<div>You know how it is when a dog-person and a cat-person start arguing? You can bet the one with the louder voice will shut the other up, but that aside, there’s no winning the argument on which is the better species. It’s much the same with the iPhone and the Android brigade. I mostly solve the whole problem by leaving the room, but at present, I have no less than eight giant phones around me and can’t help but look afresh at the stark contrast between two of these — the iPhone 6 Plus and the OnePlus One. </div><div> </div><div>But we start with something that’s common between the two: size. They’re both in the 5.5-inch display category. It’s funny, but Steve Jobs wouldn’t have been one bit amused at seeing an iPhone this big, a fact that Samsung is poking fun at in ads that quote Jobs saying no one would buy a big phone. Well, they are, though less than the iPhone 6. But for once, my heart doesn’t skip a beat at the way an Apple device looks. From the front, it looks like Samsung’s phones used to. From the back, it’s still all Apple. On the sides, it’s very rounded, losing the flat glassy look that used to get me every time. The edges are so smooth that it’s phenomenally easy for this expensive device to slip silkily out of your hand and land on the ground where God knows what will happen to it. The phone is a very solid build — a little too solid and unwieldy — but overall, design is not in its favour this time.</div><div> </div><div>The OnePlus One is also big, but slim, light, with a curved back made of some interesting soft but tough material. Gripping the phone is very easy and the texture on the back prevents it from slipping out of your hand. It’s a well designed smartphone with good ergonomics.</div><div> </div><div>Placing these two smartphones side by side, I think of how they’re at opposite poles with different philosophies. It’s iOS versus Android, of course, but more so in this case because the OnePlus One is a Cyanogen Mod Android phone, more open to customisation than ever. The iPhone 6 Plus may be a phablet but compared with an Android and specially the OnePlus One, you can do little to change the way it looks and behaves. With the OnePlus One you can tinker with just about everything — lock screen, themes, buttons, icons, not to mention many functions and apps that won’t even work on regular Android phones. No two OnePlus One phones will look the same on the inside.</div><div> </div><div>By default, this also means simplicity versus complexity. The OnePlus One is full of settings, some of which nestle in unexpected places, replete with capabilities you must figure out how to enable. The OnePlus people have a guide for those whom they’re encouraging to switch from the iOS camp, but that should be a niche group as one of the things Apple users like about their beloved iPhones is the sheer it-just-works simplicity. Apple serves up a predictable, consistent, smooth experience (unless something goes wrong with one of the updates) and that’s something that lets devoted users get on with doing whatever else they want to do. Android users include those who want to max out on their smartphones’ capabilities, use it to the hilt, and make their own experiences irrespective of whether everything is perfect or wanting. They neither mind the complexity nor the involvement the device demands.</div><div> </div><div>The OnePlus One doesn’t always work smoothly, but for the most part it does and it gets updates to fix things or add to capabilities. Because things change often, it’s the Apple App Store that really has the better designed and behaved apps. The App Store remains one of the strongest assets of the Apple ecosystem, but the gap is closing.</div><div> </div><div><img src="/image/image_gallery?uuid=1547b3bc-a81a-4e92-ae59-725a369e740e&groupId=222861&t=1418046460739" width="640" height="400" alt="" />Interestingly, news preceding the OnePlus launch is that the device may not get the biggest updates of them all — the forthcoming versions of Android.</div><div> </div><div>Another fascinating philosophical difference between the cat and dog here is the focus on specs. Apple doesn’t even spell out the specs of its phones and tablets. In terms of RAM, camera and screen resolution, most flagship Android phones are ahead, as is the OnePlus One. But intriguingly, the iPhone 6 Plus, as with other iPhones, does great with whatever specs it has and as a user you’re not supposed to bother with them. The camera has consistently produced great pictures and sparked off hundreds of photo apps and “iPhoneography” networks like Instagram. On the hardware front, the iPhone has the fingerprint sensor and barometer and is hearing-aid compatible. Not the OnePlus One. This, on the other hand, has a whole lot of RAM and other high-end specs. Android users want the works; Apple users want it to work.</div><div> </div><div>Despite the long queues for an iPhone, all of its variants are staggeringly expensive. Apple doesn’t care and sells with high margins to those willing to pay the amount. OnePlus One is distributed through an invite system. It’s going to have a mid-range price, but nowhere near the iPhone’s. OnePlus’s marketing urges users to stop settling and go instead for the “flagship killer”. I suppose we’ll have to see how that pans out. </div><div> </div><div>(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 29-12-2014) </div>
BW Reporters
Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.