Which phone should I get?

[Geekfest]

Hi all, first post here!

Basically I'm after some help deciding on which phone to get. I've narrowed the choice down to 2. The iPhone 6s plus and the nexus 6p.

The main thing it needs is a good camera. We've got 3 young kids, so take a lot of family photos. And of course the only camera I've normally got on me is the phone in my pocket. So it's needs to take good photos in a quick time frame, as the kids don't stay still for longer than .2 of a second.

I've had a couple of iPhones previously, a 4s and a 5s. Liked them, apart from the small screens. I've got large hands, so struggled in that respect. Good cameras for their time tho.

I've recently had a couple of Android phones, first a Oneplus One, then a note 4. Didn't like the oneplus apart from the size of the screen, the camera was rubbish. Even if the subject was standing perfectly still image was still blurred most of the time. I did like the Note 4 mostly, large screen and good camera. But wasn't a fan of Samsungs take on Android.

So here I am now, without a phone. (Currently writing this post on a badly overheating nvidia tegra note. The fact it's now mainly a tablet for the kids to play on probably hasn't done it any favours.)

The iPhone 6s plus seems like the iPhone made for me, big screen and great camera, according to most reviews. But heck it's expensive. Is it REALLY worth that much?

In comes the nexus 6p. It's cheaper. Also got a nice large screen and another great camera. But it lacks OIS. Don't honestly know if that's important or not in the grand scheme of things. It's got vanilla android and it'll get timely updates, so that's another good thing.

But the spanner in the works is my other half has got me an ipad pro for Christmas. She works for a network provider here in the UK, and the black Friday deals on top of her normal staff discount was too good to pass up. Never had an ipad before, so looking forward to that. To get the best experience out of the iPad tho, do I need an iPhone? I don't plan on using icloud, if that matters. I've got one drive and Google drive for that kinda thing.

My apologies for the long first post. I'm just stuck and could do with advice.

Thanks for reading

Ian

 

[Megatomic]

Welcome to the forums, Ian. I'm an Android guy, but given your past with iOS devices and the impending iPad Pro I'd personally go with the iPhone option. Continuity could be a cool feature, plus you can have a consistent suite of apps to use across your devices. But that is just my opinion.

 

[Geekfest]

Thanks for your advice I didn't know if the iPad - iPhone sharing thing was dependant on icloud tho? I don't plan on using that, especially since you have to pay after using the first 5gb. I've got plenty of free storage with onedrive and Google drive.

But then apart from the sharing idea between devices, are there any other good points for the iPhone I've not thought about or realised?

Thanks again

Ian

 

[Megatomic]

The camera is excellent, the performance is stunning, and accessory support is beyond compare. All this coming from an Android person. lol

 

[Artdeco]

I really appreciate the continuity feature with Apple devices, answering the phone or texting with my tablet or MacBook is nice.

Honestly, you'll like either phone, although staying in the iOS ecosystem is slick.

 

[Phokus]

The Nexus 6p camera is EXCELLENT, especially in low light. I have the 64 GB version. I believe the equivalent Iphone 6s+ is $300, if cost is a concern.

 

[Geekfest]

The cost of the 6s plus isn't so much of a concern other than it is really WORTH the extra compared to the 6p?

And how do you answer the phone with an ipad? I've never had an ipad, so will be new to it come Christmas. Do ios devices rely on icloud for the continuity then?

Thanks

Ian

 

[Artdeco]

The cost of the 6s plus isn't so much of a concern other than it is really WORTH the extra compared to the 6p?

And how do you answer the phone with an ipad? I've never had an ipad, so will be new to it come Christmas. Do ios devices rely on icloud for the continuity then?

Thanks

Ian

http://www.imore.com/how-use-continuity-iphone-ipad-and-mac-ultimate-guide

iPhone 6s+'s over 6s selling points are battery life, larger screen and optical image stabilization, if you do much from your phone, you'll appreciate the bigger screen.

 

[Geekfest]

The larger screen is what I'm after, hence narrowing the choice down to 6s plus or 6p. 5.5 inches is the smallest I want to go. Regarding OIS, anybody with the 6p ever had a phone with OIS, and noticed a big difference between having it and not having it?

Thanks

Ian

 

[Phokus]

The larger screen is what I'm after, hence narrowing the choice down to 6s plus or 6p. 5.5 inches is the smallest I want to go. Regarding OIS, anybody with the 6p ever had a phone with OIS, and noticed a big difference between having it and not having it?

Thanks

Ian

Not much difference between the 6p/6s+ in terms of still photos, but for videos, it makes a difference.

 

[Capt Caveman]

If you plan to spend $ on apps for the iPad Pro, the cost difference between the 6s+ and the 6p will be smaller since you won't have to purchase apps again for the iPhone.

Will be getting my 6p on Monday(hopefully sooner) and what I've read is the lack of OIS is really only noticeable when taking video.

 

[mnewsham]

The larger screen is what I'm after, hence narrowing the choice down to 6s plus or 6p. 5.5 inches is the smallest I want to go. Regarding OIS, anybody with the 6p ever had a phone with OIS, and noticed a big difference between having it and not having it?

Thanks

Ian

Biggest difference will be 4K video, look up 4k video shot from a Note5 (similar to the 6P but with OIS) and compare it to the 6P. Note5 should look a lot less shaky.

 

[Geekfest]

I've got quite a few apps for both my ios and Android accounts, some of them the same, so that shouldn't be much of an issue hopefully.

My note 4 had ois, I think? It was still shaky tho lol

Thanks

Ian

 

[mnewsham]

My note 4 had ois, I think? It was still shaky tho lol

The Note5 uses a more advanced software stabilization paired with the OIS, the note5 has some of the smoothest 4k video you can take with a phone.

 

[Geekfest]

I heard the note 5 is supposed to be good but I don't like the Samsung version of Android, so I'm not considering another Samsung phone.

Thanks

Ian

 

[deathBOB]

What will you be using your phone for? Do you rely heavily on Google services?

 

[Geekfest]

Not really, I use Microsoft onedrive and Google drive services equally to be fair. Don't use any apple services other than an account to use for ios app downloads. I'm not much of an avid music fan so don't really use iTunes in that respect. The only thing I don't use is icloud, and don't really plan to use it.

Regarding the phone usage, obviously calls, texts and emails, closely followed by the camera. Do use the camera a lot, for both work and home. Pictures more than video tho, If I'm honest. Use the Facebook app a fair bit. Strangely I used to play baldur's gate a lot on my note 4, but I'll get that for the iPad instead I reckon. If it'll work on the iPad pro anyway, hopefully it will. Use various banking apps. And the Internet browser. Also A bit of geocaching every now and again. Varied use really.

Thanks

Ian

 

[mnewsham]

I heard the note 5 is supposed to be good but I don't like the Samsung version of Android, so I'm not considering another Samsung phone.

Thanks

Ian

I wasn't suggesting it, as I said, use it to see what OIS does compared to a phone without OIS.


You DID ask about OIS earlier if you remember.

 

[Geekfest]

Good point lol

Thanks

Ian

 

[Megatomic]

Really it sounds like you could be happy with either device. I don't envy you having to make your decision.

 

[JimKiler]

Really it sounds like you could be happy with either device. I don't envy you having to make your decision.

If you want an apple watch, that would make it worth your while to get an apple phone. Also i believe a lot of the google services are available on apple IOS but the inverse is not true.

 

[Geekfest]

An apple watch is a possibility, I do need a new watch! good point about the Google facilities on ios but not the other way around. Could do to turn this thread into a poll, who votes 6s plus and who votes 6p? Lol

Thanks

Ian

 

[CuriousMike]

You should google real-life examples of "smartphone photos of kids in action" and verify it's do-able.
Continuous auto-focus doesn't seem to be an "on by default ( if at all )" option on the few smartphones I've looked at.

 

[Geekfest]

You should google real-life examples of "smartphone photos of kids in action" and verify it's do-able.
Continuous auto-focus doesn't seem to be an "on by default ( if at all )" option on the few smartphones I've looked at.

Do you mean for photos or videos? Videos I'm not fussed about, it's photos that would be a priority. It's shutter speed that would be more important then, isn't it?

On a slightly different note, supposedly the new Lumia 950 xl has got an amazing camera?? Downside is very little apps I guess.

Thanks

Ian

 

[CuriousMike]

Do you mean for photos or videos? Videos I'm not fussed about, it's photos that would be a priority. It's shutter speed that would be more important then, isn't it?

On a slightly different note, supposedly the new Lumia 950 xl has got an amazing camera?? Downside is very little apps I guess.

Thanks

Ian

I'm talking about photos.

Yes, shutter speed is important - but if you tap to focus and the child moves towards you, the focal plane just shifted and the camera hasn't adjusted focus.

I think I should extract myself from this discussion as I'm more of a "real camera" user, and I'm not entirely sure if this is a real issue or not with smartphones ( mine doesn't seem to continuously AF on moving objects.)