Note 4 vs 6 Plus

[BlueGoldAce]

I switch between a lot of phones..... I have the 3 phones in my sig right now.

My IP6 has a ton of great features...it is a great phone. When I switch sim cards and go with my OPO for instance....they almost become invisible. I mean there are things I really like about some Android phones. I like the notification light. It can be customized for each app. Blue...its a text...better get that. Green...email...it can wait......red..missed call.......better see what i missed.

I like being able to use my phone storage or SD Card as a external drive.

I can hookup my phone to my iMac or Windows laptop and my whole storage is available to me.

I like the widgets.......especially weather and calendar. I have a whole screen with my calendar for the month.



But if you are entrenched in the Apple ecosystem. Then it makes sense for you to stay with the IP6+. iMessage is a great feature. Being able to text and get the messages on your phone....ipad or iMac is a great feature.

Thank you for the reply.

I have spent money in both systems, and when I switch I never feel like I am missing anything major third party (with a few exceptions either way).

I love my iPhone 6plus. I don't love the random bits of lag that shouldn't be there on a brand new phone. Is it software? Probably... I would hate to this it's another iPad 3 scenario.

The one gig of ram is limiting at times. I don't always find it annoying, but there are instances when I'm multitasking on my phone to get work, and it refreshes and app or form in filling out at the worst possible moment (aka work is lost).

The big kicker is the price difference now. I can get the note 4 for 550 before tax. My iPhone 6 plus was 850 (I think) before tax. It's a significant savings.... And the phones were already neck and neck for me before I realized I could save an extra 200 on the note.

 

[Dontazemebro]

IMO, I'd strongly recommend you go Note 4. Not because it's that much more capable of a device, but rather that Android and especially the Note series really allow you to taylor the phone to your needs and the way you want to use it. Touch Wiz as noted before can easily be replaced with a new launcher. The great thing is there are a number of such modifications that ca be had and can be used interchangably too. I love Nova Pro but also use two other launchers even if it's just for the heck of it. Easy as flipping a switch.

Everything about the phone can be customized not just in appearance, but more importantly in function and behavior. It takes some time to get used to just having that ability and then over time you'll make changes. Here's a short-list of my modifications and I'm sure it is short as I can't recall all that I've done to make this Smart Phone so very smart and intuitive to how I want to use the device.

For me I started with Nova Launcher. Excellent IMO. Other Apps/Replacements that I have are:

• Calanders
• Nova Launcher
• SMS Messangers
• Rocket Dialer - way, way faster, better looking and more powerful than the stock dialer.
• Notifications - I use one called PopUp as I really like the customization capabilities.
• Airdroid - allows for simple/seamless integration of controlling your phone, text messages, photos, files, etc right from your desktop.
• SwitchR - Rotation through open apps
• Llama - Location based configurations. Perhaps the very best reason not to get an iPhone. I have mine set so that when I walk in my office, it changes to screen on always as I have my phone docked. I have my phone automatically forward to my desk phone. Bluetooth switches to my Stereo at the office vs my car. Volumes drop and notifications go way down low.
• Tasker - Love it. Have it set to launch and do a lot of customer things.
• YouMail for Voice Mail - great free app that has long since replaced my stock Voice Mail
• Xperia Z is a great active background
• PowerAmp - Perhaps the very best sounding music app with Smart EQ
  Presets that remember settings based on playback device
• iSnycr allows my iTunes to sync seamlessly thus no change needed there.

Widgets that I use are:

• Weatherbug
• Screen Always On
• Phone forward with one touch
• Hot Spot on/off
• To Do List - Very handy to have active,
• Assistive Light - great flashlight for bed time
• Shazam - one touch - great for when I'm in my car - You can "ok google" just about anything too though.

I could go on I'm sure, but overall, as you can see, I love the capabilities of the Note Series and Android in general over iOS devices. It's so nice to review documents, even PDF's that need forms completed and actually be able to do that and then sign it in Blue Ink just like it was a printout. You can't do that as easily if at all on an iOS Device. I literally review documents in Word on my Phone, create a PDF on the spot with a client and have them sign it, then print over to any wifi printer with ease just as if I was at my office. Did I mention things like way better printing capabilities and ease of printing were a huge perk. Integration with the Cloud and Google services is awesome too.

Hope this helps. I'll edit this post with new things as they come top of mind or up in this thread.

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The underlying apps remain but there's no impact to performance. Also, you can change ANY of the base apps from the Voice Mail Client to SMS, calender or dialer. In terms of cameras, I can't wait to try the Note 4 as even the Note 3 has a decent camera that when used correctly will rival and beat the iPhone.

Here's a photo from this afternoon. this bird was right outside our kitchen window (fall here thus the dead plant) and it was so calm I was able to open the window and take it's picture very close. This is cropped just a bit to frame it better. Posted in the upper right corner is a 100% crop from the original image.

Exif Data

Camera Maker: SAMSUNG
Camera Model: SAMSUNG-SM-N900A
Image Date: 2014-10-07
Focal Length: 4.13mm (35mm equivalent: 31mm)
Aperture: f/2.2
Exposure Time: (1/120)
ISO equiv: 160
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Center Weight
Exposure: program (Auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB
GPS Coordinate: undefined, undefined

That really is a nice photo. I guess I need some photography classes because none of my pictures come out that good on the Note 3

 

[BlueGoldAce]

Look like I am not eligible for the 200 bucks off note 4 promotion samsung is offering. My phone is an old htc evo 4g...and its valued below ten bucks. Neither my carrier or samsung will budge and make the promotion available to me.

So the money difference is small by the time it is said and done.

With the exception of random app refreshing, my experience on the iPhone has been great...so the decision isn't an easy one.

 

[Rangomango]

Where did I say a new launcher removes touchwiz as a framework?

My apologies, to me at least, the below line infers you can replace touchwiz with a launcher, not just mask it. I understand what you are getting at.

Touch Wiz as noted before can easily be replaced with a new launcher.

I agree the samsung widgets are whack, but I always hated having two calendar apps running just so I could have a widget for one with a different launcher.

 

[Dontazemebro]

Look like I am not eligible for the 200 bucks off note 4 promotion samsung is offering. My phone is an old htc evo 4g...and its valued below ten bucks. Neither my carrier or samsung will budge and make the promotion available to me.

So the money difference is small by the time it is said and done.

With the exception of random app refreshing, my experience on the iPhone has been great...so the decision isn't an easy one.

If that's the case, just stick with the iPhone. You're already entrenched in the ecosystem and from what I gather, it's more than enough for what you need it for. Honestly, at the end of the day, I don't think you could go wrong with either device. They're both top of the food chain IMO.

 

[Cnasty]

Seems your decision is more priced based and savings versus the actual differences in the platforms which you are aware of.

If it is for the feel good of saving money and you can live with the Note 4, then it makes sense to do it for you and save the money.

I just came from the Note 3 to a 6+ and consider myself in the same boat but after about a week on the 6+ I can't see going back to Touchwiz/Android unless complete rehaul is done as iOS on a bigger device is amazing.

The Note 4 is a beautiful device and definitely has more productivity functions than the 6+ but I wouldn't even use the SPen so it came down to OS and Apple wins by a landslide for me.

Decide for you if savings is your priority or user experience and the OS.

 

[BlueGoldAce]

Seems your decision is more priced based and savings versus the actual differences in the platforms which you are aware of.

If it is for the feel good of saving money and you can live with the Note 4, then it makes sense to do it for you and save the money.

I just came from the Note 3 to a 6+ and consider myself in the same boat but after about a week on the 6+ I can't see going back to Touchwiz/Android unless complete rehaul is done as iOS on a bigger device is amazing.

The Note 4 is a beautiful device and definitely has more productivity functions than the 6+ but I wouldn't even use the SPen so it came down to OS and Apple wins by a landslide for me.

Decide for you if savings is your priority or user experience and the OS.

Saving is not the priority...or i would have never bought an Apple device (or multiple ones) haha. At the time...the idea that I could save 400 was really appealing. I mean...I could of saved the 400, bought the note, and sold it for more than i paid, if I didn't like it. But that extra savings is gone now, largely due to poor customer service/communication with samsung.

Honestly...dealing with apple is much easier...can't deny that.

Essentially, last night, I got myself worried about the lag and lack of ram present in the 6+. The lag should be fixed with updates...and the ram seems to do fine for most cases. Would I prefer more ram? Yes...but I got frequent web page and app refresh on my recent android phones.

iOS is great on the 6+, and I really enjoy it. I am 95% sure i will keep it.

I didn't really enjoy my Lg G3, and I didn't even keep the galaxy s5 beyond its return period. Overall...touchwize isn't my thing.

I am sure the note 4 is a great phone, and I will continue to debate it until my return period is up in a few weeks.

I will be interested to see what stock android L has to offer in the near future.

 

[jrswizzle]

To be honest, this is an easy answer if you've used both Android and iOS before.

That's what this decision comes down to. Hardware-wise, both are beasts. Great cameras, great performance, great displays.

The one thing I will say - iOS 8 has yet to be fully realized as a major bulk of the updates came on the developer side and it will take some time for those devs to fully update their apps.

If you prefer iOS, get the 6+. If you prefer Android, get the Note 4.

If you don't prefer one over the other, TBH I'd probably say get the Note 4 because iOS 8 will be somewhat raw for a little while and it seems like people who don't prefer iOS to begin with have a big problem with it.

I'm looking forward to when my brother-in-law gets his Note 4 so we can do side-by-side comparisons.

Personally, I love my 6+. I'll love it even more when devs fully realize the potential of their apps with all the new tools and features on iOS 8.

I'm also an Apple guy - Macbook Air, iMac, iPad Air, iPhone 6 at work....continuity, handoff, the ecosystem all are huge draws for me. And my family and friends are pretty much all iPhone users - sharing and communicating is easier.

 

[iphone3gnj]

Essentially, last night, I got myself worried about the lag and lack of ram present in the 6+. The lag should be fixed with updates...and the ram seems to do fine for most cases. Would I prefer more ram? Yes...but I got frequent web page and app refresh on my recent android phones.

These are the reason I returned my iPhone 6+. I'm not so sure the lag will go away completely. It is using a scaler to downscale the resolution to 1080p. That is a hardware limitation, and I believe it will lag regardless of future iOS updates. The question are how much lag, and can you live with it.

The RAM is not enough. It worked exactly like my iPad Air with 1GB of RAM. I couldn't have anymore than 2-3 applications or Safari tabs open without them reloading. Sometimes applications would eat up all of the RAM and all Safari tabs reloaded. I use my phone quite a bit when I travel for work and constant reloading was not fun.

Those 2 elements were deal breakers for me for an almost $1000 phone.

I'm interested in the Note 4 and the Nexus 6. I'm most likely going to go with the Nexus 6 because it's not too expensive for an entry into Android on great hardware. I can sell my iPhone 5 and almost pay for it. Depending how I like it, I can stay Android or go back to Apple with the 6S+, which will have more RAM and be fixed for the bending issue (and yes I believe it is an issue).

 

[Tinmania]

Meh...iMessage is nice for two things. When I pick up my iPad and an iPhone, they match. However, I really never text or message from my iPad so I do not care.

The other thing that is nice is iMessage from wifi only locations like an airplane. However, there I just send email and call it a day. Otherwise, no there's really nothing I miss about not having iOS.

The only thing I miss from iMessage is that it reverted to SMS if data was not available. In actual use that didn't happen too often, and less so now.

I use Facebook Messenger if I want that pickup-anywhere experience. Yea it is Facebook, but just about everyone has it and it works similar to iMessage as far as features go: can send photos, videos, etc., without the MMS limitation.

At this point I am not sure I would return to iMessage even if I did go back to an iPhone. I have little desire to get trapped into a single-party solution again.




Michael

 

[lavrishevo]

What is happening with scaling is directly related applications not formatted to the new size of the 6 and 6+. Don't forget, Apple did not provide developers with the details of new 6 resolutions until the device was released. Something developers will have to address.

As far as ram size goes, many videos have shown how well the 6 Plus will multitask with only 1gb of ram. On my S4 with 2gb of ram it would still reload browser tabs after 4 - 6 are open. It's so not an issue. I am surprised people even bring it up. Ram is as only good as the OS that manages it. Everybody is so ram crazy thinking that it will make their phone faster or better. Just not true. My S4 had twice the ram as my 6 plus. Even rooted and all the boat ware removed the S4 is not nearly as fast as my 6 plus.

There are a few software glitches Apple has to fix and rumors are they already have fixed many with the beta 8.1 update. Pretty typical of the way Apple updates when they release a new product.

 

[iphone3gnj]

What is happening with scaling is directly related applications not formatted to the new size of the 6 and 6+. Don't forget, Apple did not provide developers of the details of new 6 resolutions until the device was released. Something developers will have to address.

As far as ram size goes, many videos have shown how well the 6 Plus will multitask with only 1gb of ram. On my S4 with 2gb of ram it would still reload browser tabs after 4 - 6 are open. It's so not an issue. I am surprised people even bring it up. Ram is as only good as the OS that manages it. Everybody is so ram crazy thinking that it will make their phone faster or better. Just not true. My S4 had twice the ram as my 6 plus. Even rooted and all the boat ware removed the S4 is not nearly as fast as my 6 plus.

There are a few software glitches Apple has to fix and rumors are they already have fixed many with the beta 8.1 update. Pretty typical of the way Apple updates when they release a new product.

We'll see about the scaling and lag issue in future updates. If it's fixed, great news.

The RAM is a factor. Explain why my iPhone 5 with the same amount of RAM is able to have more than 6 apps open without having to reload any of them when I switch between them. I can also have several Safari tabs open. The only difference is that 32 bit iOS 8 in the 5 uses less RAM than 64 bit iOS 8 in the 6+. It doesn't seem to bother you, and that is fine. It bothers me. I bothers me to no end on my iPad. I wish I had returned it and waited for the Air 2.

 

[spinedoc77]

From what I understand background apps on iOS are not really "open", there is some kind of a snapshot of their last state so when you switch back to them you are really opening them again. It's not like you can put them side by side, have them keep running and even transfer stuff from one app to the other in real time. It's NOT true multitasking so it really only needs to drive the current app that is open and not all the other apps. This is my simplistic understanding of it as I'm not a dev, I'm sure someone will step in to clarify this.

 

[jrswizzle]

From what I understand background apps on iOS are not really "open", there is some kind of a snapshot of their last state so when you switch back to them you are really opening them again. It's not like you can put them side by side, have them keep running and even transfer stuff from one app to the other in real time. It's NOT true multitasking so it really only needs to drive the current app that is open and not all the other apps. This is my simplistic understanding of it as I'm not a dev, I'm sure someone will step in to clarify this.

Some do and some don't.

Apple calls it "intelligent" multitasking. I.E. I open Twitter in the mornings to read up on things - iOS knows this and refreshes my twitter feed at a certain time in the morning so that when I open the app, it's already up to date - no refresh required. Now I can pull down to reload so I get new data right then.

Same goes for Facebook or other apps that utilized this iOS 7 feature.

As for RAM, I've done the tests - 10 apps and 10 tabs, all open at the same time. Switching back and forth, tabs never reloaded and the apps only did when there was new information to show.

I did this on a 5S. Don't ask me why it would work on a 5S and iPad rMini and not a 6, 6+ or Air.

I'll test it out with my 6 and 6+. I have horrible cell reception at the office, so the whole Safari portion might be painfully slow....

 

[spinedoc77]

Some do and some don't.

Apple calls it "intelligent" multitasking. I.E. I open Twitter in the mornings to read up on things - iOS knows this and refreshes my twitter feed at a certain time in the morning so that when I open the app, it's already up to date - no refresh required. Now I can pull down to reload so I get new data right then.

Same goes for Facebook or other apps that utilized this iOS 7 feature.

As for RAM, I've done the tests - 10 apps and 10 tabs, all open at the same time. Switching back and forth, tabs never reloaded and the apps only did when there was new information to show.

I did this on a 5S. Don't ask me why it would work on a 5S and iPad rMini and not a 6, 6+ or Air.

I'll test it out with my 6 and 6+. I have horrible cell reception at the office, so the whole Safari portion might be painfully slow....

I tried to load up multiple tabs in Safari on an iPhone 6 plus, this was only me putzing around in the Apple store on lunch break. I got up to 6 tabs on graphics rich pages like CNN.com and it seemed pretty smooth, once I went over that it started to slow down and just once I saw the old checkerboard pattern I remember so well from my ipad 2 days. It wasn't onerous and it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, it's certainly much improved over the old days when a 2nd or 3rd graphically intensive tab would cause checkerboarding for several seconds.

As for the multitasking, thanks for the explanation. So something like that twitter update, is the twitter app actually open and using RAM? I'd be curious for a dev to answer, as well as clarify on multitasking in general.

 

[lavrishevo]

This video shows how iOS will pause an app and it will be ready for you in the background. It is not reloading the app unlike the S5 in this test.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCln9_mgZJo

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

This video shows how iOS will pause an app and it will be ready for you in the background. It is not reloading the app unlike the S5 in this test.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCln9_mgZJo

I call BS on that review. My S4 doesn't do all the refreshing as the S5 in that video. He probably went into Developer options and limited background processes or selected "Do not keep activities". All the android devices I've owned, none of them were refreshing like that.

 

[iphone3gnj]

I tried to load up multiple tabs in Safari on an iPhone 6 plus, this was only me putzing around in the Apple store on lunch break. I got up to 6 tabs on graphics rich pages like CNN.com and it seemed pretty smooth, once I went over that it started to slow down and just once I saw the old checkerboard pattern I remember so well from my ipad 2 days. It wasn't onerous and it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, it's certainly much improved over the old days when a 2nd or 3rd graphically intensive tab would cause checkerboarding for several seconds.

As for the multitasking, thanks for the explanation. So something like that twitter update, is the twitter app actually open and using RAM? I'd be curious for a dev to answer, as well as clarify on multitasking in general.

Do the tabs and then go open up two programs that haven't been open. Now go back to Safari. I bet all but the most recent 2 reload.

This video shows how iOS will pause an app and it will be ready for you in the background. It is not reloading the app unlike the S5 in this test.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCln9_mgZJo

I saw the video. He's using a 6 not a 6+. My friend has a 6, and I was able to keep 6 programs before I got reloads. It performed better than my 6+, but I'm not interested in a 4.7" screen.

 

[jrswizzle]

I tried to load up multiple tabs in Safari on an iPhone 6 plus, this was only me putzing around in the Apple store on lunch break. I got up to 6 tabs on graphics rich pages like CNN.com and it seemed pretty smooth, once I went over that it started to slow down and just once I saw the old checkerboard pattern I remember so well from my ipad 2 days. It wasn't onerous and it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, it's certainly much improved over the old days when a 2nd or 3rd graphically intensive tab would cause checkerboarding for several seconds.

As for the multitasking, thanks for the explanation. So something like that twitter update, is the twitter app actually open and using RAM? I'd be curious for a dev to answer, as well as clarify on multitasking in general.

Technically speaking, I don't know much. Just know that when I open the Twitter app in the morning, its already refreshed for me. Sometimes I have it sitting in the multitasking tray, sometimes I've closed it out completely.

From what I understand, all that "recent apps" list is is simply that - a view of your recent apps. I don't think it really has any impact on what is running and what isn't.

 

[lavrishevo]

Do the tabs and then go open up two programs that haven't been open. Now go back to Safari. I bet all but the most recent 2 reload.

I saw the video. He's using a 6 not a 6+. My friend has a 6, and I was able to keep 6 programs before I got reloads. It performed better than my 6+, but I'm not interested in a 4.7" screen.

Of course they reload. The phone gives the ram to the program that needs it. No difference with my S4. It would reload tabs all the time. Also, the way a browser handles web temporary data is not the same as a game or another app will handle ram request.

The 6 and 6 plus are nearly identical in their specs and benchmarks. If anything the plus would perform slightly faster then the 6 as it performs slighting better in benchmarks. As you can see in the video, the iPhone 6 / 6 plus are very fast. I know it's hard for some people to come to terms with it. The apple 64bit 2nd gen arm processor has fantastic single core processing. Nearly twice as fast as the S5.

 

[Dontazemebro]

I call BS on that review. My S4 doesn't do all the refreshing as the S5 in that video. He probably went into Developer options and limited background processes or selected "Do not keep activities". All the android devices I've owned, none of them were refreshing like that.

I don't believe it either. He said "every" app needed to reload which I know from my own usage is BS.

 

[TechGod]

Thank you for the reply.

I have spent money in both systems, and when I switch I never feel like I am missing anything major third party (with a few exceptions either way).

I love my iPhone 6plus. I don't love the random bits of lag that shouldn't be there on a brand new phone. Is it software? Probably... I would hate to this it's another iPad 3 scenario.

The one gig of ram is limiting at times. I don't always find it annoying, but there are instances when I'm multitasking on my phone to get work, and it refreshes and app or form in filling out at the worst possible moment (aka work is lost).

The big kicker is the price difference now. I can get the note 4 for 550 before tax. My iPhone 6 plus was 850 (I think) before tax. It's a significant savings.... And the phones were already neck and neck for me before I realized I could save an extra 200 on the note.

I missed well designed apps 2 year ago, hopefully with L and Material DEsign, some of the developers for Android won't be so damn lazy and use the iOS 7 theme design for their Android apps as well.

 

[BlueGoldAce]

Is anyone here concerned about the snapdragon 805? Its not 64 bit, so it won't support all the performance increases with the new version of android, correct?

Also, it seems that both the 805 and exynos struggle a bit with games and the resolution. Does this give anyone worry about its future proof, or even ability to run games at full setting today? I have heard from some rumors that the new note 4 is struggling a bit with the most demanding games due to the massive amount of pixels it is putting out.

 

[ChrisTX]

Why bother?

Honestly I love both platforms and have owned my fair share of devices.

Initially it was just a hard decision between the two. But I am leaning towards the note for one BIG reason I just discovered. Samsung is offering a 200 dollar rebate if you trade in a working smartphone and preorder.

I have a smart phone valued at ten bucks that I can trade it...essentially making the note 4 cost $550.

My iPhone 6+ was over $900.

Thats a pretty compelling reason now. I will still think about it... but, hell, If I hated the note, I could sell it for more than I paid.

Where is an official link for this? Will they take any working smartphone? This might be worth it.

 

[BlueGoldAce]

https://samsunggalaxypromotions.com/Note4/