So you want a big phone? A really big phone? Well you've come to the
right place. This is the ultimate phablet showdown, where big-screened
phones square up and do their thing.
New to the game is the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple's first attempt at going large. So how will it compare? The likes of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 are big phones to beat. Read on to find out.
New to the game is the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple's first attempt at going large. So how will it compare? The likes of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 are big phones to beat. Read on to find out.
Design
All of these phones are big, some more so than others. What you need to get your head around is that whatever happens these are going to take up plenty of space in your pocket.
The biggest of all easily has to be Sony's Xperia Z Ultra, which is bordering on a tablet and is also the heaviest. But the thing is still lovely to hold. In fact, all of these devices are lovely to hold.
Samsung, in particular, has taken a big step forward on the design front. The metal rim around the edge of the Note 4 is lovely and the whole device feels very solid indeed.
Nokia likes to do it differently, opting for a nice polycarbonate that is strong, difficult to scratch and looks great too. The phone is towards the top end of thickness for a phablet, but it's not really perceptible between all the devices.
As for the iPhone, despite its propensity towards bending, it's easily the nicest put together thing here. Design, particularly the use of aluminium, is class leading. Special mention also needs to go to the curved glass around the edge of the screen.
All of these phones are big, some more so than others. What you need to get your head around is that whatever happens these are going to take up plenty of space in your pocket.
The biggest of all easily has to be Sony's Xperia Z Ultra, which is bordering on a tablet and is also the heaviest. But the thing is still lovely to hold. In fact, all of these devices are lovely to hold.
Samsung, in particular, has taken a big step forward on the design front. The metal rim around the edge of the Note 4 is lovely and the whole device feels very solid indeed.
Nokia likes to do it differently, opting for a nice polycarbonate that is strong, difficult to scratch and looks great too. The phone is towards the top end of thickness for a phablet, but it's not really perceptible between all the devices.
As for the iPhone, despite its propensity towards bending, it's easily the nicest put together thing here. Design, particularly the use of aluminium, is class leading. Special mention also needs to go to the curved glass around the edge of the screen.
The big 5.5-inch screen is a delight to use
Winner: iPhone 6 Plus
Hardware
Firstly lets have a look at screens. Right off the bat, Samsung's Note 4 and LG G3 are in the lead here, purely because they run at qHD resolution so are noticeably sharper.
Apple's 1080p offering is nice and the colours are accurate, as are those found on the Lumia 1520 and Xperia Z Ultra. Really though it comes down to the Samsung and LG.
Having used both, we would say Samsung just has the edge in terms of display. It doesn't have the overly sharpened look that you get on the G3 which can make text look a little strange.
As for pure specifications, the Note 4 wins here too. It benefits from a top end processor, tons of RAM, the included S Pen and just about everything else the other devices have to offer.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4
Winner: Galaxy Note 4
Battery life
In terms of pure numbers, Nokia has gone for the biggest possible battery here. We already know from our review that it does perform quite well.
In fact, the Galaxy Note 4 is the only thing we are yet to run through a full battery test. The iPhone definitely could be better.
Winning points have to be given to the Galaxy Note 4, simply because its ultra low power mode means that you will get way more battery life from the device than any of the competition here.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4
Winner: Galaxy Note 4
Camera
Nokia's imaging history definitely pays dividends here. It might not be the same super high resolution PureView unit found in the full fat Lumia 1020, but it's certainly good.
Really though, we have to say that the iPhone 6 Plus camera is the deserving winner in this category. It might only be 8-megapixels, but the processing, 240 fps slow motion and its ease of use make it the winner.
Special mention does need to be given, however, to both the LG G3 and Galaxy Note 4. Having a qHD screen means that viewing photos and video is especially slick.
The iPhone 6 Plus
Winner: iPhone 6 Plus
User experience
This really does come down to the individual. We already know the merits of iOS 8, although admittedly the latest release has been buggy. So much so that Apple has had to pull the update and issue another.
Windows Phone still lags well behind in terms of pure flexibility and the sheer number of apps available. Android, however, has more than caught up with what Apple has been doing in the mobile landscape.
As such, we think Android is the winner here in terms of a phablet operating system. But which phone does it run best on? We aren't convinced by Samsung's TouchWiz UI, but the Note 4's S Pen is the only thing on offer that properly takes advantage of having a much bigger screen.
If it were up to us, LG's much simpler G3 would score the victory, but it's hard to ignore the S Pen and what it can do for productivity. As such, Samsung takes the win.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4
Winner: Galaxy Note 4
Entertainment
Windows Phone gets slightly rejected on the app front, albeit only very slightly, so in terms of the sheer amount of entertainment available to you, Android and iOS is the way to go.
As for pure entertainment factor, it's the screen size that matters. So Sony quite easily takes the victory on this front. Being practically a tablet, Netflix looks fantastic, as does any TV show or movie you might have stored on the phone.
The lack of 128GB support for microSD is a little bit of an issue for Z Ultra, but you can always swap cards out if you want to carry a lot of media with you.
Sony Xperia Z Ultra
Winner: Xperia Z Ultra
Verdict
It's pretty much a straight fight here between the iPhone 6 Plus and the Galaxy Note 4. We have to say, we really like both handsets and the user experience you get from each is fantastic.
However, in the end, Samsung wins purely on the numbers game. It took the victory in more sections than any other device and for us, has to be the best phablet out there. Roll on October 10.
