The iPhone 6 Plus measures in at 6.22 inches tall and 3.06 inches wide; that’s 158.1 by 77.8 millimeters, so basically it’s big, the plus point is the thickness its only 7.1 millimeters that’s fabulously slim for a large phone.
I am not convinced it works to its optimum level to take advantage of all the attributes but we will be looking at those later. Compared to the iPhone 6 it does weigh a lot more, 4.55 ounces vs. 6.07 ounces. We tested the iPhone for 3 days with heavy usage the first day and general to moderate usage the next two days. This includes gaming, music, video, email, sms, surfing, and of course the habitual tasks that we get accustomed to using…
iPhone 6 Plus Display
The display on the iPhone 6 Plus is a standout feature distinctly a perk for having Apple’s new flagship device. The size is 5.5 inches; corner to corner, with 1920-by-1080-pixel resolution at 401 ppi. Equipped with what Apple has coined Retina HD, from the moment you power on the device you see this immediately the screen is sharper and does have a more ‘retina’ look about it. Text is sharper and reading either website content or a book is a pleasure on the 5.5 inch screen. It does well in the sunlight also, one of the biggest gripes I had with the previous iPhones was the inability to visualize everything whilst outside; living in Florida this was a major hassle. The iPhone 6 Plus has still not presented me with any of these issues, in fact I was not able to tell the difference between being out or in as far as visibility is concerned. The display also has full sRGB standard, dual domain pixels for wide viewing angles; which has actually made a difference. The fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating still does not entirely prevent fingerprint images on the screen.
Camera
The camera has not changed much from the iPhone 5(S). Still an 8-megapixel iSight Camera with 1.5µ pixels, the one addition to the camera is only available on the iPhone 6Plus; Optical image stabilization. Basically this translate to your camera taking sharper images as it can now reduce blurriness of a picture from natural handshakes and movement when taking a picture. That is a solid feature addition even though the lens was not upgraded. The FaceTime HD Camera is 1.2 megapixels (1280 x 960) with 720p video recording, this helps make FaceTime calls clearer and easier to communicate when video calling.
Sensors
The iPhone 6 plus comes with an abundance of sensors, and the one that gets the most attention is TouchID. When TouchID was first introduced last year Apple did a great job of improving the fingerprint sensor and making it more secure. TouchID now has been opened up to third-party apps to allow them to use the app for security and shortly Apple Pay. Apple Pay is the newest feature to rely on TouchID. Apple has taken the secure enclave and utilized it to provide a token every time you go to pay using Apple Pay. This in theory gives us a very safe way of paying electronically. Apple has also signed up some major companies to support Apple Pay from the off, this should help them get a foothold in the merchant services industry. It is well worth noting that Apple seems to have picked a very apt time to release their payment initiative as standards in the US mean that retailers are having to change their current POS systems anyway, this way they can change them out for compatible units with Apple Pay. The payment initiative is due to launch shortly as Apple have stated an October release schedule by way of an iOS update. You also get a barometer, three-axis gyro, proximity sensor, accelerometer, and an ambient light sensor.
Usability
The biggest question surrounding the iPhone 6 Plus is one of size, is it too big? In a word? Yes; but don’t let that be the determining factor in whether you are getting one or not. For the larger size you get an amazing display, it allows video, images, and text to look gorgeous and easy on the eye. It is not a one handed phone for most of your everyday tasks, you can kind of get away clicking icons, surfing the web and on occasion sending text messages. Aside from those you will need to hold the phone in the one hand and use it with the other. Reachability has its perks, but all in all it feels more like a quick afterthought Apple has included rather than a well thought out feature. Email is great on this phone, so is text messaging; the dual-paned view allows you to scroll messages and reply texts or emails quicker. I found it very easy to text in landscape mode on the iPhone 6 Plus more so than I did with my iPhone 6. Not all apps support the large view as yet, it’s early days to take advantage of the of the extra real estate the 5.5 inch display has provided them. This will be an area that defines the iPhone 6 Plus and I am keen to see what app developers will do to take advantage of the extra space.
iPhone 6 Plus Performance
The first thing we always hear from Apple is how the new phones they launch as faster than its predecessor measured in multiples. More often than not this does ring true, the jump in performance from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 5 was exceptional, and the 5S gave us 64-bit architecture in a phone! The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are equipped with a new A8 processor that is 50x faster than what we had in the original iPhone. The phone does feel faster than my iPhone 5S, but the biggest improvements are in the battery life. This is as a result of the A8 processor. Its architecture allows Apple to utilize lower battery power for sophisticated tasks; making it an efficient processor. The A8 uses a 20-nanometer design a very small processor with two billion transistors allowing for incredible performance and being 50% more energy efficient than the A7 chip.
iPhone 6 Plus Battery
The biggest issue the iPhone has had since the first ever iPhone has been battery. Usually I would say battery power is up to how much a user uses the phone, and iPhone users use their phones A LOT. With the iPhone 6 plus on a day of heavy usage I had 28 hours before I had to charge again. The next day I got approximately 32 hours from the phone. An iPhone that gave me 32 hours of battery life? Nice one Apple! Again, as mentioned previously, this is to some extent as a result of the new A8 chip, but mainly as a result of the whopping 2,915 mAh battery in the iPhone 6 plus when compared to the 1810 mAh on the iPhone 6. Battery life on this model for once will not be an issue for users.
- Brilliant display
- Much improved battery life
- Optical Image Stabilization
- Better performance
- More screen real estate
- Large size makes one handed use difficult
- Heavier weight
Conclusion
Apple has entered the ‘Phablet’ market with a solid product. I don’t believe it stacks up when compared to the Samsung Note, or HTC M8 just as yet in terms of features of a large phone. This is largely due to the fact that iOS is still a work in progress in this area, rather than the hardware aspect. You would be very hard pressed to find a better looking, and performing smartphone in the current marketplace. The size of the iPhone 6 Plus maybe a hindrance. If you carry around your iPad at all times then this would be a great alternative as you would only need to carry the one device. If you are like me and expect your mobile to be compact, easy to carry, and to be able to operate it with one hand, then its best you stick to the iPhone 6. All in all we would give the iPhone 6 Plus a score of 8.5/10 in the smartphone wars. Until next year, enjoy your new iPhone; whichever one you decide to pick up.
