by I’ve been using an Android phone (Samsung Galaxy A40) for the past year or so, having used a couple of different Apple devices (iPod Touch 5 and iPhone 6s) for 2-3 years before that. The main reason I switched to Android was because the price of the iPhone I wanted (iPhone 8) was more than double that of the Samsung phone, and because the specs seemed pretty similar, I decided to give it a try.
However, now that Apple has launched a new iPhone SE, I’m wondering if it might be worth switching back soon, so I got thinking about comparing the two types of phones I’ve been using to see if that might help me decide.
While this comparison is based on just two specific phones (instead of all Apple phones versus all Android phones) and the iPhone 6s is now quite old (and quite slow), I still hope it might be helpful for anyone trying to decide whether the pay the extra for an Apple phone or not, which is what I was trying to do last year and am trying to do again now.
I’ve divided the comparison into different categories too, so people interested in different things about the phones might find this more helpful. I’ve also given some items that I care more about two stars instead of one.
General
| Feature | 6s | A40 |
| Look & Feel (incl. icon design, shortcuts) I personally prefer the layout and the design of the apps/icons on the iPhone 6s a lot more. | ⭐⭐ | |
| Most Stylish I personally think the exterior design on the iPhone 6s is a lot better. | ⭐ | |
| Screen Size The screen size on the Samsung A40 is a lot bigger. | ⭐⭐ | |
| Battery Life The battery life on the Samsung A40 lasts a very long time whereas the iPhone dies in less than an hour. | ⭐ | |
| Screen Recording The Samsung A40 did not have any screen recording features. | ⭐⭐ | |
| Value for Money The Samsung A40 is a lot cheaper but is still a brilliant phone. | ⭐⭐ | |
| Wake-up Speed The wakeup speed on the iPhone is much faster. | ⭐ |
If you’re someone who is looking for a stylish, general purpose phone (and are able to pay more), then choose an Apple phone. However, if you’re someone who will take lots of photos and needs lots of storage with a good battery life, for a cheaper price, I would recommend an Android phone.
Accessories
| Feature | 6s | A40 |
| AirPod Integration (incl. Battery Life, Pause, Siri) On the iPhone you can see the battery life etc. of the AirPods, but you can’t on the Samsung A40. | ⭐ | |
| Phone Cover Selection (in shops) Shops are always full of iPhone covers, in particular iPhone 6-10 and it’s very rare that you see a great selection of Samsung phones, especially the Samsung A40. | ⭐ |
I know you can get accessories for lots of Android phones but, based on my experience in most phone shops I’ve been to, there’s always a better selection of accessories for Apple phones.
Camera
| Feature | 6s | A40 |
| Face (selfie) Camera I thought the selfie camera on the iPhone was a lot clearer and the colour was more saturated on it. | ⭐ | |
| Widescreen Photos For some reason the iPhone 6s never did widescreen photos whereas the Samsung A40 has multiple widescreen photo choices. | ⭐⭐ | |
| Front-facing Camera The front facing camera on the Samsung is a lot clearer and can capture colour and details a lot better. | ⭐ | |
| Burst Mode Camera Speed The burst mode speed on the camera is a lot faster on the iPhone and it starts a lot quicker when you press the button. | ⭐ |
It was hard to decide which camera options I prefer, although I definitely like having widescreen photos because I look at them on my laptop and TV a lot (which are widescreen too). I could definitely see a big difference here based on the age of the phone too, so maybe a comparison with a newer iPhone would have been different.
Apps
| Feature | 6s | A40 |
| Selection of Apps I think that the selection of apps on both phones are the same because sometimes there won’t be a phone in the Play Store but at the same time there won’t be other apps available in the App Store. | ⭐ | ⭐ |
| Free App Purchasing Experience There are more steps to purchasing an app from the App Store and it’s a lot easier in the Play Store. | ⭐ | |
| App Install Experience (can see it downloading sooner) I like the way you can see the apps as their downloading and how much is left to download on the iPhone. | ⭐ |
Most apps are available for both iOS and Android and while there are small differences here and there, I think I prefer how apps are installed and managed on Apple phones.
Storage
| Feature | 6s | A40 |
| External (Expandable) Storage You can expand the storage on the Samsung A40 and it also has a lot more than the iPhone to begin with even though it’s a lot cheaper. | ⭐ | |
| General Storage Consumption The iPhones general storage takes up a huge amount of the space on the phone and it’s very difficult to reduce. | ⭐ |
Apple phones don’t allow you to add any extra storage and the iOS system files seem to take up much more space, so if you think you will be storing lots of things on your phone, then Android phones are definitely a better choice here.
Security
| Feature | 6s | A40 |
| Thumb Print Sensor Location The thumbprint placement on the iPhone is a lot easier to access and makes it faster to open the phone. | ⭐⭐ | |
| Face Recognition There is face recognition on the Samsung A40 which is useful when you want to open your phone quickly or unlock your friends phone while they are sleeping 😉 | ⭐ |
Both types of phones have good security features so there’s little to separate them here.
Conclusion
I can definitely see why some people prefer Apple over Samsung, or the other way around, but if I had the choice (and won the lotto in the morning), I think I still prefer Apple phones (sorry, Dad!) because they’re just a little nicer to look at and that little bit easier to use.