This year Apple released not one but two new iPhones - the Apple iPhone 6 and the Apple iPhone 6 Plus. Both handsets feature a new curvier design, larger displays and the ability to make payments thanks to the embedded NFC chip. Lets take a closer look at both iPhones and compare them side by side.
One year ago, Apple broke free from the uniformity and unveiled not one, but two smartphones - the iPhone 5s and its cheaper, toned-down variation, the colorful iPhone 5c. That was the first time Apple unveiled a duo of devices, but it looks like the have chosen to continue the trend. However unlike last year's models, you now get two brand new flagship devices.
Both the iPhone 6 models are clearly large devices, making this likely the biggest change to the iPhone since its inception. Interestingly Apple has managed to make the device much slimmer than its predecessors, with the iPhone 6 measuring in at 6.9 mm while the larger iPhone 6 Plus is only 7.1 mm
Display
The main difference between the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus is its screen side. The iPhone 6 comes with a 4.7 inch display which has a 750 x 1334 pixels (326ppi) resolution, while the iPhone 6 Plus has a 5.5 inch display with a 1080 x 1920 pixels (401ppi) resolution. Both displays employ the second generation Retina technology and are referred to by Apple as Retina HD.
While many expected Apple to use sapphire displays on the iPhone 6, Apple confirmed that it was "ion strengthened" glass and not sapphire as we had hoped. This means that the display glass has undergone a chemical process which causes sodium ions in the glass surface to be replaced by potassium ions, which are larger and strengthen the glass. This is the same process that Corning uses to produce Gorilla Glass.
The main difference between the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus is its screen side. The iPhone 6 comes with a 4.7 inch display which has a 750 x 1334 pixels (326ppi) resolution, while the iPhone 6 Plus has a 5.5 inch display with a 1080 x 1920 pixels (401ppi) resolution. Both displays employ the second generation Retina technology and are referred to by Apple as Retina HD.
While many expected Apple to use sapphire displays on the iPhone 6, Apple confirmed that it was "ion strengthened" glass and not sapphire as we had hoped. This means that the display glass has undergone a chemical process which causes sodium ions in the glass surface to be replaced by potassium ions, which are larger and strengthen the glass. This is the same process that Corning uses to produce Gorilla Glass.
Apple has also included several improvements to the display offering higher contrast, dual‑domain pixels for more accurate color at wider viewing angles, and an improved polarizer for better outdoor visibility. The result is the thinnest yet most advanced displays on an iPhone to date.
Camera
Both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus feature 8 megapixel resolution cameras like their predecessor, which has allowed a fairly large 1.5µ pixel size. This is something that Apple has explicitly said that it thinks affects image quality hugely, and while others have jumped in to 13-megapixel cameras, most have sacrificed pixel size to just 1.1µ.
Both new iPhones have new sensors (sensor size was not mentioned), a five-element lens and aperture of the main iSight camera is set at ƒ/2.2. Additionally Both iPhones now capture larger panorama images of up to 43 megapixels.
In terms of video, the iPhone 6 camera can capture up to 1080p at either 30fps or 60fps, and its slow-motion capabilities now include a whopping 240fps at 720p. The iPhone 6 offers digital image stabilization, while the larger,iPhone 6 Plus gets optical image stabilization which should result in less blurry photos.
The front-facing FaceTime HD camera has got a new sensor and a larger ƒ/2.2 aperture that allows for 80% more light to pass through.
Check out some of the first (official) photo samples captured by both the rear and front cameras of the iPhone 6
Processor and Memory
Both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus are powered by the same Apple A8 system chip. Apple revealed that the chip is designed using the 20nm manufacturing, and that alone is a huge boost in productivity and efficiency. Apple is one of the first to get 20nm chips in a mass produced devices.
The Apple A8 is also 25% smaller than the A7, yet at the same time it features over 2 billion transistors. In comparison, last year's A7 had "more than 1 billion", so we have nearly twice as many transistors, a huge jump in just one year. The new Apple A8 is also 64-bit-enabled like its predecessor. With most top apps already running on 64-bits, the Apple ecosystem has already made the transition.
The basic iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models start at 16GB, but rather than going to 32 gigs, the next version steps up directly to 64GB of internal storage. Additionally we now also have a 128GB model on both sizes of iPhone. Since there is no microSD storage expansion, users will have to decide which internal storage option will suit them the best.
Battery Life
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have displays that are larger, brighter, and with better quality than anything we've seen from Apple so far. They also have a 25% faster CPU, and 50% faster graphics. So you would expect all these enhancements to take a heavy toll on the battery. Fortunately the the 20nm production method for the A8 chipset, and the new, more efficient chip packaging, results in the alleged 2915 mAh battery of the iPhone 6 Plus, and the 1810 mAh juicer of the iPhone 6 lasting longer than before.
| iPhone 6 | iPhone 6 Plus | |
| Audio | Up to 50 hours | Up to 80 hours |
| HD Video | Up to 11 hours | Up to 14 hours |
| Wi-Fi Browsing | Up to 11 hours | Up to 12 hours |
| LTE Browsing | Up to 10 hours | Up to 12 hours |
| 3G Browsing | Up to 10 hours | Up to 12 hours |
| 3G Talk | Up to 14 hours | Up to 24 hours |
| Standby | Up to 10 days (250 hours) | Up to 16 days (384 hours) |
iOS 8
Both iPhones run iOS 8 which is more open and adds a lot of functionality to iOS 7 which introduced a new interface when it was released last year. Additionally you get the new Health Hub and the updated Passbook app with Apple Pay capabilities. The Health Hub basically aggregates data about your vitals from various gadgets including the iPhone.
Apple Apple Pay makes use of the NFC chip located on both iPhones to replace your wallet. You can use this feature to pay in Starbucks, McDonalds, and many others.
Apple Apple Pay makes use of the NFC chip located on both iPhones to replace your wallet. You can use this feature to pay in Starbucks, McDonalds, and many others.
Apple is not taking any chances if anyone would accuse them of betraying the thumb-operation paradigm that the iPhone started with, and kept the franchise's screens much smaller than the Android competition for a long time. The iPhone 6 Plus features both a one-handed mode that shrinks the whole interface down to a thumb-reaching level. It also introduces a full landscape mode for the iOS 8 interface, which is not something we see every day even on Android phablets, and very useful for handset that will be used in landscape a lot.
Price
Both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus will be released on September 19th, with pre orders starting September 12th, while some countries will be getting it a week later, on September 26th. If you are purchasing the iPhone 6 on contract, the base model with 16GB of storage costs $199, while the 64GB model is priced at $299 and the 128GB model costs $399. The iPhone 6 Plus range from $299 for 16GB, $399 for 64GB and $499 for 128GB.
If you are purchasing the device at the full retail price, it starts at $650 for the base iPhone 6 and cost up to $949 for the 128GB iPhone 6 Plus. In Europe they typically start at EUR 699, respectively, going up to EUR 999 for the most expensive 6 Plus. The iPhone 6 in UK takes it from 539 pounds sterling with VAT, while China still hasn't received a full retail pricing for the two new iPhones, although they are prominently featured on the local Apple Store site there. The price of the new iPhones should be significantly higher, if you live in France, Italy or other regions.
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