iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
First Impressions
By Kia Dargahi
The brand new “bigger than bigger” pair of iPhones has undoubtedly made a grand entrance into the tech multiverse with over 10 million combined units sold the first weekend. Thinking that this was an impressive feat, I decided to go down to my local Apple store and find out if the new Cupertino handsets deserved the brouhaha they were receiving (bendgate 2014 anyone?). Without further ado, let’s take a holistic look at Apple’s novel flagships:
iPhone 6
The first thing you notice when you pick up the iPhone 6 is the lightness of it. While this is an impressive feat from Apple, it may not necessarily be a good thing, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Having delt with many top tier smartphones, there are one or two things that came as a pleasant surprise to me. First of all, a point that I think Apple should have further developed about both of the devices is how the display curves into the aluminum chassis. This makes for a very pleasant swiping from side to side as well as a comfortable alternative to using the “back” feature of the phones by swiping right from the left edge of the display. Speaking of display, it is NOT a 1080p display. In a bold move by Apple, they are keeping the 326 “Retina” ppi which is a little over 720p and supposedly the level at which the eye cannot see individual pixels of the display. This is not by any means a bad thing as the display still looks gorgeous (most apple displays are top tier) and this means more battery life for the user. Moving on to build quality, the iPhone 6 is meticulously constructed to be just under 7.0mm thin, a feature to brag about indeed; or is it? I may come off as contrarian; however, I believe that Apple should have opted for a slightly thicker and heavier device so that there would not exist a protruding camera as well as a device that ultimately feels slippery in hand; not to mention a device that can bend… Don’t worry though, as only 9 cases have ever been reported to Apple about possible bending on either device. Perhaps this is my minority opinion but I think that extra battery life and a seamless camera would have been a tad bit better. Let’s not forget those “painted on” antennae, they aren’t the prettiest sight in the world are they? Otherwise user experience on the software side is great as always and optimized to Apple perfection. The camera, while “only” at 8MP is a great snapper and can take incredible slow motion and time lapse videos.
iPhone 6 Plus
Contrary to the iPhone 6, the first thing you notice when you pick up the device is its sheer size. Now, I’ve held phablets and used them many times in the past but Apple insists on using a physical home button with Touch ID; a decision that creates quite large bezels on both ends of the iPhablet. Having already analyzed the iPhone 6, I was keen on determining what made this a “Plus” over the regular iPhone 6. On the specifications side, there is a larger 5.5 1080p display at 401 ppi and actual OIS in the camera (makes quick shots more stable) as well as a larger battery. Granted, I was unable to remain in the Apple store for days upon days to test the battery life, users have reported up to 2.5 days with regular usage and 2 days of heavy uses while the iPhone 6 consists of 1.5-days regular and 1-day heavy usage. I appreciate having OIS in the larger device; however, there was no noticeable difference in picture quality between the two devices in the well lit Apple store no matter how hard I tried. It is important to note that you should NOT expect to be able to use this phablet with one hand; having that in mind, the user experience is just fine with two-handed usage. The device felt slippery yet again despite its larger frame but I felt that I was able to grip with iPhone 6 better than its bigger brother. You might want to opt for a case using the iPhone 6 Plus as it is probably more prone to falling (and apparently more prone to benging). In any case (see what I did there?), I do not see the iPhone 6 Plus as a necessarily “plus” alternative to the iPhone 6 and on top of that, I believe that there aren’t enough extra features on iOS to accommodate for the bump in screen size (really? Still no true multitasking?).
Final Summation
Both iPhones are well-built and solid smartphones for Apple to boast in their lineup. The only complaint that I brought up about the two devices was in regards to the slippery feel of the handsets and aesthetically unappealing protruding lenses. Other than that, they truly are great and familiar devices, despite their size increase, and will please any phone enthusiast, let alone Apple fan. What do you think? Are the iPhone 6 and 6 plus appealing to you? Are you thinking of purchasing one? Let us know down in the comment section!
