Samsung Galaxy S6 with Exynos 7420 64-bit Chipset Gets Benchmarked, Reveals Beastly Performance

Unlike in the past, Samsung is expected to use its Exynos 7 Octa-core 64-bit chipset for the upcoming Galaxy S6 flagship smartphone. In the past few weeks we have seen many new reports appear on the web that detail the reasons behind Samsung choosing to stick to its Exynos 7420 chipset for the Galaxy S6. A recent report even claimed that Qualcomm may provide Samsung with a special variant of the Snapdragon 810 for the Galaxy S6. However, it doesn’t look like the use of the Exynos 7420 chip will disappoint anyone as it managed to perform admirably well in the Geekbench benchmark recently.

The Exynos 7420 managed to score impressively high in the Geekbench test with a single-core score of 1520 and multi-core score of 5478. The single-core score is higher than Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 devices, with only the NVIDIA Tegra K1 chipset in the Google Nexus 9 managing a better score than the Exynos 7420. However, in the multi-core test the Exynos 7420 managed to gain a massive lead over all current mobile chipsets, including the NVIDIA Tegra K1 and the Snapdragon 805. The Google Nexus 9 manages a score of around 3200 on the multi-core test while the Snapdragon 805 powered devices like the Google Nexus 6 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 can score a shade under 3000. We still do not have any leaked benchmarks of the Snapdragon 810 to go by, but it does look like the Galaxy S6 will be one powerful beast when it launches.

We also need to keep in mind that the device that was run through the Geekbench test is most likely a prototype device running on unfinished software. On final hardware with the updated software, the scores can go up slightly. So all in all we’re looking at one of the most impressive mobile chipsets of the year in the new Exynos 7420. In the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy S5, the Exynos chipsets didn’t quite manage to bowl us over with the performance, but this year it seems like Samsung has worked really hard on the new Exynos chipsets and it doesn’t seem like anyone will miss the Snapdragon 810 as far as both performance and connectivity goes. Unlike previous Exynos chipsets, the Exynos 7420 is expected to arrive with an integrated LTE Cat.9 modem with Tri-Band Carrier Aggregation like on the recently announced Korean variant of the Galaxy Note 4.

Together with the rumored light TouchWiz version that is expected to debut with the Galaxy S6, the Exynos 7420 chip is likely to ensure butter smooth performance on the Galaxy S6, with none of the performance issues that all Galaxy flagships have suffered from so far.

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Specs Head to Head

Early September, Samsung announced two new flagship smartphones, both members of the Galaxy Note family. We are talking about the highly anticipated Galaxy Note 4 and the new Galaxy Note Edge with its bent display. Since they are two of the most powerful smartphones on the market we are going to put them head to head in the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 4 specs battle.

There will be ten rounds where we will be judging the performance of the two devices in terms of Display, Dimensions, Connectivity, Memory, Camera, Design, Battery Life, Operating System, and Price. Each round is worth one point and, of course, the smartphone that manages to score most points wins the battle.

Display

Without a doubt, the screen is the main selling point of the two devices. Both phablets come with Quad HD screens.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 features a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with Quad HD (1440 x 2560) resolution and a pixel density of 515 ppi. The screen is protected by a Gorilla Glass 4 layer.

On the other hand, Galaxy Edge has a curved edge screen measuring 5.6 inches diagonally and having a total resolution of 1600 x 2560. It has a protective Gorilla Glass 3 layer and a pixel density of 524 ppi.

Even though they are both similar when it comes to resolution and size, Galaxy Note 4’s screen is more appropriate for basic tasks such as web browsing or watching videos. Furthermore, it’s less prone to scratching courtesy of the Gorilla Glass 4 layer. Note 4 win the display round.

Dimensions

We are dealing with two phablets here, so don’t expect anything decent when it comes to dimensions. Both come with 5.5+ inch displays, therefore the body needs to be large enough to accommodate them.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is 153.5 mm tall, 78.6 mm wide, and only 8.3 mm thin, while weighing in at 176 grams. Galaxy Note Edge is 151.3 mm tall, 82.4 mm wide, 8.3 mm thin and weighs in at 174 grams.

As you can see the Galaxy Note Edge is more compact than its cousin. The curved device wins this round.

Connectivity

The connectivity features are fairly similar for the modern smartphones. Let’s see what hides under the hood of Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge.

Connectivity-wise Samsung Galaxy Note 4 arrives with LTE Cat 6 or Cat 4, HSPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1 Low Energy, NFC, IR blaster, and microUSB 2.0. On the other hand, Galaxy Edge comes with LTE Cat 6 or Cat 4, HSPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1 Low Energy, NFC, IR blaster, and microUSB 2.0.

Can you spot the difference? No? Well, it’s probably because there’s no difference between the two in terms of connectivity. This round ends as tie.

Memory

Games, apps, your music collection, your favorite TV shows, and lots of photos. All these require a lot of storage, so let’s see how Note Edge and Note 4 perform.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 integrates 32 GB of internal storage and has support for 128 GB microSD cards. Believe it or not, Note Edge also comes with 32 GB storage and a microSD cards that accepts up to 128 GB of external storage.

Android is famous for its multitasking and Samsung took it to another level with Multi Window. Both devices arrive with 3 GB of RAM, so the multitasking experience will be flawless.

As you can see for yourself Samsung Galaxy Note Edge and Galaxy Note 4 are identical when it comes to Memory. The round ends as tie.

Processor

The high-end smartphone market is currently dominated by Qualcomm’s chipsets. Even though Samsung has their proprietary Exynos SoC, the South Koreans are using Qualcomm’s solutions for many of their phones.

Both Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge are underpinned by the exact same chipset. We are talking about a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor that is based on four Krait 450 cores clocked at 2.5 GHz and an Adreno 420 GPU.

There’s no way to differentiate the two devices when it comes to Processor. Another round ends as tie.

Camera

Samsung’s flagship smartphones have always boasted about great cameras. Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Edge make no exception.

Just like Note 4 and Note Edge have the same processor, they also arrive with the same cameras. They pack 16 MP primary shooters with optical image stabilization, autofocus, and LED flash. They also integrate Dual Shot, Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR, and support for 4K video recording. The fort-facing units of the two smartphones have 3.7 MP sensors with Wide Selfie feature.

Yes, you are right. The Camera round also ends as tie.

Design

In the past, Samsung received a lot of criticism for the design of their phones, many customers and journalists complaining that their devices aren’t premium-enough. We are glad to see that Samsung is taking huge steps forward towards a premium design.

Starting with Galaxy Alpha, Samsung’s smartphones started using premium materials. Both Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge are building using premium materials and they are fairly similar in design. They both have a metal flame around the body, a faux leather back that feels soft and high-quality, and they both have a slot for the S Pen stylus in the lower left corner. The main camera is placed in the higher end of the phone, centered, and right below it there’s a heart rate monitor. Both have a fingerprint sensor embedded in the Home button.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 continues the design philosophy introduced by its predecessor, the Note 3. It has sharp edges and less rounded corners. Note Edge follows the same design guidelines, but its display is bent over one of the edges. It’s a bit wider than Note 4, but in the same time it’s shorter and slimmer.

Both devices look and feel premium and there’s no way to tell which one looks better. This round is a tie.

Battery Life

Besides sporting big displays, the phablets are also known for having above-average battery life. Let’s see how Note Edge and Note 4 perform when it comes to autonomy.

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is powered by a Li-Ion 3,000 mAh battery. In our tests the device managed to get through about two days of normal usage on a single charge.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is kept alive by a 3,220 mAh battery using the same Li-Ion technology. We’ve tested the Note 4 and we can say that it’s battery is large enough to keep it awake through about two days of normal usage.

Even though Note 4 has a slightly bigger battery, the two smartphones are similar when it comes to battery life. It’s a tie!

Operating System

Samsung is the largest Android OEM in the world and both Note 4 and Note Edge are underpinned by Google’s mobile OS. They both come pre-loaded with Android 4.4 KitKat.

Both phones have Samsung’s proprietary TouchWiz UI installed on top of Android 4.4.4 KitKat, bringing some neat software features. Just to name a few Smart Select (allows the user to easily select content using the S Pen and share it right away), Photo Note (you can take photos and convert analog text to digital), enhanced Multi Window (you can now resize the windows), Fast Charging (go from 0% to 50% in about 30 minutes), and Ultra Power Saving Mode (shuts down unnecessary processes to dramatically increase battery life).

Besides all the aforementioned features, Galaxy Note Edge has a couple of aces up its sleeve. You can move all the notifications to the Edge screen (side screen) and you can enable it to be always on while sleeping and transform your phone in some sort of alarm clock. You can also customize the information shown on the side screen, place shortcuts there, or have a different background.

The Edge-specific software features are quite intuitive and quite useful and the phone definitely outmatches its cousin when it comes to OS. Galaxy Note Edge wins the operating system round.

Price

We will try to keep it simple in the Price round. The cheaper smartphone wins. And because high-end phones are usually sold on-contract, we will be comparing the on-contract prices of the two devices.

In the US, AT&T and Sprint are the biggest carriers to have the Galaxy Note Edge in their portfolio. AT&T is selling the 32 GB Galaxy Note Edge at a price of $399.99 with a two year-contract, while Sprint is asking $429.99 for the 32 GB model after you sign a two-year agreement with them.

The price of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is the same whether you purchase it from AT&T or Sprint. The 32 GB variant costs $299.99 with a two-year contract.

Without a doubt, Galaxy Note 4 is the cheaper device. That’s why it wins the Price round.

Conclusions

Here we are at the end of the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 4 specs battle. It’s about time to start counting points and to see which smartphone is the winner.

I will start by saying that not less than six rounds ended as tie. The two devices where equally matched in terms of Memory, Camera, Processor, Connectivity and Design.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has won the Display and Price rounds. It’s because its screen is more appropriate for basic tasks such as web browsing or watching videos and because it’s cheaper than Galaxy Note Edge.

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge outmatched Galaxy Note 4 in two rounds. It scored two points for winning in Dimensions and Operating System rounds, because it’s more compact and because of the Edge screen-specific software features.

In our opinion, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge are equally matched, so you can choose any of them without failing. In fact, it’s all about finding the smartphone that fits your needs. Of course, you are entitled to have a different opinion, that’s why we are inviting you to comment in the section below.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 vs Google Nexus 6: Specs Comparison

The Phablet market has really heated up this year with Apple, Samsung, and Google launching their phablet devices to gain the attention of consumers worldwide. Unlike last year, when the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 had virtually no direct competition, the Galaxy Note 4 has more than one major rival to take on. And interestingly both its rivals are from companies that have no prior experience in the phablet market – Apple and Google. We’ve already seen how the Galaxy Note 4 fared against the iPhone 6 Plus in our previous versus article, this time we’re going to see if the Galaxy Note 4 will be able to dominate its Android rival the Google Nexus 6 in the same way as it did with the Apple iPhone 6 Plus.

Samsung has a long experience in the phablet segment. The Korean tech giant literally created the phablet segment with the Galaxy Note three years back. Google on the other hand has no experience in the phablet market and the Nexus 6 is the first phablet product from Google as well as the manufacturer of the device – Motorola.

Display

The display is one of the most important criteria when buying a new phablet. Both the Google Nexus 6 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 have very impressive displays with Quad-HD 2560 x 1440 resolution. The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has a 5.7-inch display while the Google Nexus 6 has a slightly bigger 5.96-inch display. That translates to a pixel density of 515PPI on the Galaxy Note 4 and 493 PPI on the Google Nexus 6. Both feature Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection on the front.

Even though there is a slight difference in the pixel density, in real world you won’t really notice much difference in sharpness between the two. In fact even compared to a smartphone with 1080p resolution display, the difference in sharpness will not be very apparent. As far as the actual quality is concerned, the Galaxy Note 4 display is definitely superior, but not by much. The main advantage of the Galaxy Note 4 display is the significantly higher brightness, which means outdoor visibility is much better on the Note 4. Color accuracy is largely similar on both.

This round could have been a draw but the low peak brightness means the round has to go to the Galaxy Note 4.

Dimensions

Being phablet, both of these devices are definitely not going to be comfortable to hold for people with small hands. And even for those with large hands, single-handed usage is only going to be barely manageable at best.

The Galaxy Note 4 has overall dimensions of 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5mm while the Google Nexus 6 measures 159.3 x 83 x 10.1mm. Not only is the Google Nexus 6 taller and wider, but it is also thicker. So for a lot of people out there, the Nexus 6 is going to be simply too big to handle easily.

As far as the weight is concerned, both are roughly the same. The Google Nexus 6 only weighs around 8 grams more than the Galaxy Note 4.

So picking a winner here is a pretty easy task. The Galaxy Note 4 is easily the more compact device of the two

Processor

2014 hasn’t seen a major jump in CPU performance for mobile devices. In the beginning of the year we saw Qualcomm release the Snapdragon 801 chipset, which was barely any faster than the Snapdragon 800 that launched last year. The Snapdragon 805 is a bigger upgrade over the Snapdragon 800 though, and that’s what you will find inside both the Galaxy Note 4 and the Google Nexus 6.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon’s four CPU cores are clocked at 2.7GHz and it comes with the new Adreno 420 GPU. The Adreno 420 GPU is the biggest improvement the chipset brings as the new GPU is significantly more powerful than the Adreno 330 GPU on the Snapdragon 801 chipset. The Adreno 420 GPU has been designed to deliver high-performance graphics on displays with Quad-HD resolution, so performance with high-resolution screens does not bog it down much like the Adreno 330.

Between the two phablet, performance is largely similar as the two have identical CPU and GPU. So this round is a tie.

Camera

Cameras on our smartphones have seen a big upgrade this year in the sensor size as well as overall performance. The Optical Image Stabilization feature has also become more popular and most high-end flagships currently come with OIS equipped rear camera. The Galaxy Note 4 and the Google Nexus 6 are no exceptions either.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has a 16MP rear camera with a 1/2.6” size Sony Exmor RS IMX240 sensor with f2.2 aperture wide-angle lens, dual-LED flash, Fast AF, Live HDR, and support for 4K video recording at 30 fps.

Google Nexus 6 has a slightly lower resolution 13MP Sony Exmor RS rear camera that also has a lower sensor size of 1/3.06”. The Nexus 6 features a slightly brighter f2.0 aperture lens, dual-LED flash, HDR+, photo sphere, and records 4K videos at 30 fps.

As far as the front-facing cameras are concerned, the Note 4 has a 3.7MP unit with a wide-angle f1.9 aperture lens while the Nexus 6 has a 2MP front-facing camera.

When it comes to the overall quality, the Galaxy Note 4 is superior thanks to the bigger sensor and higher resolution. But the difference between the two isn’t huge though. The Galaxy Note 4 thus wins this round.

Memory

Over the past 2-3 years, smartphones have seen major upgrades in many areas but the one thing that hasn’t seen much of an upgrade is the internal storage size. The amount of internal storage on the latest flagship devices isn’t any higher than smartphones from 2-3 years back.

Samsung has in fact dropped the 64GB internal memory option from the Galaxy Note 3 with the Galaxy Note 4. The Note 4 only comes with 32GB of internal memory in all markets. Thankfully the memory is expandable, so you can get a microSD card and expand the memory by up to 128GB.

Like the earlier Nexus devices, the Nexus 6 doesn’t come with expandable memory. You have the option of 32 or 64GB internal memory with the Google phablet. While the higher 64GB option is certainly welcome, it still might not be sufficient for some users.

The amount of RAM on both devices is identical at 3GB.

Since 64GB memory should be sufficient for a lot of smartphone users, we are going to declare this round a tie.

Connectivity

Connectivity features largely depend on the chipset that has been used on a device. Since both the Galaxy Note 4 and the Google Nexus 6 are using the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset, you would expect them to have similar connectivity options. And that is actually the case, almost.

Both devices come with Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac dual-band, Bluetooth 4.1, LTE Cat.6, NFC, microUSB v2.0, and USB host connectivity options. The Galaxy Note 4 does have one advantage over the Google Nexus 6 though – it comes with a built-in IR blaster. So you can use it to control all your home entertainment devices as well.

LTE Cat.6 is the biggest upgrade connectivity wise that Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset brings. The previous LTE Cat.4 standard came with support for maximum download speeds of up to 150Mbps, but the new LTE Cat.6 standard can support download speeds of up to 300Mbps.Upload speeds remain the same at 50Mbps though.

This round could have been a tie but thanks to the IR blaster, the Galaxy Note 4 edges out the Nexus 6 in this round.

Operating System

The hardware of a device doesn’t give you the complete picture of the performance of a device. Software optimization is also a key factor.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 comes with Android 4.4.4 KitKat out of the box with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI layer on top. Unlike the previous generations of TouchWiz, the latest version on the Galaxy Note 4 is leaner than earlier and isn’t as resource intensive as earlier. Even on the Galaxy S5, TouchWiz negatively affects the performance. So it is good to see that Samsung has decided to bring positive change with the Galaxy Note 4’s software. What hasn’t changed is the amount of features added on by Samsung. Apart from the hugely popular and functional Multi-Window feature, there are other great S-Pen related features like Smart Select, Air Command, Photo Note, Action Memo, Image Clip and a few others. The usual Samsung S Voice, S Health, S Note, Motion Gestures are all there too.

Google’s Nexus 6 is the launch device for the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop version. Android 5.0 brings new changes like the Material Design UI, new Notifications view, redesigned recent apps menu, switch to the Android Runtime (ART) for improved performance, multi-user support, new battery saving mode with Project Volta, smart lock and more. As the earlier Nexus devices, the Nexus 6 is free from bloatware. There aren’t any apps that you would feel shouldn’t have been on it. It does get the always on voice command feature that is seen on Motorola devices, with the same Ti C55 hotword processor as on the Moto X.

Thanks to all the new improvements with Android Lollipop and a much cleaner UI, the Google Nexus 6 wins this round. Samsung is making good progress with TouchWiz but there is still some more work to be done to get it to perform as good as stock Android.

Design

One of the biggest changes with the Galaxy Note 4 is the improvement in design and build of the device. If there has been one consistent complaint with Galaxy devices, it has been the poor design and build. The Galaxy S5 for instance looks virtually similar to the two year old Galaxy S3. And the traditional plastic build only made matters worse. With the Galaxy Alpha, Samsung decided that it had enough and needed to step up in terms of design and build on its Galaxy smartphones.

The Galaxy Note 4 actually draws a lot from the Galaxy Alpha. It has a similar aluminum frame as the Alpha and has a much more premium feeling back that finally gets rid of the visible stitching pattern that nobody found appealing on the Galaxy Note 3. The front glass is also 2.5D curved, adding to the visual appeal of the design. The leather used on the back is also a lot more premium feeling this time, so finally we have a Galaxy device that looks and feels worthy of its high price.

Made by Motorola, the Google Nexus 6 is a charmer when it comes to design. It looks very similar to the 2^nd gen Moto X, with the same curved back and shiny aluminum frame on the side. There is no doubt that it is the best looking Nexus device yet and one of the better looking flagship devices launched this year. Thanks to the use of metal and high-quality polycarbonate, the device feels solid in the hand and is every bit as good as the Note 4 in terms of build quality, if not better. It also has a water resistance coating, so that’s another advantage over the Note 4.

The Galaxy Note 4 is an improvement over previous Galaxy devices, but the Nexus 6 simply looks better. That makes Nexus 6 the winner of this round.

Battery Life

Apart from the large display, phablet are also popular for their impressive battery life. The Galaxy Note 4 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 do not disappoint in this area.

It is quite interesting that both the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and the Google Nexus 6 have the exact same 3220mAh capacity battery. Since the two phablet have the same battery, chipset, and screen resolution, you might be thinking battery life on both would be very similar too. Right? Well unfortunately that is not the case.

According to the battery life tests, the Google Nexus 6 actually has significantly lower battery life than the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. The reasons behind this aren’t clear but it could be due to various reasons. But it does have one advantage over the Note 4. Thanks to the Quick Charge feature, the Nexus 6 can deliver 6 hours of usage with just 15 minutes of charging. It comes with support for Wireless charging as well.

The winner is quite clear in this round, the Galaxy Note 4 it is.

Price

When it comes to flagship devices, the prices don’t play a major role in the decision-making process for most buyers, but it is still important to be sure if the device is worth the price or not.

The Google Nexus 6 is available on the Play Store at $649 for the 32GB variant and $699 for the 64GB variant. But since this time the Nexus 6 is available through carriers as well, you can get it through the major US carriers such as AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile on a 2-year contract. AT&T and Sprint are selling the phablet for $249 down, while T-Mobile will sell it to you for $0 down.

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 is available unlocked at around $750 if you purchase it outright or you can get it on a 2-year contract from the carriers at $299. That’s the price you would need to pay upfront from AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon Wireless. T-Mobile is selling it at $0 upfront payment, just like the Nexus 6.

Clearly, this round goes to the Nexus 6.

Conclusions

Now that we’re done with the comparison. Let’s see which smartphone managed to win most categories. The Nexus 6 managed to win in three categories – Operating System, Price, and Design. Two rounds were a tie – Memory and Processor. The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 won 5 rounds – Display, Dimensions, Camera, Battery Life, and Connectivity.

So does that mean the Galaxy Note 4 is the better phablet here? Well if you were to consider how good each of these devices are as a phablet, then the Galaxy Note 4 would obviously be the winner as it comes with the S-Pen. The Nexus 6 doesn’t come with stylus support and that limits its appeal to customers who are looking for a phablet that can do more than the average smartphone.

iPhone 6 Plus vs Nexus 6 Specs Comparison

The Nexus 6 is finally available for purchase through several US carriers, so we thought we should compare it with one of its main rivals, the iPhone 6 Plus. Both are no doubt two of the most powerful smartphones currently on the market, so we are expecting the iPhone 6 Plus vs. Nexus 6 specs battle to be hard-fought.

While the iPhone 6 Plus is the first Apple phablet ever made, the Nexus 6 is the first Nexus device to come with a display larger than 5 inches. As you may know already, the latter one is co-developed by Google and Motorola.

iPhone 6 Plus versus Nexus 6 specs battle will be divided into ten rounds where we will be judging the performance of the two devices based on Dimensions, Display, Processor, Memory, Connectivity, Operating System, Camera, Design, Battery Life, and Price. Each round is worth one point and the smartphone that manages to score most points is declared winner.

Dimensions

We are dealing with two phablets here, so forget about being able to use either of them with only one hand. Let’s have a look at their dimensions.

The iPhone 6 Plus measures 158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm and has a weigh of 172 grams. Despite having to accommodate a significantly larger display, the Nexus 6 is similar in size to Apple’s smartphone. It’s 159.3 mm tall, 83 mm wide, and 10.1 mm thin, while weighing in at 184 grams.

The iPhone 6 Plus is more compact, lighter, and considerably thinner than the Nexus 6, that’s why it wins the Dimensions round. The iOS-powered device wins the first round of the battle.

Display

Even though few have thought that Apple would launch a 5.5-inch smartphone, the Cupertino-based company is finally having a phablet in its portfolio. Because the display is the main selling point of a phablet, let’s have a look at the displays our competitors.

The iPhone 6 Plus sports a 5.5-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD display with Full HD resolution, 401 ppi pixel density, shatter proof glass, and oleo phobic coating. This is Apple’s first Full HD smartphone.

Nexus 6 boasts about a massive 5.96-inch AMOLED display with Quad HD (1440 x 2560) resolution, and Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Despite being considerably larger, Nexus 6’s screen brings higher pixel density: 493 ppi.

The AMOLED screen of the Nexus 6 brings higher resolution and higher pixel density than iPhone 6 Plus’ 5.5-inch unit. Nexus 6 wins this round.

Processor

The processor is the brain of the phone, so you would probably want to have a powerful unit hidden inside your phone’s case. Let’s have a look at the processing solutions of iPhone 6 Plus and Nexus 6.

iPhone 6 Plus is powered by a 64-bit Apple A8 chipset with dual-core 1.4 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based) CPU and PowerVR GX6450 GPU. On the other hand, Nexus 6 is underpinned by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC based on four Krait 450 cores clocked at 2.7 GHz and an Adreno 420 GPU.

Even though iPhone 6 Plus’ processor is 64-bit enabled, the benchmarks have shown that Nexus 6’s unit is slightly more powerful. The point allocated to the Processor round goes to Google’s flagship.

Memory

Your photos, your music collection, your favorite TV shoes, the videos you record with your smartphone, and lots of apps. All these require quite a large amount of storage.

iPhone 6 Plus is available in three storage options: 16, 64, and 128 GB. Nexus 6 comes with either 32 or 64 GB of native storage. Neither one has support for microSD expansion.

In terms of RAM, the iPhone 6 Plus brings 1 GB RAM, while Nexus 6 has 3 GB RAM. Even though the latter one has considerably more RAM, the iPhone 6 Plus will do just fine to handle iOS’ multitasking, while both will be able to do deliver a decent multitasking experience.

Because the iPhone 6 Plus is available with up to 128 GB of storage, it wins the Memory round. Another point for Apple’s phablet.

Connectivity

Over the past couple of years, most smartphone makers have aligned to the same standard when it comes to connectivity features. Let’s look how our competitors perform.

The iPhone 6 Plus arrives with HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE Cat4 150/50 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy, NFC, and USB 2.0 (Lightning port). Nexus 6 brings HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE Cat6 300/50 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1 Low Energy, NFC, and microUSB 2.0.

Compared to the iPhone 6 Plus, Nexus 6 brings LTE Cat6 (LTE Cat4 for iPhone) and Bluetooth 4.1 (Bluetooth 4.0 for iPhone). Because LTE Cat6 is not so widespread and because there’s not a significant difference between BT 4.1 and 4.0, the Connectivity round ends as tie.

Operating System

When it comes to mobile operating systems it’s always Apple vs. Android. Each platform has its fans and its critics, but in the end it’s only a matter of choice.

Nexus 6 comes pre-loaded with Android 5.0 Lollipop, which is the biggest update Google’s mobile operating system has received since birth. The first thing you will probably notice about Lollipop is the new Material Design interface which relays on vivid colors, more animations, and realistic 3D effects and shadows. The Android 5.0 list of changes is very long, but just to name a few: lockscreen notifications with the ability to personalize notifications behavior, multi-user support for phones, revamped notifications bar and quick settings, battery saver, Priority Mode (some sort of iOS Do Not Disturb), Screen Pinning, revamped recent menu with document-centric multitasking, smart lock, and more.

iPhone 6 Plus is the first device in the world to run iOS 8. As you may know already, iOS 8 is the latest iteration of Apple’s mobile platform and it continues the design philosophy of iOS 7. Because we’re talking about an update we’re also talking about new features. iOS 8 brings an improved notifications bar that now features some kind of widgets, improved Siri personal assistant, better TouchID integration, swipe gestures in the mailing app, better and new sources for Spotlight search, smarter keyboard, improved Camera and Gallery apps, and the new Health fitness tracking app. White I really like about iOS 8 is the double-tap Home button for one-hand usage feature. Even though this feature is also present on Samsung or LG phones, Apple’s implementation is the best yet. Cool, but not cool enough.

In our opinion, Nexus 6 wins the Operating System round. Android is smoother than ever, it brings tons of useful new features, and it’s finally looking better than its main rival, iOS. Another point goes to the Moto-made Nexus.

Camera

I’m not a great photographer myself, but I know how to appreciate a good camera or photo. In the same time, I believe that the best camera is the camera you’re always carrying with you and that’s why I like my phones to pack above-average primary shooters.

iPhone 6 Plus features an 8 MP rear-facing camera with optical image stabilization, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual-tone) flash, F2.2 aperture, geo-tagging, simultaneous HD video and image recording, touch focus, face/smile detection, HDR (photo/panorama), and Full HD video recording and slow-motion video capture. It also has a 1.2 MP user-facing camera.

Nexus 6 sports a 13 MP main shooter with autofocus, optical image stabilization, dual-LED (ring) flash, F2.0 aperture, Dual recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, photo sphere, panorama, HDR, and 4K video recording support. The front-facing camera has a 2 MP sensor.

Even though Nexus 6 has a higher-resolution sensor, early tests have shown that Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus is actually superior when it comes to snapping photos. The Camera round is won by iPhone 6 Plus.

Design

We all like good-looking smartphones and premium quality. Apple is known for building such smartphones and we are glad to see that other phone makers are hot on their tracks.

iPhone 6 Plus departs from the design language introduced by the iPhone 4 and continued until last year by the iPhone 5S. The new Apple flagship has more rounded corners and a new color scheme for the back panel. It also brings a new shape for the volume buttons, while the power button has been relocated on one side for better reach. What I don’t like about the iPhone 6 Plus is the wide bezels and the wasted space at the top and bottom of the front panel. You probably heard about the Bendgate scandal, with users reporting that the device has bent in their pockets. Unfortunately, that’s not what we were expecting from apple.

On the other side, the Nexus 6 looks like a Moto X 2014 on steroids, and, fortunately, it brings the same built quality. Even though it’s not all-aluminum like the iPhone 6 Plus, Nexus 6’s feels premium when held in hand and the soft touch back and metallic frame surely help delivering that feeling. Nexus 6 has a great screen-to-body ratio while the front panel accommodates the dual stereo speakers. It has rounded corners and a curved back which offers great grip. Furthermore, Nexus 6 is splash resistant, so one less reason to worry about.

In my opinion, the Nexus 6 is the better-looking smartphone here. The Design point goes to the Android-powered device.

Battery Life

Battery life is probably one of the biggest issues of modern smartphones. Anyway, over the past year or so, the smartphone manufacturers worked hard to address this annoyance.

iPhone 6 Plus features a non-removable Li-Po 2,915 mAh battery which, according to apple, can deliver up to 24 hours of talk time and 384 hours of standby time. In our tests, the iPhone 6 Plus managed stay awake around the clock on a single charge.

Nexus 6 is kept alive by a non-removable Li-Po 3,220 mAh battery which should offer about 24 hours of talk time and up to 330 hours of stand-by time. In our tests, the battery was capable of getting through about a day of moderate-usage on a single charge. It’s also worth noting that Nexus 6 is compatible with Motorola’s Turbo charger which promises up to 8 hours of autonomy after only 15 minutes of charging.

Even though Nexus 6 has a slightly bigger battery cell, the two devices are similar in terms of autonomy. The Battery Life ends as tie.

Price

I will try to keep it simple in the Price round. The cheapest smartphone wins.

In the US, Nexus 6 is currently available at both Sprint and AT&T. While Sprint is selling the 32 GB model at $249 with a two-year contract, AT&T asks $299 on-contract. You also have the option to buy the unlocked Nexus 6 from Play Store. The 32 GB variant costs $649, while the 64 GB model is $699.

Both AT&T and Sprint are selling the 16 GB iPhone 6 Plus at a price of $299 with a two-year agreement. If you want an unlocked iPhone 6 Plus you can order one from Apple’s website with a price tag of $749 for the 16 GB model. The 64 GB variant costs $849, while the 128 GB variant is $100 more.

It’s obvious that Nexus 6 is the cheaper smartphone here. Another point for Google’s flagship.

Conclusions

Here we are at the end of the iPhone 6 Plus vs. Nexus 6 specs battle. It’s time to do a recap and see which smartphone managed to score most points.

We’ve had two rounds that ended as tie. The two devices where similar in terms Connectivity and Battery Life.

Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus managed to score three points after it outmatched its rival in Dimensions, Memory, and Camera rounds. The biggest iPhone yet is more compact, has more internal storage, and a better camera than Nexus 6.

The smartphone co-developed by Google and Motorola, Nexus 6, has won five rounds, therefore scoring five points. It proved to be better than the iPhone 6 Plus when it came to Display, Processor, Operating System, Design, and Price, because it has a higher-resolution screen, more powerful CPU, is running Android Lollipop, it has better build quality and is splash-proof, and because it’s cheaper.

In our opinion the Nexus 6 is the better smartphone. Of course, some of you may agree, others may disagree, that’s why we are inviting you to share your opinions in the comments section below.