Can Apple's iPhone 6 Plus Beat Samsung's Galaxy Note 4?

All the rumors have been laid to rest. Finally, Apple's (AAPL 0.64%) revealed its two bigger iPhone sizes. The biggest one, the iPhone 6 Plus, puts the company squarely into the large smartphone market known as phablets -- devices with displays between 5.5 and less than seven inches.

For years, Samsung (NASDAQOTH: SSNLF) has dominated phablets with its high-end devices and, just a few weeks ago, the company debuted two new versions of its poplar Galaxy Note lineup.

Source: Apple.

How does the Apple 6 Plus stack up to the Galaxy Note 4? Let's take a look:

Source: Apple and Samsung.

Galaxy Note 4. Source: Samsung.

On the whole, these are very comparable devices, though there are some notable differences.The screen size on the Galaxy Note 4 is just a tad larger, and its pixel density is higher. While it will be stunning to watch video and images on both screens, video on the Note 4 may look a touch better when viewed next to the iPhone 6 Plus.

It's easy to spot the difference in camera megapixel numbers, though this is less significant -- more megapixels doesn't necessarily mean better quality pictures. Apple's added optical image stabilization to the iPhone 6 Plus -- which the Note 4 has, as well -- improved the auto focus feature with an Apple-designed image signal processor, and has the ability to change exposure on the fly. Image quality between both should be very similar.

When it comes to video recording, Samsung's Galaxy Note 4 takes the prize. Adding 4K video recording is no small feat, and iPhone 6 Plus sticks with 1080p HD recording. It's worth mentioning that the iPhone does have 720p HD recording from the front-facing camera, while the Note 4 does not.

As usual, Samsung and Apple differ on how storage is added to the devices. Apple offers embedded internal storage up to 128GB, while the Note 4 can be expanded up to 64GB with an additional microSD card.

Aside from the specs listed, there are a few options only available to either device. For example, the Galaxy Note 4 has an S Pen for digital handwriting, and other specialty features, while the iPhone 6 Plus has the new Apple Pay mobile payments system.

Source: Apple.

Locking in the loyalists
Apple already released pricing numbers for the iPhone 6 Plus, while Samsung decided to keep the Galaxy Note 4 pricing undetermined at the moment. With Apple's launch event now behind us, Samsung doesn't have much of a choice than to price its device very close to the iPhone 6 Plus.

When it comes down to it though, it seems Apple and Samsung loyalists won't find much of a reason to switch to the other side. The two devices both bring high-end specs to the table, and many users look to either Android or iOS for their software needs; that's not likely to change.

If there's one advantage the iPhone 6 Plus has over the Galaxy Note 4, it's mobile payments. The new feature, Apple Pay, will allow users to safely store debit and credit cards, without the actual payment information, to make purchases at thousands of retail chains. Apple partnered with merchants, Visa, MasterCard, and American Express for the new platform, and is using its more than 500 million iTunes accounts as the access point.

Google's all but failed at getting its mobile payment feature off the ground, and any users who've been waiting for smartphones to (almost) replace their wallets may want to switch to Apple. With Apple Pay just making its debut, it's going to take a while before the feature will be a convincing argument for Samsung users to want to switch.

A new IDC report released earlier this month says that total phablet shipments will hit 175 million units this year, compared to 170 million for portable PCs -- and next year, they'll outship tablets by about 85 million units. We'll have to wait and see how consumers respond to the new phablets during the next few quarters, but considering the IDC data, it's a safe bet the Galaxy Note 4 and iPhone 6 Plus should both do very well.