The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Meta Review: Bigger really is better

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iPhone-6-vs-6-Plus

Early reviews of the latest iPhones are in, and the overwhelming consensuses is that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are both killer smartphones. The 6 is the best phone out there, period. Opinions are more split on the Plus and its massive size.

If you’re having trouble wading through all of the reviews out there, have no fear! We’ve collected everything you need to know in the ultimate iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Meta Review.

iPhone 6

I suspect could well be the iPhone 6 is the best phone ever made. Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web.
Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web.

“In my view, it’s the best smartphone on the market”

Walt Mossberg of Recode loves Apple’s flagship replacement for the 5s. He gives it the highest praise of all be calling it the best phone on the market.

In my view, it’s the best smartphone on the market, when you combine its hardware, all-new operating system, and the Apple ecosystem whose doors it opens.

Macworld was struck by just how different the phone feels in the hand. The design changes are more than aesthetic:

Hold an iPhone 6 in your hand for the first time, and you can tell it’s a very different device from the iPhones of the past four years. Gone is the more industrial feel of the iPhone 4 and 5, with their straight sides and chamfered edges. The new phones have rounded edges, more akin to the iPod touch, iPad, and even the very first iPhone.

The New York Times thinks iOS 8 is actually the best part of Apple’s latest hardware. It found that battery life on the smaller iPhone 6 was actually better than the Plus—with almost two days of use on a single charge. Sounds promising, but the specific anecdote goes against what everyone else, including Apple is saying about battery life: the Plus lives longer on a charge.

The Wall Street Journal says that “the iPhone 6 is the new king of phone photos.” The camera’s sensor has been upgraded, although its megapixels have stayed the same. iOS 8 has plenty of software upgrades for the camera, which certainly help. The 6 Plus gets optical image stabilization as an added bonus.

The Verge has a killer video review that’s worth watching:

iPhone 6 Plus

Photo: Roberto Baldwin/ The Next Web
Photo: Roberto Baldwin/ The Next Web

“more-or-less-pocketable tablet”

“Though Apple will never use the term ‘phablet’ to describe it, the 6 Plus does indeed feel like a more-or-less-pocketable tablet,” according to Fast Company. That seems to be the general consensus among early reviews. The 6 Plus is almost more of an iPad than iPhone.

David Pogue at Yahoo agrees. “The plus-sized 6 Plus, in fact, is well on its way to becoming an iPad Nano.”

The New York Times thinks “Apple could have taken a cue from other makers of so-called phablets… and come up with powerful ways to take advantage of those bigger screens.”

For example, the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will let users resize app windows using a finger or stylus and view multiple windows simultaneously on its 5.7-inch display, as on a desktop computer. The 5.5-inch LG G3 lets you open two apps at once and resize them as you like.

Apple’s unique take on dealing with the screen’s massiveness is Reachability. Double tapping the Home button shrinks the screen down as you can reach everything with one hand.

reachability
Reachability in action, courtesy of The New York Times.

The Verge has the best video review of the Plus too:

Macworld offers a good take on how consumers will probably choose between the 6 or 6 Plus:

I’ll wager that for most iPhone 5 users, the iPhone 6 will be a solid upgrade, and after a few days of adjustment, they’ll never miss their old iPhones. As for the iPhone 6 Plus, it’s a device that will undoubtedly find its adherents. They might be people who use their iPhones constantly and also need as much battery power as possible, or people with large hands, or people for whom it will be the only computing device they’ll use every day. Samsung and other competitors have showed that there’s an audience for extra-large phones—and that’s now an audience that can buy an iPhone. That’s the whole point.

The 6 Plus isn’t going to be for everyone—that’s clear from all the early reviews. But those that want a truly bigger screen will love it.

Additional reading:

Where’s Cult of Mac’s review, you ask? Good question. We’ll have our full take on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus once we get our hands on Apple’s new hardware this weekend. Stay tuned!

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