Apple versus Samsung: who had the better 2015?

Virtual reality and verdict

Samsung finally had something to celebrate. Its 2015 third quarter earnings report revealed that, for the first time in years, it registered a profit.

Even the lagging mobile division was given permission to take off its dunce cap, as it showed the growing semiconductor and display sides of the business that it too could make money for the Seoul electronics giant.

Its quarter of profits was a welcome silver lining in a year of layoffs and price cuts – and head scratching as it watched Apple continue its world domination. Its Cupertino rival reported record revenue and big gains in China, where the battle for smartphone market share is heating up.

But the quarterly earnings report wasn't the only silver lining on the year. Samsung showed it could go toe-to-toe with Apple in everything: in the phone, tablet, wearables and mobile payments arenas. What Apple could do, Samsung could do too – and arguably even better.

So with that in mind, is there another celebration in Samsung? Does its have the right to rip open another bag of party poppers, pour another round and keep the music pumping? Is 2015 as a whole worth remembering, especially since the Seoul firm is coming in second to Apple in balance sheet limbo?

In a word: absolutely. Some of the most impressive (and cost-effective) technology came out of Samsung this year. Apple may have had the sales, but in terms of cool, Samsung had the gear (pun intended).

Smartphone showdown

Samsung's flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S6 beats out Apple's latest iPhone iteration, the iPhone 6S, in nearly every aspect. Display, camera, design: pick an area and the Galaxy S6 just delivers more.

Want to watch movies, play games or browse the web? The S6 does it better with its large, Super AMOLED, high-resolution screen.

Want to take high quality photos fast? The S6 has more megapixels and better focus and light control than the 6S – and its home-button shortcut gets you selfie'ing in fewer taps.

Want envy-inducing looks? The S6 is thinner than the 6S and its clean glass back gets way more "Can I see that's?" than the metal forehead and chin on the back of the iPhone.

Want even more display? Samsung's Edge phones, like the Galaxy S6 Edge, allow for a quick-look at notifications, news headlines, sports scores, even who might be calling (if the phone is face-down) without requiring users to unlock the main screen.

Yes, Apple's iPhone 6S is not without its big, innovative perk: 3D Touch. "Peeking in" to an app, email or link will undoubtedly become ubiquitous on all platforms, especially as developers make better use of it.

But consumers buy smartphones for media use, for picture taking, and for style (along with, of course, calling and texting) and Samsung's 2015 smartphones are innovators in all those categories.

Watches and payments

Samsung may have taken smartphone design cues from Apple (and rightly so), but on the wearables front, the Seoul giant has noticeably, and smartly, differed.

The Samsung Gear S2 and the Apple Watch both suffer from the same flaws – notably a lack of apps – but the Gear 2 has a more elegant rounded face, a more intuitive operating system, and wider compatibility.

The Gear

The Gear 2 runs on Samsung's proprietary Tizen OS, which cleverly uses the watch's rotating bezel to maneuver between the apps, texts, calls and notifications the wearer wants to use or see. The tactile nature of the bezel is intuitive – much more so than the Apple Watch's temperamental touch screen.

And the Apple Watch is of course tethered to the iPhone, while the Gear 2 works with any Android phone, even non-Samsung ones. Gear 2 wearers will thus have a much larger universe of phones available to them. In terms of the hype the two wearables received, the Gear 2 lives up to it far better.

Pay up

Samsung Pay and Apple Pay are the device makers' foray into the digital wallet space. Like real world wallets, there are subtle, but important differences between the two.

Here's how they are alike: setup and use. With both, users upload their card information, either manually or by taking a picture of the card, and then tap their phones on the merchant's point of sale machine when its time to pay for something.

This final step though, the "tapping," is where the functionality of the two services diverges.

Apple Pay only works with point of sale machines that have built-in NFC (near-field communication) technology. While most PoS machines produced today are NFC enabled, older credit card readers are not. Retailers who've been around a while (like that favorite dry cleaner's) may be Apple Pay incompatible.

Samsung Pay, however, works with nearly any PoS machine or credit card reader thanks to its Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) antenna. Through this antenna, Samsung Pay sends a brief burst of coded information to the credit card machine (even older terminals), tricking the machine into registering the phone-stored credit card as if it was just swiped.

Whether the point of sale machine is NFC enabled or not, Samsung Pay is likely able to work with it – a key innovation that sets it apart from Apple and other digital wallets.

Virtual reality and verdict

Samsung's most compelling 2015 offering was arguably its Gear VR headset. This Galaxy smartphone accessory brings a high quality virtual reality experience to persons who may not be able to afford an expensive gaming PC or console, or their requisite accessories (i.e. the Oculus Rift).

The headset is relatively cheap compared to forthcoming VR options, and more importantly, it is also very easy to set up and use. The VR curious merely need to click in their Galaxy smartphone and strap the headset over their eyes. App navigation is accomplished through a touchpad on the side of the headset, or an optional wireless, third-party controller.

Virtual reality for the masses

The Galaxy's high performance display is perfect for VR gaming or media digestion and Samsung has worked hard to bring third party developers to the platform. The ecosystem is small, but it is quickly growing.

Apple offered nothing like the Gear VR in 2015, and though there have been some rumblings, it's doubtful the Cupertino company will get into the virtual reality space any time soon.

Verdict

According to the accountants at least, Apple was 2015's top dog. But with the Gear VR, the Gear S2 and the Galaxy line of products, Samsung showed it was finally ready to lead the pack. Its 2015 products featured great displays, and one can't help but wonder how the Seoul company will push the visual boundaries even further next year.

2015 may have belonged to Samsung in terms of innovation, but if it wants to keep the crown in 2016, it's going to need an answer to the iPhone 7. Looking pretty just isn't going to be enough.

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