The biggest smartphone battle of the year (if not the decade) is heating up and it’s going to be between the upcoming iPhone 6 (and its two different screen sizes) and the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. The following is a basic breakdown of how these two phones, and their parent companies, compare. Enjoy.
Display
Of course the biggest news is that the iPhone is (finally) getting a much bigger display. Yes, the iPhone 5 was a little bit bigger but the iPhone 6 is actually going to come in two sizes, 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches. The Alpha is actually getting a little bit smaller, with a 5.2 inch display, underlining the fact that Samsung is keen on going head-to-head with Apple in the size department.
In this category however they actually have already lost as the iPhone 6 will (reportedly) come with a 1704 x 960 pixel display as opposed to the Alpha with a 1280 x 720 pixel display, stepping down from the Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixel display they’ve used for the last number of years.
Size
This is a hard area to compare since Apple has not leaked the actual size, or thickness, of the iPhone 6. The Galaxy Alpha looks to be one of the slimmest mass-market smartphones the company has produced thus far, and it should still be usable with only one hand. From the “dummy” units that have been shown of the iPhone 6, trying to handle it and use it with one hand might be a bit difficult
Materials
The iPhone 6 appears to be going with an all metal chassis and sapphire screen that is expected to be layered with glass, something that might lower its durability. The Galaxy Alpha will be going with a combination of metal and plastic along with their familiar Gorilla Glass 3.
Camera
It’s been reported that the iPhone 6 will be jumping from eight megapixels up to 13, using Sony’s Exmor IMX220 camera sensor. The larger 5.25” iPhone is also said to have optical image stabilization (OIS). Samsung, on the other hand, is actually going backwards with their camera and lowering it with the Galaxy Alpha to 12 megapixels, down from 16 in the Galaxy S5. One thing it will offer however is HDR to let users balance light on their screen before taking their photos, and a 2.1 megapixel camera in the front to make it easier to take “selfies”.
Release date
Rumors that the iPhone 6 will be released on September 9 have been around for a bit already and, in a move to deliberately go head-to-head with Apple, Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy Alpha will be going on sale in the early part of September.