Apple vs Samsung

Samsung is a company known for producing big, powerful smartphones, whilst Apple has been the last Bastion of the compact flagship - most recently in the form of the iPhone 5S.

Naturally then, we’re pitting a small flagship from Samsung against the biggest phone Apple’s ever made, but which one will win out in this role reversal comparison?

Samsung Galaxy Alpha vs Apple iPhone 6 Plus: Design

First up is the Alpha’s bodywork. This marks a turning point for Sammy who for the longest time has been stuck with expensive handsets clad entirely in plastic.

The Alpha features a milled aluminium frame that ups the build quality significantly from its predecessors and looks like it’s actually borrowed parts of its design from Apple’s iPhone 5 and 5S. It’s all straight edges and precision cut chamfers, which feel great in the hand. But all that said, it still retains some classic bendy Samsung plastic with its removable back.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha vs Apple iPhone 6 Plus - back

On the other side of the fence is the bigger, bulkier iPhone 6 Plus. For this generation Apple swapped out the straight lines that the Alpha emulates for rounded edges and corners. It makes for a more comfortable handheld experience, particularly for such a big device. Small hands will definitely prefer the Alpha’s more diminutive proportions, but the extra screen space the 6 Plus affords you is a nice luxury to have.

Due to the laws of physics, the 6 Plus is a little thicker at 7.1mm and considerably heavier as a result of its size, nice all-metal body and significantly larger battery too.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha vs Apple iPhone 6 Plus: Screen

As is always the case between the screens used by Samsung and Apple it’s a battle of AMOLED against LCD. The 4.7-inch 720p HD Super AMOLED panel used by the Galaxy Alpha is bright and offers fairly decent viewing angles, but to call it punchy is an understatement; it’s oversaturated look might not suit everybody’s tastes and the iPhone’s...