Apple VS Samsung

Hi all,

I recently (or relatively recently) posted about my minor annoyance with both Apple and AOL. Today, I thought I'd tell you a bit about my newest experiences with Apple and Samsung.

So a couple of weeks ago, I was due for a cell upgrade. I previously had the Samsung Galaxy S3. It was a pretty neat phone, but that could just be my own sentimentality. After all the S3 was my first smartphone. That's right: I actually waited until 2013 to get a smartphone. After a couple of years, the S3 started running slowly and having battery life issues. The battery thing was probably due to my status as a graduate student in the deep, dark basement. No service kills a phone faster than any app I've ever used. (Update BestFiends kills battery worse than No Service!) And the running slow was my own fault, since I had bogged down most of the memory with photos and videos.

Regardless, I went to the Verizon store with every intention of getting a new phone, probably the S5. I had the advantage of seeing it firsthand when a friend upgraded her S3 to the S5. Because of the draining battery and possibly a minor irritation with the awkward-to-navigate settings menu, I knew I would at least check out all the other available phones. I walked through the store and saw another Samsung that looked a whole lot different from the S3. After checking it out for awhile, I noticed it was called the Galaxy S6 Edge. Alright, whatever, so they came out with an S6. I also checked out the S5, a Blackberry, a Windows phone, an HTC etc. I briefly glanced at the iPhones. I'll admit, I didn't give them much thought because I'd rather not provoke a divorce.

Eventually, a sales associate came out. I asked questions about the differences between the S5 and S6 what the purpose of the edge screen was on the S6 Edge, and more. He told me that the hardware differences between the S5 and S6 were big (though mysteriously and disappointingly, no specs were quoted). He also said that the edge screen has no purpose. The phone is $100 more and it's just for looks. Oh and by the way, we have none in stock. We also don't have the S6 in stock. We have basically nothing in stock. You'll have to go to BestBuy. (Uhm, OK?! Usually, my only complaint about Verizon is their prices, but this experience was weird.)

Showed up at a BestBuy Mobile and talked to their representatives (which took seconds rather than 10's of minutes). The edge screen does have a purpose, in fact more than one. It functions as a night clock, notifications bar, a color coordinated emergency contacts lightup thingy, a newsfeed for News/Twitter/other stuff I don't use. Out of curiosity, I had them tell me the difference between the iPhone6 and the S6 Edge. Now, I've done no external research to verify, but the guys at BestBuy tell me that the camera is twice as good and my processor is an octo-core (8 cores) instead of dual-core (2 cores). I would guess that means my processor is about four times better. That's right, I said my...so I bought the S6 Edge. After a few weeks, I'm impressed. The graphics are better, the battery life is better, the curved screen is sweet, and the price was reasonable. I guess I'm a Samsung enthusiast, for now.