iPhone 6S looks good but I am buying new Nexus 5
Apple last night unveiled the new iPhone. In the words of Apple CEO, the new iPhone 6S is the world's most advanced smartphone. It also happens to be the best iPhone the company has made so far (what a big surprise!), a title it is going to hold until the next year when the all-new iPhone will be launched.
There is no doubt that Apple officials love superlatives while describing their products. But in the iPhone 6S, I also believe that many of these superlatives - greatest and most advanced etc - are somewhat justified. It is a good phone, just the way the iPhone 6 was. Unlike the iPhone 5S and some of the phones before that, the new iPhones can hold their head high in front of the high-end Android phones. The 4.7-inch screen means they no longer look puny and they now offer some of the incredible functionality that comes with the large screen, despite being true to Apple's "it just works" motto. Well, more or less.
Yet, I am not going to line up in front of the Apple store, hoping to buy the new iPhone 6S. Instead, the phone I am going to buy this year will be the Nexus 5, that is if Google doesn't mess it up in any significant way.
The new Nexus 5 aka Nexus 2015 is expected to be launched later this month. Just like the previous Nexus 5, which debuted in 2013, the new phone doesn't promise to dazzle anyone. The dazzling part is reserved for the iPhone. Instead, the Nexus 5 is going to focus on pure functionality. The usability and high-end features at mainstream prices is what the Google phone aims to offer and if Nexus 5 - which has been my faithful companion for almost two years now - is any indication, it is going to the more sensible choice compared to the iPhone 6S.
The difference between the iPhone 6S and the new Nexus 5 is likely to be how these two devices attempt to solve the problems for users. The iPhone 6S is a phone that attempts to do everything in its own way and then hopes that users will like it. It also tries to handhold users. For many people that works well. For me it doesn't. I love the flexibility that the current Nexus 5 offers and that the upcoming one too will provide. With the iPhone 6S I will have to adapt my workflow to how the phone functions. With the Nexus 5, I can configure my phone to fit my workflow.
In terms of hardware and functionality, both the iPhone 6S and the new Nexus 5 are likely to be close. Theoretically, the iPhone 6S is faster. But that doesn't matter much. I have seen that the Nexus 5 is as fast as the iPhone 6, if not more and there is no reason to doubt that the new Nexus 5 would be any different. In terms of screen, camera and battery life I expect both the new Nexus 5 and the iPhone 6S to be similar. The one difference is the design. The iPhone 6S is all aluminium while the new Nexus 5 will be made of plastic but that is something I can live with.
One more reason why I will prefer Nexus 5 is the Android. The Android Lollipop and the Android Marshmallow, which will come soon, are better than the iOS, even though in Version 9 Apple fixed a lot of problems. The Android just feels more dynamic, easier to use - at least for the work I do - and more capable.
And finally, there is the price. Chances are that the new Nexus 5 would cost nearly half of what the iPhone 6S is likely to cost. With this kind of pricing, will there be even a contest between the iPhone 6S and the new Nexus 5? I don't think so.