Daniel Rotar

August 21, 2020

iPhone SE vs Pixel 4a vs OnePlus Nord vs Samsung Galaxy A71!

Daniel Rotar

August 21, 2020

So, I’ve got four Phones right here: the iPhone SE 2020, the Google Pixel 4a, the OnePlus Nord as well as the Samsung Galaxy A71. All of these Phones cost between $300-$400, so I really want to see which one is worth it the most?

In this video, I’ll be comparing everything from the Design, Display, Camera, Performance, Special Features, Battery & Price to let you decide which one out of all these four Phones is the best one for you! We have seven sections and I want you to pick a Phone for each of those sections and then at the end you’ll see which Phone is the best for you, as that’s the one that you’ve picked the most.

Get those snacks ready and enjoy!

Design

Starting off with the Design, these four Phones couldn’t be any more different.

On the front, the iPhone SE has the most outdated Design as it uses the exact same front as the iPhone 6 from 2014. The Pixel and the Samsung are very similar, as in they both have extremely thin Bezels and just a Single Camera Cutout, the Samsung in the middle and the Pixel on the left. The OnePlus is similar as well, the only difference is that it has a Dual Camera Cutout on the front, rather than a Single.

The new, reduced price of the A71 makes it a far superior alternative to the lower-end A51.

Design is indeed a personal preference, but from the front at least, I do prefer the Galaxy A71 the most. Just as a side note, in case some of you are wondering why we chose the A71 rather than the A51, the A71 has now dropped in price and it does have better specs than the A51. Taking a look at the back and the Build Quality, there are some major differences between these Phones.

The Galaxy A71 definitely feels the cheapest. It has a full Plastic back and Frame surrounding it. Then it’s the Pixel 4a, which still has a Plastic back, but since it’s Matte and the Frame itself blends in with the back, it does indeed feel far more premium than the A71 does. Then we have the OnePlus Nord, which uses a Glass back and a Plastic Frame. This one already feels so much better than the other two. Finally, we have the iPhone SE, which has a full Glass back and a Metal Frame. The iPhone definitely feels the most premium, but we do have that six year old Design on the front, whereas these other three Phones all use a modern 2019/2020 Design.

So, out of all these four, I actually do like the OnePlus Nord the most, Design-wise. We have a very modern looking front, while not necessarily sacrificing too much on the Build Quality. That’s my pick but let me know which one you’d pick, Design-wise.

Display

Moving on to the Display and I have to say, all of these Phones have a very good Display Panel. There’s not a single one that I wouldn’t recommend, but there are indeed some differences between all of these Phones.

The biggest difference is when it comes to the Size. If you’re looking for a small and compact Phone, then the iPhone and the Pixel are the best options. They’re about the same size, the Pixel 4a is only a tiny bit bigger but the Display size difference is quite noticeable. The iPhone has the smallest Display, at 4.7”, while the Pixel 4a has the second smallest, at 5.8”. The good news is that you can easily use both of these Phones with one hand, whereas the other two are just so much bigger. The OnePlus Nord comes with a 6.44” Display, while the Galaxy A71 comes with the biggest Display out of these, a 6.7” Panel.

With the A71, bigger is not necessarily better.

Now, the second big difference between these Displays is the Display Panel technology that they each use. All of these Phones except the iPhone, have an OLED Display. The iPhone has an LCD Panel. This means that you have perfect Black Levels and essentially an infinite Contrast on all of these, compared to the iPhone.

The third difference is when it comes to the Resolution and the Pixel Density. So here, the Pixel 4a actually has the highest at 443 PPI. Then, it’s the OnePlus at 408 PPI, then the Samsung at 393 PPI and then the iPhone at 326 PPI. What this means is that when you’re looking at the Displays up close, the Pixel 4a has the sharpest image, while the iPhone has the least sharpest image. If you watch a lot of YouTube videos, all these Phones, with the exception of the iPhone, can play 1440p as well as 1080p YouTube content. The iPhone can still play 1080p, but the Display is lower than 1080p so you’re not actually watching 1080p content here, but rather 720p at a higher Bit-Rate.

The fourth difference is when it comes to colour and how good these Displays are for editing photos and videos. I personally prefer the Pixel and the iPhone as I feel like they do have the most natural colours, but the OnePlus and the Samsung are both very good as well.

You get decent Displays with any of these models, but the OnePlus is my pick here. — You get decent Displays with any model, but I would say the OnePlus is my choice.

In terms of Brightness, the iPhone came out on top with a max of 720 Nits, then we had the Pixel narrowly behind at 710, with the OnePlus & Samsung much lower down at 560 & 550 respectively.

Then we have the Refresh Rate. All of these Phones, with the exception of the OnePlus Nord, have a 60Hz Refresh Rate. The OnePlus Nord has a 90Hz Refresh Rate, meaning that anything that you do on the OnePlus would feel significantly faster and more responsive than on the other Phones. Animations are 50% more fluid and using it in general feels so much nicer, compared to the other three Phones.

Now, those were the big changes, but there are a few more smaller differences as well. For example, the iPhone SE has a True-Tone Display, which can automatically adjust its Colour Temperature to match the lighting conditions around you, making it much easier on the eyes when you’re reading. The Samsung and the Pixel both feature an Always-On Display and the Pixel allows you to tap the Display once to turn it on, wheres on the OnePlus and Samsung you have to double-tap and on the iPhone you have to press the Home Button to even turn the Display on, which is not as convenient.

Overall, I like the OnePlus Nord’s Display the most, but the Pixel is definitely on my second choice. Let me know which one has your favourite Display.

Camera

Moving on to the Camera, this is where it gets tricky. The iPhone SE has a Single Camera Module, which is actually the exact same Camera as the Main Camera Module on the iPhone 11 Pro’s.The Pixel 4a also has a Single Camera Module, which is the same exact Camera as the Pixel 4 XL. So, both the SE and the 4a have flagship level Cameras.

The OnePlus Nord and Samsung Galaxy A71 on the other hand, have mid-range Camera Modules, each with four individual Modules, which I’ll get to in just a bit.

The Nord is the only one with both an Ultra-Wide Angle & a Macro Module.

The OnePlus Nord and the Samsung also have an Ultra-Wide Angle Module, which is something that we do not have on the iPhone or the Pixel. The OnePlus also has a 2MP Macro Module, but it’s pretty bad and I wouldn’t really use it, but it’s there. When it comes to night time photography, the iPhone is the only one that doesn’t have a Night Mode.

When it comes to video, the iPhone is the only one that can do 4K60, with all the other ones capping out at 4K30. Moving on to the Front-Facing Camera, pay attention to the HDR Processing and the Sharpness, if you get a chance to test these for yourself. In terms of front video, the OnePlus Nord can actually record 4K30/60, while the other ones are stuck to 1080p30.

Overall, when it comes to day-time shots, I like the iPhone SE the most. But the fact that we don’t have a Night Mode or an Ultra-Wide Angle Module might make you go for the OnePlus or Samsung, in case you’re looking for that extra bit of flexibility. My choice here is still the iPhone, as it does have the best video capabilities on the back and that’s something that I do use quite a lot, especially when I’m travelling. But, the Pixel 4a is an outstanding choice as well. It also comes with the Astrophotography Mode, which is still the best one on any Phone.

Do let me know what was your choice in terms of the Camera.

Performance

When it comes to the Performance, CPU wise, the iPhone SE has the most powerful Processor, which is the Apple A13 Chip. This is the exact same Processor that’s inside the iPhone 11 Pro.

The iPhone SE 2020 comes with the best Chip, but the Pixel is very well optimised for what it has.

All of the other Smartphones have mid-range level Processors, with the OnePlus having the second most powerful Chip, the Snapdragon 765G, while the Pixel and the Samsung both have the Snapdragon 730G Processor. With the RAM, the iPhone has 3GB, while the Samsung and the Pixel both have 6GB, the OnePlus has 8GB.

When it comes to the Storage, the iPhone has 64GB as the baseline, while the other three all have 128GB. After using these Phones, I have to say that the OnePlus definitely feels the fastest. That 90Hz Refresh Rate makes a massive difference, so even though it is not the most powerful one, using it makes it feel like it is.

Special Features

What about the Special Features? Is there anything unique that each of these Phones has? Ironically, the iPhone actually has the highest number of Special Features. We have IP67 Water Resistance up to 1m of depth for up to 30 minutes, as well as Wireless Charging.The OnePlus Nord is indeed sealed on the inside, so it might be able to sustain some water, but it doesn’t have any official IP Rating.

What Apple saved on the Design, they put into adding some very useful features.

While the iPhone and the Pixel have a Capacitive Fingerprint Reader, the Samsung and the OnePlus have an In-Display Fingerprint Reader. Samsung’s one is ok, but the OnePlus Fingerprint Reader is crazy fast. The Samsung however, has a microSD Slot, in case you want to expand that Storage even further.

In terms of the Speakers, the iPhone and the Pixel both have Stereo Speakers, while the OnePlus and the Samsung have Mono Speakers. If you care about 5G, the OnePlus Nord is only one that supports 5G, but the Samsung & the Pixel have a Headphone Jack.

Now, there is one more Special Feature which makes a huge difference on these Phones, and that is the Haptics. The iPhone, the Pixel and the OnePlus all support Haptic Feedback. The typing experience is by far the best on the Pixel, followed by the OnePlus. The iPhone doesn’t have any Haptic Feedback on the Keyboard, unless you install the Google Keyboard.

Overall, in terms of Special Features, I gotta give this one to the iPhone. Water Resistance, Wireless Charging, Stereo Speakers and those Haptics, these are all some very useful things to have.

Battery

When it comes to the battery, the iPhone has the smallest Battery at 1821mAh, followed by the Pixel 4a at 3140mAh, then the OnePlus at 4115mAh and then the Samsung at 4500mAh. I haven’t used these for long enough to be able to tell you which will last you the longest, I would put my money on that being the OnePlus Nord, especially if you set the Refresh Rate to 60Hz.

All of these Phones support Fast Charging up to around 50% in 30 minutes, but the OnePlus supports up to 70% in 30 minutes and it already comes with a ‘Warp’ Charger in the box, whereas the iPhone, for example does not. Battery wise, the OnePlus takes this one.

Price

So in the end, which one is worth it the most? Well, at the moment, in the UK for example, the iPhone SE costs £420. The OnePlus Nord costs £380, the Samsung Galaxy A71 costs £360 and the Pixel 4a costs £350.

Now, in terms of each of the previous categories, I picked:

These are the prices for each one at the time of writing. We chose the Nord, which one would you get?

Design - OnePlus Nord,

Display - OnePlus Nord

Camera - Pixel 4a

Performance - OnePlus Nord

Special Features - iPhone SE

Battery - OnePlus Nord

Price - Pixel 4a

So my choice here is definitely the OnePlus Nord, but another thing that you should keep in mind when buying these Phones is longevity. The iPhone SE, since it’s an Apple product and it also comes with the A13 Processor, will be supported for many years to come.

Google does tend to support their Phones for a long period of time, but the Pixel 4a comes with the Snapdragon 730 Processor, which is a bit on the lower-end so I’m not sure how well this Phone will age up. I actually think the OnePlus Nord will age up better and then in last place we have the Samsung Galaxy A71.

Daniel Rotar

June 12, 2020

In-Depth Comparison

iPad Pro vs MacBook Pro 13 (2020) - Which One's the Real Laptop?

Daniel Rotar

June 12, 2020

In-Depth Comparison

Over the past few months, there have been two devices that I’ve been using a ton. The iPad Pro with the brand new Magic Keyboard, which has actually now become my home computer and a full Laptop replacement for when I’m on the go. Also, I’ve also been using the new 13” 2020 MacBook Pro, which has now replaced my 15” MacBook Pro from 2019.

The Full In-Depth Review of the 13” 2020 MacBook Pro is coming out the week following this video but until then, here’s the answer to the question that a lot of you have been asking. Should you buy an iPad Pro with the Magic Keyboard, which is finally a true Laptop replacement now, or should you get the MacBook Pro 13”?

Well, get all those snacks ready and buckle up because this is going to be a very detailed comparison. We’ll be covering everything from the Design, Display, Keyboard, Trackpad, Camera, Microphones, Speakers, Performance, Battery Life and the Value!

Design

Starting off with the Design, these two devices couldn’t be any more different. The MacBook Pro was born to be a Laptop, while the iPad Pro was born to be a Tablet, which then became a Laptop.

In terms of which one looks better, this is very subjective because if you’re looking for a more traditional Laptop, the MacBook Pro is the winner here. You get a full Aluminium and Glass Unibody build, which is extremely sturdy and premium. But, if you’re looking for something that’s a bit more versatile, the iPad Pro is indeed the winner here. With that floating design, the iPad Pro definitely looks more futuristic. But with the Magic Keyboard itself, it doesn’t feel as premium as the MacBook Pro does. I’m not referring to the actual Keys, but the material that surrounds them.

On the iPad Pro we have this Silicone/Rubber material, while it does indeed protect the iPad, you don’t get that ultra-premium feel that the MacBook Pro gives you. Also, this material gets smudged extremely easy, after even just a few hours of use. So, the iPad Pro will look very used, in a matter of hours, while the MacBook Pro will keep on looking brand new for years as it has a full metal body. So overall, the MacBook Pro does look and feel like a more premium device.

The iPad Pro 12.9” weighs roughly the same, and is slightly thicker than the MacBook Pro 13”. But it is much more versatile.

But which one is more usable? Well, the iPad Pro has a significant advantage here. You see, not only does the iPad Pro support Touch Input, but you can easily remove it from the Keyboard Case and use it just like a Tablet in Landscape or even Portrait mode, whenever you wish. You can use the iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil as well, you can use it as an External Monitor for your MacBook Pro, none of which you can do with a Mac. You also have FaceID, compared to the TouchID unlock on the MacBook Pro and I have to say, FaceID is significantly superior. The moment you tap the screen or even a Key on the Keyboard, the iPad instantly unlocks.

Same goes for when you’re filling in passwords or using Apple Pay, the iPad Pro is a massive improvement over a MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro is just a traditional Laptop, whereas the iPad Pro is this brand new modular device that you can use in any shape or form you want, it’s a magical device.

When it comes to the Portability, the iPad Pro comes in two sizes, the 11” and 12.9”. The MacBook Pro comes in 13” and 16”. So, if we compare both 13” sizes of both devices, the iPad Pro on its own weighs 641g, while the MacBook Pro 13” weighs 1.4kg. However, if we add in the Magic Keyboard to the 12.9” iPad Pro, it ends up being 1.35kg, almost as heavy as the MacBook Pro is. The 11” iPad Pro, with the Magic Keyboard, weighs 1.07kg, so that’s much lighter. However, both iPad Pro’s are actually slightly thicker than the 13” MacBook Pro. So, just because of how much more versatile and flexible the iPad is to use, I have to give the design award to the iPad Pro.

Display

So now, what about the Display? Well, both the iPad Pro and the MacBook Pro have an outstanding Display Panel.

They’re both LCD displays, but they’re IPS Panels, meaning that they have an almost 180 Degree viewing angle. They both have a DCI P3 Panel, which can display around 25% more colours, when compared to a standard sRGB Display. They’re very good Displays, the best LCD Displays that you can find on a Laptop or a Tablet. But, the iPad Pro’s Display is actually superior in three ways.

The iPad Pro’s biggest advantage, with the Display, is definitely that Dynamic Refresh Rate.

Firstly, the Bezels are much thinner on the iPad Pro. This means that the iPad Pro’s Display not only looks better and more futuristic, but if you get the 12.9” iPad Pro, it would be noticeably smaller than the Display on the MacBook Pro 13”, even-though they’re almost the same physical size.

Secondly, the iPad Pro’s Display is actually brighter, with a peak brightness of 600 Nits, compared to around 500 Nits on the MacBook Pro. This means that if you plan on using either of these outdoors, the iPad Pro is a much better option.

Lastly, the iPad Pro also has a ProMotion Display, which can adjust its Refresh Rate from 24Hz, 30Hz, 60Hz and all the way up to 120Hz, depending on the content that you’re watching. The MacBook Pro has a fixed 60Hz Refresh Rate Display. I have to say, this is by far the biggest advantage of the iPad Pro. Everything that you do on the iPad Pro feels so smooth. The thing is, my MacBook Pro does drop a lot of frames when scrolling and navigating through the UI. The animations don’t always run at 60FPS, so when they drop to 50FPS or even 40FPS and then you compare that to the iPad Pro, which always runs at 120FPS in the UI, the difference is just gigantic. Because of this, I have to give the Display win to the iPad Pro.

Keyboard & Trackpad

Next up, we have the Keyboard and the Trackpad.

When it comes to the Keyboard, both of these devices now feature Apple’s brand new Magic Keyboard. Long gone is the disastrous Magic Keyboard that had almost no Key Travel and Apple refused to replace over a period of five years, even-though it constantly broke. This Magic Keyboard is very similar to the one that we get on the iMac Keyboards, which is also called…the Magic Keyboard. They’re also very similar to the amazing Keyboards that we used to get on all the MacBooks up until 2015.

The difference is some areas is not quite as black & white as it might seem.

The difference here is that we do get larger Key-Caps and a more stable Keyboard. Both of these Keyboards are actually much better than on the 2015 MacBook Pro and even better than the current Magic Keyboards on the iMacs. But which one of these is better?

Well, the MacBook Pro definitely has a better Keyboard, which you probably expected, as this is..you know…an actual Laptop. But the thing is, it’s not actually that much better. If the MacBook Pro has a 10/10 Keyboard, the iPad Pro probably has around an 8.8/10. At least when it comes to the 11” iPad Pro, which does indeed have a much smaller Keyboard overall. I do find it to be a bit too crammed and some of the Keys also have a much smaller size in order to fit in this footprint.

The 12.9” iPad Pro has a full-size Keyboard, just like the MacBook Pro and that one’s much more comfortable to type on. But, aside from the size difference, the typing experience is almost identical between the two sizes of the iPad Pro and the MacBook Pro. You get the same 1mm of Key Travel, I actually ended up scripting almost all of my videos off of the iPad Pro, until I got this 13” MacBook Pro. The moment I started scripting on the iPad Pro, I couldn’t go back to my 2019 15” MacBook Pro, which still comes with that Butterfly Keyboard. So, the typing experience is excellent!

One advantage that the MacBook Pro has over the iPad Pro’s Keyboard is that we do get a function row of keys. We have the Escape Key as well as the TouchBar, which gives you virtual controls based on the App that you’re using. The iPad Pro however, has none of that. If you want to adjust the volume or the brightness, you have to go into the Control Centre, which takes noticeably longer, compared to the MacBook Pro.

Both Keyboards are Backlit but the iPad Pro does not have a Key, or even a software toggle in the Control Centre, to adjust its brightness. In order to do that, you have to go all the way into the Settings and adjust it from there, which is very inconvenient. On the MacBook Pro, you just have a toggle for the Backlight built into the TouchBar, it’s very quick and convenient to adjust it.

Interestingly enough, I do find typing on the iPad Pro do be somewhat more comfortable. This is mostly because, since it is a much thinner device when open, the Chassis doesn’t hurt on your Wrists as much as they hurt on the MacBook Pro. We also have a soft rubber Chassis, compared to a full metal Chassis on the MacBook Pro, so the iPad’s Magic Keyboard is much easier on the Wrists.

The MacBook Pro does win in both departments, but that doesn’t make the Keyboard & Trackpad on the iPad Pro bad by any means.

The tilt is greater on the MacBook Pro, so you can lean the Display further down, compared to the iPad Pro. The MacBook Pro is also more stable, compared to the iPad Pro, which when tilted all the way backwards, does have a tendency to tip over. Overall, the MacBook Pro does have a better Keyboard. So, what about the Trackpad?

Well, the MacBook Pro takes this one as well. Not only is the Trackpad on the MacBook Pro much bigger, but it also doesn’t physically click. Instead, there’s a Vibration Motor inside it that gives you the impression that you’ve clicked the Trackpad. This way, you have two levels of pressure, with the second one being used for the Force Click, which gives you more options when pressing on an item.

The iPad Pro uses a much smaller Trackpad, which does indeed physically click. However, unlike the Trackpad on most Windows Laptops, you can press the iPad’s Trackpad anywhere, even on the top. So, this is not a diving board mechanism but instead, the entire Trackpad can click. The Gestures are very similar on both of these, however, the iPad does have a few that are different, such as taking you Home or displaying the Notification Centre.

Overall, the MacBook Pro has a better Keyboard, as well as a better Trackpad. But, the iPad Pro still has a better Keyboard and Trackpad than most other Laptops on the market, so they’re still very, very good.

Camera, Microphones & Speakers

In terms of Cameras, the iPad is the clear choice.

Moving on to the Camera, Microphones & Speakers. Firstly, the Camera is a massive win for the iPad. Not only do we have a 1080p, 60FPS Front Camera, compared to the 720p, 60FPS Camera on the MacBook Pro, but the iPad Pro also comes with an actual Camera on the back. This Camera is capable of taking some breath-taking photos, 4K60 video and overall, images and videos that are pretty much just as good as on the iPhone. Not only that, but we also have an Ultra-Wide Angle Module as well as a LiDAR Scanner for AR Apps, on the 2020 iPad Pro.

In case you’re wondering what the Microphones sound like, be sure to check out the test in the video. In terms of the Speakers, they’re both very good. The MacBook Pro is better as it is a larger device, but we also tested both in the full video linked at the top.

Performance

Moving on to the Performance, this is probably going to be shocking for most of you. On paper, the MacBook Pro smokes the iPad Pro. My model has an Intel 10th Generation, Quad-Core Processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of Storage. The iPad Pro, on the other hand, has Apple’s A12Z Processor, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of Storage. Also, the MacBook Pro has two Cooling Fans and some pretty big Air Intake and Outtake Vents, whereas the iPad Pro has no Fans, or Vents, at all.

In a lot of ways, the iPad can go toe-to-toe with the MacBook Pro.

So, you would expect the MacBook Pro to just murder the iPad Pro when it comes to performance. But, to my surprise, it was actually the other way around! In GeekBench 5, the iPad Pro scored 1114SC and 4654MC, while the MacBook Pro 13”, with the i5 10th Generation Intel Processor, scored 1128SC and 4370MC, quite a bit lower on the Multi-Core side. Interesting, so what about the GPU?

Well, the iPad Pro 2020 scores 9547 points, while the MacBook Pro scores around 8374 points, sometimes as high as 9960 points. Long story short, it seems like they’re both pretty much identical when it comes to raw performance. In fact, the iPad Pro even appears to be slightly more powerful. If you compare it to the baseline 13” MacBook Pro, the iPad Pro is clearly more powerful when it comes to both the CPU and GPU.

How does this translate to some real world usage? Well, in our video we had the same 4K video timeline, with the same exact 4K60 shots taken from our Panasonic GH5, and they’re pretty demanding on both of these machines, I also added some transitions and titles. This five minute timeline took 2:53 to export on the iPad and 7:27 to export on the MacBook Pro, which is a significant difference. The iPad Pro was more than 2.5x times faster than the MacBook Pro. Obviously, if you have longer and more complex projects, the iPad Pro would have an even bigger advantage.

Now, if you’re into Gaming, and you’re wondering which of these machines is better, the iPad Pro, strangely enough, is a significantly better option. Most of the games on the App Store are Mobile Games, but you do get millions of those and they’re extremely well optimised to run on the iPad. On the MacBook Pro, there are barely any games available. This is because Apple now prefers games to use Metal instead of openGL, macOS Catalina and 32-bit games have been dropped as well. Meaning that those very few games that we had on Steam are now barely even supported, as most games were dropped.

Let’s take a look at Fortnite for example. A game that runs on both platforms. Which machine can run it better? The iPad Pro can run Fortnite in Native Resolution at 2388x1668, on EPIC settings and we’re getting just about 30FPS. That’s extremely impressive because this is literally fully maxed out. If we drop the graphics to Medium, we’re now getting around 76FPS, if we drop them all the way to Low, we’re getting 120FPS. Since the iPad has a 120Hz Display, it means that we can actually see all those individual Frames. The experience running this game on the iPad is just unbelievable, everything is crazy fluid and smooth. Even on Low Settings, I still have the 3D Resolution scaling set to 100%, so this is still running in Native Resolution.

Now, taking a look at the MacBook Pro, I’m running the game in Native Resolution again, so 2560x1600 in this case, which is slightly higher than on the iPad Pro, but not by a lot. It seems like even on Medium Settings, we’re only getting around 17FPS. The game is fully unplayable and even if we drop to Low, we’re only getting 25FPS compared to the 120FPS that the iPad Pro was getting. That’s extremely impressive for the iPad Pro, a Tablet that’s miles thinner than the MacBook Pro and also has no Cooling Fans at all. All the Cooling is done passively and we get significantly better performance for both Video-Editing and Gaming, on the iPad Pro.

But, probably the biggest advantage to the iPad Pro is that it can run both Mobile as well as some Desktop Apps too. These include iMovie, GarageBand, Microsoft Office, Photoshop, Lightroom and more, while the MacBook Pro can only run Desktop Apps. There are a few iOS Apps that have been ported to macOS, thanks to Apple’s Catalyst Tool. So, we do have Apps such as the Home App, News, Apple TV, and more, but the UI still sucks, they’re not that easy to control as they were designed for Touch Input first. The iPad does a much better job at running Desktop Apps such as Photoshop, especially now that we have full Keyboard and Trackpad support.

The iPad Pro is not capable of properly running External Displays.

In this case, the iPad Pro is a much better Computer, and it has replaced my MacBook Pro, right? Well...not really.

You see, there are things that the iPad Pro still cannot do. For example, if you plan on connecting multiple Monitors, the iPad Pro is just a mess, the video output doesn’t scale properly and you can only connect one Monitor. With my MacBook Pro, I have a 5K Monitor, a 4K monitor and I’m also running its internal 2K Display, all through a single Thunderbolt 3 Cable, which the iPad does not support at all. Not only that, but I can directly connect to our Thunderbolt NAS and get some insane 1-2GB/s transfer speeds, wheres the iPad is limited to using a wireless connection, via SMB, with significantly lower speeds of just around 10MB/s.

If you want to do any App Development, there is no XCode on the iPad. Same goes for Video-Editing. Whilst LumaFusion is very good, FCP X on the Mac is still better. Plus, you can run a lot more Pro tools on the Mac, such as LogicProX, Ableton, DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere and Adobe After Effects, all alongside a ton of their plugins. So, if you need any of those, the MacBook Pro is the way to go.

Now, remember when I said that I felt that my MacBook Pro 13” dropped Frames when scrolling through the UI? Well, I can use a tool called Quatrz Debug, which allows me to measure the drops. The iPad Pro on the other hand, has no way to actually measure that unless you open up the Xcode Viewer, but I couldn’t notice any lag or any slow-down whatsoever.

Battery Life

Next up, when it comes to the Battery Life, they both claim up to 10 hours of usage, which neither of these machines can achieve, unfortunately. With my usage, my MacBook Pro gets around 5-6 hours, while my iPad Pro gets around 6 hours. So, pretty much the same.You can detach the Magic Keyboard from the iPad Pro and actually get a better Battery Life that way.

Value

Finally, having said all of this, which one is worth it the most?

The MacBook Pro starts at $1300 and for that you get a 1.4GHz Intel Core i5 Processor (8th Generation). You also get 8GB of RAM and 256GB of Storage. My MacBook Pro model is the higher-end $ 1800 model, which gets you the more powerful 2.0GHz Intel Core i5 Processor (10th Generation). With this, you get 16GB of RAM and 512GB of Storage.

The iPad Pro could end up costing you more than a baseline MacBook Pro 13”, but it could be just as good, for a lot of people.

The iPad Pro 11” starts from $800 for the 11” model or $1000 for the 12.9” model. If you add the Keyboard, which I’m assuming most of you will, that would bring the price of the 11” to $1100 and the 12.9” to $1350. So, the 12.9” iPad Pro, with the Keyboard, is actually more expensive than the baseline 13” MacBook Pro. Unfortunately, you only get 128GB of Storage. If you need 256GB, that would make the 13” $1200 and the 12.9” $1450.

Is the iPad Pro really worth it over a MacBook Pro? Especially considering that it is even more expensive? Well, for 90% of people, it actually is. If you don’t need to do any App Development or any high-end Video-Editing, the iPad Pro is actually a much better device than a MacBook Pro. You get a much more versatile device that supports Touch Input and Vertical or Landscape Orientation. It’s great for reading books, it’s great for browsing the web and it’s perfect for Photo-Editing and Graphic Design, thanks to the Apple Pencil.

On top of all this, it will feel way more fluid than the MacBook Pro does. I strongly believe that the iPad Pro is indeed the future. It seems like Microsoft was right from the very start!

ZONEofTECH

October 21, 2019

In-Depth Comparison

Pixel 4XL vs iPhone 11 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ vs OnePlus 7T Pro - Blind Camera Comparison!

ZONEofTECH

October 21, 2019

In-Depth Comparison

The Google Pixel 3 had some of the best camera abilities on a smartphone at the time of its release. Now the Google Pixel 4 has an additional lens on the back and one less on the front.

We compared it to the most recent releases from Apple, Samsung, and OnePlus to see how it would compare. You can check out our full blind camera comparison above, but here are a few of the shots from the test. Let us know which ones you prefer and why in the comments!

Also, the order of the phones in this article are not the order of the phones in the blind comparison.

FRONT CAMERA - WIDE SELFIE

REAR CAMERA - PORTRAIT MODE

REAR CAMERA - HDR (High Dynamic Range)

REAR CAMERA - ZOOM

REAR CAMERA - FOOD

REAR CAMERA - ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY

So which one did you like overall? Don’t forget to watch the full camera comparison to make your full decision, as there are 30 different tests for each camera!

ZONEofTECH

September 14, 2019

In-Depth Comparison

iPhone 11 Pro Max VS Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus - Which One to Get?

ZONEofTECH

September 14, 2019

In-Depth Comparison

Apple has just unveiled the new iPhone 11’s this week. And we got 3 of them. The iPhone 11 is the successor to the iPhone XR. The iPhone 11 Pro is the successor to the iPhone XS, and the iPhone 11 Pro Max is the successor to the iPhone XS Max.

So let’s see how the iPhone 11 Pro Max compares to Samsung’s own flagship, the Galaxy Note 10+ and see which one is actually worth getting.

This article is split into 7 different sections: Design, Display, Camera, Performance, Special Features, Battery & Price, so get those snacks ready and heres everything you need to know!

DESIGN

Ok, so starting off with the design these 2 phones are very different.

The Note 10+ is noticeably taller and also wider than the iPhone 11 Pro is, and while they’re both pretty much impossible to use in one hand, just because of how massive they are, the Note 10+ is even more difficult to handle.

The Note 10+ (Left) is only 0.2mm thinner than the iPhone 11 Pro Max, but its curved design makes it feel even thinner.

However, the Note 10+ is quite a bit thinner than the iPhone is, measuring 7.9m m vs 8.1mm, which is noticeable in the hand mostly because of the curved front and back that the Note has, as opposed to the flat design on the iPhone.

The iPhone does have some more premium materials so to say, with a full stainless steel frame, as opposed to polished aluminium. We also get what Apple’s calling the world’s most durable glass in a smartphone on the front and back, and we also get a matte glass back rather than the glossy glass that we get on the Note.

The smaller camera cutout on the Note (Right) means you have more screen real estate to view content

However, just looking at the design alone the Note 10 just looks better. Not only does it have noticeably thinner bezels than the iPhone does but it also only has a very tiny camera module cutout in the middle of the display and that’s it. There’s no massive notch taking up almost the entirely of the top portion of the display, like it does on the iPhone.

This is also the 3rd generation of iPhone’s with the exact same design! Samsung however has updated their design every single year. That’s the reason why the iPhone is starting to look old and outdated since it looks the same as the 2018 and 2017 models.

Now if we take a look on the back we have 3 camera modules on both but Samsung’s modules are vertically aligned, while on the iPhone we have this nest of modules. It honestly looks like a kitchen hob.

So whilst you might prefer the design of the iPhone but there is no denying that the Note has a much more modern design, and definitely takes this one.

DISPLAY

Moving on to the display, Apple has now updated the display on the iPhone 11 Pro’s and they’re calling this the Super Retina XDR display. Essentially we now get a higher brightness of 1200 nits vs 1000 nits in HDR content and 800 nits vs 625 on the XS Max when outdoors, and we also get double the contrast to 2M:1 from 1M:1.

So that’s pretty impressive but, fun fact, this is actually the exact display panel technology that Samsung already uses in the Note 10+. Same exact panel the only differences are the resolution and the size. So resolution wise the Note 10+ features a 3040x1440 resolution panel at 498PPI, whilst the iPhone 11 Pro Max features a 2688x1242 resolution panel at 458PPI, so the iPhone has a slightly lower resolution display.

The 6.8” display, coupled with the smaller bezels means that the Note (Left) is the best display on the market right now

But that’s not really something that you’ll be able to notice that easily between the two, however what you’ll definitely be able to notice right away, is the display size. We have a 6.5” panel on the iPhone compared to 6.8” panel on the Note 10+. Add that to the fact that we have an almost invisible camera cutout, and the Note 10+’s display is just so much better. You get to see more content, with less obstructions. The Note 10+ is just the best smartphone out right now, for viewing content.

Also, if you care about HDR content, both support HDR content but the Note 10+ also supports HDR10+, while the iPhone supports Dolby Vision.

So, display wise the Note 10+ takes this one as well.

CAMERA

Now on to the camera, both phones now have a triple lens camera module on the back. This means that you have your regular lens, you have a telephoto or zoom lens, and then you also have the brand new wide angle lens which lets you capture so much more in the shot.

Wide angle is something that we didn’t have on iPhones before, so the iPhone 11 Pro is the first iPhone to feature one, but this is something that we’ve had on android phones for years now. However what Apple does very well here, is that unlike the Note which uses very different sensors for these 3 cameras, Apple tried to match them up as close as they could and only touched the lenses. In fact, Apple even factory calibrates the 3 modules in order for them to be a close as possible in terms of color and exposure, and the calibration is also done automatically in the background, before you even take a shot.

What this means is that you can smoothly transition between the 3 lenses, and it will feel as if you’re only using one lens with a ton of zoom capabilities. In addition, all the shots would be identical between the 3 cameras in terms of color and exposure, unlike the Note 10 which will produce very different results based on the lens that you use. Now that is just incredible! No other smartphone manufacturer has done this before, so this is indeed a key selling feature of this new iPhone.

Also all 3 iPhone camera modules support 4K 60 video recording, unlike the Note 10+ on which just the main lens supports 4K 60 for whatever reason. And you can also preview and I believe even record with all the camera modules on the iPhone at the same time, using 3rd party apps such as FilmicPro.

So, as you can probably tell, the camera is the main selling feature of the iPhone.

Apple is using that insanely powerful A13 processor, which I’ll talk about in a second, to process every frame of the 4K 60 video, add noise reduction, exposure compensation, color correction and more, in real time! And because of this, the iPhone 11 Pro Max has the best video recording capabilities of any smartphone on the market right now. Even the front camera, can now record in 4K 60 fps as well, as opposed to 4K 30 on the Note 10+.

The flash is brighter on the iPhone too, we have a QUAD-LED flash compared to a single flash. The telephoto lens is also better, since it is not only a larger sensor than on the Note but also an f/2.0 aperture rather than the f/2.1 on the Note, so it can let more light onto the sensor. However, the Note does have an f/1.5 aperture main lens which activates in low light and lets more light to the sensor than the f/1.8 aperture main camera on the iPhone does. But they both feature a night mode now, so low light photography is pretty good on both.

We will be doing a full camera comparison between these two so make sure you keep an eye on the channel for more on that.

PERFORMANCE

When you talk about the performance of these two phones you have to take into account that even the Apple A12 processor from the iPhone XS that was released a year ago, is still more powerful than the Snapdragon 855, and even the brand new Exynos 9825 that Samsung has just added to their Note 10+ a month ago. But the iPhone 11 Pro Max now comes with the Apple A13 processor which is even more powerful than the A12 was, which means the Pro Max is now 2 years ahead of the Note 10+ in terms of the raw performance.

However, the Note 10+ comes with 12GB of RAM compared to 4GB of RAM on the iPhone 11 Pro Max. There were some reports that the Pro Max might have 6GB but that’s not confirmed as of yet. Now, my Note 10+ can easily keep a ton of apps open in the background, even apps that I opened 3 days ago. My iPhone XS Max on the other hand, which has 4GB of RAM, struggles to keep open apps that I opened just a few hours ago, and I’m pretty certain that this issue will still be present, to a lesser extent of course, even with 6GB of RAM.

So raw performance is much better on the iPhone, RAM management is better on the Note.

Split screen capabilities on the Note mean that it is a great tool for business users

Now you can have a quantum processor in your smartphone, but that won’t matter at all, if it’s not being used to its full potential and you do have some amazing camera features and a lot of high end games that do take advantage of that extremely powerful processor on the iPhone. However I personally use my phone for either social media or productivity when I’m on the go and the iPhone 11 Pro Max still does not have any split screen support which, for me at least, is a huge deal breaker.

When I went to IFA last week, I had to create a calendar schedule based on some events that I had in a PDF. On the Note it was extremely easy to do that, I just opened both the calendar and the PDF viewer side by side and created the events. If I had the iPhone that would’ve been a pain since I would have had to constantly switch back and forth between the apps and remember what I had in the previous one. Not only that, but you can actually have 3 apps open on the Note at the same time, with one of them being S-Notes or even a video-pop-up and in that case have 4 apps. On the iPhone you’re restricted to 1 app which for me, as a business user means that it is not a Pro device in any way.

With the addition of a monitor, and a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, Samsung phones, including the Note can be used like desktop PCs

Speaking of a Pro Device, you can actually connect your Note to an external display and boot into something called DeX. DeX mode turns your UI that you see on the monitor into something similar to windows. This way you get a full desktop experience with full desktop apps such Chrome and Microsoft Office, and if you attach a wireless keyboard and mouse and there you go, you have now turned your smartphone into a desktop PC experience. Again, this is something that you cannot do with the iPhone.

So overall, even though the iPhone is more powerful than the Note you can do more things with the Note and for me, that’s what matters the most.

SPECIAL FEATURES

But what about Special Features? Do these phones have any unique selling points that the other one does not? Well yes, they both do.

Let’s start with the Note 10 shall we?

We have microSD card support, which lets you expand the storage even more, to up to 512GB of extra storage, fairly inexpensively. We also get 256GB of storage on the baseline model rather than 64GB on the iPhone

Editing in Lightroom is super easy with the S-Pen

Then there’s the S-Pen, the built-in stylus that sits inside your phone which you can of course take it out whenever you want to and use it for sketching, signing documents, or my favourite, photo editing in Lightroom. It’s amazing to have such a precise tool with you for when you want to do any photo editing on the go.

We also have a TOF (time-of-flight) sensor on the back, which is basically what Apple uses on the front. A 3D depth sensing camera. Apple uses this for FaceID and unlocking the phone, while Samsung uses this on the back for improving the portrait mode and also for 3D scanning objects, which doesn’t really work that well, but hey, it’s there.

There is also an in-display fingerprint reader on the Note and probably one of my favourite features, reverse wireless charging. This means that you can place other wireless charging devices like the AirPods 2 or even an iPhone on the back of the Note 10 and it will charge, just like that! This was supposed to be coming to the iPhone 11’s but it got removed in the end.

Always-On is something that has been on androids for a while now, but has only just been added to the Apple Watch Series 5 and not yet on the iPhone

And we also get another one of my favourite features on the Note, which is an always on display. Apple still doesn’t have this on the iPhones but they’ve just added it to the Apple Watch Series 5. Now what this does is that it shows you the time and your notifications on the display, all the time. So you dont have to tap it or lift the phone or anything like that, and I absolutely love it! It’s pretty much like having a smart desk clock! Love it!

Finally the Note 10 does have a USB C port compared to the lightning port Apple still has on the iPhone.

But what does the iPhone have that the Note doesnt?

Aside from the obvious FaceID, we do have a 120Hz input rate for the touch screen. However, this is not a 120Hz refresh rate panel, but your taps are registered much more accurately than on the Note.

Water Resistance is also better on the iPhone, up to 4m for 30 minutes rather than 1.5m for 30 minutes on the Note 10.

Apple also removed 3D Touch and added an improved haptic engine. They already had the best haptic engine in a smartphone, although the Note was extremely close to the iPhone’s. But now the iPhone 11 Pro Max’s should be even better.

The iPhone also has a brand new U1 chip with will allow you to very precisely locate other devices that also have the U1 chip with a margin of error of just 5cm. This will especially be useful when Apple releases the Tile like trackers by the end of the year.

But that’s pretty much it in terms of special features that the iPhone has. Really the biggest advantage, or disadvantage, of having an iPhone is the Apple ecosystem. You do get locked into it very quickly but it is indeed the best ecosystem there is. Especially if you buy an Apple Watch and a Mac and AirPods, it’s just amazing how fast and smooth they can all communicate, rather than being completely separate devices.

BATTERY

So with all of those features and processes, how do the batteries compare? And which one will last you longer on a quick charge?

Well on paper the Note does have a larger battery with 4300mAh compared 3500mAh on the iPhone 11 Pro Max. But the Note 10+ also has a larger display which does require more power and lets not forget the S-Pen that’s always charging inside your phone.

They do both support fast charging, up to about 50% in 30 minutes which is good and we finally have a fast charger bundled inside the box of the iPhone which we didn’t have before. However, the Note 10+ can be charged to full in just over an hour, and if you buy an even more powerful 45W charger from Samsung, it can be fully Charged in just 40 minutes which is nuts!

Now, Apple does claim that this new iPhone 11 Pro Max lasts 5 hours more than the iPhone Xs Max did, so I’m extremely curious to testing that out. Definitely stay tuned for the full in-depth review in a few weeks and I’ll be covering my experience with the battery life in detail.

PRICE

So, so far the iPhone won in the Performance and Camera sections (at least on paper), while the Note has won in the Design, Display and Special Features, and the Battery was a tie for now. But having said all this, how much are they?

Well, the Note 10+ costs $1100 in the US and £1000 in the UK for the baseline 256GB option. The iPhone 11 Pro Max costs $1100, so same price as the Note in the US, but £1150 in the UK, so £150 more. Hower this is only for the baseline 64GB model and not the 256GB variant. The Pro Max, for the 256GB option costs a whopping £1,299 in the UK, which is nearly £300 more than the Note, and $1,249 in the US, so only $150 more.

CONCLUSION

So, having said all that, what do I think? Who won?

Well there’s no denying that the Note 10+ is the better phone. It not only offers you more features and higher end components but it also does that at a lower price.

However, iOS is still more polished with better app support and more quality apps in general. And if you’re into the Apple ecosystem already, the iPhone’s the better option for you. I’m really curious to testing out that camera so definitely stay tuned for more videos and articles on the iPhone 11 Pro once it officially released on the 20th of September.

Let us know in the comments below which one you thought was better!