Smartphone Thunderdome (Samsung vs. Apple vs. Google etc.)

[terminator]

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

Maybe this has been asked already, but here is a question for the Apple people:

Are you really OK with paying a premium for a "technically" inferior product? I speaking entirely about the specs. RAM, processors, pixels, etc.

I guess what bothers me the most is that Apple sells a product for twice, sometimes 3 times, as much as the competition, but the technical specs are on par with devices from 2 years ago.

Someone posted a comparison of the Nexus 4 (2 years old) vs. the iPhone 6. Yes, I am aware that the OS probably makes up for it, but it just boggles my brain.

Dropping over $1000 for a device, when you can get one that has technically better specs for half, if not a third of that cost, is insane...in my opinion.

I'm not anti-Apple. I'm anti-people-getting-screwed-in-the-wallet-by-great-marketing...or so it seems.

Which 5.5" screen can I get brandnew for $330 which will preform as well as the I6+

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

The One M8 is awesome for music. Not only are the speakers amazing, but even headfi tests show that it's probably the best phone to listen to using headphones.

I second FlameOn's recommendation of Power amp. It does gapless really well.

This is one of the main reasons why my next phone will be an updated HTC One (either M8 or whatever comes next.) I have the original HTC One now and I love the dual speaker design. The sound is so much better than any other device.

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

Music is great with Google Play. You also get the choice of other music players if that suits your preference. iTunes music can also be synced to your phone using Google's Music Manager. It'll scan your iTunes folder and the music will just show up on your Google Play Music account once you set it up. I did exactly that when I migrated my music collection over.

I hear poweramp is great for gapless.

Again, though, maybe this points out what apple does well. Should I really need to scavenge through numerous music player apps to find one that does gapless playback? I have tried so many over my time with this phone, and I still don't have it. (Never heard of the one you recommended). Meanwhile Apple has had this feature in all their products for years upon years now, without need to hunt for alternate apps.

The music player just happens to be one area that's important to me that I haven't had the best experiene with, but now that smartphones basically are also your dedicated music players, I expect a baseline level of functionality for that purpose. I don't necessarily want to mess around with numerous apps to get things working, let alone hunt for accessories that may or may not achieve what I'm looking for.

[RedMileDJ]

Originally Posted by terminator

Which 5.5" screen can I get brandnew for $330 which will preform as well as the I6+

OnePlus One.

http://www.phonearena.com/phones/com...8603,8346,8908

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by Igottago

Again, though, maybe this points out what apple does well. Should I really need to scavenge through numerous music player apps to find one that does gapless playback? I have tried so many over my time with this phone, and I still don't have it. (Never heard of the one you recommended). Meanwhile Apple has had this feature in all their products for years upon years now, without need to hunt for alternate apps.

The music player just happens to be one area that's important to me that I haven't had the best experiene with, but now that smartphones basically are also your dedicated music players, I expect a baseline level of functionality for that purpose. I don't necessarily want to mess around with numerous apps to get things working, let alone hunt for accessories that may or may not achieve what I'm looking for.

Google Play music which comes with all the new phones does gapless and has had it for years. I think though Samsung doesn't make it the default music player because they "had their own" as it were and thought they could do a better job. You may want to look at that one. Shouldn't be a case of looking around so much as Samsung wanting to make their mark on things.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

I guess what bothers me the most is that Apple sells a product for twice, sometimes 3 times, as much as the competition, but the technical specs are on par with devices from 2 years ago.

Tech specs don't determine performance and end user experience.

Just because an AMD processor is cheaper and has a much higher clock speed doesn't mean it actually performs better than an Intel processor.

The iPhone 6 performs perfectly well compared to its peers, and its price isn't 2 to 3 times an S5 or HTC M8 or other new phones.

And why does it bother you? I could say it bothers me that I have to get a phone with 2-3 times the specs of my iPhone to get a comparably performing Android phone, but it doesn't.

[terminator]

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

OnePlus One.

Link please?

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

Google Play music which comes with all the new phones does gapless and has had it for years. I think though Samsung doesn't make it the default music player because they "had their own" as it were and thought they could do a better job. You may want to look at that one. Shouldn't be a case of looking around so much as Samsung wanting to make their mark on things.

I have google play music on my S3 and it doesn't do gapless. So I've never been sure if its an app issue or a phone issue. There are many great android features, but this in my experience, is not one of them.

[RedMileDJ]

Originally Posted by terminator

Link please?

Comparison between OnePlus One vs. iPhone 6 vs. iPhone 6 Plus:

http://www.phonearena.com/phones/com...8603,8346,8908

[RedMileDJ]

My bad. OnePlus One, delivered to my door, delivery, custom fees, etc came out to $450.

But the initial price is $349 (US) for the 64 GB version.

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by Igottago

I have google play music on my S3 and it doesn't do gapless. So I've never been sure if its an app issue or a phone issue. There are many great android features, but this in my experience, is not one of them.

It should. I think you have to have the equalizer enabled on your play music then it does it automatically. IIRC.

[terminator]

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

My bad. OnePlus One, delivered to my door, delivery, custom fees, etc came out to $450.

But the initial price is $349 (US) for the 64 GB version.

Thats not a comparable phone, its not an Apple device.

[Igster]

Originally Posted by terminator

Thats not a comparable phone, its not an Apple device.

lol

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

It should. I think you have to have the equalizer enabled on your play music then it does it automatically. IIRC.

I'll give it a try.

That reminds me of another thing...I've had the equalizer on before only for it to turn off when my phone locks/sleeps.

Not saying you guys are wrong, but my experience with the S3 as a music player in particular, hasn't been without some weird quirks.

[RedMileDJ]

Originally Posted by photon

Tech specs don't determine performance and end user experience.

Just because an AMD processor is cheaper and has a much higher clock speed doesn't mean it actually performs better than an Intel processor.

The iPhone 6 performs perfectly well compared to its peers, and its price isn't 2 to 3 times an S5 or HTC M8 or other new phones.

And why does it bother you? I could say it bothers me that I have to get a phone with 2-3 times the specs of my iPhone to get a comparably performing Android phone, but it doesn't.

Isn't this whole thread about what bothers each other, about each type of phone? I just find it odd that Apple users can settle with technically inferior product, but then say "it's the best."

Hey, if it all works well, then fine. I get that. But why pay through the ass for it? How much longer can Apple get away with that?

I'm a Nexus / Pure Android guy. Yes, I have used an iPhone in the past (iPhone 4). I've never had the experience of using a Samsung. But from what I understand, that extra layer of software that Samsung puts on, is sometimes troublesome.

After my LG flip phone (and several before that), here is my order of phones:

• BlackBerry Torch
• BlackBerry Tour
• HTC Desire HD
• Nexus 4
• LG G2 (for only a month) then iPhone 4 for a couple weeks
• Nexus 5
• OnePlus One (current phone)

LG also had a layer of software on there, that I hated.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by photon

Tech specs don't determine performance and end user experience.

People who don't understand all the tech specs will still look at them when buying a phone. If one is higher than the other in one category, it must be better! The Moto X did not sell well mainly because the spec sheet looked like a phone that was behind the times, even though in reality it doesn't perform worse than any of the phones released at the same time in 2013.

On that note, when people talk about difficulty leaving an ecosystem, the Moto X is going to make it quite difficult to change to a different phone in the future for me. Active Notifications and Motorola Assist have become such an important part of how I use my phone that I'm not sure I could live without them. The in car voice control portion of Motorola Assist may be similar on other phones or systems by now though (does Siri read out texts and let you voice respond to them while driving?)...

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by terminator

Thats not a comparable phone, its not an Apple device.

You're not very good at this.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

Isn't this whole thread about what bothers each other, about each type of phone?

If only. It's more about moral superiority over others because of what bothers each other about each type of phone.

The discussion about which phone handles audio the best, has the best speakers, etc going on is what actually is a good meaningful discussion.

And that doesn't answer the question, which is why it bothers you.

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

I just find it odd that Apple users can settle with technically inferior product, but then say "it's the best."

Hey, if it all works well, then fine. I get that. But why pay through the ass for it? How much longer can Apple get away with that?

Is it technically inferior? If your definition of superior is more megahertzes and pixels then yeah I guess but who cares about that other than someone who looks at benchmarks? I don't carry around a printout of my phone's specs to show, I carry around my phone to use.

Maybe definition of superior is about more than pure metrics, it's about engineering. If I can get the same performance or more out of a processor at half the clock speed using half the power, that's superior by some definitions. Uses less energy, more efficient, can be smaller, etc.

And who's saying "It's the best"?

For what matters, actually using the device, the iPhone is not "settling" compared to any of its peers.

It's like wondering why someone would buy an Audi sedan when they can get a cheaper one from another brand that has more horsepower. There's more to it than just benchmarks.

Price-wise, yes there are some models like the Nexus and the OnePlus One that are disruptive in terms of pricing compared to their peers, but not just compared to Apple, they're cheaper than Samsung and HTC and LG and Sony etc too.

Google probably doesn't care if they lose money on Nexus hardware, they probably make up value for the rest of their business. Back when the Nexus 4 came out we were all shocked at the price for the value, but it hasn't actually changed the pricing landscape that I can see. Maybe with the OnePlus One it'll be more pressure on pricing, but I doubt it.

They charge what the market will pay.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

People who don't understand all the tech specs will still look at them when buying a phone. If one is higher than the other in one category, it must be better! The Moto X did not sell well mainly because the spec sheet looked like a phone that was behind the times, even though in reality it doesn't perform worse than any of the phones released at the same time in 2013.

That's very true. That's a perfect example, I thought the Moto X was an awesome phone, and the 2nd gen one looks even better if it wasn't too big

[Erick Estrada]

Why would anyone buy a 2015 Audi S3 when the specs say a 2015 WRX STI is cheaper has 10 more HP, a bigger engine and weighs less? Despite its disadvantages in specifications the Audi is faster in a straight line and on a track, gets better fuel mileage, much quieter inside, and doesn't have the interior of a $20k economy car. Raw specifications of anything rarely tell the whole story.