The iPhone 6 Plus Mini-Review: Apple's First Phablet
by Joshua Ho on September 30, 2014 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- Mobile
- iOS
- iPhone 6 Plus
While we’ve also written about the iPhone 6, the iPhone 6 Plus needs its own review in order to really understand the various features of the device that would otherwise be buried in the context of the iPhone 6. Without question, this device represents a significant departure from the way Apple has competed in the smartphone space. Until now, Apple hasn't competed in the phablet space and has thus avoided competing with Galaxy Note line that has been established as the dominant phablet for the past 3-4 generations. As a result, Apple occupies a fast-follower position at best.
This brings us to the iPhone 6 Plus, which really is an extension of the iPhone 6. Both phones share the same SoC, NAND configurations, front and rear camera sensors, LED flash module, industrial/material design, TouchID home button, earpiece and speaker configuration, WiFi/BT chipset, modem, and button layout. At this point, I’m going to stop listing similarities because the iPhone 6 Plus is interesting for its differences. Unlike similarities, the differences are simple. The iPhone 6 Plus is bigger, the display has higher pixel density, the camera has optical image stabilization, and iOS 8 has new app designs to take advantage of the larger screen. The iPhone 6 Plus is also more expensive, with the 16GB version starting at the same price as the 64GB version of the iPhone 6.
While I’ve already discussed the design of the iPhone 6, it’s important to see whether the same design translates to the iPhone 6 Plus. To this end, the iPhone 6 Plus does well. While the angular design of the iPhone 5 line would have looked and felt enormous in the hand, the shape is quite similar to the iPad line and is similarly comfortable in the hand, although the rounded edge really differentiates it, as does the control scheme. The only real issue here is that the top bezel on the front becomes surprisingly large, and this seems to contribute to a sense that the phone is top-heavy even though the phone is evenly balanced.
| Apple iPhone 5s | Apple iPhone 6 | Apple iPhone 6 Plus | |
| SoC | Apple A7 | Apple A8 | Apple A8 |
| Display | 4-inch 1136 x 640 LCD | 4.7-inch 1334 x 750 LCD | 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LCD |
| WiFi | 2.4/5GHz 802.11a/b/g/n, BT 4.0 | 2.4/5GHz 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, single stream, BT 4.0, NFC | |
| Storage | 16GB/32GB/64GB | 16GB/64GB/128GB | 16GB/64GB/128GB |
| I/O | Lightning connector, 3.5mm headset | ||
| Size / Mass |
123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm, 112 grams |
138.1 x 67 x 6.9 mm, 129 grams |
158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm, 172 grams |
| Camera |
8MP iSight with 1.5µm pixels Rear Facing + True Tone Flash 1.2MP f/2.4 Front Facing |
8MP iSight with 1.5µm pixels Rear Facing + True Tone Flash 1.2MP f/2.2 Front Facing |
8MP iSight with 1.5µm pixels Rear Facing + True Tone Flash + OIS 1.2MP f/2.2 Front Facing |
| Price |
$99 (16GB), $149 (32GB) on 2 year contract |
$199 (16GB), $299 (64GB), $399 (128GB) on 2 year contract |
$299 (16GB), $399 (64GB), $499 (128GB) on 2 year contract |
Overall, even though the iPhone 6 Plus is noticeably taller than the Galaxy Note 3 both feel similar in size. The iPhone 6 Plus is on the thinner side which makes a significant impression in the hand. At any rate, it’s physically impossible for me to use this device with one hand for most situations. It’s definitely a tablet in this sense, but in a much more compact and pocketable form factor.
"Bendgate"
Of course, drawing the comparison between the iPhone 6 Plus and Galaxy Note 3 inevitably raises the question of “bendgate”, which draws interesting parallels with “scuffgate” from the iPhone 5 generation. Unfortunately, I can’t destroy multiple review units in order to thoroughly investigate this issue. However, we can look at Consumer Reports’ data and come to a few conclusions about this problem. The first is that in the case of the iPhone 6 Plus, there appears to be an area near the bottom of the volume buttons that is a weak point as we see a clear failure of the casing in this area.
However, it seems that there is a significant amount of force needed in the first place in order to cause permanent deformation. Otherwise, everything that we’ve seen is primarily the result of fundamental differences between the two materials. It’s clear that in the case of the Galaxy Note 3 that a great deal of the structural rigidity is tied to the display itself, so the case doesn’t quite provide much in the way of protection as the polymer used is clearly in the elastic region all the way to failure. LG seems to have a different design though, as their polymer material has a clear case of brittle failure at the limit, which saved the display from shattering.
It's certainly possible to bend the iPhone 6 Plus (or really any phone or tablet), but the real issue here that hasn’t been addressed is the level of force needed to cause a certain level of elastic or plastic deformation in the material. This matters far more when discussing drop protection as the level of force in such a scenario is relatively small but applied over an extremely short period of time. There’s also no mention of force per unit area in any of these figures, so we can’t really have a serious discussion about this issue without the necessary data.
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KuyaMarkEduard - Thursday, October 2, 2014 - link
I cannot say any better word than this, but simply, AWESOME!TruthLoader - Thursday, October 2, 2014 - link
Did you really forget to mention one of Apple's new key features, introduced the first time with this new iPhone iteration, a capability prominently displayed by the newiPhone 6+ and best described by the words of Apple's CEO:
Dear iSheeps,
I am enlighted you guys already noticed our brandnew "iBend" feature. We have intentionally kept quiet to preserve the big surprise now unvieled on behalf of our beloved
iSheep. Let me share the following core principles, which were of particular importance throughout the design and development process:
1) Enhance our iSheep's ability to enjoy a panoramic perspective, to be able to make "Panoramas" without moving the iPhone or needing any third party software.
2) We wanted to compete with curved screen models form LG, Motorola and Samsung, mainly offered in their domestic markets.
3) This is our answer to the curved screen dsiplays offered by LG and Samsung, especially the new Samsung Galaxy Note Edge and the LG G Flex:
http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/3/6097297/samsung-g...
http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/27/5036288/lg-g-fl...
4) It is our firm belief and intention to surprise Samsung and LG by showing that we are capable of having an edged display in our phones without actually having one, all for
the purpose of trashing their new curved display phones and offering you a new, well hidden, feature.
5) Last but not the least, we want to sell more replacement screens (remember, screen replacement prices were already provided before our new iPhone launch event took place
(in anticipation of it:), of course thats's a feature, feel free to exchange displays now:)).
I am sure some of you iTards might be aware of some articles stating that although our new phones cost about 200$ to 250$ to manufacture (now the old ones cost even less),
http://recode.net/2014/09/23/teardown-shows-apples...
http://news.investors.com/technology-click/092314-...
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/16347/20140926/i...
we are selling them at a huge premium, which means we make a lot of money and I get to enjoy a lot of additional bonifications (ideed, my 15th luxury home has an indoor pool filled
with 100$ bills, hence I'm able to take a bath without suffocating).
More money leads to more attractive innovations like this special iBend (Registered Trademark, Patend Pending) feature you guys will be blessed with, as usual.
Soon we will launch a new iDevice with an additional "S" in its name, it will offer a whole pletoria of new features you will be able tomake use of, like the possibility to to bend it back and forth to form an S shape. ("iS", Patend Pending)
I sincerely believe you iSheeps are happy with our new iBend 6 Plus, however please let me take the oportunity to thank you all for being such a giant hoard of ignorant,
blind and mindless suckers whose whole purpose in life consists of buying our new iDevice/iCrap (Registered Trademark, Patend Pending) for a very high premium while wasting
their valueless time waiting in the iQueue just to brag about which poor soul enriched me first.
Always remember and never forget, the only thing premium about apple is price, everything else pales in comparision.
We Own you.
Yours Sincerely
Tim Crook.
TruthLoader - Thursday, October 2, 2014 - link
I'm terribly sorry I did forget to correct some typos, nonetheless, here we go (corrected version):Did you really forget to mention one of Apple's new key features, introduced the first time with this new iPhone iteration, a capability prominently displayed by the new
iPhone 6+ and best described by the words of Apple's CEO:
Dear iSheep,
I am delighted you guys already noticed our brand-new "iBend" feature. We have intentionally kept quiet to preserve the big surprise now unveiled on behalf of our beloved
iSheep. Let me share the following core principles, which were of particular importance throughout the design and development process:
1) Enhance our iSheep's ability to enjoy a panoramic perspective, to be able to make "Panoramas" without moving the iPhone or needing any third party software.
2) We wanted to compete with curved screen models form LG, Motorola and Samsung, mainly offered in their domestic markets.
3) This is our answer to the curved screen displays offered by LG and Samsung, especially the new Samsung Galaxy Note Edge and the LG G Flex:
http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/3/6097297/samsung-g...
http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/27/5036288/lg-g-fl...
4) It is our firm belief and intention to surprise Samsung and LG by showing that we are capable of having an edged display in our phones without actually having one, all for
the purpose of trashing their new curved display phones and offering you a new, well hidden, feature.
5) Last but not the least, we want to sell more replacement screens (remember, screen replacement prices were already provided before our new iPhone launch event took place
(in anticipation of it:), of course that's a feature, feel free to exchange displays now:)).
I am sure some of you iTards might be aware of some articles stating that although our new phones cost about 200$ to 250$ to manufacture (now the old ones cost even less),
http://recode.net/2014/09/23/teardown-shows-apples...
http://news.investors.com/technology-click/092314-...
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/16347/20140926/i...
we are selling them at a huge premium, which means we make a lot of money and I get to enjoy a lot of additional bonifications (indeed, my 15th luxury home has an indoor pool filled
with 100$ bills, hence I'm able to take a bath without suffocating).
More money leads to more attractive innovations like this special iBend (Registered Trademark, Patent Pending) feature you guys will be blessed with, as usual.
Soon we will launch a new iDevice with an additional "S" in its name, it will offer a whole plethora of new features you will be able to make use of, like the possibility to to bend it back and forth to form an S shape. ("iS", Patent Pending)
I sincerely believe you iSheep are happy with our new iBend 6 Plus, however please let me take the opportunity to thank you all for being such a giant hoard of ignorant,
blind and mindless suckers whose whole purpose in life consists of buying our new iDevice/iCrap (Registered Trademark, Patent Pending) for a very high premium while wasting
their valueless time waiting in the iQueue just to brag about which poor soul enriched me first.
Always remember and never forget, the only thing premium about apple is price, everything else pales in comparison.
We Own you.
Yours Sincerely
Tim Crook
KuyaMarkEduard - Friday, October 3, 2014 - link
BWHAHAHAHAH! AWESOME TruthLoader...bonerpopr - Thursday, October 2, 2014 - link
This guy just latches on to the top comment to spew his anti-apple bile.Please disregard
svan1971 - Friday, October 3, 2014 - link
wow you done, now im on my way to buy an iphone 6, oh wait there sold out EVERYWHERE ! Guess 10 million people didn't read your rant. Guess Ill get the Android disposable phone of the month...maybe not.smalM - Saturday, October 4, 2014 - link
That were a lot of words just to say "I hate Apple"...Berenz - Thursday, October 9, 2014 - link
Meh, I don't get why people are so in one camp or another. Both camps are making fantastic phones and a consumer won't go wrong by buying either a leading or even a mid-range device.As for Apple bashing, I think it got old years even decades ago. The fact is that iPhone would be largely the same device it is now (albeit with a smaller screen size still) without Android being developed. The same can't be said for the other way around. Fandroid pick a handful of great features taken by Apple from Android or 3rd parties while ignoring the fact that Android is copied almost verbatim from iPhone thousands of features including the entire concept. Just look at where Android was before iPhone launched. It looked like BlackBerry. There is a reason Goodle were able to copy quickly including Eric Schmitt (Google CEO) being on the Apple board and Andy Rubin (Head of Android at Goodle) having worked on Apple's earlier devices including the Newton (5" screen, stylus input, wireless, email, etc all 20+ years before current phablets.
As for spec, well, the stats speak for themselves. iPhones smoke the competition in almost every aspect by a big margin. However, my bargain Moto G (2nd gen) is still super smooth and feels almost as responsive as my iPhone 6.
The screen res argument is one of the most flawed ones I've seen yet. The thing that's important in a screen a high-enough res to not be able to see pixels (which is around 330ppi). Any higher and all you do is slow GPU and drain battery. Look at the frame rate of any higher res device on speed tests - they just crawl.
Yes, iPhones cost a load more but then Apple are the only manufacturer making a profit on their phones apart from Samsung who have just announced a 60% drop in profits warning. At some point, innovation will slow if companies can't make a profit. Currently it's a race for market share and brand position but Samsung has seen that they have very little customer loyalty and their customers will happily move to Sony, LG, OnePlus, Moto or a host of Chinese competitors. This is great for consumers in the short term but I'm not so sure long term.
I'm curious about the NSA "hotlink" comment. I've never heard any substantiated source claiming Apple have collaborated with the NSA at any point. This is not the same for other organisations.
CR2 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
There are great, really great Android products to choose from. In fact I may very well switch over and buy one on my next phone upgrade. It does not make Apple products somehow stuck as you say in 2011 technology. Apple is different than Android. Cadillac is different than Lincoln. There are a few, I admit important things that the Android products do that Apple doesn't, however the opposite is also true.The biggest difference might be the business philosophy of Apple versus Android manufacturers. You are correct that as a whole Apple is not always the first to introduce a feature. Of course in the case of fingerprint id, and a Total integrateds phone based payment system they were first.
The payment system highlights a fundamental difference in the 2 approaches to the market. Should the payment platform work it will over time have a big impact on how people pay for items and the security of that process. It is a much better collection and use of resources, with banks, credit card companies and the Android introduced NFC technology that combines for a perhaps better payment experience. (and you know that Apple has long known about NFC- but chose what might be a more powerful and profitable way to use it)
Don't discount profit as it the biggest difference in the phone debate. Like it or not Apple is making lots of money.
I find the venom that I often see on both sides laughable. And the envy that Apple generates because of the buzz for seemingly me to products is funny as well. On the flip side it really is a social question mark why Apple fans camp out, wait in line and spend countless time waiting when you can go online and get er done much easier! Perhaps it's a every 2 year party???
So enjoy the difference, it gives us choice, it makes both platforms drive each other to be better and both camps can enjoy the results. In other words don't hate, celebrate.
CR2
mpfjelsted - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
Why do seemingly intelligent people go and ruin their somewhat legitimate tirades by throwing in asinine hearsay?@AppleCrappleHater2, please tell me that you at least had a template that just needed some minor revision for this particular anti-Apple novella. I would hate to think you actually took time to write that in full just to post here. How disappointed you'll be to find out that it probably changed the minds of approximately zero people. Of course, that's the problem, isn't it? You don't have the self-control to make a legitimate point without throwing in the inflammatory (and in several cases above, erroneous) commentary that appears to be the trademark of every hyped-up lackey (both Android and Apple) here.
As someone who is generally supportive of the Android architecture, and the wide array of devices on the market that support it, I feel justified in my conclusion:
You're an embarrassment.