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I didn’t preorder the iPhone 6 Plus and worried, based on Apple’s own acknowledgment of delays, that I would be forced to wait weeks, if not months, to get my hands on the company’s scaled-up smartphone.
I was stuck with an iPhone 5 that had a cracked screen and outdated software and grew increasingly concerned that it might not be until November that I’d finally be able to find an iPhone 6 Plus.
And then, a simple phone call to my local Apple Store changed everything. I was told that the device was indeed in stock and if I came down before the end of the day, I’d have no issue picking one up. Two hours later, I was the proud owner of a 64GB iPhone 6 Plus running on AT&T’s network.
Now, just several days past launch day, I can say unequivocally that the iPhone 6 Plus is the best smartphone I’ve ever owned and comes with features that are both compelling and appealing. And while it might not be a perfect product, it’s certainly one that most will find suitable for use at work and home.
Design
The first thing anyone will notice about the iPhone 6 Plus is just how big it is. Those who have been living in the world of iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 units will be struck by the size difference between those earlier products and the iPhone 6 Plus. Apple’s larger handset comes with a 5.5-inch screen, easily dwarfing the 4-inch version in my old iPhone 5. While it is striking at first blush, the screen’s beauty cannot be underestimated.
Apple’s Retina HD display is packed with 401 pixels per inch, giving it outstanding resolution when watching video or scrolling through images on Facebook. The size also helps in those endeavors. With the bigger screen comes more real estate to enjoy videos or images.
I watched a two-hour movie on the device and found no eye strain or issues catching details. In fact, the iPhone 6 Plus might just become my go-to device for viewing video content when I’m out on the road and don’t want to lug around my iPad.
Android device owners would argue that some devices, like the Samsung Galaxy S5 at 432 pixels per inch, might actually deliver better video quality. While that might be true, due to the denser pixel count, I find it hard to believe I’d get a sizably different visual experience on another device.
I bought the Space Grey iPhone 6 Plus. While the design is still attractive, Apple hasn’t ventured too far from its roots with the device’s look, which is somewhat disappointing.
The iPhone 6 Plus is by no means an ugly product, but it would have been nice for Apple to try to think outside the box a bit more on the design side. It’s an iterative update that lands somewhere between the familiar and the beautiful.
Where Apple made great strides in design, however, is in the device’s mobility. The iPhone 6 Plus is an extremely thin 0.28 inches, making it easy to slip into a pocket or purse. And since it’s just 6 ounces, it’s quite light for a device that’s so big.
Apple iPhone 6 Plus Delivers Plenty of Value in a Scaled-Up Smartphone
Speaking of its size, the iPhone 6 Plus is big. As someone with larger hands, I have no issue getting my fingers around the display. But friends of mine who have smaller hands complained that they needed to use two hands often to jump from one area of the screen to the other.
That complaint is not unique to Apple, however, and typically comes with any phablet. To Apple’s credit, it has tried to cut down on the issues related to finger-stretching by adding an extremely thin bezel to the design. Still, single-handed use won’t work for everyone.
Beyond that, I was pleased with Apple’s decision to move the lock button to the right side of the device, since it makes it more convenient to access when holding the smartphone from the bottom. Apple has moved the volume controls to the left side, along with the familiar silence switch. Both work as expected and match nicely with the device’s Space Grey finish.
I’m not a fan of the placement of the headphone port at the bottom of the iPhone 6 Plus, but it’s not necessarily a deal-breaker.
There has also been some talk of the bendability of the iPhone 6 Plus. My device doesn’t bend nearly as much as some I’ve seen in videos and I don’t feel it’s flimsy in any regard. Perhaps I’m not trying hard enough to bend my iPhone 6 Plus, but then again—why would you want to do so?
Performance
Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus performs admirably. After restoring my device from an iCloud backup, I found that my many apps worked extremely well on the iPhone 6 Plus. Not only did they look much better on the bigger screen, filling up every inch, but they also opened quickly and were responsive at every turn.
I tested the iPhone 6 Plus on a wide range of apps, including those built into the device and more resource-intensive programs, like video games. Overall, the experience was solid throughout, though I’d reject any claim made by Apple or others that mobile is closing in on console gaming. As a longtime gamer, I find that mobile devices still have a long way to go to match purpose-built game consoles in terms of graphics and controls.
Call quality is outstanding on the iPhone 6 Plus. While I experienced some dead spots in my home with the iPhone 5, that was no longer an issue in the iPhone 6 Plus. People on the other side of my calls also reported that I sounded crystal clear both on speaker and off.
A similarly high-quality experience was delivered through Apple’s FaceTime video call app, which allowed me to communicate with friends on Macs without any issue. We were both pleasantly surprised by the quality of those video calls.
Although it’s been around for more than a year now, Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint recognition feature is new to me, since I was previously using the iPhone 5. The feature is solid, though it can be finicky if you’re not placing your finger on the button just right.
Apple iPhone 6 Plus Delivers Plenty of Value in a Scaled-Up Smartphone
Apple tries to mitigate this issue by having users add different areas of their fingers to the sensor during training, but I still found that there is an art to getting Touch ID to register properly. On most occasions, I’m tapping my thumb on the key four to five times before it unlocks.
Once inside the operating system, I haven’t experienced many of the complaints others have posted to Web forums. I’m finding no issues with battery life in iOS 8 and while Facebook has an oddly slow loading time, I’ve yet to find any other glitches that would make me question the quality of iOS 8 on Apple’s new products. It appears that iOS 8 breaks down in some ways on legacy devices, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given their lower-end specs.
I didn’t know what to expect from typing on the iPhone 6 Plus, since its screen is so big, but I was pleasantly surprised. The keyboard stretches easily across the screen and actually makes it easier to type for those of us with larger fingers. Add that to the context-aware suggestions that sit on top of the keyboard and you have a recipe for an overall high-quality typing experience.
I was concerned that the iPhone 6 Plus, due to its size, would feel clumsy in my hands when typing or placing calls, but I found it reliable. I found no such clumsiness and actually discovered it fit perfectly into my hands when performing any task. Again, however, I have hands that are on the larger size, so some with smaller hands might disagree.
Some Disappointments
I would have liked to have seen more improvement in the rear-facing camera of the iPhone 6 Plus. Apple has stubbornly stuck to an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera in this new model, but argues that it’s the company’s best camera yet. While that might be true, I wasn’t overly impressed with its image or video quality.
I snapped multiple pictures with the iPhone 6 Plus and found them to be at times too grainy for my liking. Video quality also disappointed me a bit, but not as much as the pictures that were taken.
I’m hoping in future iPhone models, Apple would take a page out of Samsung’s smartphone design manual and boost not only its camera megapixel count, but also the quality of its lens. It’s not bad by any means, but could be better.
The biggest disappointments in the Apple iPhone 6 Plus have nothing to do with the device at all. Instead, it’s rather unfortunate that out of the box, users can’t use all of the features they should be able to access.
Unlike Apple’s previous devices, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus come with a near-field communications (NFC) chip. That allows the devices to communicate wirelessly with payment hardware.
The technology, coupled with Apple Pay, will allow iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus owners to make purchases with their credit cards without ever taking the plastic out of their wallets. Instead, the card numbers and other relevant information are stored in the Apple Pay locker, which handles the transactions autonomously.
Apple iPhone 6 Plus Delivers Plenty of Value in a Scaled-Up Smartphone
Apple says that Apple Pay will be available at a wide range of retailers, including Macy’s and McDonald’s, among others, sometime in October. It would have been nice to have the feature now so I could test it out, but look for more insight into Apple Pay when it launches in October.
Apple also surprised many in the technology industry when it said that it had discovered a bug in its HealthKit platform and would not allow the release of any apps relying on HealthKit until it was addressed. That resulted in many developers needing to push back the launch of their apps and made the new Health app in iOS 8 all but useless.
I spent some time with Health to see how it works and to determine whether or not it will be of any value to me at some point in the future. For now, it requires users to input their own data on weight, height, Body Mass Index and blood type, among other vital information. It doesn’t perform any calculations, however.
Health does track steps, flights of stairs and distance traveled. While the feature is handy, it’s something that is by no means groundbreaking. At this point, Health is little more than a novelty—something I hope will change when Apple finally allows HealthKit apps to hit the App Store.
It’s hard to categorize this next concern as a disappointment, per se, but I feel it could be far too easy to damage the iPhone 6 Plus. While Apple has said that its display is reinforced and the case itself is hardened, it feels slick in the hands and has almost slipped out on a few occasions. Having a protective add-on case is definitely something that you should invest in.
Final Thoughts
Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus is overall a great device. While some Android device owners look at the phablet and say—perhaps with some justification—that they’ve had many of the same features for years, Apple provides a device that doesn’t feel old or outdated in any way. Quite the contrary, the iPhone 6 Plus feels fresh and on par with some of the larger smartphones available from other companies.
Apple has once again found a way to deliver to customers a product that hits all the right points without making too many missteps. And while it would have been nice if the device had a higher-resolution camera or worked with Apple Pay and HealthKit out of the box, those are comparatively small complaints.
The iPhone 6 Plus is, at least in the eyes of this longtime iPhone owner, the best smartphone Apple has ever launched.