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
Video Quality
At a high level, video recording seems to be mostly similar. Both the iPhone 5s and iPhone 6 continue to rely on EIS for video stabilization, both seem to use somewhat similar optics and sensors, and both can only shoot 1080p video. However, the details are really where we see improvements in the iPhone 6. For starters, the iPhone 6 now has 1080p60 video support, which is definitely helpful for improving spatial resolution and general performance. There's also 720p240 slow motion video, which is an addition to the 720p120 video that we saw in the iPhone 5s.
| Video Encode Settings (Approx.) | ||||||
| iPhone 5s | iPhone 6 | |||||
| 1080p30 | 17 Mbps High Profile H.264 | 17 Mbps High Profile H.264 | ||||
| 1080p60 | - | 27 Mbps High Profile H.264 | ||||
| 720p120 | 27 Mbps High Profile H.264 | 31 Mbps High Profile H.264 | ||||
| 720p240 | - | 42 Mbps High Profile H.264 | ||||
As you can see, there's really not a massive difference in encoding bitrate, at least for the standard video record settings. However, even casual examination shows just how big a difference there is when comparing video from the iPhone 5s to video from the iPhone 6.
While the YouTube compression is likely to make it hard to see whether the iPhone 6 really has better video quality, when viewed at full resolution with Quicktime it seems that there is some level of improvement, but this could be due to the smaller field of view that is used when compared to the iPhone 5s. This tighter FOV also seems to be part of the reason why the stabilization is more effective than before. At various points in the video, it's quite obvious that the iPhone 6 is also benefiting greatly from PDAF as we see seamless transitions throughout the video and consistently better focus while the iPhone 5s is locked from the start and would require multiple taps to refocus the video.
1080p60 brings significant improvements to temporal quality, as capturing fast motion is noticeably more fluid when compared to 1080p30. Video stabilization is also retained, which makes 1080p60 an easy choice when capturing fast-moving objects.
As with the iPhone 5s, the original video on NAND is saved to play back at either 120 or 240 fps, but on the phone and when uploaded to social media the slow motion versions play back certain parts at 30 fps. As far as I can tell, there's relatively little difference in the image quality between the two modes, but this advantage is unlikely to hold when in lower light situations as the frame rate inherently caps the exposure time.
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blackcrayon - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
There's also a big difference (heh) between being able to discern a difference, or caring about the difference. I certainly care about the difference between an iPad 2 screen and an iPad 3 and up screen. But I care *far* less about a 326 ppi screen vs a 400 ppi one. The other aspects of the display at that point are more "careworthy" (viewing angles, color, contrast, etc).techconc - Thursday, October 2, 2014 - link
Assuming 20/20 vision, 326ppi is "retina" quality at a distance of 10.5" or greater. 400ppi brings that in to 8.5" or greater. This can be mathematically proven. For you to claim to be able to discern the difference, you either have vision that is greater than 20/20 or you hold your phone much closer than everyone else in normal use. I'm guessing that neither is true and that you're more concerned about the values listed on a spec sheet.Revdarian - Friday, October 3, 2014 - link
You know prior to disregarding his claims you should investigate human eyesight further, i present to you the phenomenom of Hyper Acuity, which is simply that our brains actually do notice certain defects up to 10x smaller than our "hardware" in our eyes suggests that we should be able to notice.techconc - Monday, October 6, 2014 - link
@Revdarian - Yes, I'm familiar with the concept of Hyper Acuity. However, if the argument comes down to "I think there's a difference between these two displays, but I can't really say what it is..." then I think it's also safe to suggest that any such differences simply don't matter. From a practical perspective, today's high end screens (including the iPhone 6 and 6+) have reached the point where any further "improvement" in resolution adds little or no value for normal viewing distances. That said, there are still improvements to be made in terms of color accuracy, brightness, contrast, etc. which are far more noticeable. As such, it's probably not a coincidence that these are the type of improvements that Apple has targeted with their latest displays.Kidster3001 - Thursday, October 2, 2014 - link
I agree. I am ready for an Android upgrade but all the top models have stupid mega resolution. I don't want to pay for it because it provides no benefit. Can't see it, eats more battery.bernstein - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
at least you got one thing right: apple is after the polish not features (with consumers willing to pay huge money for that)mrochester - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
And I wish there were more manufactures who would take this approach. It's a lonely, if extremely lucrative, market for Apple.dmacfour - Wednesday, October 1, 2014 - link
After using an Android for 2 years, I came to the realization that polish, fit and finish, and UI fluidity are important to me.Zakster - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
You need weed !mrubin63 - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
Dude, please consider not skipping your meds!! I hope Apple sues you into the 20th Century. You are so clueless to be not just bizarre, but a bit unhinged mentally.