My iPhone 5 is coming up to 2 years old now and I'm due an upgrade in less than a months time.... Before this I had an iPhone 4 for 2 years. I also have a Macbook Pro Retina which is my only and very good computer which I am not changing.

I feel out to date with the mobile phone market and the easy option for me is to get an iPhone 6plus which will automatically integrate itself with my mac, hassle free.

I'm willing to consider other phablet choices, these being either the Samsung Note 4 or Nexus 6. My only worry is if these will work/talk to my mac and iTunes relatively hassle free without having to downloaded lots of different applications/software trickery.

Thanks

 

The iPhone also give you Handoff, which is like ****ing magic.

https://www.apple.com/ios/whats-new/continuity/

 

Try both in a store and see which you like. As you're already in iOS / OS X land then there is a lot to say for sticking to the same ecosystem and going for a 6 or 6 Plus would make sense.

I had a 3GS, replaced it with a 5S, and swore I'd not upgrade for another few years, and yeah, got a 6 Plus. However, I did have a caveat saying if Apple did go with larger display sizes, I would consider an upgrade. I don't see them going larger than the 6 Plus display, hence why I made the decision, and I don't think I'll upgrade again for a while (famous last words I know ).

As said above, from just iPhone land, try the 6 and 6 Plus. I was lucky in that we had a 6 and 6 Plus in the office before I had purchased one, so I was able to do a fair bit of hands-on "testing" to see which I preferred, and the 6 Plus won out. Others on the team much preferred the 6, seeing the 6 Plus as too big.

Some of the guys on the android side of our team have said the Nexus 6 is just a little too big, laughably so. Same kind of comment was aimed at the Note devices too.

When it comes to iTunes integration, nope, Android isn't going to be picked up by iTunes. Ok, so you can manually copy things over, whereas with iTunes you cannot. Typically Android File Transfer will handle things via drag and drop, and there are other apps providing management of contacts and other things.

I should ask the guys what they use, as some of them have mac's, so must use something to manage things. Though most are developers, so likely have bizarre ways of doing things

 

Markus, thank you, I'd really be interested how they find Nexus and Galaxy note with their Macs. I dont mind a straight forward app which will handle it to iTunes with a simple drag and drop and back to the phone from iTunes or whatever, but if it involves trickery and that sort of thing, I'll stick with iOS. Size isn't an issue for me, I want a large phone (I don't have a tablet) so browsing casually in the living room will be good on a large phone.

 

I think it's somewhat ironic how popular they are, I bought a Dell Streak in 2010 and everyone said it was ridiculous and too big. Now everyone has them!

 

Yeah but then again, think about what we're doing and using our phones for these days. Long gone are the days where you would only ring and text people where having a smaller phone was just more discrete for that relatively basic job.

I won't lie, but we used to give our friend a bit of stick for having a big phone 3 years ago, but now with web browsing and such much more, bigger is easier and better to use.

 

I'm sort of using handsoff at the moment but to be honest, all this technology and integration just seems a bit OTT almost? The photo stream I turned off about a year ago because I hated pictures automatically being put into iPhoto every time I turned on my mac (if I had new photo's on my phone) because they were always disorganised.

I just like to be able to plug my iphone into my mac once in a while, copy all the photo's over into iPhoto, sort them into the relevant albums there and then and delete them off my phone. Whereas with photo stream it would group them into the dates of the week which was really annoying and I never knew if it was safe to delete them off my phone; I never knew where I was with it all. It just seemed like too much bother when it was easier and quicker to sort it from one bulk group which I'd freshly copied over.

 

I used to be the same a few years ago, but now I love the way that iPhoto groups my photos by time, place and event without me doing, anything with the amount of pictures that I take now I wouldn't want to spend time organising them myself.

Anyhow, you have a the choice, automatic or manual.

Another benefit of sticking with Apple is iCloud Keychain, not sure what I'd do without it, sign up to a website on my PC, it makes up the password, go to the same site on my iPhone it logs in! Marvellous. Same with wifi, put in the key on my phone and my iPad connects. Things like that all rolled in not apps you need to install make life much easier for me.

 

Again, that's another thing that I've turned off . I just didn't like the idea of it creating a password and doing it all for me when I can quite easily type in my password myself have a small sense of security. I just don't know but I can appreciate that it's a good idea. I'm only 24 years old so god knows how some 40-60 year olds manage with all this integration tech!

 

I'm nearly 50 and couldn't manage without it. You should seriously consider using some sort of password management, I use a combination of Keychain and 1Password and know one of my 100's of passwords and that's for 1Password.

 

Yeah, in theory you could use iTunes to manage music and videos, and then right click on the files to show them in the Finder and then manually copy them over to the phone using Android File Transfer (or something else I guess).

Have a read of this: http://www.androidcentral.com/how-ge...c-your-android

Certainly not as seamless as just using iTunes with an iOS device.

 

I have a Note 4 and it's finally the mobile phone i've been waiting years for someone to make. Quite easily the best bit of tech i've owned and the S-pen is excellent whether its for writing something down quickly to adding text/highlighting something on a photo to playing games where using your finger for touch can be obtrusive to the screen or just not precise enough.

However if you want simple integration into icloud anything other than an iphone won't be simple. I have my Note 4 in sync with icloud for calendar and contacts but it has to go via a 3rd party app to manage the integration.

 

I've done a bit of research and for the Samsung they have a specific program called 'samsung smart switch' which will sync the Note so that seems a fairly straight forward option and a program called tunesgo for the Nexus so it can be done.

What do you use for your Note An0n0m0us?

I think the best thing is for me to go and look at them all in person and ask myself why do I need to change from an iPhone

 

I have the Note 3 which I have rooted and it fits my uses and battery life superbly. I bought the wife a Note 4, and wow it is significantly nicer to use. I installed Nova launcher for her and she loves the simple layouts but with some customization. The screen is simply stunning , photos are incredibly good even inlow light

 

Had my Note 2 for 2 years and the only phone I will change it for is a Note 4. Thought about the Nexus 6 but can't see any advantage of it for an extra £1 a month on contract.

No SD card slot, no S-Pen, just beta testing for the latest version of Android

As for cloud, I don't use, everything is synced on my PC and backed up on an external NAS. I also sync with Google but haven't used any of my free 15gb on Google Cloud as I just don't trust Cloud Storage what with all the hacking history.

 

Got the 6 plus and have not worn my reading glasses since Xmas day
Makes a difference the extra inch


So quick and fingerprint lock is worth the Proce alone
Yes it's bloody big and heavy so I have to make sure I wear a jacket with a big enough inside pocket but I'm using it more then my iPad now due to the quickness and predictive texts amd so many features

Well worth the trade up from my iPhone 5

The misses 4s feels so small now

 

I honestly can't decided between these 3 phablets. I've been watching youtube videos all day and my mind isn't made up.

I will be using whatever phone I get almost like a tablet, e.g casual web surfing, the odd games, forums etc etc. I tell myself the Note 4 because I like the idea of the pen stylus and 'touch wiz' which will be the best for this but most reviews say it can be laggy at times and a lot of the features are gimmicky and not simple enough. So then I think that the Nexus6 will be better because all the reviews say that it's so smooth (stock android) and simple, a bit like the iPhone, so why do I need to change for the sake of it? So I tell myself that the iPhone will be best because it's simple, I'm used to iOS, plus it will work perfectly with my Mac... But I've had iPhones for 4 years and I just fancy a change and to try something new.

 

If you're going with something new go with the Nexus, stock Android will give you less trouble than all the crap that Samsung put on the phone.

 

That's what I'm thinking. I do like iOS but I just feel like a change which is understandable! A bit like cars eh? I've been pretty loyal to Apple and I wouldn't hesitate to switch back, just fancy something different. Anyway, still not decided as I need to go and handle them in person.

 

There is no lag on the Note 4 that's for certain, i've had mine since release day and it hasn't slowed down and I get anything from 2 to 3 full days out of the battery depending on usage, with light use i've had 25% left at the end of the 3rd day so could have done a 4th day. The S-Pen is worth having TouchWiz for alone, it really is a great tool.

As for syncing I use CompanionLink but it isn't free. However it works.

I got mine on preorder for £28 a month no upfront cost and unlimited minutes and 1gb of 4g data. When I see the 6 plus going for £50+ a month deals it was a no brainer.

 

I'm kinda in the same situation, a phone for surfing the web, social media, texting and just be a personal organiser and make a the odd phone call now and again. But I'm gonna wait until March when a whole bunch of new devices will be released, Galaxy S6, HTC One M9, LG G4, Xperia Z4. Should also push the price of existing devices lower too. I like the iPhone 6 Plus, but it is a little too big in relation to its actual screen size and I can't bring myself to part with £699 for a phone.

 

You could go SIM only on your existing phone and save a packet. I would make an iPhone 5 last another two years, but I'm a tight wad.

 

Think I'm steering towards the Google Nexus 6, purely for the big simple screen and stock OS which will make it feel really quick and smooth to use. It'll double up as a tablet almost for casual browsing etc (as I don't own a tab). Also it's the cheapest by quite a lot.... no cost upfront, just £35 a month for unlimited calls and texts + 1gb data. The iPhone 6 plus is £250 upfront and £40 a month. The price doesn't concern me too much but it's a little factor to consider. My iPhone 5 is in excellent condition so I expect to get a good amount for it when I stick it on eBay.

I can upgrade in a weeks time

 

I hope you're not disappointed too quickly

 

Me too, the Note 4 is the best phone out currently.

 

Good move, not everyone wants be a sheep

 

Indeed, just finished the first day with mine. Fast n Smooth.

 

I know I'm taking a gamble moving away from my ultra reliable IOS but just fancy trying something new! I'll keep this updated and let you know all know how I get on once I upgrade.

 

Before you buy, one suggestion just see if you can find a shop where you can look at both Nexus 6 and Note 4 together and compare (if the Nexus is even stocked in stores?).

 

If you're wanting to keep your mac, I'd suggest sticking with iPhone as like you infer, the same hardware = more usability and less hassle etc.
And that's coming from someone who hates anything and everything to do with apple.