Two very different smartphones were released within weeks of each other this September: the Apple iPhone 6s and Motorola's 3rd Generation Moto X Pure Edition (also known as the Style). Here we dive into the specs, features, and other considerations to give you a better picture of both.

iPhone 6s vs Moto X Pure:

Design

Apple is of course the design king of the smartphone market, and it arguably continues its reign with the 2015 iPhone 6s.

Though not a lot has changed from the iPhone 6, Apple's lightweight but powerful smartphone features smooth curves, popular color choices, and every nuance Jony Ive and company can muster. It helps that this year's iPhone is now made of hardy Series 7000 aluminum, which Apple first implemented in the Watch.

Motorola has also stuck with the same design elements from previous iterations of the Moto X, but that's also a good thing. While not distinctive like the iPhone, the 2015 Moto X Style has a refined body and two front-facing speakers for better audio playback.

It's heavier than the iPhone 6s (6.31oz versus 5.04oz, respectively), but maybe the fact that you can choose between premium leather or several stained wood backs with Moto Maker makes up for it.

Hardware Specs

Display

The iPhone 6s continues Apple's new screen sizes, set with the iPhone 6, with a 4.7-inch screen that has a resolution of 750 x 1334p. Meanwhile, the Moto X Pure comes with a 5.7-inch, which some can find a little unruly. But it has a Quad HD resolution of 1440 x 2560p. That's about 520 pixels per inch, compared to the iPhone 6s's 326 ppi.

However, with the new 3D Touch, which adds different depths of finger presses to increase the ways you can interact with the touchscreen, Apple has definitely given its smaller, lower resolution screen plenty to boast about.

Processing Power

Apple boasts that its new A9 chip is "the most advanced chip ever in a smartphone." It's certainly been beating competitors in benchmark tests, and the iPhone 6 as well, since its purportedly 70 percent faster for CPU processing and a staggering 90 percent faster for graphics than the previous iteration. Add the new 2GB of RAM to the 64-bit A9 running at 1.84GHz, and you've got a powerhouse.

The Moto X Style can't compete with the iPhone 6s in raw processing and graphics power. It comes with the hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 running at 1.8GHz and 1.44GHz with 3GB of RAM. That's may not be as powerful as Apple's A9, or even the same-generation Snapdragon 810, but it's plenty snappy and makes up it in price.

Storage

Apple's iPhone 6s still comes at a base storage level of 16GB, which critics have been saying isn't a practical option anymore. But it can go up to 64GB or 128GB if you're willing to pay a few hundred extra.

The Moto X Pure Edition also comes with a measly 16GB to start, but other options include 32GB or 64GB. Though its highest storage level is still half of the biggest iPhone 6s, Motorola incorporated a microSD card slot, for cheap expansion of up to 128GB more. That's a possible maximum of 192GB, which should be enough.

Camera

Apple's camera took a hike up to 12-megapixels from its former 8-megapixel standard, and with a front-facer that's now 5-megapixels, along with Live Photos, dual LED flash, phase detection auto focus, and simultaneous 4K video and picture-taking, this phone has great camera features.

The Moto X Style's camera, by contrast, is 21-megapixels and also comes with phase detection autofocus and dual-LED flash. And the 5-megapixel front facer even comes with its own LED flash.

Others & Special Features

Both phones have special processors for anytime voice activation of their respective AI assistants (Siri and Google Now/Moto Voice), along with LTE, Bluetooth LE, and NFC for mobile payments (though Moto X's NFC is general purpose as well).

Only the Apple iPhone 6s has a fingerprint sensor, while only the Moto X has motion detectors for the wave-for-notifications Moto Display. Both feature (uniquely to these two phones and for the first time in the industry) universal LTE banding, so they work with any carrier in the U.S. But the iPhone 6s broke the record for the number of network bands it supports.

Speaking of breaking records, the Moto X Style has been dubbed the "fastest charging smartphone in the world" by Motorola. It can juice up over a third of its sizable 3000mAh battery in just 15 minutes. The iPhone 6s still comes with an industry-lagging battery, only 1715mAh. 

Availability and Price 

The biggest difference really comes down to price. While the iPhone 6s is a premium phone with a matching sticker price of $649 unlocked (for the basic model), the Moto X Style could be called premium-ish smartphone that starts at a much more manageable $400 unlocked. If you're still using two-year contracts with carrier subsidies and are up for renewal, the iPhone 6s will still start at a manageable $200.

The iPhone 6s is obviously available everywhere in the world, and in the U.S. with every carrier. The Moto X, meanwhile, didn't partner directly with carriers for its launch, but is available directly through Motorola's customizing website, Moto Maker.