First-order effects

• Shoppers choosing between the iPhone 6s/6s Plus and the Galaxy S6, Note 5, Moto X Style, and Nexus 6 now have a single cross-ecosystem spec sheet from The Verge to arbitrate the decision.
• Silicon is the asymmetry in the table: reports say the Galaxy S6 skipped Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 for Samsung's own Exynos, so every Android rival in the comparison runs different hardware while Apple fields its own in-house chip.

Second-order effects

• With the S6 having underperformed commercially, the Note 5's head-to-head against the iPhone 6s Plus carries outsized weight for Samsung's holiday quarter, since the phablet tier is where the two companies overlap most directly.
• Leaked 4K video capability for the 6s puts camera specs at the center of the comparison, pressuring Motorola and Google's Nexus line to compete on imaging rather than price alone.

Third-order effects

• The comparison format itself is becoming an annual institution — The Verge repeats it nearly two years later for the iPhone 8 generation against the same Samsung lineup — signaling that flagship specs across iOS and Android have converged enough that differentiation now hinges on features like 3D Touch, cameras, and battery life rather than raw numbers.
• As both Apple and Samsung design their own chips, the rest of the Android field faces a structural gap in vertical integration that third-party silicon vendors must close if competitors like Moto and Nexus are to stay in the same spec conversation.