iPhone 6 Review Roundup: Specs, Performance, Design Breakdown
The iPhone 6 launches this week on Sept. 19 here in the U.S., and if you're still on the fence about buying one, we've rounded up the best early reviews and impressions of Apple's latest phone to help you figure it out if the iPhone 6 is right for you.
Design
The iPhone 6 is significantly larger than last year's iPhone 5S and sports a 4.7-inch display in a super thin 6.9 mm frame. Apple's iPhones are known as having the nicest build quality of any phone, year after year. So is the iPhone 6 any different? Here's what reviewers are saying:
"Apple consistently shows it knows how to make a well put-together handset, and it's done it again here. It just feels premium the moment you pick it up, from the vibrant and clear screen to the subtle curve of the display into the rounded frame."
"If there's one thing Apple always gets right it's design and the iPhone 6 is one of the company's best looking products yet. With a metal and glass build it was always going to look premium but Apple hasn't simply used expensive materials, it's also thought about the construction.
You can see that in the way the curved edges glide almost seamlessly into the screen and in the fact that despite being bigger than before it's also slimmer at just 6.9mm thin. It looks and feels great and while you won't mistake this for an iPhone 5s you also won't think it's anything other than an Apple handset."
Display
3G:
"Whether you're a fan of the screen size or not the actual quality is pretty impressive. At 750 x 1334 it's higher resolution than the iPhone 5S but with the extra size it still has exactly the same pixel density, so if you were happy with how sharp the iPhone 5S's screen is you'll be happy with this too. That said Apple could have done more, because that's a pixel density which falls some way short of most Android rivals and the difference in sharpness is noticeable if you put them side by side."
Tech Radar:
"It's not got a great resolution, at only 1334 x 750 it's essentially 720p, but the new Retina HD screen looks brilliant. So much so that I thought I was picking up a dummy model to play with. There's more here than resolution too: the iPhone 6 packs wider viewing angles, deeper colours and a richer colour reproduction than anything else before it in the iPantheon, and that instantly brings an impressive feel when you pick it up."
Camera
Tech Radar:
"The camera on the iPhone 6 isn't much of a change... from the outside. It's still 8MP, and still doesn't record in 4K. It does protrude out from the top of the iPhone in order to pack in greater optics while keeping the slender frame, but will only annoy you if you rock the iPhone when placed down on a table.
The iPhone 6 has digital image stabilisation, unlike its larger iPhone 6 Plus brother, which packs optical image stabilisation for a likely slightly crisper picture."
3G:
"Focus Pixels allow it to autofocus faster than ever, there's improved face detection, exposure control, digital image stabilisation to counter motion blur and shaky hands and improved photo apps to let you quickly edit images."
iOS 8
Tech Radar:
"while it's not a massive overhaul of the platform, it brings with it some nifty tweaks. For instance, the updated notifications center is imbued with better powers than before, allowing you to see more relevant information from a simple pull down from the top of the screen.
It will also play much better with Mac OS X than ever before thanks to the new powers Yosemite brings while this will work with any iOS 8-powered phone, the new abilities to make calls or get SMS from the computer will be a big draw for those that like their new phone to be integrated with their laptop."
Battery Life
"[Apple] has said that it can last for up to 14 hours of talk time, 10 days of standby time, 11 hours of internet use or 11 hours of video.
All of which is pretty good and is down to a combination of the battery itself and a more efficient processor. It still doesn't sound like quite a match for the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S5 for example though."
Verdict
So, it sounds like Apple improved on last year's iPhone 5s, although improvements to the camera and battery performance seem to be underwhelming. If you dig a display with great color replication and viewing angles, though not necessarily one that has the most pixels, this might be the phone for you.