the price, anyways. I don't think it's worth $150 more than a Note, but I was actually kind of looking forward to forsaking Samsung. However, it seems they are the only option at this time, and I want something new NOW

Too bad the 6 has such poor battery life compared to the Phablets (or even an S5/M8, to be frank).

Go on apple dot com at 10 pm and order to pick up. My neighbor did it and got one the next day.


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[iN8ter]

Go on apple dot com at 10 pm and order to pick up. My neighbor did it and got one the next day.


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I got my 64 GB iPhone 6 Plus tonight. Already set up just applying the iOS 8.1.1 update and charging it up

Played with the Note 4 and it was very attractive, but seeing the amount of bloat on that device... My immediate feeling was "I'm so over this."

The phone cost quite a bit more, but I feel more secure being content with keeping an iPhone for 2 years than an Android device, since they are supported much better.

 

[zerog46]

I got my 64 GB iPhone 6 Plus tonight. Already set up just applying the iOS 8.1.1 update and charging it up

Played with the Note 4 and it was very attractive, but seeing the amount of bloat on that device... My immediate feeling was "I'm so over this."

The phone cost quite a bit more, but I feel more secure being content with keeping an iPhone for 2 years than an Android device, since they are supported much better.

One of the selling points with Apple for me is the support. You just can't beat it.


Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

 

[jpxyz]

Calm down. No one said the battery life on the 6+ was bad, I said I don't have faith in the battery life of the SIX (no Plus) which is why I'm still going to get a phablet sized phone even though I'd prefer something the size of an S5 or iPhone 6 (without the Plus).

Secondly, the AMOLED Display on the Note 4 is better than the panel on the iPhone 6+. Pretty much everyone with knowledge on the subject agrees with that.

With Auto-Brightness on, the panel can ramp up to 750 nits or so in direct sunlight, so readability isn't an issue the way it was in past phones like the S3-generation display panels.

Secondly, there is legit reason for Samsung to go for a higher resolution beyond simply spec pumping. AMOLED using a different subpixel arrangement than LCD so you actually need more pixels to get an image that is equivalent to same-resolution LCD panels in sharpness, but the Note 4 is over 100PPI better than the 6 Plus so it easily wins there.

Pretty sure I said my Note 3 screen was fine. It's only 386PPI, less than the 6+. And since it's Super AMOLED, it's actually closer to Retina in sharpness... Even then, it was fine, even for readability outdoors unless my screen was cruddy and reflecting all over the place...

Also said I was responding to poster about the display things. I don't need to defend things that basically every reputable and knowledgeable reviewer has stated (the Note 4, hands down, has a superior display to the 6+ and it doesn't matter which display tech they use, it's better).

Lastly, the battery life between the two devices is very similar. That's pretty well-known. However, there is more room for optimization in that area with the Note 4 due to the screen tech and the fact that the screen is the main battery beater on practically every smartphone in existence these days. True Black Wallpaper, True Black App themes, etc. That can all noticeably increase the battery life on Samsung devices.

You aren't going to get 9-10 hours of screen on time with anything considered real world use on either of these phones. Get an Xperia Z3 if you want that kin of endurance. Sony has a talent for power management. Both of these phones will struggle to reach 7 hours screen on time with battery life that doesn't make you start throttling your usage for fear of it dying. The Note 4 has Rapid Charging, and you're completely overstating the differences in power usage between the two OSes. The fact that more Apps can run in the background and do more there doesn't equate to the "Android OS" using significantly more power.

I was calm, sorry if I sounded to be not.

And well, I get 9-10 hours of real usage on the i6+. (I actually use my phone very much, making phone calls, listening to music, MUCH whatsapp and snapchat)

And the display thing... You can't just see the pixels with the human eye as I said before... And I think it's not a great thing about amoled panels that they get burnings after some time and I think the colors are a little bit too much colorful, they look artificial too me.
I saw the display of the note 4 and I can't see the higher ppi (as I said you can't see the difference with the human eye can't say it often enough) I just see the artificial colors and the apps that aren't looking that good on android but that's another topic.

I said everything in my own opinion, so... It's my opinion.
I can't see myself going back to android but I don't say the note 4 is a bad device.

Otherwise, the i6+ has 1gb of RAM and if you'd throw an android phone with 1gb of RAM on the market it would be lame as fck.
But that's another topic too and that's an android thing not Samsung.

 

[iN8ter]

Actually, you're wrong. I had a Galaxy S2 Skyrocket with 4.1.2 and it ran fine, though the screen resolution was lower newer SoCs would run fine with 1GB RAM even with a 720p display, which is about comparable to the iPhone 6 given the Skyrocket's screen is only 4.5" vs 4.7" on the i6. It had, literally, no performance issues.

Yes, there are people whose phones are cruddy and run like crap. Then again, there are people with iPhones who overload their phonesand end up with tons of performance issues. That Skyrocket ran fine 2+ years after release. It would run even better if it had a current SoC and Android 4.4+ on it. I have no doubts. All that, with 1GB RAM and TouchWiz 4.0/Nature UX, which was even WORSE than the newer, more optimized, variant of TouchWiz.

The reason why a lot of low end Android devices run like crap is not just cause the RAM is low:

1. In developing markets, OEMs often use low end SoCs that simply can't hold a candle to Qualcomm's high end SoCs used in flagships. This is no different than a PC. A PC with an old/slow processor with 8GB RAM still won't play Crysis. RAM can only take you so far, and it cannot eliminate I/O or Processing Bottlenecks in the device.
2. Lower end devices often use SoCs like a Snapdragon 400 when they use QC, while flagships are using Snapdragon 800-series SoCs which perform much better. See above.
3. You're mentioning only RAM Size, but not paying any attention to other factors that determine performance, like ram SPEED (low end devices often use slower ram chips), the type of storage and the speed of the storage (EMC vs. fast NAND Flash). Again, See #1. In fact, we seen how much the storage type can affect performance back in 2010 when Samsung released a Samsung Focus Windows Phone with NAND Flash Storage and HTC Introduced the HD7 with EMC. The Focus outperformed it, noticeably, even though every other spec was largely equivalent (Same SoC, Same RAM Size, Same Screen Resolution, Same GPU, etc.).

Phones like the Moto G have shown that Android can fly on 1GB RAM, and many mainstream Android devices have stuck with 2GB and run just fine despite some models going with 3GB. In many cases, going with MORE RAM *can* hurt more than it helps, as the OS will use that RAM as a cache and background processes will run longer before being tethered the system, meaning CPU Efficiency (due to higher levels of multi-tasking) and Battery May be adversely affected. This is why Apple and Microsoft have enacted the methods they do to curtail background processing in their OSes.

As far as the display PPI. You seem to be content with ignorance, as you haven't even bothered to digest the very valid points that I've put forth in my post above.

A 720p Super AMOLED Screen is less sharp than a 720p LCD Screen due to differences in subpixel arrangement. Going above 1080p helps Samsung more on a Super AMOLED display than it helps LG or Apple on their LCDs. On the Note 3's 1080p display (386 PPI), you can clearly see that it is less sharp than the Note 4's QHD display. Yes, if you're looking from afar you may not notice it as much, but it doesn't change the fact that the bump in resolution is clearly there, and clearly obvious, and it's not like they're going to invent their own aspect ratio just not to make it as "big" a jump so you don't criticize them for overspeccing their display... ...

You're assuming that everything Samsung does is in reaction to what competitors are doing, rather than them simply improving the quality of their product's display experience.

And still, the Note 4's display is better than the 6 Plus. I just bought the 6 Plus, and owning it won't change the facts. The display is simply not as good as Samsung's.

And these phones won't get 9-10 hours of "screen on time," which is the generally accepted method for measuring runtime under average/moderate use. It's not like you'll be instagramming with your screen off, you know...

Yes, if you count listening to Music with the screen off as "use" it will go much further than 10 hours. Even a Galaxy S Vibrant from 2010 will go 30+ hours playing music like that. Once you start using the device with the screen on, battery drain accelerates astronomically.

 

[ctt1wbw]

I bought a Samsung Note 4 this year I'm going to try to stick out out until the iPhone 7 comes out I still have my iPad anyone else have a hard time choosing between an iPhone 6 Plus and a Samsung Note 4
My main reason for going with a Note 4
1. It was available and the iPhone 6 Plus was not from Tmobile
2. I saved money received $200 from samsung
3. Try something different

I know an iPhone works flawlessly but it's a choice I had to make

I probably would have gotten the Note Edge. That's a super slick looking phone.

 

[cwbcpa]

I was tempted to try the note 4. I have had the note 2 and 3. I liked them both for the most part. Other than Touchwiz I had no complaints really. I'm just trying very hard to settle into a phone for longer than a month or two. The one thing that pulled me away from iOS before was the size of the iPhone. I would start missing the bigger screen. My 6 plus came yesterday and I love it. It will be great when more apps are compatible with the bigger screen but the ones that are look amazing and are very useful on the larger screen. I am going to get my first test of battery life today so we will see how that goes.


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[chinmay007]

Two devices are completely different. Note is actually useful with stylus. Period... Rest all is available with many new flagships: nexus6, Moto X2, Xeperia Z3, so it all comes down to personal choice, like choosing a tele: some people like Samsung's over saturated colors. Some prefer Sony Bravia LCD/ Apple

 

[chinmay007]

Two devices are completely different. Note is actually useful with stylus. Period...

Rest of the features are available with many new flagships: nexus6, Moto X2, Xeperia Z3, so it all comes down to personal choice, like choosing a tele: some people like Samsung's over saturated colors. Some prefer Sony Bravia LCD/ Apple . Frankly it's difficult to make out differences in screen resolution beyon retina. It's all on paper.
People who stick with apple do so because of simplicity and ecosystem and cant tolerate the bloat ware that comes with Samsung-which is useful for some ( actually seen a few refusing to give up Samsung for this reason).

 

[iN8ter]

The thing about the Stylusbis that it requires devs to develop it in with the S Pen and Data Sharing SDKs, which most big name devs simply aren't doing. That really limits the usefulness of the stylus once you start using a lot more than Samsung stick apps. More support Multi Window, but I honestly didn't find it useful when they don't support the data sharing API to drag and drop between apps.

The Stylus is very nice on their Note Tablets though. Those devices have the screen real estate to really benefit from it as an input method. 5'7" is too small for heavy stylus use and handwriting.


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[chinmay007]

The thing about the Stylusbis that it requires devs to develop it in with the S Pen and Data Sharing SDKs, which most big name devs simply aren't doing. That really limits the usefulness of the stylus once you start using a lot more than Samsung stick apps. More support Multi Window, but I honestly didn't find it useful when they don't support the data sharing API to drag and drop between apps.

The Stylus is very nice on their Note Tablets though. Those devices have the screen real estate to really benefit from it as an input method. 5'7" is too small for heavy stylus use and handwriting.


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Completely agree. Probably the reason that good fine point "active" stylus are not available for iPhone but are available for iPad.

 

[iN8ter]

Completely agree. Probably the reason that good fine point "active" stylus are not available for iPhone but are available for iPad.

Most people I know with the Note never use the stylus. They bought it for the big screen and decent camera. I wonder if they even know it has one at this point.

I think people on tech forums are more inclined to use it more, but that "market" tends to do everything they can to validate their purchase decisions.


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[Andrawer]

Just switched to the IP6+ from a Note 4 and am VERY happy. I've been a LONG time Android user (even the original Note, Note II&3) and the Note4 is sweet but I just found a lot of reasons that made me want to stick with the IP6+. Foremost the fluid interaction with my iMac and wife's iPhone's on IO8 works really well and actually useful. Also wanted to remove myself a bit from Google (it freaking knows everything about me).

I find it very useful how I can launch the camera from the lock screen and also the TouchID is basically flawless and convenient for myself. IOS8's pull down notifications are very useful for me also. Don't miss Android widget's.

(kinda interesting user experience to actually "use" my phone apps more instead of spending so much time changing ROMs, icons, launchers etc...i got myself a lot more free time!).

The Note 4 is an excellent phone but you will experience some stutter and my experience says the IP6+ has a MUCH better battery life although the Note4 can quick charge and has a user swappable battery. You will be shocked how much software your carrier will put on the Note4 but you can usually disable most of it. The S-Pen is sweet and fun and I use it about once a week over the course of using all my prior Samsung Note phones.

Concerning screens...comparing my N4 sidebyside with my IP6+ there are a few apps where the N4 obviously shines but I feel the IP6+ is pretty sweet also even at lower resolution...not enough difference to base a decision on imho.

 

[taz323]

Just switched to the IP6+ from a Note 4 and am VERY happy. I've been a LONG time Android user (even the original Note, Note II&3) and the Note4 is sweet but I just found a lot of reasons that made me want to stick with the IP6+. Foremost the fluid interaction with my iMac and wife's iPhone's on IO8 works really well and actually useful. Also wanted to remove myself a bit from Google (it freaking knows everything about me).

I find it very useful how I can launch the camera from the lock screen and also the TouchID is basically flawless and convenient for myself. IOS8's pull down notifications are very useful for me also. Don't miss Android widget's.

(kinda interesting user experience to actually "use" my phone apps more instead of spending so much time changing ROMs, icons, launchers etc...i got myself a lot more free time!).

The Note 4 is an excellent phone but you will experience some stutter and my experience says the IP6+ has a MUCH better battery life although the Note4 can quick charge and has a user swappable battery. You will be shocked how much software your carrier will put on the Note4 but you can usually disable most of it. The S-Pen is sweet and fun and I use it about once a week over the course of using all my prior Samsung Note phones.

Concerning screens...comparing my N4 sidebyside with my IP6+ there are a few apps where the N4 obviously shines but I feel the IP6+ is pretty sweet also even at lower resolution...not enough difference to base a decision on imho.

Welcome and congrats on the 6+, enjoy.

 

[05GT]

I've literally switched back and forth between the N4 and iP6+ four or five times now. They are both awesome phones that make me super indecisive on making the right choose between the two.


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[lensterman]

Ah,

Your problem is you have tooo many toys!

 

[mpl175]

I have both and they are really excellent devices. Not sure if I prefer one over the other though. I mean the only thing they really have in common is the size. It all depends which os suits your needs best. I like both ios and Android so I'd have a hard time choosing between the two.

 

[cwbcpa]

I've literally switched back and forth between the N4 and iP6+ four or five times now. They are both awesome phones that make me super indecisive on making the right choose between the two.


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I could have easily been in that same situation. I've done it for years now. The Note 4 is a great phone and I'm sure I could have been happy with it. I just love the way iOS works and the 6 Plus feels great for such a big phone. The big deal for me is my family though. In my opinion, iMessage and FaceTime with my kids is much better than Hangouts on Android.

It's great to finally have a big screen and enjoy iOS.


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