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
Audio Quality
The iPhone 6 is the first non-Android phone to be put onto the Audio Precision APx582 for audio testing. The exact same test tones are used as with Android devices, but they are played back through iTunes at maximum volume. We use the same four static loads as we did with the HTC M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5 for the results you see in the table below.
| 15 Ohm | 33 Ohm | 150 Ohm | 330 Ohm | |
| Dynamic Range | 84.155 dB | 92.281 dB | 92.223 dB | 92.160 dB |
| THD+N | 5.873% | 0.0054% | 0.0032% | 0.0032% |
| Crosstalk (L) | -49.608 dB | -56.239 dB | -71.721 dB | -77.966 dB |
| Crosstalk (R) | -49.831 dB | -56.459 dB | -72.191 dB | -77.983 dB |
| Output Power | 44.04 mW | 26.39 mW | 6.614 mW | 3.072 mW |
| Output Voltage | 812.7 mVrms | 933 mVrms | 997 mVrms | 1,007 mVrms |
| Relative Level (20Hz - 20kHz) | ±0.088 dB | ±0.088 dB | ±0.089 dB | ±0.088 dB |
The first thing to notice is the 15 Ohm load test. At maximum volume, with a -0dBFS signal the amplifier section in the iPhone 6 enters clipping. You can reduce the volume to avoid this, but it does not do as well with really hard loads as the M8 does. You can see the 1kHz sine wave for that below, with the amp clearly clipping at the bottom.
iPhone 6 997 Hz Sine Wave 0dBFS, 15 Ohm Load
For most testing I focus on the 33 Ohm load, as most in-ear headphones have a rated impedance around 32 Ohms. A data comparison to the HTC M8 and the Galaxy S5 is in the chart with the S5 as the clear loser.
| HTC M8 | iPhone 6 | Galaxy S5 | |
| Dynamic Range | 92.074 dB | 92.281 dB | 91.921 dB |
| THD+N | 0.0152% | 0.0054% | 0.0505% |
| Crosstalk (L) | -64.780 dB | -56.239 dB | -44.767 dB |
| Crosstalk (R) | -64.329 dB | -56.459 dB | -44.804 dB |
| Output Power | 47.63 mW | 26.39 mW | 10.63 mW |
| Output Voltage | 1.254 Vrms | 933 mVrms | 592.4 mVrms |
| Relative Level (20Hz - 20kHz) | ±0.664 dB | ±0.088 dB | ±0.081 dB |
Compared to the M8 the iPhone 6 isn’t quite as powerful, but it has lower THD+N and a much better relative level. The relative level isn’t a big deal, as a variation of 0.5dB is unlikely to be heard by most. That the THD+N is 1/3rd the value of that on the HTC M8 is more important, as the FFT below shows a very low noise floor on the iPhone 6 when compared to the one in for the M8.
iPhone 6 997Hz 0dBFS Sine Wave FFT
HTC M8 997Hz 0dBFS Sine Wave FFT
The crosstalk is also lower on the HTC, which is an area the iPhone 6 could certainly improve in. Digging into more depth on the THD+N results provides a bit more context. The HTC M8 has THD+N levels that start at 0.03% but after 2kHz it begins a steady rise up to 0.1% at 10kHz and past 0.2% at 20kHz. In contrast, the iPhone 6 THD+N is 0.03% until 500Hz, rises up to 0.06% at 5kHz, then back down to 0.03% at 9kHz, and peaks at 0.1% by 20kHz. The iPhone 6 will have slightly more midrange distortion but less treble distortion.
iPhone 6 THD+N Ratio Frequency Sweep
HTC M8 THD+N Ratio Frequency Sweep
If we leave noise out of it and look only at distortion then the iPhone 6 does even better. It has a distortion level of -95dB out to 10kHz and then it rises up to -82dB at 20kHz. The HTC M8 begins at -77dB for 20Hz, falls to -95dB until 2kHz, and then rises up to -56dB by 20kHz. The bass and midrange distortion is about equal, but the HTC M8 has far more distortion in the treble.
iPhone 6 Distortion (Noise) Frequency Sweep
HTC M8 Distortion (Noise) Frequency Sweep
Is one phone superior to the other? With the iPhone 6 and M8, I don’t believe so. The M8 is more powerful with lower crosstalk while the iPhone 6 has less distortion and better frequency response. Most notably the iPhone 6 has no results that indicate odd behavior, which we have seen with the Galaxy S5 and other phones. It is a well engineered headphone amplifier provided you do not need to listen to something at maximum volume with a 15 Ohm load.
Can Apple improve this? They could improve crosstalk, though some headphone companies like more crosstalk to help create an image more like a pair of stereo speakers than headphones. They could also support 24-bit audio which can improve on the SNR values here. The test tones are only 16-bit in nature, so the SNR maximum value is around -98dB. The HTC M8 may perform better given 24-bit test tones but would need a retest to verify this. Apple seems to have decided on using Lightning with an external DAC to push beyond 16-bit audio so we will have to wait for devices using that to see.
Audio hardware on phones can still improve a lot to get closer to where the best stand-alone products are. Those are capable of Signal-to-Noise ratios of -120dB or greater, and crosstalk of -110dB or more. How much those would be audible with headphones is uncertain, but when used as a source device with a stereo it may be audible. However, unless high-resolution audio downloads, like Pono or HD Tracks, really start to catch on I don’t see this being a main focus for most of the companies out there. The iPhone 6 is more likely what we will see going forward: good audio quality, but most importantly free of any major issues.
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Samus - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
tl/drAceMcLoud - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
lol, retardroids crack me upninjaroll - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
LOL. That's pretty sad. I would NEVER spend more than 2 minutes writing about a product I don't intend on using. You seem a LITTLE obsessed with Apple judging by your username. But I applaud you for having so much free time, must be nice having so much disposable time. I say you focus on using whatever works for you.bigstrudel - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
It took a second to scroll by your post, but I had to scroll back up to read your line"Last but not least, every Apple product includes a direct hotlink to the NSA, free of charge, something that might make it a good value, after all."
Wait. Apple is the one with NSA connections?
Aljazeera released emails that show Google's founders speaking with the NSA director on a first name basis.
In 2004, Google bought Keyhole, a geospatial data visualization company with history and investments made by the CIA. Keyhole's marquee application suite, Earth Viewer, emerged as Google Earth in 2005 while other aspects of its technology were integrated into Google Maps.
SELinux was created by the NSA for "security purposes" and is included on Android with Google's permission. It cannot be disabled.
Do you think AOSP will save you with it's "millions of eyes" strategy? Wrong. Google Apps are closed source and cannot be removed by 99% of the population.
Yes. We don't really know what happens to the data that Apple collects. But Apple is a hardware company. They make their money selling devices.
We do know what Google does with our data however. Google exists to collect and sell user data. Distributing an OS and App package that collects user data is a far better strategy for mass spying than trying to directly compete with only a single companies hardware.
And there is nothing to stop Google from handing over anything they want behind closed doors, like you accuse Apple of, but with no evidence.
WinterCharm - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
Someone's upset that their phone isn't the "best"bigstrudel - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
DEVS.2nd response with a wall of text? On a popular website? Impossible. He clearly had it pre-prepared before the review was even ready seeing as it's the size and quality of a 7th graders essay.
Delete this trash.
RandomReader - Thursday, October 2, 2014 - link
You never stop making censorship requests, do you?Here we go again:
In contrast to you I very much enjoyed reading the differing viewpoint mentioned above, albeit the fact that it does display a healthy dislike for apple products in general and has been written by an obvious android fan-boy.
Now what I don't like that much is your request to censor the aforementioned post and all related answers out of purely private motives.
Just because you deem something inappropriate and dispensable, it doesn't has to be that way, thus I politely ask you to respect the right of others to enjoy unhindered freedom of speech in general and the existence of other peoples personal opinions.
Hereby I politely ask you to abstain from censorship requests out of mainly egoistic, egocentric motivations, please respect other peoples rights and opinions.
As a side note, based on your behavior and the totalitarian nature of your requests, I suspect you to be either a member of some law enforcement entity or
an individual blessed with a pretty weak character, apparently unable to deal with differing viewpoints in a grown up, factual manner.
kattahn - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
"The apple way, selling over expensive crap to stupid consumers that like toget robbed."
starting at 200$ is the price that every companies top end smartphone starts at. iPhones have always been priced competitively.
"The iwatch is such an ugly piece of crap" - opinion
"Some characteristics are glaringly obvious and inherent to it: over expensive" - compared to what
"hardly innovative" - combining messaging, navigation, and health features into a watch with TONs of interchangeable bands, integrating the watch dial as manual control, and the ability to use touch feedback to the user to communicate non-visual messages. Inductive charging without the need for a cradle. Theres really no other smart watch doing all of this...
"limited functionality and usability (need of an iPhone to make it work)" - Yup. Its an extension of your phone. this is normal.
"looks exactly like a toy watch and so on." - Have you seen it with any of the nice metal bands? And with the face up? What kind of toy watches are you looking at?
"There are of course way better smart watches out there, especially from the
likes of Samsung, Sony, Motorola, Asus, LG, simply put, there is no need for
another piece of over expensive junk." - You've never used a wearable before, have you? Or read any reviews? Every android one so far has been pretty terrible, with the "flagship" that everyone was waiting on using a 4 year old SoC.
"The iPhone 6 is technologically stuck in pre-2011 times, a base model with
a capacity of 16GB without the possibility to use SD cards isn't even funny
anymore. " - I 100% agree. Apple is making a ton of money off limiting storage capacity.
"Now the Iphone 6 Plus offers a „Retina HD“ screen, full 1920x1080p, oh wow,
where have you been for the past 4 years apple, talk about trailing behind." - First 1080p smartphones came out in q4 of 2012.
"Car engines come to mind. For comparisons shake let’s look at a 1.0 liter, turbo
charged petrol engine and a V8 compressor. What’s better should be obvious, but
by calling the former an „ecobooster“, thus giving it a special marketing label,
this joke becomes a „feature“, something positive that can be added tot the list
of features of a car." - so we've made it clear you know literally cars. got it. stick to analogies with things that you understand.
"FACT: Apple has been forced to copy Android in style and size for
years because people abandoned their tired, moribund and fossilized
devices for superior and innovative Android devices." - Yes, they'e been taking the best features of android for a while now, and leaving the bad ones behind. And they've got a damn fine product to show for it.
"charge a premium price and
wait for the rubes like Jim Smith to hand over their cash like the good
iSheep they are." - Again, iphones are priced the same as any other smartphone.
"For all their squealing about Retina displays, they never even had a HD display until now;
8th time is the charm, though you need the iPhone Galaxy Note to get the 1080p that many Android
users have had for at least a year and is now considered
bare-minimum spec." Yes, androids have been pushing resolutions WAY higher than their processors and batteries could handle for several years. And they've been laggy/stuttery and have had terrible battery life the whole time.
And thats the part that you and the other fanboys just don't understand. Specsheets are boderline useless. Ask intel about spec sheet races during the netburst era of CPUs. Intel ran out clock speed improvements like crazy and got trounced with better user experience and performance by AMD CPUs running half the clock rate.
We can also use your inept car analogy here. Because with engines, bigger is not always better. Not by a longshot. A BMW M3 with a twin-turbo straight 6 pushes more HP and will outperform a Mustang with a 5.0L V8. An Ariel Atom with a 2.3L naturally aspirated engine will beat both cars in 0-60, and will outhandle them both. Because the entire car was built around performance. Point being, If all you look at is horsepower or engine size, you have no idea what you're doing and aren't really getting the best product for what you're trying to do.
Apple creates fantastic, tightly designed products that focus on the user experience. They have 100% control of their hardware and software ecosystems and are able to highly optimize everything they do to provide the highest level of performance they can. If you pick up an iphone 6, regardless of the specs, the screen will look great, the battery life will be great, the phone will be flawlessly snappy and won't lockup/hang/get slow over time. You'll have a great user experience, even if it doesn't spec for spec line up against a 2014 android flagship. Just like if you get into an ariel atom and hit the gas, it will absolutely throw you back against the seat and show you power and acceleration you've never felt before, even though by specs it doesn't look comparable at all to something like an M3 or a Mustang 5.0
Ant1matt3r - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
I've never seen so much admiration or hatred for a company as I have Apple. Have you thought to think that, considering the length of your diatribe, that Apple is doing something RIGHT?I mean, to polarize the world into groups of fanbois and haters, with each being equally passionate about Apple, I'd have to say that they're doing a damn fine job.
If they can compel you to write a 5,000 word essay denouncing their product, imagine what they do for people who actually ENJOY what they do.
dmacfour - Wednesday, October 1, 2014 - link
I don't think the world is actually polarized.There's the 5% that are Apple fanboys, the 5% that would murder Steve Jobs if they had the opportunity, and then the 90% that'll buy wherever is the coolest.One thing is certain: the iPhone is a superior product from a business standpoint.