iPhone 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S5: CPU / RAM
As ever, Apple has its own silicon in the iPhone 6: this time it's the 64-bit A8 processor, which remains dual-core but boosts the clock speed from the previous 1.3GHz to a rumoured 1.4GHz.
The A8 is smaller than the A7 and promises to be 50% more energy efficient as a result, and the RAM is reportedly quicker too - although Apple is sticking with just 1GB, a fraction of the RAM you'll find in rival devices.
Samsung's processor in the Galaxy S5 is a quad-core Snapdragon 801 clocked at 2.5GHz and with 2GB of RAM.
On paper, then, the Samsung is considerably more powerful. But that isn't the whole story, because Apple's control over both its 64-bit software and 64-bit silicon means it can optimise iPhones in a way that Android firms can't.
When the respected reviews site Anandtech benchmarked the Galaxy S5 against the then six-month-old iPhone 5S, the iPhone gave its younger, more powerful rival a kicking in almost every performance category.
Games should be particularly good on the iPhone 6 thanks to Metal, the new graphics API introduced in iOS 8. Metal enables games developers to squeeze maximum performance out of the iPhone's GPU and promises to render objects up to ten times more quickly.
Apple says graphics performance is up to 84% faster overall. It isn't just useful for games, though. It can use the GPU to process data for all kinds of apps, boosting their performance accordingly.
iPhone 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S5: Health
Smartphones are mature technology now, with new models evolving rather than offering jaw-dropping new features nobody has ever seen before. That's why manufacturers' attention is turning to ecosystems of connected accessories for home automation and health.
Both Samsung and Apple have health monitoring features: S Health for Samsung and Health (formerly Healthbook) for Apple.
Both systems are really designed to be used with external sensors such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, but there are sensors in the Galaxy S5 in the form of a heart rate sensor.
Rumoured blood pressure monitoring didn't make it into the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus. Both devices also have sensors for humidity, temperature and barometric pressure, and the iPhone has Apple's M8 motion coprocessor for tracking physical activity including distance and elevation.
It's worth noting here that Apple has forbidden developers of health apps from sharing user data with third parties such as advertisers and data brokers.
iPhone 6 versus Samsung Galaxy S5: Price
iPhone 6 range starts at $649, £539, AU$869 without contracts, going all the way up to $849, £699, AU$1129 for the 128GB model.
The Galaxy S5 has an RRP starting around £599 (US$650, AU$900) but is widely available for considerably less: at the time of writing it was available for as little as £420 (around $560, AU$620) SIM-free.
