The iPhone 6 Review
by Joshua Ho, Brandon Chester, Chris Heinonen & Ryan Smith on September 30, 2014 8:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- Mobile
- iPhone 6
Cellular
As was previously announced, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus both have support for carrier aggregation and VoLTE. For those that are unfamiliar with the two technologies, carrier aggregation is a method of combining multiple pieces of spectrum for simultaneous use, so it would be possible to piece together one band of 10 MHz and another band of 10 MHz spectrum to achieve the same rate that one would get with a single band of 20 MHz LTE. VoLTE is the next generation of voice service that is delivered over LTE, thus eliminating the need for complicated circuit-switched fallback mechanisms to WCDMA or GSM that are currently required. This is all enabled by the move to Qualcomm's MDM9x25 Gobi modem, which is built on 28HPm and therefore brings lower power when compared to the MDM9x15 generation fabricated on 28LP.
GNSS
As the iPhone 6 has Qualcomm's Gobi MDM9x25 modem inside, it goes without saying that it also has IZat Gen 8B. While it isn't possible to force GPS-only location and location is disabled when airplane mode is on, with WiFi turned off and no SIM inserted in the phone a location lock occurs in around 11 seconds.
Misc
While we normally do a WiFi performance test, for some reason it is no longer possible to get a good iperf port for the iPhone 6. It's likely that we're looking at a single spatial stream solution, and given the track record of Broadcom design wins for the WiFi/BT combo chip it's likely that this is a BCM4339 solution. Apple continues to integrate noise cancellation in the earpiece, and at least two microphones are integrated into the phone. Subjectively the single downward-firing speaker reaches acceptable levels of volume although I haven't been able to get the necessary equipment to test peak volume.
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bigstrudel - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
Yeah Alpha and Note 4 are frankensteinish. Plastic on the back. Metal on the edge. Glass on the front.No wonder the Note 4 has gaps in the build you can slide a piece of construction paper into.
Samsung needs to go back to what they do best: using leftover "polycarbonate" TV scrap to make their devices.
danbob999 - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
Like I said, I agree completely. I don't see any reason for not using plastic.elajt_1 - Friday, October 3, 2014 - link
Metal + glass = heavier, breaks more easily, blocks signals. I would have to say that I like the iOS more than anything I've seen from Android so far tho.cupholder - Wednesday, October 1, 2014 - link
Protip chuckles: Samsung phones cost more to make than the iPhone. So what point are you trying to make? That you'd prefer a cheap feeling bendable phone?And this is coming from someone with an iPhone 6+. It feels cheap. And it IS cheap.
Kidster3001 - Thursday, October 2, 2014 - link
Plastic is not necessarily crap. I work with all kinds of phones everyday at work, testing them. In our experience iPhones are much more prone to breaking when dropped than are plastic phones. Metal and glass doesn't bounce very well.Wolfpup - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
I think Apple needs to compete in the mid range and low end pricing segments, and they needed to a year or three ago.The lightning connector is defective, these iPhone 6s bend, which is absurd, etc...
I'll defend the resolution though. It's perfectly fine. Android devices just compete on some specs that don't actually matter because there are so many companies directly combating each other.
I think the iWatches LOOK great too for that matter, and they come in 90 billion styles anyway. BUT of course you have to be seriously married to iOS for their to be a point of them...even then, I'm not sure.
Not sure about Google Wear either. I'd really prefer something that can work on it's own. As always, Microsoft was YEARS (a decade?) ahead on this with their spot watches, but everyone acts like Apple invented it LOL.
steven75 - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
I know lots of people with iOS devices and never heard any complaints about the lightning connector. That thing was an incredible improvement over the old 30 pin connector and is head and shoulders above micro USB as well.mrochester - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
Yeah, I love the lighting connector. Micro USB is just horrible in comparison, I can't believe its not even reversible. Come on manufacturers, it's 2014, not 2011!Parhel - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
Me too. I wish the cables were cheaper, but that's about it. Don't see how anyone could call it 'defective'. I've never had a cable or port break. I'm sure it happens, but I've never heard of it happening.Omega215D - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
That's my only issue with the Lightning cable is the price. Though I can find some good ones for a decent price from a reputable manufacturer and is sold in big brick&mortar stores like Best Buy.After using it for the iPod Nano 7th gen I can't go back to the old iPod cables.