Big showdown between iPhone 6 and Galaxy Note 4 on the horizon (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Based on rumors and information that has just emerged, it is looking as if
Apple is poising itself to offer a 5.5" phone that will rival the Galaxy Note.




I wanted to be fair to Apple and list rumored specs, but because we are dealing
with the most secretive company in the world, it's difficult to nail down anything.

It goes without saying, Apple is going to be announcing some powerhouse
hardware specs.

However, Samsung seems to be ready to counteract with a cutting-edge
Galaxy Note 4 with powerhouse specs that are rumored to include:Ambled curved display (with rumored 4k support)
4GB Ram
Quad Core Snapdragon 64-bit processor
16-20 megapixel camera
Fingerprint sensor
Improved stylus that allows handwriting to unlock phone or write name to call contact


The bottom line: For someone now deeply rooted in Android, it looks as if there is
a very difficult decision ahead for all in which phone will best suit their needs.

I always have loved the way that the iPhone is so well integrated with its Apple counterparts
(iMac, iPad, Macbook). Apple has upped the ante by allowing continuity and hand-off
across all devices. That's something you won't find in Android.

However, as long as Apple doesn't allow users to add additional storage or the ability
to swap out batteries when they get low, it seems as if those owners are going to continue
to deal with very restrictive issues that Android users don't have to worry about.

Personally, the best aspect of using my Galaxy Note 3 is its stylus. No fingerprints on the
phone and I can handwrite notes.

Yes, this is going to be a very difficult decision and one that won't be able to be fully
realized until both phones are announced in September/October.

 

[TonyD]

I'm waiting on the edge of my seat to know what will be offered. no sarcasm I promise.

 

[Sam Posten]

I'm really curious about how this will change things. I really don't think much will change at all. It's clear that some people really do want and others think they want bigger phones just because of a 'bigger has gotta be better' mentality. People like my parents might actually benefit from bigger screened phones for reading purposes but I continue to believe they will find the bulk not worth it.As far as specs? Roughly .25% of the world cares about specs. =P If the big screens do appear (and that now seems likely for the 4.7, I think the 5"+ one will still not show this year and people will freak about that "disappointment") then what else does Android have that average users, non tech heads, really care about that Apple doesn't do?We'll see.

 

[RobertR]

I'll be smiling at the official death of the Jobs-era Apple attitude, namely "we do not deign to react to competitive pressure regarding the specifications of our products. We do not react to what consumers demonstrate they want. We act to determine what they shall want."

All accompanied by a lot of hand waving intended to make people forget that such an attitude ever existed, of course, and intended to paint the shift in a positive light, and obscure the fact that Apple will be in the position of following an Android trend (oh the horror!) of bigger screen sizes.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

then what else does Android have that average users, non tech heads, really care about that Apple doesn't do?

Non tech heads, probably not much.

But those are the people who don't buy the iPhone or the mega Galaxy phones.

Most of my non-tech friends have simple phones they bought for less than $100
at their local Verizon store.

...and it's not a simple "bigger has gotta be better" mentality.

I can't go back to a 4.7" iPhone because it's a toy compared to the Galaxy Note
or even the LG G2. You really have to squint to read anything on the iPhone. Once
you move to the larger screens you really begin to appreciate what all that extra screen
space allows you to do -- primarily be able to comfortably browse and read your phone.

 

[KeithAP]

My HTC DNA contract is up in the fall and I hope to step up to a larger phone. I might be convinced to switch back to an iPhone if a 5"+ screen is available the only question is when? My DNA contract is up in the fall and I will be upgrading then. I might upgrade sooner if a compelling phone becomes available.

However it seems to me many people will start at the phone's OS and that will be that. Some people won't buy an iOS phone under any circumstances and, of course, others feel the same way about Android phones. Then, based on their preference, they will claim one is superior without ever having seriously considered or attempted to use the other.

I'll be smiling at the official death of the Jobs-era Apple attitude, namely "we do not deign to react to competitive pressure regarding the specifications of our products. We do not react to what consumers demonstrate they want. We act to determine what they shall want."

That is a rather simplistic, and ultimately incorrect, interpretation of how product development was handled at Apple under Steve Jobs. Since we are talking about phones I would give as an example how Apple's iOS App Store came into being as an example of him changing his position in response to outside pressures.

-Keith

 

[DaveF]

Non tech heads, probably not much.

But those are the people who don't buy the iPhone or the mega Galaxy phones.

Most of my non-tech friends have simple phones they bought for less than $100
at their local Verizon store.

I see possibly the exact opposite. It's my highly-technical friends and coworkers that have pay-go flip-phones they never use. They're the brilliant physicists that have no use for a phone computer at work and the computer nerds that only believe in cheap gray-box PCs for home use.

It's all the non-techies -- my mom, the wives of the physicists, non-engineering folks -- that have the iPhones and Androids. They don't care about the specs per se. They do care about what phones others in their circles are using. And they care about them being easy to use for their needs.

I can't go back to a 4.7" iPhone because it's a toy compared to the Galaxy Note
or even the LG G2. You really have to squint to read anything on the iPhone. Once
you move to the larger screens you really begin to appreciate what all that extra screen
space allows you to do -- primarily be able to comfortably browse and read your phone.

Let me guess: you've started using, or will soon need reading glasses.

Small screens with high pixel density is a young-man's game. The iPhone is perfectly readable if you're under 40 and still have your near vision. Hit about 40, start losing accommodation, and you want bigger pixels. I'm there. I can't read my iPhone as easily as I could three years ago. I'm crossing the threshold where I want a bigger screen so I can run grandpa-fonts and still have the system useful. If a bigger iPhone comes out, I'll recommend my mom get it for exactly that reason (and she's already using grandma font size )

 

[RobertR]

Let me guess: you've started using, or will soon need reading glasses.

Small screens with high pixel density is a young-man's game. The iPhone is perfectly readable if you're under 40 and still have your near vision. Hit about 40, start losing accommodation, and you want bigger pixels. I'm there. I can't read my iPhone as easily as I could three years ago. I'm crossing the threshold where I want a bigger screen so I can run grandpa-fonts and still have the system useful. If a bigger iPhone comes out, I'll recommend my mom get it for exactly that reason (and she's already using grandma font size )

I don't buy your "people want a bigger screen because they have presbyopia" theory at all. The pixels on my S4 are smaller than those on the Iphone 5s (441 ppi vs. 326 ppi). Here is a screenshot of an Iphone vs. my S4, scaled to size:

The fact is, there is NO significant difference in the font size or the icon size, except for the icons in the S4 dock, which are actually SMALLER. However, it's obvious that the S4 screen conveys much more information (the weather and schedule widgets). So please, spare me your often repeated "only old guys with bad eyesight want a bigger screen" claim.

 

[DaveF]

I don't mean to explain away all large screen purchases by the poorer vision of middle-aged men

But either you or I misunderstand what Ron said: "You really have to squint to read anything on the iPhone." That's not a comment about being able to shows lots of small stuff on the screen. That's a statement that stuff is too small to read comfortably.

So what you do is scale it up. Make everything (particularly fonts) larger, and easier to read (from a longer near point). But now you've got lower information density on a small screen. So you want a larger screen with more pixels to easily see what could be seen on a small screen by a 20 year old. (I spoke poorly about "larger pixels". That also works, but is a cruder solution and less robust solution).

Yes, having a larger screen with everything "small" or "smaller" also lets you get more stuff on screen -- I think that's what you're showing with your screenshots. And this is useful if you can read; not if if you have to squint to make it out. I'm not opposed to this. But I haven't found it to be a big deal for a phone (especially when I've got a 10" tablet as its complement).

But to be fully accurate and explicit: I'm losing my accommodation and the default fonts on my iPhone are harder to read. Soon -- a year or two -- I'll have to increase the default font size. That will lower the information density compared to what I'm used to. I'll want a larger screen to maintain the information density I've had for several years. I'm egocentric and project my experiences onto others to guess at what the broader world wants

 

[RobertR]

But to be fully accurate and explicit: I'm losing my accommodation and the default fonts on my iPhone are harder to read. Soon -- a year or two -- I'll have to increase the default font size. That will lower the information density compared to what I'm used to. I'll want a larger screen to maintain the information density I've had for several years. I'm egocentric and project my experiences onto others to guess at what the broader world wants

Logically, though, the bigger screen should always allow for more information. The fact is that when people start losing their near vision, they have to yield to reality and start using either reading glasses or bifocals (you can't "resize" the whole world). The use of those allows one to still read the smaller text, which means that one can keep it the same size and get extra information on the larger screen.

Yes, having a larger screen with everything "small" or "smaller" also lets you get more stuff on screen -- I think that's what you're showing with your screenshots. And this is useful if you can read; not if if you have to squint to make it out. I'm not opposed to this. But I haven't found it to be a big deal for a phone (especially when I've got a 10" tablet as its complement).

How unfortunate for you that you consider a tablet to be such an important supplement to the tiny screen of your phone.

 

[Hanson]

I'm really curious about how this will change things. I really don't think much will change at all. It's clear that some people really do want and others think they want bigger phones just because of a 'bigger has gotta be better' mentality. People like my parents might actually benefit from bigger screened phones for reading purposes but I continue to believe they will find the bulk not worth it.As far as specs? Roughly .25% of the world cares about specs. =P If the big screens do appear (and that now seems likely for the 4.7, I think the 5"+ one will still not show this year and people will freak about that "disappointment") then what else does Android have that average users, non tech heads, really care about that Apple doesn't do?We'll see.

You need to install that Windmill app. The one you tilt at.

 

[DaveF]

Logically, though, the bigger screen should always allow for more information. The fact is that when people start losing their near vision, they have to yield to reality and start using either reading glasses or bifocals (you can't "resize" the whole world). The use of those allows one to still read the smaller text, which means that one can keep it the same size and get extra information on the larger screen.

No disagreement. All things equal, more screen allows for more information. And taken to the absurd conclusion, we'd all carry 30" touchscreen phones for maximum information content. But there are competing priorities. And I'm not here to argue that 6" phones are wrong and 4" is the only good choice. But in my trade-space, I prefer 4" of iOS to 6" of Android.

Presbyopia affects my priorities. I can imagine choosing Android over iOS to get a larger screen, as information density and ease of reading conflict more. Apple releasing a larger phone may mitigate this issue for me, in the coming years.

Again: egocentric view. I assume others are like me. caveat reader.

 

[RobertR]

No disagreement. All things equal, more screen allows for more information. And taken to the absurd conclusion, we'd all carry 30" touchscreen phones for maximum information content. But there are competing priorities. And I'm not here to argue that 6" phones are wrong and 4" is the only good choice.

No disagreement. I find that there is no downside at all to having a 5 inch screen (more space to work with, still pocketable, still able to use with one hand, etc.).

in my trade-space, I prefer 4" of iOS to 6" of Android.

Of course, I knew that was the bottom line for you.

 

[TonyD]

When do we find out about the Note 4?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

When do we find out about the Note 4?

I believe a week before we find out about the iPhone 6. The first week in September.

 

[TonyD]

Cool.

 

[mylan]

The Note 4 unboxing is scheduled for September 3rd.Samsung Galaxy Note 4 leak suggests huge QHD display and improved camera http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/14/galaxy-s-4-indonesian-retailer-leak/ via Engadget Android

 

[TonyD]

How about a Note with a tapered edge. http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/03/samsung-galaxy-note-edge-hands-on/