Today Apple unveiled their newly redesigned iPhone 5 to the world and the first thing that came to my mind was the Galaxy Note II. Obviously the Galaxy S III is a great device to compare it to as well, but the Galaxy Note II and the iPhone 5 are the latest and greatest from both companies. Lets take a look at the two devices below.

Where to start? We could ramble on about software, hardware, specs, size, and Android vs Apple for days and days but instead we just want to share the details on both and let you guys decide. Apple has put all their technology into one polished and now slightly larger iPhone 5 — complete with a 4-inch Retina display. Samsung on the other hand has taken their tablet and smartphone technology and blend them into one with their new 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED display packing Galaxy Note II.

In this crazy world of Android smartphones is 5.5-inches too big? Or is 4-inches simply too small? This marks the first iPhone to have the larger display, so that could very well persuade many folks that direction that didn’t want to live with a smaller screen. Also, now that Android has so many 4.5+ display sizes that same 4-inch screen could still be considered too small for many. We’ll let you decide.

As far as specs the iPhone 5 comes with that 4-inch Retina Display, their A6 (dual-core) processor, most likely 1GB of RAM, and an improved 8 megapixel camera with panorama features and 1080p video. Then around front you have a 720p HD Facetime front camera as well. This time around we finally have 4G LTE too, which is a first for the iPhone. As far as internal storage you get the usual wide array of 16, 32, and 64GB storage options — and obviously no micro-SD support. Running on iOS 6 and having their much hyped Siri, as well as the ever growing App Store.

For the Galaxy Note II however, everything is bigger and faster. We have a massive 5.5-inch 1280 x 720p HD Super AMOLED display, a powerful 1.6 GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 32 and 64GB of storage options, a similar 8 megapixel camera on the rear with 2 megapixel front and more. Then obviously we have 4G LTE since Android has been enjoying that for nearly two years now. Samsung however runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean — the absolute latest and greatest OS from Google. It has Google Now and Samsung S-Voice for Siri-like features (or better) and the S-Pen stylus for absolute precision and content creation. It’s safe to say you can do much more with the Galaxy Note II than the iPhone, but then who will use that stylus?

We don’t want to stir up the trolls, but surely there’s already more than a few roaming the interwebs this evening. Without getting down to all the nitty gritty details and specifics what device are you more impressed with? Do you like where Samsung is going with larger screens and content creation, or Apple with their sticking to what works attitude?

For now check out a quick look at our Galaxy Note II hands-on video, and we’ll add one of the iPhone 5 here shortly. We’d love to hear your thoughts regarding both!

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95 COMMENTS

  5. i think both phones will have their share of followers and detractors – with many folks preferring the ios world. as a galaxy note user, i value the stylus and the extra workspace. i think the note strikes the perfect balance for me and i think if it was any larger overall, it wouldn’t work as well for me. i was looking for a “do it all” device that would be phone, book reader, music player, pda, sketch book and camera in a size that comfortably fits my shirt pocket. smaller phones don’t work as well for reading while anything larger wouldn’t fit the pocket. i don’t think the iphone 5 would do it for me. i only hope the galaxy note ii isn’t too big.

      • Hilariously, my Galaxy Nexus can do everything that the iPhone 5 can do and more. It’s also a little funny how they emphasized their “innovated” Panoramic photo-shooting, which is something that they had in their app store for years. I guess they have nothing to show…

  8. The entire idea behind crapple is to provide new, sleek, sexy looking packages, all hyped up and using other peoples ideas. This new iteration seems like all they did was make the screen a slight bit bigger, and then take the rest from what Google/Samsung have been doing since the Galaxy Nexus. sorry to say this but where is Steve Jobs when you need him?

    • Lol! Steve Jobs was doing the same thing! IPhone’s innovation stopped after the original iPhone was released. Android picked up the ‘innovation’ where the original iPhone left off and added to it with the original moto droid and has been the real innovator ever since.

  9. A troll was lurking around here somewhere. Anyone seen him? Heard him mutter something like “first” then he speed off.

    If y’all see him lemme know.

  11. People do dumb things with their money. I would pay 2x for the samsung note 2. I owned both. Galaxy note 2 is superior. Even comparing them is unjust.

  13. I think Samsung’s trying to avoid direct confrontation with i5 at its peak. Surely, i5 will be the hot new thing for the next couple of months in the absence of any rival. (other than Note 2, perhaps)

    Sammy could either tackle it head-on to see who bleeds more… OR sit on the bleachers for the next 3 months and observe as i5 runs out of steam.

    I personally will be waiting till Christmas to compare prices. All things being equal, at the same or similar price zone, ($200 +/- $100 with 2-yr contract) I will definitely be buying a Note 2.

  14. I will buy the Note 2; i have no doubts that will be my phone instead of the iphone 5. I will buy the new ipod touch and use that as my camera shooter and that’s the one who’s going to talk to my macbook air

  15. I have the iPhone 4 now, no way I will get another iPhone the screen is too darn small. I will get the Note 2 and not the iPhone 5 based on screen size alone! I’ve handled the Note and as far as size, it is wonderful. Fits in my pockets just fine.

    • You just made me spit my drink on my keyboard with the “iNuthuggers” BWAHAHAHAHAHA
      FTR The GN2 is the GOAT, and won’t be surpassed until the GN3 comes out next year. Apple has lost it, they are Honda now, reliable as hell but boring and no innovation.

      • looks like honda is even turning a corner with the new 2013 accord…Apple is still in the early stages of “you’ll buy it anyways”

  17. I am a loyal Apple customer and I’ve had enough! First they re-release the iPhone 4 with Siri, calling it the 4S, (similar thing with the iPad 2 and 3 looking alike) they then release Mountain Lion for Mac’s which seems to be really buggy and now they come up with a taller iPhone 4S clone! It seems that the great ideas have died with Steve Jobs. Why oh why they’ve passed on the opportunity (TWICE) of pleasing their customers with a wider screen and a slim device, I don’t know.
    I would ditch them and go straight to the Galaxy S III or the Note II but I’m worried about syncing my music with iTunes on my Mac (I don’t own a PC) and also my main email account is my iCloud one.

  18. Waited to get the SIII because of Iphone5(what a disappoinment) now waiting for the Note II instead, nothing else better come out b/c im getting tired of waiting 🙂

  20. I have the original Note and the size concern is way overrated. I wear jeans and have always been able to fit it in one of my pockets mostly my back pocket. However, i guess the ladies may have problems cuz their pants don’t seem to have big pockets. lol

    • They have purses, which is even better than pockets. And that’s what this is really about. iPhone 5 is too small. If it had these new slight improvements and a 4.7″ screen and curvy new body styling, it would be a whole different song. The tiny size turned out to be a major fail.

    • Has does that work out when you forget it’s there and sit down? I’d be afraid of breaking it in my back pocket and it’s too big for the front.

    • Has does that work out when you forget it’s there and sit down? I’d be afraid of breaking it in my back pocket and it’s too big for the front.

      • just make sure you don’t forget. I’ve never actually sat down on my Note but i sat down on my Droid X and it didn’t break. Ofcourse, that was a car seat so a hard surface might be a different story.

  21. note2 overkill the i5 for sure . i5 obviously noway near good compare to s3 even . samsung expected too high of apple this round . anyway it’s all good getting note2 earlier .

  22. personally im more taken by the note than the iphone. my only concern is that my home computer is a imac and im not sure how the note 2 will sync with it in terms of emails, music photos etc. i was apple through and through. but their advancement has slowed down and samsung has made huge strides forward. for me anyway the most advanced phone out there is without doubt the note 2. Apple has lost its status as the pioneer of the smartphone in my opinion. and that comes from a huge apple fan!! , Apple needed to raise the bar with the iphone 5 and frankly they dont seem to have done it!

    • In some ways it’s better. You hook it up as a USB drive and can access the entire file system in your phone ALL BY YOURSELF…. what….??? Who let the dogs out???? I mean, who let YOU out of your walled Garden, boy? Be afraid and get back in there … now! Good boy, good doggie. Like I saw someone else say, “Mr. Cook, tear down that walled garden!”

    • I don’t think it will be a problem. I have had an imac while owning a Blackberry, a Palm Pre (hey, I loved it), a Droid Incredible and an iphone. I never had many issues with any of them working with my imac. Seriously. You will be able to figure it out!

    • I was thinking about switching too. But as near as I can tell you need to switch to GMail and Google Calendar which isn’t too bad since Apple supports them. But you need to manage third party apps for everything else. Kind of a hassle compared to the iPhone.
      I just wish that Samsung would build native support for a Mac sync. I’d switch tomorrow.

    • I don’t think it will be a problem. I have had an imac while owning a Blackberry, a Palm Pre (hey, I loved it), a Droid Incredible and an iphone. I never had many issues with any of them working with my imac.

  24. You shouldn’t compare an iOS device with an Android device, however, Galaxy Note II is too big for almost all pockets and too small to draw. It’s useless, for me.

    • They have a long way to go to “catch” up to Samsung. Samsung has made leaps with each phone, while Apple has barely tweaked anything with each iPhone. Although I have two mac computers, my phones have always been Android. I love that I’m not confined to all the restrictions Apple has on their products. I like to have the customization and freedom with Android! Impatiently waiting for the Note 2…..

  28. The Note 2 is obviously superior, but I will still hold on to my Apple shares because I think the iPhone 5 will sell very well. It is the soft stuff (marketing, branding, etc) that creates profits, not the hard stuff (CPU speed, RAM, etc).

    • Apple makes money because it knows it’s market and it sticks to it. Apple has never aimed for the high end techie. When was the last time you saw a desktop Apple gaming rig? Never. Apple just doesn’t go there. You won’t see them go there with mobile either.
      If I were Samsung I would be more worried about Microsoft/Nokia than Apple.

  29. I have a iPhone 4 and I’m going to buy a note 2 when they release in nz. I was a huge apple fan, customer and shareholder but no more. apples innovation is no longer leading the market. I’m very frustrated with my iPhone 4 and iPad 2 not playing flash despite many downloads off app store. Also I bought iMac when first released , loved it with iPhone 3 but then I bought the 4 and it wouldn’t sync until I purchased snow leopard. That really burnt. But back on topic what appeals to me is the note 2s screen it seems perfect solution to iPad to big to carry around everywhere and iPhone 4 screen too small for me. I was only concerned about sync with my Mac and wether the note has the functionality but reading this thread and watching the vids it’s obvious note 2 superior . What I’m surprised about is why the media at large is hailing this as a great apple release to me it’s maybe not quite the beginning of the end but certainly the begging of stagnation perhaps??? Cheers from nz

    • You are right, but it’s not the beginning. The iPhone 4S was stagnant, and to follow up one year later with a second year of stagnation–in the ultra fast world of mobile–the stench is so putrid that even non-techie average consumers are pinching their noses. The combination of non-innovation with being perceived as evil patent trolls with mucus dripping off their evil warts, all at the same time, OMFG, it’s like in 2 months Apple has gone from saints to sh1t. Google has to be laughing hard. Don’t get me wrong, it will be crazy as all the new fanboys line up… but reading above, old fanboys are leaving in droves, one after the other.

  31. It’s. A good that apple won that case! They should be frighten. The Apple is just too controlling….I have parents already. The iPhone is just too small for me.who can watch movies on that thing comfortable? The only reason apple increase the size is that their hardcore fans are demanding and threaten to jump ship. Listen I would love to jump on the iPhone phenomenon…but it simply isn’t the best smart phone out there! As college prprofessor…I will definitely be using the s-pen in my lectures! The smartboards are just too much of a hassle! Go Samsung!

  32. I had Apple since the first day that came out than I moved to Android since you can do more thing (my opinion)…. back in December I got the iPhone4s for Christmas guess what its gonna be for sale on ebay when Note2 comes out 😛

    • Get a Motorola RAZR M. Save a $100. Same size as iPhone 5 but only slightly bigger to where you can use it. And … you won’t seem as stupid. This is the year where owning an iPhone makes you look stupid instead of chique. Sorry.

      • So I guess that means this is the year Samsung becomes the status symbol for wanna-bes. Good. I hated wearing that around my neck. Now I’m back to being the guy that uses the alternative tech.

  34. The Note 2 easily beats iPhone 5 but I’m not interested in buying the N2 because the HTC DLX is also coming to Verizon and it is almost as high above the N2 as the N2 is over iPhone 5.

  35. Would rather the Samsung Galaxy Note II, far more I interesting and bet you can get the 32GB version free on contract too, bet you have to pay a large sum towards the 32GB I Phone 5 on the same price plan, i.e bet the Galaxy Note II is alot cheap too despite it being a more interesting product . . . ツ

  36. Love seeing all the former iPhone users seeing the light & coming over to Android where innovation moves light years ahead of crApple who had ppl buying their newest device with hardly anything new on them. This is why crApple is pissed at Samsung because their innovation moves so fast that crApple cant do their slow innovation tricks anymore & fool as many ppl & the smart ones like alot of you guys below are switching to the team where you pay for the technology in the phone not the name on the back of the phone. Welcome to team android. – KID ANDROID (Team.Android.Canada)

    • 5 generation iPhone user and I’m going bye-bye. I’ve had it. Ridiculous. Are they not even ashamed of themselves? They’ve gone from innovators to imitators to now… not even able to keep up. They’ve got billions in cash and can’t even hire a few creatives and engineers to push it forward? A sad day. You know, all my iDevices are committed to the iCosystem, so for me to leave means it is really really bad.

      • They hire the brightest in the industry, but if there’s no one there to challenge them, innovation stops. They complained about Steve Jobs, but he set impossible goals so they had to achieved what was once deemed impossible. I know how you feel, “I’m a MAC” too… sad..

    • Oh, I have hated HATED Android. I’m still gonna opt for Note 2 so I just hope that version of the software is not so….Android. I hate that green creature when the phone starts, the email interface is a practical joke, the whole interface is just not user friendly in my opinion… But I’ll deal with it because obviously Note 2 is a superior device, it feels like Iphone is not really geared towards “mature” audience – I don’t know if that’s the right term. Just feels kiddy to me. I went from Iphone back to Blackberry (after rejecting an Android device) but BB’s at this point just can’t keep up. I was waiting for Iphone 5 to blow me away, and it’s the same device as previous two – basically. And the battery thing – come on now, I need a phone where I can buy an extra battery, I’m a serious user. So Note 2 it will be, just hope I can tolerate Android and that it has changed A LOT in the last year and a half.

  37. this was the first time i was actually excited over an android phone instead of the new iphone.. mainly because of the bigger screen…. phones nowadays can do soo many things and its obvious we need larger screens.. We all know its only a matter of time until apple comes out with iPhablet

  43. waiting for note II. sure iPhone 5 seems great but it’s not user friendly & too restricted. can’t do this, can’t do that with the majority of other phone (androids etc) users, which to me, is total BS.

  46. Nice straightforward article – the Note 2 is the device that could really steal some of the thunder from Apple. I’ve been a strong Apple fan for some time now but I can’t justify upgrading my iPad1, nor my iPhone 4 – both were something special at the time but latest incarnations just don’t add much. The Note 2 is just small enough to use as a normal phone and just large enough to replace some of my iPad usage and the stylus may enable me to finally ditch the pen and paper I still have to carry around

  48. Comparing with the huge 1.6Ghz with 2Gb Ram and a bigger screen which will help to multitask and view more that our eyes can see and not to mention the S-Pen for throwing away that extra notebook i have to carry to Def Con and Black Hat Conference in UAE this year.

    Apple with controlled Multitasking and Time Sharing Management ruins the name of those terms. You can’t even do more than 2 things in an Iphone, it hides anything else. when you try.

    Iphone is the best looking phone out there but with no smart (siri sucks) and talent.

    Only Android can think out of the box. For any professional, Android has beaten Black Berry to be the number one choice. (I am a CEO and i only use my Note rather than the wasted up Black Berry due to the fact the the unique security code is now been opened to many security and intelligence departments for national and international security, your mail is no longer secured.)

    Apple is for girls with controlled environment which is good for security due to the fact that all the apps are first checked by Apple and certified to be secured. And NFC and automatic Goole GPS are now the new ways for hackers to enter your phone. Especially you do not want your wife’s or your girl’s private photo to be looked at by strangers.

    In Android, there are a lot of functions that most girls do not understand thus it is better that they use the Apple, which is most secured (Anti Virus needed to be most sercured btw which is free in most cases do not use trust go though, they have the access your camera)

  49. I’m ditching my iPhone for this. I’ve been out of contract since July …waiting for this to get to Verizon! What a pleasure to really multi-task and only carry one device versus carrying my iPhone and my Kindle to work. Don’t tell me to read a book on an iPhone. I hated it.

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