Now that the Samsung Galaxy S6 has officially been released in the United States, we can all start having the conversation we’ve been waiting to have for months: which is better, Samsung Galaxy S6 vs iPhone 6? And if you’re planning on making a smartphone purchase this spring or summer, which device should be at the top of your shopping list.
The Samsung Galaxy S6: What’s New?
Let’s start with the brand new Samsung Galaxy S6. After losing the smartphone lead to Apple in 2014, Samsung obviously felt a lot of pressure to put out a killer handset with the S6, and they’ve done just that. In terms of simple build, it’s easily the company’s most impressive phone to date. One of the biggest drawbacks of the Galaxy S6 has always been its plastic build. There was just something about the flimsy plastic construction that made the phone feel downright cheap next to Apple’s sleek aluminum iPhone.
With the S6, Samsung has traded the plastic for a new glass and metal design, and it’s stunning. It just feels like a higher-quality phone when you hold it in your hand, and for some users, that will count for a lot. Not that the new build doesn’t come without its drawbacks. Most notably, the waterproof component that was such a big part of the marketing for the S5 is gone. Samsung has also ditched the micro SD slot, in favor of three storage size configurations (32GB, 64GB, and 128GB) that are identical to what Apple offers. You also can’t remove the battery anymore, which has long been a complaint about the iPhone.
Beyond the build, the S6 brings a number of impressive specs to the table, including a rich display (5.1 inches with a 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution) that handily trumps what the iPhone 6 has to offer. In theory, the camera is also better than the iPhone’s (16MP versus 8MP), but few users have had anything to complain about with the iPhone 6 camera, so that likely won’t be a huge selling point for anyone.
The iPhone: Does it Still Have an Edge?
Admittedly, the Apple iPhone 6 is at a disadvantage here, just as the Samsung Galaxy S6 will be at a disadvantage in the fall when the next iPhone hits the market. The question is, does the iPhone 6 still have an edge in any categories? Or should smartphone consumers looking to make a purchase before September turn their attention to Samsung?
First of all, it’s tough to find gripes with the iPhone based on performance. Apple has been building their processor chips in house for a few years, and the custom 64-bit A8 chip is arguably the fastest, most powerful, and downright best processor we’ve seen from any smartphone so far. The jury is still out, for us, on whether or not the Samsung Galaxy S6 chip (also a custom build, a first for a Samsung phone) can top what Apple did.
Bottom line?
Samsung Galaxy S6 vs iPhone 6: There’s no clear leader between these two phones. For the first time, Samsung has matched Apple is terms of sleek aesthetics, and the S6 has a beautiful display that will win a lot of fans. But the iPhone 6 is still a force to be reckoned with in terms of power and performance, and the S6 doesn’t substantially surpass it in any way but screen resolution. In the end, your choice could simply come down to whether your prefer Android or iOS, as the operating systems are absolutely the biggest differences between these two equally stellar devices. Which do you recommend?