Image via Complex Original
The rumors were true after all.
For months, there's been talk about how Apple would respond to the growing 'phablet' market that's largely owned by their rival, Samsung. Steve Jobs believed that no one would want a large screen phone—How would it fit in your hand? How would you type?—but with phablet phones taking up almost a third of all smartphone purchases, Apple needed to do something. Today, they did. And then some.
Apple unveiled the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, two phones that have been redesigned, slimmed down, and made large enough that Apple is officially in the phablet market. This was an important event, and the company knew it: they chose to debut the devices (along with the Apple Watch) at the Flint Center in Cupertino, where Steve Jobs debuted the original Macintosh 30 years ago.
Apple Senior VP of Design, Jony Ive
Complex was there to cover the unveilings, and we had some hands-on time with the devices. Here's what you need to know about the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and our impressions.
The 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch Retina HD Displays
Size is the biggest distinguishing factor between both models: The iPhone 6 comes with a 4.7-inch Retina HD screen with 1334 x 750 resolution, and the iPhone 6 Plus gets a 5.5-inch Retina HD screen with 1920 x 1080 resolution.
We'll get into how the phone sizes feel later, but for now let's focus on the Retina HD screen: Apple developed a process that aligns photos using UV light to move the display's liquid crystals to create deeper blacks and sharper text. When I picked up the iPhone 6 Plus, I notice the difference when I opened The Economist in Newsstand. I do a lot of reading on my iPhone 5S, but reading on the Retina HD screen felt easier and less strained. The display has "dual-domain pixels" that make the screen look good even when viewing it from different angles. There was no mention of sapphire glass today, but Apple said the iPhone 6 Plus has "ion-strengthened glass" for its screen.
Because the iPhone 6 Plus is so large, users will be able to enter landscape mode in the homescreen, iMessage, email, and more.
There's also a new feature called "Reachability" that pulls what's on the screen down about two inches when users double tap on the home button. This lets users reach things like the URL or search bars without having to "reach" all the way to the top of the device.
They're Slimmer and Rounder Than the Previous Generation
Before critics bash Apple for simply making the iPhone bigger, the company did more than that, to their credit. Like the last generation, each phone will come in gold, silver, and space gray. There's no ugly cases here like we saw with the iPhone 5C: This time Apple is offering both leather and silicone cases. The leather cases come in black, soft pink, olive brown, midnight blue and red ($49); and the silicone cases come in black, blue, pink, green, white and red ($39).
Both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus are slimmer than the iPhone 5S, and have smooth, round edges that look similar to the original iPhone's design, and feel like small versions of the iPad Mini. In fact, if you have an iPad Mini (or a iPad Air for that matter), the iPhone 6's design shouldn't feel much different. For these versions, the power button is located on the side of the device and the camera lens slightly protrudes. The iPhone 6 is 6.9mm on its side, while the 6 Plus is 7.1 mm. That's probably slimmer than your wallet.
Apple Pay
Speaking of wallets, Apple didn't hide their intentions to replace it. Coming in October, Apple Pay will make use of NFC technology in the new iPhones to make payments on the fly. All users have to do to complete a transaction is hold their iPhones next to an NFC reader at a store while holding their finger on Touch ID, and a vibration will let them know that everything was successful. Users can store their information in Passbook, either adding the information already on their iTunes account, or by entering it separately by typing it in manually or taking a picture of their card. McDonald's, Whole Foods, Disney, and a slew of other companies have already signed up to support the technology.
So, how secure are you using this? Well, Apple Pay won't swap your credit or debit card numbers during a transaction. Instead, it will create a unique Device Account Number that's encrypted and stored in a chip in the phone (meaning, they're not stored on Apple's servers). When you buy something, that number and a transaction specific number are what's used, not your card number or your name. If you lose your phone, you can wipe all the info from the device using Find My iPhone.
Updated Camera Systems
Enjoy capturing slo-mo video on the iPhone 5S? Now videos can go even slower. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus can capture 1080p HD video at 60 frames per second, and capture slow motion at 240-fps, along with the ability to shoot time-lapse footage. Autofocus is improved as well: the camera will adjust more smoothly while shooting video if something moves into the foreground.
The front-facing camera is also updated, and users can now control exposure and other features just as they do with the primary camera. The new HD FaceTime camera captures 81-percent more light and has improved face detection. And when users take selfies, they can use a burst mode feature that can take 10 photos a second.
They're Fast and Fitness-Oriented
This year, the iPhone gets an upgraded A8 processing chip. It's 25 percent faster than the iPhone 5S's A7 chip, and is designed to withstand heat when used for long periods of time. That's a good thing, because the devices also get a new M8 motion co-processor, which will turn the phones into full-fledged fitness trackers. The M8 chip can distinguish between you running, walking or bicycling, and thanks to the addition of a barometer, the iPhone 6 can track your elevation. This will all work in tandem with the Apple Watch and HealthKit app, which will store your health information in one place.
That's not all the chips are good for. Games on the devices will run smooth and graphics will look even better than they've looked in recent years, as Apple showed in a demo for the upcoming game, Vain Glory.
Battery Life Is Improved (Somewhat)
During our live-tweeting of the event, Apple's announcement that the iPhone 6 would get better battery life than previous models received a ton skepticism from our readers. So far, these are the specs for the new iPhones:
Compared to the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6, the iPhone 6 Plus can last up to six days longer on standby mode. Why? Because when you have a bigger body, you have more room for battery. So, it might be cheating a bit to say they really improved on battery life (the iPhone 6 gets just a bit more life out of its battery than the 5S). But the new processing chips take some stress off of the device.
Better Wi-Fi Connection
The new iPhones will get up to 3-times faster Wi-Fi than the iPhone 5S, and users can now make calls over Wi-Fi by using their phone number. For example: if you're like most people and can't find a good cellular signal when you need it most, if you can log into nearby Wi-Fi, you'll be able to make a call as you would over a cellular network. And if you move back into an area with good celular reception, the device will switch from Wi-Fi back to the network without interrupting your call. The iPhones will support LTE speeds up to 150 Mbps, meaning faster download and upload speeds for web browsing, streaming, and FaceTime calls.
Pricing
The iPhone 6 will cost $199 for 16GB, $299 for 64GB, and $399 for 128GB, all on two-year contracts. The iPhone 6 Plus, on the other hand, costs $100 more in each category: $299 for 16GB, $399 for 64GB, and $499 for 128GB on a two year contract. The iPhone 5C is now free on contract.
They Launch September 19
Both devices will be in stores on September 19 for the US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, and Singapore. If last year was any indication when it came to the gold iPhone 5S, these products might sell out quickly. If you really want to lock yours in, you can pre-order one starting September 12. Five days later on the 17th iPhone owners can update to iOS 8.
Our Initial Impressions
The iPhone 6 Plus is huge. Android owners have long been able to enjoy 'phablet' devices, but if you're coming from a 4-inch iPhone 5S like I am, the Plus may take some getting used to. But both phones feel great on their own. They feel polished on their edges, they're light, and the screens are sharp and bright. The iPhone 6 felt normal in my front pocket, similar to the iPhone 5S. I was expecting a big difference with the Plus, but it, too, felt comfortable. Their rounded corners let it slip in and out with ease. I wear shorts occasionally that have low pockets, so I would worry about the iPhone 6 Plus slipping out if I wore them with it.
Landscape mode worked great on the 6 Plus, and I felt inclined to do things in this mode than the standard. The "Reachability" feature took some getting used to, and felt awkward. Even with the window moving down so I didn't have to adjust my hands to reach the top of the screen, the phone still felt large enough that I had to adjust my hands a bit instead of being able to quickly tap where I wanted.
I can see a ton of would-be customers spending hours picking up the iPhone 6 in one hand and the Plus in the other, stressing over whether the allure of the bigger screen is worth the extra $100. My guess, as of now, is that the iPhone 6 Plus will be the more popular of the two—customers will swoop up the 6, but the Plus will be to the 6 what the iPhone 5S was to the 5C: it'll steal all of the "cool" factor that customers want when they buy Apple products.