This is a comparison that has been made a lot and it's one I've been looking forward to making in person, myself. Well, yesterday I got my iPhone 6+ to accompany my Note 4 (and Note 3) and here's my take:
Build design/quality: I never expected myself to write this but the Note wins here. The iPhone looks rather uninspired. Some might say bland. I don't think too many people would be showing off its design. It's very very very plain. ...as if not a lot of effort went into its design from an aesthetic point of view. However, that is, of course, quite subjective. Perhaps just a plain slab of aluminum and glass WAS the goal...trying to keep things irrevocably understated. The Note 4 (and the Note 3 before it) looks bold and, to me, like the designers really cared. You may not like their designs but it's clear a lot of thought went into them. Both the 6+ and Note 4 feel and look high quality but I prefer the way the Note 4 looks on its own. Now, I must admit that to me the 6+ looks sexier in its Tech 21 Impact Mesh case than the Note 4 looks in its Tech 21 Tactical.
I have to admit the 6+ is VERY LIGHT. Perhaps too much so as it doesn't feel nearly as solid as the Note 4 (which feels kinda heavy by comparison to the Note 3 and iPhone 6+). In fact, the 6+ almost feels fragile...like you HAVE to have a case on it. I keep cases on all my phones but the 6+ seems to NEED it for protection from scratches and BendGate. The Note 4's pretty champhered aluminum sides seem less durable to me than the Note 3's design but time will tell how well my 3 babies phones hold up. Both (cased) phones feel fine in my hands but the longer, narrower, rounder 6+ wins (especially in its case) as far as in-hand feel.
Apps: iOS still wins here IMO. Apps still...still feel more polished in iOS...as if more effort went into them. However, the difference in quality is not nearly what it used to be. This Tapatalk app is the perfect example. The iOS version is still just nicer and seems more polished.
Camera: The nice big iPhone is a nice phone. ...with a nice camera. The camera is niiiiiice. It does focus faster than the Note 4's but image results from both are really good as phone cameras go. From the 6+
...and from the Note 4:
You decide which is better but they're both nice in low light. To me the 6+'s shooter produced the richer looking shot with a more accurate black on the towel but again, they're both nice and sharp.
OS: Well, obviously you can do a lot more in android to personalize a device than in iOS. Wallpaper and row arrangement are you options in iOS (unless you jailbreak):
That is just fine for a lot of people as I believe the intention in iOS is to have more of a "transparent" OS experience as opposed to on a customized one. iOS is fast and fluid and works well on the 6+. I prefer my Note 4 as I change its look daily:
It's a matter of taste but I really like all you can do with Android, even without rooting. I haven't jailbroken the 6+ yet but most likely will as that introduces a lot of customization options that otherwise just aren't there.
Battery: IME the 6+ lasts longer on a charge. The 6+ seems to have EPIC battery life. However, the Note 4's removable battery charges quicker and those two points would make me choose it over the 6+'s longer lasting battery. Removable and quick-charging go a long way for me since I'm rarely, if ever, that far away from some juice. ...or another phone.
Display:
Dead pixels. Really. Really?
Remember those? My 6+ actually has one.
No, really, it does. I kid you not.
I've had a lot of Samsung phones in the past 2 years and none of them have had dead pixels. Neither did my 2 iPhone 5s' or iPad Mini Retina or iPad Air. Stuff happens...I guess.
Otherwise, both the 6+ and the Note 4 have great displays as far as sharpness and color. Though the Note 4 has the higher resolution display I really can't tell all that much. They both look fantastical...except for the aforementioned pixel anomaly on the 6+. They're both bright and razor sharp. The .2" increase on the Note 4 is so negligible that it's barely worth mentioning IMO.
Keyboard: The stock 6+ keyboard is better than the stock Note 4's. I seem to make a lot less mistakes on it than on the Note 4's. Word suggestions on the 6+ are spot on. iOS seems to be better at gauging what I want to say better than the Note 4 is. On the Note 4 stock keyboard I constantly have to make corrections. Constantly. It was something that I'd just come to live with. Whereas on this 6+ I don't need to make nearly as many corrections. Very impressive. However, SwiftKey really improves things on the Note and will be my Android keyboard of choice. Samsung can't match Apple as far as stock keyboards go. However, you can write your input with the Note 4's S Pen and the accuracy is nothing short of amazing.
Utility: Not a fair fight. At. All. The Note series' S Pen is dramatically awesome. The iPhone simply wishes here. Writing, pointing, clipping, annotating with the S Pen is Epic. If you exploit this feature you'll have a powerful tool indeed. If you have any need to take notes there simply is no better option than a Galaxy Note. ...especially, the Note 4. However, if you don't need that particular utility then it's down to apps and that, to me, is where iOS and the 6+ can pull ahead...but only by a hair. Not enough, anymore, to make me buy an iPhone over an android device.
Audio: Call quality on both devices is great and can be taken for granted both in speakerphone and earpiece. As far as headphone output the Note 4 sounds great. The iPhone 6+ sounds just as good, if not better. ...and while the 6+ came with reasonable sounding headphones (my collection of those is really growing). The Note 4. Didn't. Come. With. Any. Headphones. Period. ...not that I needed or wanted them.
I've had a lot of iOS devices and a lot of Android devices and while I can appreciate the straightforward out-of-the-box experience of iOS I have a greater appreciation for the flexibility of Android. I could use this 6+ daily but would miss my Note 4 but I probably wouldn't miss this 6+ so much, nice as it is. I'll think of it as my iPad Nano. Both are indeed great devices and I glad to finally have both.
Build design/quality: I never expected myself to write this but the Note wins here. The iPhone looks rather uninspired. Some might say bland. I don't think too many people would be showing off its design. It's very very very plain. ...as if not a lot of effort went into its design from an aesthetic point of view. However, that is, of course, quite subjective. Perhaps just a plain slab of aluminum and glass WAS the goal...trying to keep things irrevocably understated. The Note 4 (and the Note 3 before it) looks bold and, to me, like the designers really cared. You may not like their designs but it's clear a lot of thought went into them. Both the 6+ and Note 4 feel and look high quality but I prefer the way the Note 4 looks on its own. Now, I must admit that to me the 6+ looks sexier in its Tech 21 Impact Mesh case than the Note 4 looks in its Tech 21 Tactical.
I have to admit the 6+ is VERY LIGHT. Perhaps too much so as it doesn't feel nearly as solid as the Note 4 (which feels kinda heavy by comparison to the Note 3 and iPhone 6+). In fact, the 6+ almost feels fragile...like you HAVE to have a case on it. I keep cases on all my phones but the 6+ seems to NEED it for protection from scratches and BendGate. The Note 4's pretty champhered aluminum sides seem less durable to me than the Note 3's design but time will tell how well my 3 babies phones hold up. Both (cased) phones feel fine in my hands but the longer, narrower, rounder 6+ wins (especially in its case) as far as in-hand feel.
Apps: iOS still wins here IMO. Apps still...still feel more polished in iOS...as if more effort went into them. However, the difference in quality is not nearly what it used to be. This Tapatalk app is the perfect example. The iOS version is still just nicer and seems more polished.
Camera: The nice big iPhone is a nice phone. ...with a nice camera. The camera is niiiiiice. It does focus faster than the Note 4's but image results from both are really good as phone cameras go. From the 6+
...and from the Note 4:
You decide which is better but they're both nice in low light. To me the 6+'s shooter produced the richer looking shot with a more accurate black on the towel but again, they're both nice and sharp.
OS: Well, obviously you can do a lot more in android to personalize a device than in iOS. Wallpaper and row arrangement are you options in iOS (unless you jailbreak):
That is just fine for a lot of people as I believe the intention in iOS is to have more of a "transparent" OS experience as opposed to on a customized one. iOS is fast and fluid and works well on the 6+. I prefer my Note 4 as I change its look daily:
It's a matter of taste but I really like all you can do with Android, even without rooting. I haven't jailbroken the 6+ yet but most likely will as that introduces a lot of customization options that otherwise just aren't there.
Battery: IME the 6+ lasts longer on a charge. The 6+ seems to have EPIC battery life. However, the Note 4's removable battery charges quicker and those two points would make me choose it over the 6+'s longer lasting battery. Removable and quick-charging go a long way for me since I'm rarely, if ever, that far away from some juice. ...or another phone.
Display:
Dead pixels. Really. Really?
Remember those? My 6+ actually has one.
No, really, it does. I kid you not.
I've had a lot of Samsung phones in the past 2 years and none of them have had dead pixels. Neither did my 2 iPhone 5s' or iPad Mini Retina or iPad Air. Stuff happens...I guess.
Otherwise, both the 6+ and the Note 4 have great displays as far as sharpness and color. Though the Note 4 has the higher resolution display I really can't tell all that much. They both look fantastical...except for the aforementioned pixel anomaly on the 6+. They're both bright and razor sharp. The .2" increase on the Note 4 is so negligible that it's barely worth mentioning IMO.
Keyboard: The stock 6+ keyboard is better than the stock Note 4's. I seem to make a lot less mistakes on it than on the Note 4's. Word suggestions on the 6+ are spot on. iOS seems to be better at gauging what I want to say better than the Note 4 is. On the Note 4 stock keyboard I constantly have to make corrections. Constantly. It was something that I'd just come to live with. Whereas on this 6+ I don't need to make nearly as many corrections. Very impressive. However, SwiftKey really improves things on the Note and will be my Android keyboard of choice. Samsung can't match Apple as far as stock keyboards go. However, you can write your input with the Note 4's S Pen and the accuracy is nothing short of amazing.
Utility: Not a fair fight. At. All. The Note series' S Pen is dramatically awesome. The iPhone simply wishes here. Writing, pointing, clipping, annotating with the S Pen is Epic. If you exploit this feature you'll have a powerful tool indeed. If you have any need to take notes there simply is no better option than a Galaxy Note. ...especially, the Note 4. However, if you don't need that particular utility then it's down to apps and that, to me, is where iOS and the 6+ can pull ahead...but only by a hair. Not enough, anymore, to make me buy an iPhone over an android device.
Audio: Call quality on both devices is great and can be taken for granted both in speakerphone and earpiece. As far as headphone output the Note 4 sounds great. The iPhone 6+ sounds just as good, if not better. ...and while the 6+ came with reasonable sounding headphones (my collection of those is really growing). The Note 4. Didn't. Come. With. Any. Headphones. Period. ...not that I needed or wanted them.
I've had a lot of iOS devices and a lot of Android devices and while I can appreciate the straightforward out-of-the-box experience of iOS I have a greater appreciation for the flexibility of Android. I could use this 6+ daily but would miss my Note 4 but I probably wouldn't miss this 6+ so much, nice as it is. I'll think of it as my iPad Nano. Both are indeed great devices and I glad to finally have both.
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