Apple’s New iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

Overnight, Apple introduced two new iPhones to the world, the 4.7″ iPhone 6 and the 5.5″ iPhone 6 Plus.

Apple fans that woke up at 3am were treated to a constantly crashing video feed that was being live translated into, and this is just a guess, Mandarin or Cantonese. Whatever, it wasn’t Apple’s finest hour. By the time the feed was sorted, Tim, Phil and some dude in a scarf had burned through most of the details of the new iPhones, but here’s a few talking points for you all.

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If you’ve fallen in love with the sleek lines of the HTC One, but prefer iOS, you’re in luck. While I’ve not see the iPhone 6 in person, the photos from the event suggest a phone design that pays homage to the HTC flagship. I wonder if it’ll be as slippery in the hand?

There is little difference between the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The big iPhone has a big battery, up to 14hrs talk time, while the giant iPhone has a whopping 24hr talk time battery. It’s too early to test these numbers, but most large Android phones I’ve tested this year have survived a full day off the charger, and I’d be surprised if the iPhone couldn’t match that.

Beyond the bigger battery, the iPhone 6 plus has a better camera, with physical motion stabilisers, and a remarkable 240fps super slow motion recording.

iOS 8 handles the bigger phone dimensions by adding better landscape support to Apple’s built in apps, and tools for iOS developers to do the same. iOS Apps are now design to be “responsive”, they’ll resize to the size of the device, much like modern websites. There’s a new feature called Reachability, which shrinks apps for one handed use. It looks absolutely naff.

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An iPhone 5 beside a 4.7″ HTC Phone and a 5.5″ Oppo Phone. 

While the camera looks impressive on the iPhone 6 Plus, I’ll be looking for a 4.7″ iPhone 6. I’ve used a tonne of giant Android phones this year, and breaking point for me was the 5.1″ Samsung Galaxy S5. I could just get by rocking that Samsung back and forth in my hand, but the 5.5″ Oppo was just too damn big. I couldn’t stand it. Meanwhile, the Moto X and HTC Desire, both 4.7″ phones, were just the right size for me.

Still, some people dig big-arse phones, and if you’re one of them, you may just love the iPhone 6 Plus. I’d suggest waiting to test one in your hands before purchasing. Perhaps Reachability and the new landscape modes will make the phone usable, but until you’ve spent a few hours with one, it’ll be hard to tell.

The Unknown Known during all iPhone launches is how much RAM Apple have stuffed in the phone. I’m hoping to see 2GB to match other flagships, and to give the iPhone a longer lifespan, but we’ll need to wait for the early reviews to find out.

Apple have a new series of ads for the new iPhone, which harken back to the the “I’m a Mac” campaign. The new ads feature Justin “Dick in a box” Timberlake and Jimmy “Viral Tonight Show Clip” Fallon, and they’re quite cute. I wonder if they’ll still seem cute in a few months.

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The iPhone 6 adopts the price points of the iPhone 5S. The cheapest model comes with 16bg of storage, though the 32gb mid-range model has been replaced with a 64gb model. Not bad.

Outright or on a Contract?

If you’re grandfathered in to an awesome prepaid deal with Telstra or Vodafone, then keep that prepaid deal and buy your handset outright. If not, this may be a good time to shop around for a decent contract deal.

While Telstra, Optus and Vodafone have not released pricing yet, this looks to be a very competitive year for iPhone contracts. Telstra are offering data and call credit for current users on a contract wanting to upgrade early, while Optus are offering to pay early termination fees for those willing to switch to their network. All very exciting.

As for the networks, I carry an Optus and Vodafone phone, and both are fantastic in my area. If you live in a major city, I wouldn’t choose one network or the other based on perceived superiority or previous “Fails”, just wait for the deal that’s best for you. Vodafone still offer a 30 day Network Guarantee if you’d like to test their network. I’m sure if you ask nicely, one of the other Telcos might allow you to try their network, too.

If you’re still anxious about switching, grab a Prepaid Sim first, and test the networks out. Better to lose a few bucks testing the networks than getting locked into an overpriced 24 month contract you don’t need.

I’m sure one of my learned colleagues will compare the iPhone contract deals as they become available, and stay tuned for an iPhone 6 review in the coming weeks.