Gizmag compares the features and specs of the Apple iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy Note 3
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Compare any two high-end smartphones, and chances are they'll have a
lot in common. There's usually a lot of overlap in screen size,
internal components, and feature lists. But the new
iPhone 5s and
Galaxy Note 3
are about as different as two top-tier "phones" (if you can even call
them both that) can be. Let's put the two side-by-side, compare their
features and specs, and see what happens.
Size
See what we mean? These phones live on opposite ends of the size
spectrum. The Galaxy Note 3 is 22 percent taller, 39 percent wider, and
nine percent thicker than the iPhone 5s.
In fact, the difference is big enough that "phone" probably isn't the
best description for the Note 3. The Galaxy Note series ushered in the
term "phablet," and that portmanteau has never seemed more appropriate
than when it's sitting next to the iPhone 5s.
Weight
The Note 3 is a whopping 50 percent heavier than the iPhone 5s. You
get a lot of perks in exchange for those extra ounces, but you'd be
foolish to think this giganto-phone won't make its presence felt in your
pocket.
Build
The new iPhone 5s is built almost exactly like its predecessor, the
iPhone 5.
With the Note 3, Samsung tried something new, with a soft-touch faux
leather finish. It's still plastic, but we're happy Sammy finally
ditched the glossy and flimsy build found on most Galaxy devices.
Colors
Each handset is sold in three different colors. The "space gray"
iPhone has a black front, while the gold and silver models have white
faces. The front colors of the three different Note 3 models match their
backs.
Display
If you were hesitant about the extra weight and huge footprint the
Note 3 will leave in your pocket or purse, then maybe this will change
your mind. The Note 3 gives you
much more screen real estate:
103 percent more display area, to be exact.
The Note's screen is also much sharper. The iPhone 5s only gives you
35 percent as many pixels as the Note 3 does. Just remember that
anything in the 320+ pixel per inch (PPI) range is going to look very
sharp. Anything beyond that is more of an eye candy bonus than a
necessary upgrade.
Stylus
Steve Jobs famously mocked styluses when he pitched
the first iPhone
in 2007. For a while there, it looked like he had single-handedly
eviscerated the stylus, much like he did Adobe Flash and tablets with
USB ports.
But the Galaxy Note line makes a great case for the stylus. The
phablets' large screens lend themselves well to Samsung's "scribbling in
a notebook" theme, and the company threw in a ton of software that
takes advantage of the S Pen. It lets you jot notes (with handwriting
recognition), highlight areas of the screen to capture, and achieve a
greater overall sense of precision no matter what you're doing.
Fingerprint sensor
This is the big differentiating feature in the iPhone 5s. Hiding
underneath the home button is a "Touch ID" fingerprint sensor that will
learn your unique-as-a-snowflake print. Your fingerprint (and any other
print that you teach it to trust) will unlock your phone, but anyone
else will need a passcode. It's a great balance of smartphone security
and convenience.
Camera
More megapixels
don't necessarily translate
to better pictures, so we'd consider this one an "incomplete" until we
put both devices' cameras through their paces. We do know that the
iPhone 5s' new camera features larger pixels, a new slow-motion mode,
and a burst mode that automatically chooses the sharpest shot. Its flash
also sports a second LED (branded as "True Tone"), which supposedly
leads to more accurate tones.
Companion smartwatch
The thought of whipping out the gigantic Galaxy Note 3 just to check
messages and send texts might sound daunting, but Samsung has an ace up
its sleeve. For an extra US$300, you can snag the companion
Galaxy Gear
smartwatch to pair with your Note 3. It lets you make calls, read
notifications, send messages (via voice), snap pictures, run apps, and
more ... all on your wrist.
Unless the rumor mill is terribly misguided, Apple will
launch a smartwatch of its own at some point, but there's nothing solid on that front yet. Right now you can use the
Pebble watch with your iPhone, though its functionality is much more limited than the Gear.
Processor
Both devices are going to be ridiculously fast. In fact, we're really
past the point of sweating speed differences in high-end smartphones,
as their capabilities are beyond the limits of most apps.
The most interesting item here is Apple's shift to 64-bit processing
in the iPhone 5s' A7 chip. It probably doesn't mean diddly-squat right
now, but it does lay the groundwork for future mobile devices with
desktop-like amounts of RAM.
Motion coprocessor
Motion copro-what? Well, Apple threw a new M7 companion processor
into the iPhone 5s, the sole job of which is to power the phone's motion
sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass). This is good news if
you use fitness apps or accessories, as they supposedly won't get the
usual battery drain that other smartphones give you.
Let's be honest, though: Apple didn't throw the M7 in just to boost
the popularity of fitness apps and trackers. It's almost certainly going
to play a big role in that rumored iWatch, whenever it arrives.
RAM
The Note 3 blows away the iPhone's 1 GB of RAM, though we aren't expecting any performance problems on the 5s.
Storage
The base model of the Note 3 gives you double the storage of the 5s'
base model. It also has a microSD slot, though those are becoming less
relevant on Android.
4G LTE
Of course both devices also support speedy 4G LTE downloads, provided
your local carrier has it. There's also a non-LTE (maxing out on HSPA+)
version of the Note 3, though it should mostly be sold in regions that
don't yet have LTE.
Battery
Capacities can be interesting to note, but there are lots of other
factors that determine actual battery life. Stay tuned for more from
Gizmag on the best measure of battery life: some old-fashioned hands-on
testing.
Software versions
The iPhone 5s launches with the redesigned
iOS 7.
Samsung has been keeping up much better on this front lately, as the
Note 3 will launch with the latest version of Android, 4.3 (also known
as the epic conclusion to the Jelly Bean trilogy). Samsung's TouchWiz
UI, as always, makes its presence felt on top of Android.
Local file sharing
One of iOS 7's big upgrades, AirDrop, should be familiar to Mac
owners. The iOS version appears to use a combination of Bluetooth and
Wi-Fi to establish a connection and transfer files with another iOS
device.
Samsung has used its S Beam feature as a weapon against Apple in many
a commercial. It uses near-field communication (NFC) to transfer files
with any nearby Galaxy device. Here you only need to place the phones
back-to-back, and tap on the screen to confirm.
NFC
Speaking of NFC, Apple hasn't yet bothered including the technology
in any of its devices. And it's starting to look like maybe it never
will.
Side-by-side multitasking
This is another perk of having a humongous screen. Samsung's Note
series lets you run two apps on the screen at once. In the latest
version, you can actually run two separate instances of the same app.
This opens the door to things like running two simultaneous chat
windows, or popping up a calculator window while you're drafting a
message.
Infrared
Like the GS4, the Note 3 features an IR blaster, so you can use your phablet as a remote control for your TV.
Voice control
The iPhone 5s has iOS 7's improved version of Siri for voice control.
The Note 3 gives you a couple of native options: Samsung's S Voice
(last time we checked, it was inferior to Siri) and Google Now (which we
prefer over Siri for its speed and predictive abilities).
If you pick up the Galaxy Gear, it also lets you use a scaled-down version of S Voice straight from your wrist.
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