iOS against Android - iPhone 6 vs Samsung Galaxy Alpha vs HTC One M8
Who offers the best large-screen metal phone?
You haven't heard? Apple announced the iPhone 6 on Tuesday. It's a pretty big deal.
In fact, 'big' is the operative word here, given that the new iPhone sports a notably bigger display than before. We're talking 4.7-inches of pure ion-strengthened glass.
Of course, this has served to get the Android fanboys riled up with cries of "Copycats!" and "We've had big phones for ages!" and "ApplesuxLOLamiright?"
They're right about that second one, at least. We've had large-screen Android phones for years now, and many of them have been very good indeed.
What we haven't had much of is large-screen Android phones with premium metal designs and refined software, which is the iPhone 6's real trick. There are a couple of recent contenders, though, in the HTC One M8 and the Samsung Galaxy Alpha.
To that end, we thought we'd stack them up against the iPhone 6 and see how they compare.
Display
iPhone 6 - 4.7-inch LCD IPS 'Retina HD' display, 1334 x 750 resolution
Samsung Galaxy Alpha - 4.7-inch Super AMOLED display, 1280 x 720 resolution
HTC One M8 - 5-inch Super LCD 3, 1920 x 1080 resolution
Let's start with the big new iPhone 6 feature here - after all, this is what will lift it back into contention with many who previously moved to roomier Android climes.
That 4.7-inch display is big, but not so big as to make it unwieldy like the iPhone 6 Plus and Android phablets. Interestingly, Samsung has adopted this size for the Samsung Alpha, which is a bit of a step back in time for the manufacturer.
.jpg)
The HTC One M8, for its part, is a little larger again at 5-inches, which pitches it in between the two new iPhone 6 models.
Whether that's a good thing or not is a matter of personal preference, but one area in which the HTC One M8 clearly wins is resolution. Its 1920 x 1080 display is much sharper than the iPhone 6's 1334 x 750 example and way ahead of the Galaxy Alpha's 1280 x 720 one.
Of course, many remain unconvinced that such a boost in resolution is necessary for sub-5-inch displays, particularly with the added strain that it places on the GPU and battery.
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha may seem to be the runt of the litter here, but it's the only phone here to offer the benefits of Super AMOLED technology. That means ridiculously vibrant colours and much blacker blacks than the other two.
Again, whether you prefer this type of display is a matter of preference, but Samsung's offering is certainly not to be dismissed for the sake of a few hundred/thousand pixels.
Design
iPhone 6 - 138.1 x 67 x 6.9mm, 129g
Samsung Galaxy Alpha - 132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7mm, 115g
HTC One M8 - 146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35mm, 160g
This is the first major design change for the iPhone range for four years. The past three editions have all taken their cue from the iconic iPhone 4, with those sharp, square edges and that all-metal rim.
The iPhone 6 is different. It still employs an all-metal body, but this time the edges are rounded, curving all the way around until they flow into a display. Speaking of which, even the screen is slightly curved, appearing to melt into the body.
It means that the familiar Samsung Galaxy Alpha is left aping the wrong iPhone, its square chamfered edges more reminiscent of the iPhone 4 school of design.
Still, this is undoubtedly the best looking and feeling Samsung smart device it's ever made. That metal rim instantly lends it a premium feel, which even the presence of a plastic removable back doesn't compromise that feel too much - mainly because it's made of a soft-touch faux leather material that is inoffensive to look at and pleasant to handle.
The Galaxy Alpha is also the slimmest device on this list, and also by far the lightest - the key benefit to using metal sparingly.
That leaves the HTC One M8 as the chunky monkey of this trio. It's more than 2.5MM thicker than the iPhone 6, and a whopping 45 grams heavier. That large screen means that it's much bigger head-on, too.
Still, the design itself cannot be faulted. This is a beautiful phone with an all-metal unibody chassis. It manages to feel every bit as premium as an iPhone without appearing to crib any of Apple's design ideas. Quite an achievement, that.
Power
iPhone 6 - 1.4GHz A8 64-bit dual-core processor, 1GB RAM
Samsung Galaxy Alpha - 1.8GHz Exynos 5 Octa 5430 quad-core processor, 2GB RAM
HTC One M8 - 2.3GHz Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB RAM
Comparing iPhone and Android specs is a bit like comparing apples and oranges thanks to the differing operating systems they have to handle, as well as the fact that Apple's chip is heavily customised.
On the surface, both the Samsung and the HTC offer superior processors. They're clocked higher, they have double the number of cores (four), and are backed by double the RAM (2GB).
But Apple has a couple of nifty tricks up its sleeve. The iPhone 6's A8 processor is built on a superior 64-bit architecture, which means it can load up data faster and more efficiently.
Also, the A8 chip's graphics chip going to be an absolute stonker - reportedly 50 percent faster than the iPhone 5S's A7 equivalent, which still has most rival chips for breakfast on graphically intensive tasks such as games.
The A8 chip is also built to a tiny 20nm manufacturing process, which makes it extremely energy efficient.
Camera
iPhone 6 - 8-megapixel with Focus Pixels, True Tone flash, f/2.2 aperture, 1080p video, 240fps slo-mo, 1.5 um pixels
Samsung Galaxy Alpha - 12-megapixel, 4K video,
HTC One M8 - 4-megapixel UltraPixel dual-camera, f/2 aperture, 2 um pixels
All of those specs above may seem a little daunting to most people. And to a large extent, they don't really tell you the important thing - how good each phone is at taking pictures.
Last year's iPhone 5S remains one of the best all-round camera phones around, and the iPhone 6 appears to be built of similar components.
Megapixel count matters less in smartphones than does the quality of the image sensor and lens set-up, the amount of light that can be let into the shutter, and the quality of the image processing hardware and software.
Based on last year's model alone, the iPhone 8 will undoubtedly excel on all counts. It also adds a thing Apple's calling Focus Pixels, which is a trick borrowed from high-end DSLR cameras that enables super-fast autofocus speeds. You also get an even more refined slow-mo video system.
The Galaxy Alpha, for its part, boasts the greatest megapixel count of the three (though as we say, that doesn't count for an awful lot). It's also the only one that can take 4K or UHD video, so if you've got an appropriate TV for watching it back on, that could be a nice feature to have.
Meanwhile the HTC One M8 sports the most unusual and innovative camera of the three, if arguably the worst for general shots. HTC has gone for fewer but bigger pixels, which results in superior low-light performance but slightly grainy and unimpressive general snaps.
Another neat trick is a secondary rear camera for taking pronounced depth-of-field shots. All very neat, but as we say, general everyday snaps are left wanting.
OS and UI
iPhone 6 - iOS 8
Samsung Galaxy Alpha - Android 4.4.4 KitKat, TouchWiz UI
HTC One M8 - Android 4.4.3 KitKat, Sense UI
We won't get into the whole tired iOS vs Android debate here. Suffice to say, both are excellent, fresh, modern, and powerful mobile operating systems that are right at the top of their game.
Yes, the Apple App Store has a superior selection of games, which makes it the preferred choice for the avid pocket gamer (unless emulation is your bag). But if that's not your only criteria (which it probably isn't) then Android has plenty to offer.
.jpg)
We will note that the iPhone 6 will ship with iOS 8, which looks like iOS 7 with a whole heap of extra features thrown in - many of which, it must be said, appear to have been taken straight from the Android playbook. Android, too, is set for a bold, modern refresh over the coming months.
The only hitch here is that both the HTC One M8 and the Samsung Galaxy Alpha come with custom interfaces, and neither is as good as plain old stock Android.
Of the two, HTC Sense is better than TouchWiz. It's cleaner, sharper, and just plain nicer to use. But Samsung has taken big strides with its own custom UI over the past year or so, to the point that it doesn't completely suck anymore.
Price
iPhone 6 - From £539 for 16GB
Samsung Galaxy Alpha - From £549 for 32GB
HTC One M8 - From £549.99 for 16GB
It might surprise you to learn that these three phones are similarly priced. Most people think of iPhones as the expensive option, but you'll be able to pick up a 16GB iPhone 6 for £539 contract-free.
That's not cheap, of course, but the point is, neither are the HTC One M8 or the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, both of which start from £549.99. In the Galaxy Alpha's case, that gets you 32GB of internal storage (the others start from 16GB), but it's still a fair chunk of money - especially when you consider that it's not technically Samsung's flagship phone (that would be the plastic-fantastic Galaxy S5).
You do tend to be able to pick up Android phones for cheaper on a two year contract, but that's for you to shop around and discover.
Ultimately, your choice here will probably come down to look, feel, unique features, and app selection ahead of price.
Which phone wins for you? Let us know in the comments, below.