iPhone 6 review
The Apple iPhone 6: bigger, better, sleeker and faster.
Our Verdict
Apple has leapt forward with the iPhone 6 - one
of the best phones it's ever created.
For
- Great design
- Better battery
- Improved keyboard
Against
- Still pricey
- Screen too low-res
Why do we have the Apple iPhone 6? Well, despite record sales, the
So with that, the iPhone 6, and its bigger
brother, the iPhone 6 Plus, were born to keep Apple at the sharp end of a
market that was starting to lust after powerful, big screen smartphones with
clever and premium design.
The iPhone 6 certainly addresses a number of the
problems Apple had developed, coming with a much larger screen (although not
dramatically increasing the size of the phone) a boosted processor, better
camera, improved battery and crucially: overhauled design.
This is the sixth iPhone I've reviewed now, and
there's a real sense that this one is really rather different.
I wrote in 2013 that Apple was becoming more
aware that the time when it could define what consumers would buy in the
smartphone is ending – and with the 4.7-inch screen, it's clearly had to admit
defeat in the smaller screen market.
There will be some that will miss that screen
size, maintaining that they don't want a bigger display on their phone
– but nearly all of those people won't have spent any appreciable time with a
larger device, and I believe that a good portion of you thinking you need a
smaller phone will quickly come to appreciate the power a bigger handset brings
without hurting quality.
But while the iPhone 6 has answered a lot of the
problems I've had with previous iterations of Apple's handsets, there are still
some issues that still swirled when I handled the phone for the first time.
Why has Apple decided to not join the masses with
a really high-res screen? Why is the iPhone still the most expensive
on the market? Has it done enough to improve the quite dire battery life of
previous models, especially at a time when many high-end Android phones are
easily chugging through a day's hard use without thirsting for a charger's
caress?
Design
This is a big departure for Apple, marking a time
when it's admitted that the industrial, sharp design of the last four iPhone
models is a little outdated and needs to up the ergonomics to really compete.
Well, with the Apple iPhone 6 we're looking at
one of the thinnest and sleekest handsets in the market. It's got a strong combination
of metal back (which feels exceptionally premium, borrowing bucket loads of
design language from the iPad Air) and the way the screen curves into the
chassis gives it a slight lozenge feel.
The iPhone 6 looks the business, and at 6.9mm
thin it's very nice to hold, though the Samsung Galaxy S6 has since edged it
out at 6.8mm thick. I do still feel that phones that push harder on ergonomics
are a better choice though - the HTC One M9 bows out at the back and fits in
the palm a little better - but that's quibbling. This iPhone just feels really
well made.
Apple has always favored a flatter phone than the
rest of the market though, and placed on a desk it looks great. It does feel
great in the hand too, but as said others impress more if I'm being hyper-critical.
There's also the issue of the large plastic
strips that flow through the top and bottom of the device. Given metal is a
nightmare material to try and get radio signal to penetrate, these are clearly
there to offset that.
While the plastic does seem to give good
performance for signal for the most part, it's nothing amazing, and to my eyes
they're a little unsightly and ruin the sleek back of the iPhone 6, and their
presence seem at odds with Apple's design ethos.
The other big design change is to the power
button, which has now been moved to the right-hand side of the phone. This
makes a lot of sense, and given the phone is now a larger device at 138.1 x 67
x 6.9 mm hitting the top of the handset is a much harder task, so moving the
button is the right thing to do.
Like the rest of the exterior buttons, the power
key is raised and easy to hit in both left and right hand modes. It's metallic
and crucially doesn't have the same rattle that I criticized on the iPhone 5S.
However, that doesn't mean the metallic keys
don't have a little wiggle to them. Running your hand up and down the sides
idly will result in you noticing a very slight looseness to the power and
volume buttons... I'm in danger of being too critical here, but for the price
it's not the sort of thing I expect to see.
The other important design change here is the
camera now protrudes slightly on the rear of the phone. It's good to see that
happening, as it shows that Apple isn't willing to compromise on camera quality
in order to just whack in a thinner phone.
The protrusion is a little worrying in that
laying the Apple iPhone 6 down flat on a table could see scratches appearing,
but the sapphire glass that covers the lens should see that's pretty safe.
The rest of the iPhone 6 is very similar to the
iPhone 5S, with the speakers at the bottom flanking the Lightning port. Well, I
say speakers: it's just the one speaker, but thanks to the slightly elongated
bottom of the phone you won't cover it when holding the phone in landscape.
This was irritating when trying to game or watch
a movie without headphones on older iPhones - but this upgrade, combined with
the lightness of the iPhone 6, mean you won't have a similar problem for the
most part as the hands sit lower and free of the speaker generally.
Sadly the headphone port still resides at the
bottom of the iPhone 6, meaning you'll still probably get your phone out of the
pocket the wrong way around when listening to music.
Let me make one thing very clear though: the
Apple iPhone 6 is another iconic handset in terms of design for Apple. It's not
the best looking on the market (I'm still giving that title to the HTC One M9)
but it's definitely right up there, and for the price I'd expect nothing less.
You can pick up the iPhone 6 in Space Gray (the
colour I've had on test here), or the more standard silver or gold. Whichever
one you want is up to you, but there had better not be a shortage of the
champagne gold colour again this year.
That made me sad to see so many clamouring for a
colour just because it was hard to get hold of.
The important features of the Apple iPhone 6 are
hard to list. On the one hand there are so many of them that I don't really
know where to start, but on the other hand the iPhone 6 is very much an
iteration of a long line of Apple smartphones, and shares a lot of features
with previous smartphones.
Screen
The resolution on offer is 1334 x 750, which is a
change from the 1136 x 640 resolution of previous iPhones. Thanks to being
increased to 4.7-inches though it's still 326PPI, which means you'll get a very
familiar experience visually.
My technology reviewer hat wants to criticize
Apple for not going Full HD with the display here, let alone QHD like the Samsung
Galaxy S6, but when I first picked up the iPhone 6 I wasn't sure if it was a
real or dummy device, such was the closeness of the display to the glass.
The screen almost floats on top
of the glass and the viewing angles are superb
The improved contrast ratio (the difference
between the deepest blacks and the whitest whites) is really something to
behold, and the colour reproduction is very impressive too. It's not in the
same league as the Samsung Galaxy S6's Super AMOLED screen, but then again a
lot of people feel that screen is too saturated in colour.
In terms of a more scientific approach, Display
Mate has conducted in-depth tests of the new iPhones, comparing them to the
previous model - and there's good news and bad news here for prospective iPhone
buyers.
The good news is that the iPhone 6 is a big step
forward on the 5S. The screen is more correct when it comes to colour reproduction,
and as mentioned the contrast ratios (which is important for the more
atmospheric movies) is improved, as I noticed in the original Tec Radar tests.
However, here's the bad news: the iPhone 6 Plus
has a much better screen. This is mostly due to the resolution, with Display
Mate noting that the Plus has "the Best Performing LCD that we have ever
tested."
In short, the findings corroborated our own. The
iPhone 6 hits the marks when it comes to day to day use, but if you're after
better resolution, brightness or more intense colour reproduction, there are
better options on the market - with better tech.
As such, I'm not going to give Apple a pass here
for that lower resolution screen. Why are we looking at what is essentially a
720p screen when 18 months ago we were seeing smartphones using a Full HD
display at the same size?
OK, so arguments can be made that it saves
battery. That the increase in sharpness is imperceptible at this size. And
they're not incorrect statements. It's a great looking display, and if you've
got fewer pixels to drive then the battery will hold out longer.
And the Samsung Galaxy Alpha and Sony Xperia Z3
Compact, both rivals in terms of overall dimensions, are also at the same
resolution, meaning there's some thought here by other brands in terms of the
lower pixel density.
But there's a cost reduction associated - the Z3
Compact in particular - where Apple is sitting pretty at the top of the pile
when it comes to price.
The sharpness is visible when held next to
another device - something like the HTC One M9 or Samsung Galaxy S5 has
sharper, crisper text and the movie watching experience is definitely superior.
You might argue that people won't compare the Apple iPhone 6 with a Full HD
display, but of course they will: the iPhone 6 Plus has one, and most people
will hold both in their hands before deciding which to choose.
I wouldn't disparage a phone for not having the
best spec if it wasn't warranted, but for Apple to launch a flagship without
packing the best screen technology possible seems a little unfair.
There's a clear lack of clarity in the crispness
of the text and images, especially when browsing the web, and while you
probably won't miss it much when solely using the iPhone thanks to the enhanced
screen technology, I can't see a reason for Apple not sticking in an amazing
screen here.
Battery life or design can only be the real
problem here – if it's the former, then Apple should be having a long, hard
look at its OS to find out why it can't handle a Full HD screen when competitors
were managing it 18 months ago and are now moving on to QHD ones.
If it's the latter, then the thickness could have
easily been increased a millimeter to accommodate…it wouldn't have bothered
anyone.
Camera upgrades
This is a bold move in my eyes when the rivals
like Samsung and Sony are pushing harder and harder with improved mega pixel
counts, nearly hitting 21MP (and that's without even touching on Nokia's 43MP Pure
View camera) so it seems, side by side, Apple is woefully behind the
competition.
However, regular readers will know that I'm
firmly in the camp of quality over mega pixel numbers, and while the rivals'
snappers are very good indeed, there's no reason to think that decent pictures
can't be grabbed from even a 5MP sensor - after all, that's still good enough
to fill a Full HD TV.
So what's Apple done here? Well, the main talking
point is Focus Pixels, additional elements that work out where light is
actually coming from, so they can provide directional information to the camera
to focus more quickly.
This, combined with the lower MP count (which
makes the task of taking a photo less onerous on the sensor) improves snapping
speed.
However, that's in theory. I didn't notice
anything particularly speedy in taking rapid pictures (not counting burst mode)
but the additional time did seem to result in well-focused pictures.
Apple's still got the Auto HDR mode on offer here
as well, which means a larger selection of your photos will look better
naturally. There are also new camera modes to play with, with HD panoramas and
a new time-lapse feature that's integrated into the app itself.
I feel annoyed at myself for getting excited
about the new time-lapse feature, testing it out the first day I got my hands
on the phone - in reality, it's been on offer for a long time through
standalone apps on the App Store, so it shouldn't be something to be lauded.
It's OK as a feature too. I can't see when you'd
really need it, and you do need to keep the phone plugged in and ideally on a
tripod, but it's not a bad thing to have and performs well if you've always
wondered what the dawn breaking outside your bedroom window looks like
(spoiler: it's pitch black for most of it).
The other element that's been improved on the
camera is the video: Slo-Mo now can pump out 240FPS for smoother super slow
movies, and 1080p standard video is now shot at a very smooth 60FPS.
Both of these upgrades actually give that 'hyper
real' effect that some movies are now showing at your local multiplex (the
recent Hobbit film is a good example of this) and while I really like the way
it looks on the phone screen, there will be some that think it's too much.
I'd agree with that for a cinematic shot, but for
home videos I think it really adds a touch of class.
Face Time HD camera
Again, I'll dig further into this new feature
later in the review, but it's definitely a much better front facing camera, and
comes with the features I'd be looking for if I was into taking loads of photos
of my face.
For instance, the new f/2.2 aperture ratio of the
1.2MP camera is pretty darn good, and helps take good photos in low light. On
top of that you've got an HDR mode for snaps and video, which appears to fire
automatically as there's no option to toggle it from within the app itself.
And there's the lovely pre-shot filters to have a
look at as well, so if taking a picture of yourself isn't enough, you can
always make it look weirder.
However, it's not got the resolution power of
some of the other handsets on the market - for instance, the HTC One M9 has a
much better front facing camera, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 even
incorporates a panorama mode for the self-portrait lovers.
I'm not saying this is critical technology, but
if you're one to buy a phone for the pictures you can take of yourself, there
are better options out there.
Apple Watch
But the iPhone 6 is going to be part and parcel
of the lure of an Apple Watch and, well, with the launch of iOS 8.2 you've got
the Watch app on your phone whether you like it or not.
The Watch also really needs to be paired with the
iPhone 6 (or 6 Plus) for the best experience, with the GPS added into the mix
when running, as it's not present on the wrist-dweller.
The Apple Watch isn't an essential accessory, but
if you're desperate for a smartwatch it shouldn't disappoint. It's stylish,
gives you easier access to your notifications and if you're a compulsive
smartphone-checker it could help rid you of your addiction.
The M7 co-processor didn't really seem to do a
lot in the iPhone 5S, but on the Apple iPhone 6 things seem to be stepped up
somewhat.
While it's still a watching brief to see if app
vendors actually do start making proper use of the functionality this low-power
sensor-watcher brings, at least we know that some will be on board from the
start (Nike, for instance, will use it to generate its Fuel Points now its Fuel
band is dead).
On top of that, the Health app makes good use of
the additional data: with the added barometer on board the iPhone 6, the app
will show you how many flights of stairs you've climbed along with the boring
info of how many steps you've taken that day.
The Health App itself is rather confusing, as you
need to set the dashboard up with the information you want to see in graph form
(for instance, distance and steps climbed) rather than it appear on start up.
When you go to select new items to display from
the list, there are seemingly hundreds, with things like 'Vitamin B intake'
looking really interesting but in reality are useless without external sensors,
which Apple is clearly hoping will come along soon.
Touch ID / Apple Pay
It could be that the reading software is
improved, but it feels like it's more than that - either way, Touch ID is still
just about the best biometric sensor, with only the fingerprint scanner on the Samsung
Galaxy S6 coming close, and with the commerce angle added, it's one of the best
inventions on any smartphone.
Apple Pay has a huge potential to
change how we use phones to replace cards
Apple Pay puts Touch ID to even better use on the
iPhone 6, and while its European launch is imminent, the mobile payments system
is up and running on over 500 US banks today.
More importantly, if you're a charge-happy
consumer, it works with the three major credit card companies - Visa, MasterCard
and American Express - and thousands of point-of-sale retailers throughout the US . In January
2015, $2 out of every $3 paid using contact less was with Apple Pay.
Walgreen’s, Subway and McDonald's are onboard
(with loads of others now joining the party, including even vending machines),
while holdouts like Walmart, Best Buy and CVS have balked at iPhone-linked
payments, opting for a QR-code-based system known as Current.
While in the UK Apple Pay will be launching
sometime in July, with First Direct, HSBC, Nat West, Nationwide Building
Society, Royal Bank of Scotland ,
Santander and
Ulster Bank supporting it day one.
Following later in the year will be Bank of
Scotland, Coutts, Halifax ,
Lloyds Bank, MBNA, M&S Bank and TSB Bank.
As for stores it will be launching with Ladle,
M&S, Post Office, Liberty, McDonalds, Boots, Costa, Waitrose, M&S
Simply Food, Pret, BP, Subway, Wag mama, Spar, KFC, Nando's, New Look,
Starbucks, Dune and JD Sports. However that still leaves Barclay's and the top
five UK
supermarkets absent.
Despite this frustrating, consumer-unfriendly
adoption resistance, everything else about the iOS 8.1-enabled feature is easy,
from scanning cards with rear camera to authenticating payments with Touch ID.
In fact, the only problem we encountered using
Apple Pay was cashiers knowing what it was. Asking to order a McDonald's
"Apple Pie with Apple Pay" drew some confused looks on day one.
Apple Pay is an extension of Passbook, so waving
the iPhone 6 over a store's NFC terminal automatically fetches the your lead
credit card and from there it requires your fingerprint to put the transition
through.
The combination of NFC and Touch ID could
eliminate all-too-common card reading errors, credit card skimmer
vulnerabilities and lost or stolen debit cards.
This is going to be a BIG draw for Apple, as
unlike Samsung's tie-in with PayPal, Apple Pay is much more vertically
integrated and therefore simple to use.
When the S6 and PayPal work online, it's a dream
to pay for things that way - plus you've got the inbuilt penetration of PayPal
throughout the internet.
But if Apple Pay becomes as widespread online
then it will be a big problem for PayPal as it's an equally good and secure
service, at least in the eyes of the consumer. Though of course Samsung's
dreaming big too with Samsung Pay around the corner.
Further out, there's also talk that the NFC chip
in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, used to enable the payments, could be extended
further to let you pair the phone with Bluetooth speakers etc like on Android
phones... but for now, it's payment only.
Better keyboard
The iPhone 5S and its predecessors are awful for
messaging. Whether it's the tiny display, the cramped and inaccurate keyboard
or the way it keeps shutting down if you accidentally press above the top row,
it makes me want to throw the phone out of a window.
With the Apple iPhone 6, I'm really enjoying the
wider key spread (thanks to the larger screen, obviously) the improved
prediction engine and the general ease of use.
Add to that the fact Apple will now let you
download other keyboards (Swift key is appearing the second I can get my hands
on it) and the messaging experience is definitely now getting a tick in my
book.
iCloud Drive, Continuity and Family Sharing
The latter particularly impresses me, as although
it's not perfect in terms of being able to offer different credit card
information (which would be ace if you've got a house that has more than one
adult with money, but you don't want to allow everyone to use your card) the
fact is even non-families can benefit from being part of the same network.
Today's media is widely shared with those we
trust, and being able to have close friends as part of a family network feels
like a real step forward.
And while iCloud Drive feels a little too similar
to Google's iteration in many ways, the integration is great and the fact large
files will live there as a link to anyone (thus negating Drop box in many ways,
and more seamlessly than ever) means the iPhone 6 feels like a very smart phone
indeed.
The interface of the iPhone 6, despite being
upgraded to iOS 8, is still very familiar for any iPhone or iPad fan. With the
iPhone 6 you've actually got another option to make the view bigger (or zoomed
in) in order to service those that perhaps don't have the best vision and don't
want to squint at the larger screen.
And, in news that will neither shock nor surprise
you, the iPhone 6 will be getting upgraded to iOS 9 in the near future. This
adds the all-new News app, imbues Siri with scary levels of intuition and even
Apple Maps is getting an upgrade - in short, if you've seen it on Android, it's
coming in another form on your iPhone 6.
But back to the current system and there's not a
lot new with iOS 8 from the previous iteration, bar some very clever UI tweaks
here and there. For instance, the new OS brings the ability to save contacts
(with info like phone numbers from the signature) directly from the email app,
or on the iPhone 6 lets you have a zoomed in view, which I assume is for those
that have eyesight issues, or just enjoy a more filled screen.
The latter feature seems a bit redundant, but
anything that aids accessibility has to be a good thing.
One new feature for the iPhone 6 is the 'Reach
ability' option. Double tap on the home key without pressing it in will make
the screen drop down around two-fifths, apparently enabling you to easily press
anything at the top of the screen. It's a slightly messy way of doing things,
and despite trying my utmost I could rarely remember to activate it.
Still, at least Apple is showing that it's still
a bit disgruntled at being forced to bring a larger phone to the masses and is
trying to mitigate the problem.
One of the most impressive features of iOS 8 is
the ability to now swipe back and forth through the OS to get through apps and
pages on the web.
It's not a new feature for the average smartphone
user at all - it's got some elements of BB10 (in terms of swiping to get to new
menus) and there are more than a few nods to Android in there as well.
But that's not a bad thing in my mind. As long as
a method isn't patented, then the more you can do to add a feature in to make a
user's experience a more simple experience, the better.
It's not a completely useful system, as the swipe
doesn't work as a complete back key. To be perfect, I'd have liked to see a
swipe backwards on the first screen of an app or web page as a method of
getting back to the home screen.
It's things like that which embed the action into
muscle memory, rather than being able to do something when you remember it's
possible. However, it did severely limit the need to press the back button in
the top left-hand corner, which is a plus.
Although, here's an idea: put it in the bottom
left-hand corner instead. You know, where we can reach it.
Quick contact access
Another change is the ability to double press the
home button (full press, not a tap) and access the multi-tasking menu to switch
apps or shut them down.
This now has a 'recent contacts' bubble gallery
at the top, which shows the people you've, well, you don't need me to spell it
out to you. You're smart, you can work it out.
However, I dislike things that try and choose
these things for you. I'd rather be able to hard code contacts there, as
unpredictability in new features can be infuriating.
As such I didn't really use this feature that
often - but if you remember to double tap to get to the most used people, then
hopefully over time it would populate correctly.
Interactive notifications
The interactive part is, again, nothing new as
it's something that's been part of other phones (for example, the LG G2 and G3)
for a number of years. However, it's a very slick and unobtrusive system here,
with a small banner appearing at the top of the screen.
Replying to a message instantly is cool, and
something that really does bring an element of joy and usability to the system.
Other apps can use this method of alert too, but not to the same effect. For
instance, Mail coming in will show up in the same banner, but you can only organize
the message rather than reply there and then.
I appreciate that emails are generally longer,
but there should be the option to fire off a quick missive if the situation
calls for it.
The widgets in the Notifications drop down will
be pretty cool, if the presentation Apple gave at WWDC was anything to go by.
However, the functionality of being able to bid on eBay items without entering
the app still wasn't present in the current iteration of the application, as it's
probably not going to be updated until iOS 8 hits public release.
These are starting to filter through now, with
more options available in the notifications bar to make a quick tap all you
need to do things on the fly. It's one of those things that when you notice it
for the first time, it's really useful, but quickly becomes commoditized.
The rest of the interface is much as expected for
an iPhone - and that's a good thing in the eyes of most users. However, I will
say that the touch screen on the iPhone 6 isn't as good as the competition – it
doesn't feel as responsive as the Project Butter / Project Svelte (and
subsequent evolutions) that Android has been adding into the backend of its
platform.
The problem manifests itself when swiping
laterally through apps, and the internet browser doesn't always have that super
smooth reaction that I've come to expect from a modern smartphone.
I'm being really picky here, as it's not a
nuisance, but at the same time it's perceptible compared to the competition,
although nothing out of the ordinary for your average Apple user.
I doubt it's down to the lower 1GB of RAM Apple
has packed in (although it would be interesting to see what the brand does to
performance if it ever ups that number) but although slight, those hopping
between Android and iOS might pick up on the slight lag.
The better news is the crashes that plagued the
early iOS 7 devices seem to be pretty clear with the iPhone 6 - I only noticed Specify
giving up the ghost during my set up, as well as one Facebook crash where
before Safari was falling apart all over the place.
Drop box did hate downloading large files when
you moved the phone - but that feels like more of a bug with iOS 8
compatibility than an endemic failure.
I'll keep an eye on this area, as it's something
that can take a few weeks to manifest, but early indications are that the
iPhone 6 is a lot more stable than its predecessor.
The rest of the iPhone 6 interface is simplicity
itself. I'm never going to be happy with the way many apps still have their
personal settings only available in the general Settings app, but at least more
are starting to let you edit functionality from within the app itself.
The iPhone 6 interface is clear, clean and as
you'd expect. I still think there's more to be done with the Notifications
area, but at least it's less complicated than before. Splitting it into two
still feels wrong, and the calendar / traffic / summary info seems more power
user than standard Apple buyer.
The Control Center at the bottom of any screen is
richer than before too, and still gives access to the key areas, including
music control from anywhere within the phone.
Is it the perfect interface for customization?
No, and many people are starting to want more from their smartphone, which is
why Android phones are proving so popular.
But it's still got the core simplicity that Apple
has prided itself upon for years, and that's still going to be a massive draw,
especially for those that feel like 'they know where they are' with iPhones.
Performance
The iPhone 6 seemed to be the slicker of the two
new iHandsets when it comes to chugging away under the finger, although when
looking at the Geek bench 3 scores, we can see it's almost identical to the
iPhone 6 Plus (average score of 2905 vs 2911 for the 6 Plus).
This puts it below 2015's crop of smartphones
like the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9, but right with the Samsung Galaxy S5
and below the One M8 and One E8 - although HTC has admitted to slightly gaming
those results with a special 'high power mode'.
In short, despite the dual-core processor, Apple
seems to have eked out enough power to make the iPhone 6 a strong enough
contender day to day.
The battery life of the iPhone 6 promised to be a
lot better, as it comes with a 25% longer lasting battery and, according to
Apple's literature, the A8 processor at the heart of thing is a much more
efficient engine, drawing 50% less power than the A7 iteration in the last
iPhone.
The good news is battery life in the iPhone 6 is
definitely an improvement on what came before, offering a much more stable
experience even if you're not doing much with the phone, which was one of my
major gripes with the iPhone 5S.
There's a notion that what Apple offered with
that device was 'good enough', according to the owners I spoke to, but all
wished that something could be done to make it better.
The new battery tweaks give more
info about what to do to improve your power management than ever before
When informed that 2014's crop of Android phones,
such as the Samsung Galaxy S5 or HTC One M8, were capable of lasting well over
a day even on harder usage, most realized that Apple needed to do something to
improve the time they could keep away from a charger.
Well, at least that's happened with the iPhone 6.
In light-to-medium use, by which I mean email being fetched at intervals, the
screen at medium brightness, recording a few minutes' worth of video, snapping
seven photos, and an hour or two spent listening to offline tracks on Spotify,
I managed to go 13 hours with the battery only dropping to 33%.
From then though I played Real Racing 3 for
15 minutes and lost 10% of the battery life, showing it's very easy to slip
through power when playing graphically intensive games.
Also, try and do anything like downloading music
(which needs the screen to stay on as apps like Sportily can't manage
downloading in the background) and the battery will just fall away, meaning
you'll be back to playing the charger hunt game.
It should be noted that this is generally a
problem with most smartphones; however, some are more adept at it than others
(the fact Android phones can download in the background, for instance, is a
great boon) and there's no Ultra Power Saving mode as seen on Samsung or HTC's
challengers.
That said, the chances are most users will be
upgrading to the iPhone 6 from the iPhone 5 or even iPhone 4S, and as such
they'll be cock-a-hoop with the massive jump in battery life.
Even running apps like WhatsApp in the background
didn't seem to harm the battery life too much.
Our Tec Radar battery test did show something
slightly worrying, and likely down to the increased pixel count: where the
iPhone 5S lost 16% from a looped 90 minute Full HD video, the iPhone 6 lost
26%, with the iPhone 6 Plus dropping a similar 27%. Apple's extra pixel
management clearly isn't as good as it could be, so anything with the screen on
is going to be an issue.
I'll add something in after a few months' use:
the battery isn't as robust as in other phones, with the iPhone 6 starting to
show a worrying tendency to juice down to about 20% at home time. It could be
due to heavier apps being plugged in - running apps seem to want to spend time
in the background eating battery - but it's not something I've seen on
comparable handsets.
In summary though, the battery life of the iPhone
6 is still something I'd call more than adequate, which isn't a compliment I'd
pay previous versions of this phone.
That said, given the lower-res screen and
improvement in battery size, I was hoping for something a little more
efficient, especially as the iPhone 6 can't quite compete with other phones on
the market at the moment.
It's not miles behind, but there's still some
work to be done by Apple. And especially given the iPhone 6 Plus is so much
better at lasting with the screen off (thanks to the much larger power pack)
this is going to lead to a tricky decision for prospective buyers.
As noted above, the camera on the iPhone 6 is an
8MP affair, but with some key upgrades to make it into a more useable device
day to day.
The main element is the addition of 'Focus
Pixels', which Apple believes will give faster autofocus and improved clarity
to your shots.
Faster autofocus is something that's been used to
great effect on the LG G3 and the Samsung Galaxy S5, promising the get more of
the picture in focus first time out.
The G3 uses frickin' laser beams to manage the
task, so Apple's got a pretty lofty goal here. However, it's been found by DxO
Labs to be one of the best cameras on the market, and I instantly found it to
be a superior device to general photography compared to the Sony Xperia Z3, for
instance.
The Galaxy Note 4 looks to be a better choice
though, with early tests declaring it to be among the best cameras around. That
said, you'll need to want that larger device to pick it over the iPhone 6. A
better option might be the Galaxy S6, which launched since the iPhone 6 and has
one of the best snappers around.
The rear camera is very similar to that found on
the iPhone 5S, it has to be said, although given that was one of the better
snappers out there this isn't necessarily a bad thing.
The Focus Pixels seemed to help somewhat with
getting the clearer picture, but I didn't notice any big jump in functionality
compared to the iPhone 5S in that respect. Saying that, I never really thought
the 5S was slow to focus, so it's perhaps an issue that didn't need solving
urgently.
One extra element Apple has added in is the
ability to change the exposure of the photo manually. Simply slide your finger
up and down the screen to brighten or darken the shot - well, in theory.
In my testing this seemed to be slightly iffy in
terms of registering my desired level accurately - you need to swipe up and
down a number of times to really change the level (which could be a good thing
in some users' minds, as it allows a fine degree of control) but too often the
swiping led to changing the mode from photo to video or other option.
However, the simplicity of the iPhone's camera mode
is still very much in effect: the f/2.2 aperture of the sensor is indeed rather
good in terms of capturing colour. HDR mode is set to auto by default, but only
really pops in when outside with bright sunlight cascading all around. For the
most part, it won't fire sadly.
The rest of the interface is largely the same:
autofocus and auto exposure can be set with a long press, and the only other
modes are timer, flash and the use of filters which show how the photo will
look in real time,
The front facing camera, again as noted, is a big
improvement for those that like a good self portrait. The brightness is higher,
the camera is an HD option with built in HDR, and essentially it's now really
good for taking photos or video calling a loved one from afar.
The other benefit here is that now iMessage
accepts short videos (as Apple attempts to topple WhatsApp) the improved video
capability of the front is more useful than ever before.
I'm a big fan of the Slo-Mo feature on any
smartphone, and by Apple increasing it to 240 frames per second you can now get
some VERY slow and smooth shots.
This is a really good feature if you've ever
wanted to see something almost imperceptible to the human eye - by which I mean
finding out how stupid your pet looks when shaking its head at high speed.
Other things, like running style, golf swing or
how you sneeze are fun reasons to use the function, and while it's nothing
ground breaking, it's a slick and easy to use interface. Why you'd want to go
back down to 120fps is beyond me, but the option to change it back is there
with a tag in the bottom corner.
The video recording function on the iPhone -
which now encompasses 1080p at 60 fps - is very clear and almost too real. This
is actually great for home movies, giving the sense that you're there, but not
so great if you're a budding movie producer with no money wanting to use the
iPhone to make your next movie.
I will say this about Focus Pixels in the video -
Apple was making a big song and dance about how you don't need to refocus video
when moving the camera about.
This is partly true - but mostly if you've got a
really clear and bright scene with well-defined distances. Going into close up,
for instance, didn't seem to yield much in the way of a decent shot, with the
fuzzy bits still needing to be corrected by a tap.
Gaming on the iPhone 6 is going to be a dream,
thanks to the development of Metal. This new feature of iOS 8 will be unknown
to most, but it strips out some of the work needed between any game and the
phone's hardware to make more powerful graphics which take less power from the
device.
The results are really impressive, according to
the demos I saw - however, the raw power of the new titles isn't something I've
been able to try out yet as they won't be released until iOS 8 is released to
the public, at which point I'll update this review.
However, Apple's been clever to offer its
developers a stable platform to make games for, as it's resulted in some very
decent titles that look beautiful and play very well.
The increase in screen size might have been a
worry for some, meaning their favorite games might not look as slick in the
new, larger display sizes, but thanks to the upscaling things look just fine on
the new screen sizes.
However, that doesn't mean that we won't get iPhone
6-optimised games - and with that extra raw power of the A8 chip, I'm really
looking forward to seeing what's on offer.
It's an odd situation with gaming and power
management though: Apple made a big song and dance about the fact the iPhone
6's processor could manage to keep going at optimum performance, although I
didn't particularly notice it was any better than the Android contingent when
playing higher-power games.
What I did see was the battery performance
falling away badly when gaming on the iPhone 6 – as noted above – which makes
it less of a strong machine for extended sessions.
This wouldn't have been an issue a few years ago,
but now the mobile phone is the primary device for casual gaming and is a
billion-dollar industry – so the iPhone should be able to hold its own if you
want to spend the entire commute to work destroying alien scum and then use it
as an actual phone the rest of the day,
Media
The iPhone as a media device is still one of the
best out there in terms of consistency for music and movies - simply because
Apple's heritage from the iPod still pours through the iPhone.
There are some quibbles - the fact that most
video formats are not supported will forever rankle, despite the fact most are
quickly becoming defunct - but overall it's still one of the most well-equipped
phones for entertainment on the go, thanks to the great media library available
through iTunes.
Sound quality
The sound quality of the iPhone - providing you
pair it with a better pair of buds than those you get in the box, which I still
can't even bring myself to use knowing they're going to just fall out my
oversized and useless ears - is still one of my favorite things about the
phone.
It's not the best out there in terms of support -
both the LG G3 and Sony Xperia Z3 / Z3 Compact can play higher-res audio files,
and the iPhone can't, despite rum ours Apple was about to add in 24-bit, 192KHz
support - but when it comes to playback of your standard, CD-ripped or
Spotify-downloaded tracks, there's not much better to be had in terms of sound
consistency.
The same can be said for video - the new screen
technology certainly is an upgrade here, as the colours look richer and more
vibrant than before. Say what you want about Samsung's Super AMOLED screens on
the Galaxy S6, Note 4 and Tab S, but they're very, very good at giving users
the widest range of colours and deep contrasts, and Apple seems to be trying to
ape that to some degree here.
The contrast ratio seems to be similar to the
iPhone 5S - which was good already - which means the more atmospheric films are
easy to watch in the dark scenes. The screen size is still a little on the
small side, but only if you've seen or used a bigger phone regularly.
Otherwise, it's perfectly acceptable as a way of
watching the football in the kitchen, with the resolution just about sharp
enough to see what's going on clearly, when the other half is watching Princess
Bride in the living room despite promising she wouldn't invite anyone
around when the game was on.
The lock screen is also central to the media
experience on the phone, with either on-board music or that streamed from
Spotify given equal billing in terms of functionality. You can slide straight
through tracks with ease, and with Control
Center
Many have attacked Apple for not going down the
widget route in the past - me included - but given many Android manufacturers
are coming to the realisation that beyond music and a couple of other random
apps, most just want to be able to change tunes rather than have an
all-singing, all-dancing way of changing settings from the home screen.
However, I would like to point out that Apple
needs to improve the lock screen in some ways when it comes to music
presentation, as the method of showing the album art is getting a little old
now. When you look at the full-screen experience Android has baked in by
default, you feel like that's more futuristic - I hope Apple can do something
soon to make this look a little more amazing.
And of course, let's not forget the important
thing about how much stuff you can throw on there: the iPhone 6, like the 6
Plus, comes in 16GB, 64GB and 128GB flavours.
Given nearly 4GB amount of storage is instantly
given to the OS (plus some loss for GB vs Gb debate), the 16GB option isn't
really going to satisfy everyone over a few years' use, especially when photos
and videos start to mount up. So the 64GB option, which is nice to see as a
second tier without costing as much as it did last year, is really the one to
go for.
I've been testing the 128GB iPhone 6, and even
with everything turned up to maximum quality am struggling to fill it. It's
definitely a great 'safety option', but boy, is it expensive.
I'm still slightly flabbergasted that Apple is
charging so much to upgrade the memory in the devices. £80 / $100 / AU$130 for
a 48GB jump and then another £80 / $100 / AU$130 for further 64GB? But it's
only £75 / $105 / AU$135 to buy a 128GB microSD card?
While I want to point out it's not as cut and
dried as that (read our excellent feature on whether a microSD slot is really a
good thing to find out more) there's no doubt that the benefits of having
onboard storage are not worth the extra £80 you need to pay to jump between
models. So why charge so much, Apple?
We should never forget the bit that comes after
the 'i'. This is still a phone, no matter how much some people might consider
it to be a top of the range internet-browsing tablet.
The iPhone is still a very capable device for phoning,
although some features are still missing: smart dialing isn't available from
the dial pad, meaning you'll constantly have to dive into the contacts menu
unless you come to terms with the way the 'favorites' work in the multi-tasking
pane.
There's also a slight issue with network
connectivity: while it's not a problem, the iPhone 6 isn't as adept at holding
a signal as other top-end smartphones. On various train journeys I noticed more
dropouts than on other Android handsets, and in my notoriously poor signal
house the places I could receive calls were fewer.
It's nothing terrible, and I experienced no
dropped calls during my time with the phone (bar one where I suspected it was
the other person), but Apple still hasn't made the best calling machine out
there.
Messaging
But when it comes to messaging, things are a lot,
lot better. The new keyboard, for instance, is one of my favorite upgrades on
any phone ever, ever, ever.
This isn't because it's amazing, but more because
I loathed the old method so much, with its tiny, inaccurate space to peck into
and the amount of times I accidentally hit above the letters and shut down the
pad.
Now, with more screen to play with, there's more
space, more accuracy and the algorithms that predict words are so much better
than before. If you're one of those that never changes the keyboard on your
phone (and if you're a lifelong iPhone user, then you won't have) then the
inbuilt option is so much more accurate and consistent.
And that's before remembering that other keyboards
are on their way. I'm going to be downloading Swift Key as soon as I can for
the iPhone 6 (as it's not out before the full iOS 8 release) but in the short
term the current option is more than fine.
The improved messaging experience through
iMessage is good, but I still wish there was some more consistency in using the
features to non-Apple devices. I like WhatsApp, but the fact iMessage is now
doing a lot of the same things built in is favorable.
If only it could be installed on Android phones
to make my life simpler when talking to others during iPhone use... that's not
too much to ask, right, Apple? Have a word with Google. Patch things up. I'm
sure you can still be friends.
Internet
The internet browsing experience on the iPhone 6
isn't vastly different than before, although iOS 8 has brought a few changes.
I really like being able to swipe back and forth
to move through web pages (and this trick works on both Chrome and Safari,
although with the former it lets you swipe through tabs, not pages) and with
the default browser I liked getting a prompt when Reading Mode was available -
it generally only seemed to pop up when I could use it effectively.
I always see the option to save articles for
later and intend to use it more - but yet I still go back to Pocket time and
again. I can't explain why, as it's actually more convoluted, but the fact that
Apple's inbuilt system hasn't lured me means it probably needs to be more
prominent.
We liked
A lot of people still think it's acceptable to
compare phones based on a spec sheet. It's not. It's about the experience, the
relationship one has with a phone day after day, and that's something Apple has
nailed year after year: the feeling you get when you first pick one up.
The design of the iPhone 6 is brilliant. It feels
like a potted down version of the iPad Air, which itself was one of the
best-designed bits of tech I've ever held. I'm not a fan of the plastic strips
on the top and bottom of the phone - I'd have preferred these to be blocks of
colour - but that aside, it feels great in the palm.
The battery life upgrade is a real plus too. Yes,
it falls a little under hard use, and after a few months of working, but the
main problem with the 5S was the fact the phone would be useless by the end of
the working day even when not put under a lot of strain - that problem seems to
have been resolved.
The camera quietly impresses, and the new modes
are helpful at times, if not always useful. While it irritates that there's no
16:9 mode for snapping, the results are still almost always something I'd want
to share.
We disliked
The iPhone 6 is a sensational handset, but not
flawless. There are two issues that have to be raised.
The first is the screen. It's a tricky one, as it
could sound like I'm being rather hypocritical given my point about not basing
a feeling about a phone on a spec sheet.
But the lower-res screen is noticeable next to
most other Full HD phones in the iPhone 6's class. Sure, day to day you won't
notice the fuzzier text, the slightly rougher pictures, but given you'll be
paying more for an iPhone than any other device on the market (bar some
hyper-powerful phablets) I can't condone Apple not working out a way to get a
Full HD display on this phone.
It's not like it's new technology either: the HTC
One M7 had a similarly sized display back in 2013 and it was Full HD. It looked
great back then, so why has Apple not managed the same thing now?
I can't think it's to do with battery life, but
if it is, then the phone should have been made thicker. 6.9mm with the rounded
back feels nice in the hand, but a mm or two thicker wouldn't have gone amiss
if the thing I was looking at had a better display on.
Every year I get to this point in the review of
that year's iPhone and wonder: 'Am I'm missing something? Should I be giving
the iPhone a pass when castigating Android or Windows Phones for the same
thing?'
But I can't find a tangible reason for the extra
cost. We're not talking a single pound / dollar or two, it's a big difference
in price on contract. The materials used are premium, yes, but not necessarily
making the best design out there.
The iCloud drive stuff is good, the operating
system is sleek, but there's nothing here (beyond the phone being a very good
all-rounder) that gives me a quick answer when someone asks me 'Why is the
iPhone more expensive?'
To me, that's a problem and one I can't just
ignore because 'people' will pay it. Were there nothing else wrong here, then
perhaps it could be glossed over, giving the choice to the buyer, but as the
phone isn't market leading in a number of ways, the price rankles heavily.
Verdict
When I first picked up the iPhone 6, I thought
this was going to be a hard review to write. Had Apple just changed the shape
but kept the same inherent problems? Was there really enough new to make it a
phone that really helped the company leap forward?
The answer is: the Apple iPhone 6 is a brilliant
phone. It's the first time I'd even consider using an iPhone as my daily
device, thanks to the larger screen, better keyboard and most importantly
upgraded battery life.
However, the price is still tremendously
off-putting and the screen, while perfectly fine (and sometimes impressive) in
day to day use will still irritate me, knowing that I've not got the best
experience for my money.
But that's the only bugbear I have with the Apple
iPhone 6. It feels amazing in the hand. Apple has somehow made a phone too thin
and turned it into a positive. The operating system is smarter and more
intuitive than ever, and that's without even factoring in the strong ecosystem
of apps and media that Apple users get.
We'll ignore the Trojan Horsing of the U2 album
for now.
I promised I wouldn't say the iPhone 6 is the
best iPhone Apple has ever made, and thankfully I don't have to. I used that
phrase for the 5S, as there wasn't a lot else that was worthy of a headline
statement.
So while the iPhone 6 might not be the most
powerful, most attractive, best at photography or best for battery life, Apple
has put it all together in a way that, if you can forgive the price (and that's
a big if), offers a phone that should be at the sharp end of your consideration
for your next smartphone.
