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
“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
“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.
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:
- Mashable: iPhone 6 review, iPhone 6 Plus review (worth checking out for the layout alone)
- Bloomberg Businessweek
- USA Today
- The Loop
- Recode’s iPhone 6 Plus review
- The Verge: iPhone 6 review, iPhone 6 Plus review
- TechCrunch: iPhone 6 review, iPhone 6 Plus review
- CNET: iPhone 6 review, iPhone 6 Plus review
- Engadget: iPhone 6 review, iPhone 6 Plus review
- Pocketlint: iPhone 6 review, iPhone 6 Plus review
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!
Alex Heath is a journalist who works for Tech Insider. He’s the former co-host of The CultCast. He has been quoted by the likes of the BBC, KRON 4 News, and books like “ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation.” He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to pitch a story, share a tip, or just get in touch, additional contact information is available on his personal site. Follow him on Twitter.
18 responses to “The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Meta Review: Bigger really is better”
Still undecided which to get, I’ll definitely need to hold both to come to a conclusion.
iPhone 6 Plus far better than other. I guess you could go for iPhone 6 Plus by any means which shall have better performance and among of other benefits!
I’ve set my eyes on the plus. I do agree that it’s size can have some notable drawbacks, but the up side totally makes up for it.
I have always chosen the smallest phone on the market starting with the Motorola Startac. My iPhone 5 fits in my pocket, any pocket, without being bulky. It is my first smartphone and I am very happy with it. Only small people have size envy. I do hope they continue to produce a 4″ screen phone for those of us who use a phone as a phone and not a movie player.
Now they need to update the iPad and make them “super-powerful” …I see no reason to buy an iPad mini over the iPhone 6+ .
No need. Because iPhone 6 Plus is smaller than iPad mini since iPad Mini you cannot receive or send SMS neither calls through Carrier.
I bet Apple will enhance the performance for the iPad Mini later after they’ve released the new Retina iMac.
I see no reason to buy any of it. Why do Americans these days always feel the need to get the latest iStuff? There is barely any difference between the very first iPhone and the latest model. A touch screen phone with internet… WOW!
You shouldn’t be able to complain about the economy or your own personal financial situation if you blow your money on trivial Apple crap.
Many American have a steak taste on a hamburger budget . That’s part of the problem we now face from a long time ago. Barrow to the max and then whine about now having enough money . Nice house , car or truck and boat. Can you afford them or does it really matter at this period of time?
I’m just gonna make smart decisions with my money so I don’t end up with an empty bank account:
1) Paying off my debts as they come to me. Never holding a credit card balance longer than a month. If this means living in a small studio apartment and eating ramen, rice, and beans, so be it.
2) I will always buy small, fuel efficient and durable cars. I drive a 2006 Honda Civic now. It costs me nothing to fill up and next to nothing to insure ($25/month from Insurance Panda… woohoo!). I will not drive when I don’t need to, and use public transportation whenever possible.
3) Developing multiple revenue streams. Doing side jobs. Building up small businesses. Doing contract work. Basically doing whatever I can to generate income from multiple sources.
4) Grow my revenue and assets no matter what. Make sure I am always expanding and develop them to the point that they consistently generate reliable cash flow.
5) The most important one – make as much as I can. Save as much as I can.
iPhones… ecigarettes… Starbucks… Chipotle Burritos…new clothes.. organic lipgloss… expensive yoga classes. Why not try living in your means for once? No wonder we have a debt crisis.
You’re going wayyyy of subject, we’re here to talk about phones not economy and personal finance good for you for making smart decisions.. If you see no reason to buy these things, then why are you here in the first place. And for you saying “There is barely any difference between the very first iPhone and the latest model.” I hope you’re kidding, if you’re not you sound very uneducated.
The first iPhone was release in 2007…so you see no difference in technology improvements over a Seven Year Period? I’d think you were a troll if you hadn’t bantered on for so long about nothing. So how old is your personal computer? I’m guessing less than 7 years old.
you need to get laid.
So what is it that you enjoy, really? You work every minute of your life and buy only stuff that will save you the most money, pay debts and eat rice. Yeah, real fun…
“5) The most important one – make as much as I can. Save as much as I can.” – for what?!
Good reviews, thankfully I am getting both in 128GB, will see which one I keep.
Sounds like the person that wrote this article has never picked up an Android phone. The new iPhones are on par with a Samsung Galaxy from 2012.
In the spec wars, perhaps. But Apple products are, and have always been about so much more.
If Samsung could ever make a phone on par with the physical device quality of Apple, I might consider it, but they still haven’t yet.
Let the current Sammy flagships beat 5S first in benchmarks, TouchID, 64bit etc
Then lets start discussion.
I am leaning toward an 6+ to see if it might replace my iPad Mini, so I can replace my Mini with an iPad Air.
Yeah, I know that sounds strange, but with my eyesight not what it used to be, this might be necessary.
Uggghhhh I’m getting the 6 plus for sure but I’m so torn on which colour to get! I really want the champagne , but the white lines on the back are awful!