Galaxy S6 vs iPhone 6: is the Galaxy S6 better than the iPhone 6?

Jane McCallion Read more October 29, 2014

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Samsung’s flagship smartphones have fallen a little short of Apple’s in recent years, with devices that promise much, while delivering little. However, the 2015 Galaxy S6 is markedly different and full of excitement. In this iPhone 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S6 comparison, we pitch the two against each other to find out which is actually the best phone you can buy.

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Apple iPhone 6 vs Galaxy S6: design

For the Galaxy S6, Samsung has left behind the full plastic body of the Galaxy S5 and introduced an aluminium trim around the sides. It’s also ditched the plastic-mesh rear case in favour of coloured Gorilla Glass 4, available in White Pearl, Gold Platinum, Blue Topaz or Black Sapphire. This detailing is also carried round to the front, with the whole bezel matching the colour of the rear.

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The iPhone 6 comes with a metal unibody available in Gold, Silver or Space Grey. Unlike the Galaxy S6, the colour doesn’t really extend to the front, although a tiny sliver is visible creeping over from the edges. Instead, Apple has used complementary white – or black, in the case of Space Grey – plastic for the bezel, which is covered by glass.

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With displays measuring 5.1in and 4.7in respectively, neither the Galaxy S6 nor the iPhone 6 is the smallest of phones, yet both have a good ratio of handset to screen size. The Galaxy S6 is slightly larger than the iPhone 6 in terms of width and height, although it’s the thinner of the two (7.1mm vs 6.8mm).

Overall, while both are attractive phones, the Galaxy S6 is, as our reviews editor Jonathan Bray put it, “a stunner”, nudging ahead of the iPhone 6.

Design verdict: SAMSUNG WINS (just)

Apple iPhone 6 vs Galaxy S6: display

The iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6 have two of the most impressive screens on the market right now, and it’s once again a close-run thing between the two.

With a Quad HD AMOLED display sporting a resolution of 1,440 x 2,560 and a pixel density of 576ppi, the Galaxy S6 is off to a running start compared to the iPhone 6’s 750 x 1,334-resolution, 327ppi IPS screen.

Samsung Galaxy S6 review - blue front

The S6 also outperforms the iPhone 6 in our sRGB colour-gamut test (98.5% vs 95%) and on contrast ratio (perfect vs 1,423:1). Both smartphones produced a very decent average result in our Delta E colour-accuracy test, with the iPhone 6 scoring 1.74 and the Galaxy S6 performing a little better at 1.47. At the top end, however, the iPhone 6 performed better, with a maximum of 3.6 compared to the S6’s 4.29.

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The iPhone 6 also edged ahead of the S6 in our brightness tests, maxing out at 585cd/m2 compared to 560cd/m2. However, at the other end, the S6 will dim to 1.92cd/m2, as opposed to the iPhone 6’s 5.84cd/m2, which is much more comfortable if you’re using your phone in the dark.

The truth of the matter is that many of these differences are barely perceptible (or indeed imperceptible) to the naked eye, although on sheer stats the Samsung wins out again. Bear in mind, though, that OLED displays have been known to have screen-burn issues over the long term, and there are some limited (and unverified) reports of this happening on the S6.

Display verdict: SAMSUNG WINS