Consumers trying out the newly released iPhone 6S (Photo : Reuters)
Apple has finally uncloaked its flagship duo - the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus and while the two handsets are expected to romp their way to record sales numbers they still have to deal with top-notch rivals. How the two will fare against the likes of Samsung's Galaxy Note 5 and Motorola's Moto X 2016?
Thanks to a chart by Tech Insider, here is a quick look of the looming showdown between the 2015 iOS flagships and their equally capable Android rivals:
Build, design and ecosystem
The key advantage of the iPhone 6S duo over its Android foes, according to Tech Insider, can be summed up in three things - superior build, superb design and supreme ecosystem. Apple proudly declares that its new iPhones are more robust than ever thanks to the use of aerospace-grade 7000 Series aluminum alloy that the tech giant said is nearly indestructible.
And as shown by the unboxed iPhone 6S, it remains one the most gorgeous handsets around - a quality that only the Samsung-made Galaxy Note 5 can measure up to.
As for the operating system, Android is constantly improving and that should remain true with the upcoming Android 6.0 Marshmallow but overall the iOS mobile ecosystem, now bannered by iOS 9, will keep its rival playing catch up.
Slim and light
The iPhone 6S is slightly thicker than the iPhone 6 but its thinness of 7.1mm still beats the Note 5 at 7.6mm and the new Moto X at 11.1mm. The 6S is also the lightest 2015 flagship around at 143g compare to the Note 5 and Moto X 2014 that weigh 171g and 179g, respectively.
Only the iPhone 6S plus is the heaviest in the bunch having a heft of 192g but the new Apple phablet remains thin at 7.3mm.
Screen prowess
Both the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus represent display improvements from last year but Apple's efforts in this respect fell short going against the Note 5 and the 2015 Moto X. The Samsung phablet behemoth boasts of a 5.7-inch display with 2560 x 1440 screen resolution and pixel density of 520 pixels per inch. The same jaw-dropping specs apply with the latest Motorola flagship.
Platform muscle
The new iPhone application processor is a dual-core A9 chip that seemingly will be easily outpaced by the Exynos 7420 chip, in 8-core configuration, that powers the Galaxy Note 5. The Moto X 2015 main engine is a decent Snapdragon 808 chip that surely will lag behind its two competitors' sheer horsepower.
Memory
The iPhone 6S comes in three storage editions - 16GB, 64GB and 128GB - that offers more variety when considering the Note 5's 32GB and 64GB internal memory offerings. But the Moto X 2015 allows more flexibility with its 16GB, 32GB and 64GB storage options that can be expanded by up to 128GB due to the built-in memory card slot. Both the 6S and Note 5 skipped the feature.
Apple provided 2GB of RAM for both the 6S and 6S Plus while the new Moto X improves a bit with its 3GB of RAM. But Samsung topped the two as the Note 5 unpacked with 4GB of RAM.
Camera shootout
Trying to become one of the best camera smartphones this 2015, the third Moto X iteration is equipped with a camera combo of 21MP on rear and 5MP on front. But early reviewers still picked the Galaxy Note 5 as the best camera phone around with its 16MP and 5MP camera mix.
Yet to be tested is the bumped up iPhone 6S duo camera system of 12MP on main and 5MP on secondary enough. The 6S Plus remains solely enjoying the hardware optical image stabilization feature while both present the cool function of using the display screen as flash for the front-facing camera.
Best bang for the bucks
In terms of pricing, the Moto X 2015 is the runaway winner as it offers upscale mobile device experience starting at $400 in unlocked state. The basic Note 5, also SIM-free, sells beginning at $740 while Apple carries over the introductory contract-free pricing of last year - $650 for the iPhone 6S and $750 for the iPhone 6S Plus.
