Apple iPhone 6s Plus vs. Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+: Blind camera test

Introduction

Update: voting is now closed! Which phone hides behind which letter is revealed on Page 2.

Oh, the iPhone 6s Plus and the Galaxy S6 edge+ - two behemoths of the smartphone world. That's a lot of S's, and 6's, and Plus's and it sure gets confusing when choosing between those two. The iPhone 6s Plus finally got the long overdue camera upgrade with more megapixels and 4K video, while Samsung has tweaked further the camera used on the Galaxy S6 generation flagships.

We're sure many among you are wondering which one of these two extremely expensive devices would make a better smartphone. We'd love to chime in with our opinion and we couldn't wait putting the hottest phablets of the season head to head.

The detailed comparison review however is due out for tomorrow. For the time being, you're welcome to pick your favorite in our blind camera test featuring the two smartphones.

After you've gone through the voting, we're sure you will be itching to learn which one is A and which one - B. We'll update this article with this information tomorrow - around 14h UK time along with the results from the voting.

Note that we've resized all the samples down to 1600 x 1200 pixels - that's the typical size most people will use them on social networks or email/IM sharing, and thus it would be easier to observe which camera would suit you better. There is also a 1:1 crop comparison between if you'd like to check out the detail from up close. We've shot all samples using the 4:3 aspect ratio setting on the Galaxy S6 edge+ as opposed to the native 16:9 aspect ratio just so we facilitate this blind test. In 4:3 aspect ratio the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ outputs photos in 12MP resolution and that makes it a lot easier to compare head to head with the iPhone 6s Plus.

But enough chit-chat, it's show time!

Scene #1: Daylight

The first test is a daylight scene. We suggest you observe the general colors, the exposure and contrast. If you are a pixel-peeper, you can also use the provided crop to evaluate the overall processing, the resolved detail, and the noise levels.

Cast your vote for the winner in this scene above:

Scene #2: Daylight

The second test is mostly about the dynamic range though you might as well use it to evaluate the general stuff like in the scene above.

When it comes to dynamic range, it's worth paying attention how much of the shadow detail has been captured without sacrificing the highlights. Make note that sometimes incorrect brightness and contrast settings on your computer screen may play a huge role in determining the winner in this test.

Cast your vote for the winner in this scene above:

Scene #3: Indoors

The third one is an indoors scene. We've got a high-contrasty scene where not everything is lit perfectly. Noise is quite likely to creep up in the shadows and cameras with poor dynamic range will most certainly fail in capturing this scene properly.

Cast your vote for the winner in this scene above:

Scene #4: Dusk landscape

The next task is a dusk landscape. In this case we don't expect much of the fine detail to be captured. Instead, in this scene we focus on the general colors and exposure.

Cast your vote for the winner in this scene above:

Scene #5: Night time cityscape

The sixth topic is an urban scene at night. You should probably make your call based on the general colors and exposure, as well as based on the resolved detail and the amount of the digital noise.

Cast your vote for the winner in this scene above:

Scene #6: Flash test

Here comes the flash test. The iPhone 6s Plus has a dual-tone flash, while the Galaxy S6 edge+ has a regular single LED flash.

Cast your vote for the winner in this scene above:

Scene #7: 4K video daylight

And finally, we come to the 4K video capabilities of the two phones. The images below are full resolution screenshots from the respective 4K videos, while the crop gives you a more direct comparison so you can evaluate the resolved detail and the specific processing patterns.

Cast your vote for the winner in this scene above:

The voting is now open and the results will be announced tomorrow, October 15 at around 2pm UK time.