On September 9 Apple hosted their annual iPhone event announcing the newest additions to the iPhone family: the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
Here is a quick rundown of the new features:
Larger Screen Size
The biggest change (pun intended) was the increased screen size of the iPhone 6 and introduction of it’s larger brethren, the iPhone 6 Plus. The iPhone 6 sports a 4.7″ display compared to the 4″ display used on the iPhone 5s/5. The iPhone 6 Plus includes a whopping 5.5″ display.
Clearly, Apple is looking to reach into an untapped market of users who are demanding larger screen sizes. The iPhone 6 matches screen size with the HTC One and is slightly smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S5 (5″ display). The iPhone 6 Plus falls just .2″ shorter than the comparable 5.7″ display on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
Even with the increased screen size, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are a tad thinner than their predecessors at .27″ and .28″ respectively. The iPhone 5s was .3″ thick.
With increased screen size comes increased resolution. The iPhone 6 display uses the same 326 PPI as the iPhone 5s but has a 1334 x 750 px resolution compared to the previous iPhone’s 1136 x 640 px resolution. The iPhone 6 Plus ups the PPI to 401 and packs a 1920 x 1080 px resolution.
Increased Storage
Apple has upped the second and third tier storage options of the new iPhones to 64GB for $100 on base price and $128GB for $200 on base price. These prices previously gained a 32GB or 64GB device respectively.
Although I would’ve liked to see a base storage increase to 32GB, it’s hard to argue with quadruple the storage for only $100 more.
NFC Payment (Apple Pay)
Finally catching up on the mobile payment front, Apple announced “Apple Pay,” their mobile payment service using NFC. With NFC available in both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, users will now be able to store credit card information and make payments at select vendors using their new iPhone. This technology has been available in many Android phones for quite some time and is much less an “oh, wow!” feature and more of an “it’s about time” addition.
Camera Updates
As with every new model of the iPhone, Apple has included an upgraded camera (two to be precise) that offer some added features. The front-facing camera now supports burst mode (in case you have trouble snapping that perfect selfie in one shot). Third party camera apps are now able to offer manual camera controls for settings such as shutter speed and aperture. The camera App now offers an easy exposure adjustment by tapping to focus, then sliding up or down on the screen to increase or decrease the exposure. The camera App has also been updated to include a time-lapse video mode.
New Sensors
Included in the new A8 motion processor is a barometer to detect subtle changes in air pressure that indicate relative elevation. This is utilized for determining elevation for apps such as fitness trackers which count flights climbed.
Faster Wi-FI
The new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus include an 802.11AC wireless radio which will allow for faster wireless speeds (especially now that AC wireless is available on campus).
Improved Battery Life
The larger phone size (particularly in the iPhone 6 Plus) has allowed able to eek out additional battery life with larger batteries.
Talk Time
iPhone 5s – 10 hours on 3G
iPhone 6 – 14 hours on 3G
iPhone 6 Plus – 24 hours on 3G
Internet Use
iPhone 5s – 10 hours on Wi-Fi
iPhone 6 – 11 hours on Wi-Fi
iPhone 6 Plus – 12 hours on Wi-Fi
Video Playback
iPhone 5s – up to 10 hours
iPhone 6 – up to 11 hours
iPhone 6 Plus – up to 14 hours
Conclusion
Overall, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are a welcome addition to the iPhone family. Although many features are merely catching up with the competition it demonstrates Apple’s commitment to listening to it’s users and bending to market demands when necessary. If I could upgrade right now I’d be purchasing a 64GB iPhone 6.
Pre-orders are under way with the first shipments and in-store availability on Friday, September 19. Are you upgrading?