Image Courtesy: Google Images |
Ever since Apple unveiled its iPhone 6, millions of users have been sharing a post which compares the smartphone with a
Nexus 4 (2012), saying "Dear iPhone 6 Users: Welcome to 2012". The
comparison makes absolutely no sense, except for the fact that both phones
share a 4.7in screen. Here is why.
Processor
The iPhone 6 uses an A8 chipset with the second-generation 64-bit architecture. Even though it only has a dual-core 1.4 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based) CPU on paper, it is faster than most smartphone chipsets out there, even ones with quad-core processing.
For instance, have a look at the previous generation A7 chip on the iPhone 5S, which also had only a 1.3Ghz dual-core CPU. The smartphone almost beat the living daylights out of every other phone in its generation when it came to benchmark performances, despite having only a dual-core processor. The same can be expected with the Apple A8 chip on the iPhone 6.
Also, for the record, Nexus 5 compares to the iPhone 5s and the results show the difference when it comes to performance. Given that it gets wiped out by the iPhone 5S, there's no chance that it can be compared with new A8 chip on the iPhone 6 since it is much faster than its predecessor.
Camera
Too many people make the mistake of judging a phone's imaging capabilities by the amount of megapixels that its sensor is capable of.
In this case, both smartphones have an 8MP camera. However, what most people don't know is that the iPhone 6 is far more superior to the Nexus 4, since its Focus Pixel technology provides the sensor with more information about the image, giving a better and faster autofocus than one can see in a preview.
All in all, it's a much more advanced and faster camera. And let us not even get started about its skills with video. The smartphone can grab 1080p high-definition clips at 60 frames-per-second, take 240fps slow-motion shots, and provide cinematic video stabilisation. And all that video can be stored on up to 128GB of storage, depending on which version you go for.
Faster Wireless
"The iPhone 6 has faster LTE connectivity and supports higher download speeds. LTE is short for Long-Term Evolution, commonly known as fourth-generation or 4G technology. Apple claims it supports more LTE bands than any other smartphone. Even for WiFi, it will work three times faster than the predecessor and most other smartphones."
Design
Apple takes the lead in this department with a gorgeous design that blends anodised aluminium, stainless steel, and glass. Hold it in your hand and you'll agree that it feels absolutely premium. Comparing it with the Nexus 4's glass and plastic build (which has fared very badly in drop tests) is completely unfair.
Display
All said and done, the Nexus 4 had a solid display. And for 2012, it was an amazing offering that was far ahead of many of its competitors. Here is one aspect that graphic that went viral got right. Google, unfortunately, wasn't very good at marketing the powerful visual experience on the Nexus 4.
NFC And More
And yes, Apple was rather late to bring NFC onto its smartphones, something that LG and Google did much earlier with the Nexus 4. However, it is worth noting that having NFC in 2012 was rather pointless, since it wasn't a feature that was supported by too many vendors in 2012, let alone today.
iOS vs Android
It goes without saying that Apple has always been slow to add features to iOS. Most of the new features in iOS 8 have been enjoyed by Android users since versions as early as Android Jelly Bean, which was released in October 2013.
A good example happens to be multitasking on Android, which has been present. Since the release of Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) in February 2011, Android users have been able to run multiple apps at the same time. Limited multitasking arrived on the iPhone in November 2010 with iOS 4, but it took September 2013, and iOS 7, for it to be usable with all apps: more than two years later than Android devices.