So I had to get a new phone… well… had is a strong word, wanted to is a more appropriate one, not because the old one was not working on anything but, hell why not? My Samsung Note3 was great and has been great! But I have not really seen an iPhone, lived with it for a substantial period. Closest I’ve been to it was owning an iPhone 4S for a couple of months before it was stolen.

So now, I welcome an iPhone 6S Plus in my life!

Size is about the same as the Note3, screen is better resolution, because facts. And then… there is the camera.

I took both phones out, and shot the same (or as much as I could manage) scene both on full auto programs.
Top is the Note3, bottom is the 6S+.

There is a better light handling from the 6S+, and the keyboard is clear and without much noise. Note3 produces a blurry feel, seen much more clearly when zoomed in.

The colors are a bit more desaturated in the Note3 image, so 6S+ wins on color. However, the Note3 superior resolution comes through here, as we can read the sticker on the bike only on the Note3 photo. Color can be fixed in post…

The Note3 has overshot whites in the sky to produce much the same brightness on the road and the cars. Note3 produces a sharper image because of the higher resolution, and offers more details. Photo manipulation might not save the sky though in the Note3 image if it is indeed burned out and the lens flare does not help with fixing it.

Sky burned out in the Note3 photo, and more details due to larger resolution. Otherwise, images are of the same quality.

Here the frame is my differentiator. In the 6S+ we have a lot of extra information up and down we do not need, and that is only the fault of the photo aspect ratio. This is time where when we see the photos full zoom out, we notice that the Note3’s photo is sharper (it’s not, but the illusion of the aspect ratio with letters in the center all the way to the back of the hall make it so) and there is a better frame of the subject. In the 6S+ photo the ceiling and the floor are too empty and distract from the subject.

Note3 is a macro God compared to the 6S+

Preview upside down but actual view normal. I don’t know what is going on here… But Note3 has been known to take photos that I see normal on some software or social media, but other browsers and people’s phone show them in weird orientations.
As for the pics themselves, a little problem with the focus of the 6S+, and the aspect ration of the 6S+ is not good for multiple people selfie.

The upright selfie though is good on 6S+ and in focus this time. I’m noting the focus issue of the previous shot because… one has to! If one is inclined to take a selfie, then they look at the screen, see that it has face recognition on their face, and then look at the lens and press the shutter release. Not in focus when you have identified my face? For shame!
Both pics are fine for color and detail, but in fact, the Note3’s aspect ratio here is counter productive.

Note3 continues to whitewash the photo a bit, over exposing the shot. Fixable at post, but why should you bother? For this close up photo (but not macro) the rest are very much in line.

Here the colors are virtually identical, but Note3 has managed to erase all detail from the sky. Aspect ration is wrong for my taste for this shot on the 6S+, and the high resolution of Note3 provides better sharpness and more detail.

Max zoom produces more clear results on the Note3, however again Note3 whitewashes the shot. This is salvageable in post, but here 6S+ shot is non usable.

Internal dark house lit by monitor and incandescent light. 6S+ takes great photos here, but the note3 suffers. Their difference is not spectacular, but 6S+ is much more on point of what one wants, and is also cleaner, sharper.

My opinion is that there is a place for both.

I like that Note3 can take great macro shots.

I like that the 6S+ can take indoor shots that are very noticeably better than Note3.

I like the aspect ratio of Note3. I mean seriously, what is up with that aspect ratio of yours iPhone???

I like the color balance struck in 6S+ photos, that I can see the sky details and the street. [However, that is cheating a little, as the Auto program will activate HDR on its own on the 6S+ in difficult lighting]

I like that Note3 in daylight offers more detail with its higher resolution.

For holiday shots, sightseeing, etc., I’d go with the Note3.
For indoor and low light shots (house, club…), or in general photos without the need to color correct later, iPhone should be better.