Apple has officially taken the wraps off its new-generation smartphone, revealing a 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and a 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus.

The iPhone 6 has been one of the most highly-anticipated devices of this year and was expected to come with top-notch specs and features on board, able to take on any rival.

The 4.7-inch iPhone 6 does indeed come with some notable improvements over its predecessor, sporting a larger display, a faster processor, NFC, and more. The device will hit commercial availability on Sept. 19, launching in eight countries including the U.S., the UK, Australia, and parts of Asia.

In an increasingly competitive smartphone market, two of the biggest rivals the iPhone 6 has to face are the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the HTC One M8, so here's how it stacks up against the competition in terms of specifications.

Display

In the display department, the iPhone 6 come with a 4.7-inch screen with a resolution of 1334 x 750 pixels, compared to the 5.1-inch 1920 x 1080p display on the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the 5-inch 1920 x 1080p display of the HTC One M8. When it comes to pixel density, the iPhone 6 comes in at 326 ppi, the Galaxy S5 at 432ppi, and the HTC One M8 at 441 ppi.

Size and weight

As for size and weight, the iPhone 6 measures 5.44 x 2.64 x 0.27 inches and weighs in at 4.55 ounces, the Samsung Galaxy S5 measures 5.5 x 2.9 x 0.31 and weighs 5 ounces, while the HTC One M8 measures 5.8 x 2.8 x 0.37 and weighs 5.64 ounces.

Processor and RAM

Under the hood, the iPhone 6 packs a 64-bit Apple A8 processor with an M8 motion co-processor, but the amount of RAM remains undisclosed for now. The Samsung Galaxy S5 packs a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.5GHz and paired with 2GB of RAM, while the HTC One M8 features a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.3GHz and 2GB of RAM.

Storage

In terms of storage, the iPhone 6 comes in 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB configurations of internal storage capacity, while the Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8 come in 16GB or 32GB options. On the other hand, the iPhone 6 has no support for additional memory, while the Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8 support up to 128GB of expandable storage via microSD.

Cameras

In the camera department, the iPhone 6 comes with an 8-megapixel rear shooter with 1080p video recording capabilities and a 1.2-megapixel front camera with 720p video. The Samsung Galaxy S5 comes with a 16-megapixel rear camera with 4K video recording and a 2-megapixel front shooter with 1080p video, while the One M8 has a 4-UltraPixel rear shooter and a 5.1-megapixel front camera, both with 1080p video.

Battery

Another important aspect is battery performance, as it can make or break a device. The iPhone 6 features a non-removable battery that will allegedly last for up to 14 hours of talktime on 3G and up to 10 hours of Internet usage on 3G, the Galaxy S5 has a 2,800 mAh removable battery, and the HTC One M8 has a 2,600 mAh non-removable battery.

Pricing

Lastly, pricing is another factor that is extremely important. The iPhone 6 on-contract will cost $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for the 64GB variant, and $399 for the 128GB one, while off-contract prices will be $649, $749, and $849 for the 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB variants, respectively. The Samsung Galaxy S5 costs $200 on-contract and $650 contract-free, while the HTC One M8 costs $200 on contract and $670 contract-free.  

Other

All three smartphones feature Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC, with the latter marking a first for Apple. No previous iPhone came with NFC support, but Apple finally added the functionality with the iPhone 6.

All three handsets are reportedly quite durable, but the Samsung Galaxy S5 is the only one of the bunch to boast waterproof capabilities. As for other features, both the iPhone 6 and the Samsung Galaxy S5 have fingerprint readers, whereas the HTC One M8 does not.

On the software side, the iPhone 6 runs Apple's latest and greatest iOS 8 platform, while both the HTC One M8 and the Samsung Galaxy S5 run Google's Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS.

When it comes to color options, the iPhone 6 will be available in silver, gold, and gray, the Samsung Galaxy S5 comes in black, white, blue, and copper gold, while the HTC One M8 comes in gray, silver, black, rose, and gold.

These are just a few essential aspects in terms of specifications, but each of the three smartphones has a lot more to offer than a few specs on paper. This spec comparison aims to highlight how the smartphone stack up against each other overall, but ultimately it will all come down to personal choice and preference. All three smartphones are real powerhouses and all of them can easily handle what you throw at them, so it remains to be seen which one proves to be the most popular.