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Samsung Galaxy S6 vs Apple iPhone 6: And the winner is...

Last updated on: April 29, 2015 16:49 IST

With the Samsung Galaxy S6 model out, let us take a look at how the two of the most celebrated smartphones match up against each other...

Samsung Galaxy S6 vs Apple iPhone 6

Apple and Samsung have been going at it since the beginning of the smartphones era and have been arch rivals ever since. From Apple suing the South Korean giant for copying its design prototype to the latter turning into one the most powerful smartphone-maker in the world, it has been a see-saw battle between the two firms. The "battle for the best" rages-on with the sixth edition of their respective phones (keeping aside the "S" models of iPhone).

1. Look and feel

There is no doubt that Samsung has definitely sensed the pulse of the audience and has been doing so in the last couple of years emphasising more on the build quality of its smartphones. The plastic material has been thrown out for the aluminium one, which does give a far more premium feel to the Galaxy S6. The shape however is still not that drastically different, and it really does not stand out from the rest of the models.

At the same time, Apple has really taken a big jump with the iPhone 6’s shape and size. The Apple iPhone 6 is taller with curved edges as opposed to the rectangular edges its predecessors had. It is far more comfortable to hold and certainly oozes every bit of premium-ness and elegance that you expect from an Apple device.

Apple wins the battle when it comes to look and feel.

2. Display quality

Apple has notched up its screen size, which is a big move with the new Apple iPhone 6 featuring a 4.7-inch display.

Samsung Galaxy S6, on the other hand, comes with a 5.1-inch screen. Now as far as the display quality is concerned, strictly in terms of numbers, Samsung Galaxy S6 moves ahead with a beefy 577ppi pixel density as opposed to the 326ppi pixel density of Apple iPhone 6.

However the LED-backlit IPS LCD display of iPhone 6 manages to overthrow the Super AMOLED touchscreen of Galaxy S6 with the former delivering better colour accuracy and colour saturation. The touchscreen experience is also much smoother with Apple iPhone 6 although Samsung Galaxy S6 is not slow by any stretch of imagination.

3. Hardware and performance

Apple iPhone 6 is definitely faster than Samsung Galaxy S6 if you compare the two for their overall experience. Just the time taken by Apple iPhone 6 for opening up Google Chrome, YouTube, multiple tabs, games, etc. is a tad less than what Samsung Galaxy S6 takes.

In terms of specs, Apple iPhone 6 uses Cyclone 1.4GHz dual-core processor along with 1GB RAM; Samsung Galaxy S6 overhauls the same once again with two quad-core processors and 3GB RAM.

Even though Android platform has come long way with Android 5.0.2 Lollipop, it still is not glitch-free and the iOS 8 manages to be much faster and lag-free once again.

4. Camera

Another important factor among modern smartphones is the camera. Photography experience has improved exponentially in smartphones since its arrival and Apple has for the most part been the leader in the segment. It is not only the quality of images produced that makes the Apple iPhone camera stand out but it is also the ease of its use. The 8 megapixels primary camera of Apple iPhone 6 does a superb job once again although not much has changed compared to what the previous model had offered.

Samsung Galaxy S6 on the other hand comes with a 16 megapixel primary camera that is again fantastic and offers more tools to work on giving you a comprehensive photography experience.

The rear camera is 5 megapixels for Galaxy S6 while the same is 1.2 megapixels for Apple iPhone 6. Galaxy S6 does provide better results with the front shutter but not by a big margin. So overall the camera section is a tie between the two flagship phones.

5. Battery

This is one section where Samsung Galaxy S6 wins hands down with its non-removable 2,550mAh standard lithium-ion battery thrashing the 1,810mAh lithium-polymer battery of Apple iPhone 6. Apple iPhone 6 has already been reported to have struggled to last an entire day with normal usage while for those who have intense usage of the device will definitely need a charger by their side at all times.

Samsung Galaxy S6, on the other hand, uses Super AMOLED screen that uses less power while previous Samsung models have proven that they have a long lasting ability.

Verdict

It is like deja vu as we again compare the two heavyweights from Apple and Samsung. Apple iPhone 6, according to us is far more refined and polished, which has been the case in the past with the firm edging out the "large screen" issue as well.

Apple iPhone 6 is bigger, faster and beautifully designed with fast performance and a very good camera experience. Samsung Galaxy S6 has been enhanced as an overall product in its capacity and is still one of the best Android phones in the market, but it fails to generate the same kind of aura that its U.S counterpart manages to accomplish almost every time.

Shruti Puri