iPhone 6 was launched by the company Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), on September 19 and is one of the most popular smartphones available on the market, being offered together with 6 iPhone Plus, which I will talk about in a separate review. In the last week, I presented you with a lot of information about this new product of the company Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC),, but now it's time to talk in detail about what it offers you and, more importantly, about the experience you will have using it.
iPhone 6 reviews
Design – premium and yet fragile
In case you haven't read this summer iDevice.ro and you haven't seen the many images and video clips with the new one casing a iPhone 6, well in these images you can see it in all its splendor. Company Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), chose to implement an aluminum case for the new iPhone terminal, it covers both the back of the device and its edges, merging almost perfectly with the curved screen on the outside. The case is divided into two points by the antennas, which extend to the side edges, its corners being very curved, the design being similar to that of the old iPod models.
iPhone 6 it is 138.1 millimeters high, 67 millimeters wide and 6.9 millimeters thickBeing the thinnest iPhone ever released so far by Apple. Comparing it with iPhone 5S, it is 14.3 millimeters higher, 8.4 millimeters wider and 0.7 millimeters thinner, the difference in everyday use being extremely large, as you will discover for yourself.
If we have a new case, with a the camera that protrudes almost 1 millimeter outside of it, we also have a different front panel, the screen with curved edges on the outside, the new design offering a slightly different visual image than the one that Apple has accustomed us to during the 7 years of the existence of its terminals. Overall iPhone 6 it represents a major change in design compared to the iPhone 5S and it remains for you to decide whether it is one for the better or for the worse.
Screen – Vibrant Retina HD
iPhone 6 it has a 4.7 inch screen with a resolution of 1344 x 750 pixels and the same 326 pixels per inch that iPhone screens have since iPhone 4. Staying with iPhone 4, if Apple launched the name then Retina for the screens of its iPhones, this year the Americans launched the name Retina HD to define the higher resolution screen, despite the fact that the number of pixels per inch remained unchanged compared to the model launched 4 years ago.
The new Retina HD screen displays images with a higher contrast and thanks to a technology called dual-domain pixel, the screen displays colors more accurately even when viewing from wide angles. Apple implemented the thinnest screen for an iPhone terminal and applied a better polarizing filter, so that when wearing sunglasses you will see the images much more clearly than in the past.
Apart from these, display iPhone 6 has a higher brightness and it is full sRGB, being thought to display non-black/white colors much more correctly than in the past, but also clearer texts. Although the marketing texts are beautiful, the reality is that the iPhone 6 has a superior screen to those implemented in previous models, and a test performed by an expert in screens for mobile terminals revealed the benefits it offers.
Technologies behind the screen iPhone 6 however, it does not give you information about the user experience, and with 4.7 inches you will have a completely different experience than the one you have known so far. Reachability is a new feature that will help you have a pleasant user experience using iPhone 6 and it will become, as I call it, your best friend in everyday use. Reachability was thought to give us the possibility to easily access the parts of the screen opposite the bridge of our palm, and this because iPhone 6 it cannot be fully used using one hand. By simply double tapping a touch ID, the entire interface will descend to the middle of the screen, allowing us to easily access the elements positioned in the upper part opposite the bridge of the palm.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20_NZKKKJ_A&w=580&h=370]
Reachability was inspired by Apple from Android, where the entire interface of the operating system was reduced to just a portion of the screen to be used more easily. For iPhone 6, Reachability allows easy access to everything that is normally inaccessible and from experience I can tell you that you will need this function in everyday use.
iPhone 6 it has a great Retina HD which you will love, especially if you like to view videos on the Internet, write or play various games available in the App Store.
Hardware – A8, M8, NFC, 1 GB RAM and customized performance
For iPhone 6 the Apple company has developed a new one A8 chip, successor of the A7 chip, it containing a 1.4 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB RAM, 1810 mAh battery: PowerVR GX6450 graphics card, M8 motion co-processor, two accelerometers, fingerprint reader enclave chip, NFC chip, chip enclave for mobile payments, Qualcomm modem capable of reaching 4G speeds of up to 150 Mbps and this is where the interesting information about the components stops.
The new face A8 is produced using a 20nm manufacturing process, Apple managing to include over 2 billion transistors in a very small package, iPhone 6 having more than 50 times more processing power than the iPhone 2G, the graphics card having up to 84 times better performance. Moving on to the new motion co-processor M8, Apple has implemented the possibility to measure the altitude using a dedicated barometer, so that in the fitness applications you will have dedicated information for this.
The new face A8 it uses two accelerometers to improve the battery life and believe me you will be very happy with it, but the processing power provided by it is also used for the new camera functions. Despite the praise brought by Apple for the new A8 chip, it does not offer a considerable increase in speed in everyday life compared to the iPhone 5S, and using the two terminals you will not notice a major difference.
To 6 iPhone Plus you will not notice any difference in performance in day-to-day use, and compared to competing terminals iPhone 6 is faster in real life, but also in tests. The differences are of course negligible and will not affect your existence that much, so don't expect to run any kind of task in a hundredth of a second, because this will not happen with this Apple terminal.
iPhone 6 it is a fast smartphone and this is normal considering that it is one of Apple's flagships, so you will have the best performance for iOS.
iOS 8
In iOS 8 the Apple company has implemented a multitude of novelties, most of them in the framework and invisible to the average user, and in this article I have talked about all of them in detail and I recommend you to read it to find out what you will find. For iPhone 6 in iOS 8 we will find only two important novelties, they are directly related to the use of the larger Retina HD screen and I will focus only on them in this review.
I start with Display Zoom, a feature designed by Apple for those who are used to the old iOS home screen. Using Display Zoom, you will have the opportunity to choose how the applications are displayed on the main screen, that is, you will display larger icons in fewer rows, or you will display smaller icons and add an additional row for displaying applications, the latter option being and the most useful for anyone.
Reachability it is the second important function implemented by Apple, but I talked about it in the part dedicated to the screen and there is no point in repeating it now. That's all Apple has prepared especially in the new iOS interface for iPhone 6, but you'll find pleasant surprises below.
Camera - rediscover the pleasure of taking pictures
iPhone 6 it has a new main camera, removed from the outside of the case, it has the same 8 megapixels as the old models, with a 1/3″ sensor, 1.5µm pixel size and f/2.2 aperture. The front camera remains unchanged, with 1.2 megapixels, capable of recording video in 720p format at 30 FPS, but it comes with new features on the software side that make it more interesting for us.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mizUsQ83y14&list=PLNPbDwO25YPgzHYrMKjJiQZRrxTVbvc0m&w=580&h=370]
For iPhone 6 camera the company Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), implemented a multitude of novelties and we start with Focus Pixels, a technology that uses the terminal's processor to focus our images faster and more clearly. In my experience, iPhone 6 it focuses the images much faster than the iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S terminals, so you will be able to record images much faster than in the past, but also with greater clarity.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUYJYCuxDtQ&list=PLNPbDwO25YPipFTfSzU8pM2eVGO_zQwQt&w=580&h=370]
In close connection with Focus Pixels, we also have an improved system for detecting the subjects' faces, which finds the subjects in the image more quickly, focuses their faces more clearly and allows faster recording of pictures. We still have options in iOS 8 to control the exposure of the image, and when you touch the screen to focus you will notice a small image of a sun with a slider, dragging it up and down allows changing the exposure.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX2zmAXijUE&list=PLNPbDwO25YPg_K-IadsXogSBDydOEy_fU&list=PLNPbDwO25YPipFTfSzU8pM2eVGO_zQwQt&w=580&h=370]
For iPhone 6 Apple has also improved the system image stabilization, the terminal still doing digital stabilization, but much more efficiently than in the past, our movements being compensated much more efficiently. Along with these options, we also have cinematic video stabilization, allowing us to record video clips in motion without the images being blurry or Finally, for the Camera application, we have the possibility to record panoramic photos of up to 43 megapixels, so you will have a quality as clear as possible for the images recorded during vacations.
Apart from all this, iPhone 6 is now able to record video clips in 1080p format at 60 FPS, sequences per second, and this gives you the opportunity to see the images much clearer and more real than in the past. Moreover, the American company has also improved the slow-motion system, so you will be able to record video clips at 240 FPS, sequences per second, the images being run at half the speed compared to the one offered in the iPhone 5S.
Also for the Video function, the Apple company has automatically implemented the recording of HDR video clips, so all the video clips recorded by us will have the same great quality as the HDR pictures. More than that, now iPhone 6 focuses automatically during video clips, so you will always have clear images of everything you record. Finally, we have the Time Lapse option for recording fast video clips over long periods of time, and if you've used any other iOS application with this functionality, you'll know what you're getting.
Both the main room a iPhone 6, as well as the secondary one benefits from a new image sensor that captures more light, so you will be able to record better pictures in low light conditions, but not in the dark. Finally, the Burst Mode system can record up to 10 photos per second, automatically choosing the best one to display in the Photos application.
From my experience, iPhone 6 it offers marginally better quality images than those recorded using the iPhone 5S, the images look great on its screen, and if you are an amateur or professional photographer, you will love the change brought by Apple.
Battery life – a day of use with pleasure
The new A8 chip al iPhone 6 manages the energy of the terminal more efficiently and uses two accelerometers to provide better autonomy for the battery, and in my tests I was pleasantly surprised by what the device can offer. iPhone 6 it has a 1810 mAh battery, with 1105 mAh lower than the one implemented in 6 iPhone Plus by company Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC),, and this has a major impact on autonomy which you will get during the use of the two terminals in everyday life.
In the image above you have a test I made for battery iPhone 6 using the terminal mostly connected to a 3G network, surfing the Internet using both 3G and 4G, adding almost two hours of gameplay, recording photos and videos, using some applications of social networks, photo editing, performing speed tests, etc. Practically, the use was intense and as a result iPhone 6 had 6 hours and 27 minutes of use with a stand-by period of 23 hours and 17 minutes.
In the second test, the terminal was used more iPhone 6 for surfing the Internet mainly using a Wi-Fi network, he stayed connected to 3G all the time, as in the first case, and the rest of the use involved the same actions as those above. In this situation iPhone 6 obtained 7 hours and 23 minutes of use with a day and 7 hours of standby, the result not being as great as you would have expected, or as I would have expected, to be honest.
Making a comparison with iPhone 5S battery life I can say that we are talking about an increase of 15% to 30% depending on the daily tasks, the battery capacity increasing by 20%. Making a comparison with iPhone 6 Plus battery life, you will get with 2 to 3 hours of autonomy in the minus, i.e. a 50% loss to a battery with a 60% higher capacity.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the iPhone 6 comes with a 1A charger, but the terminal can be charged using a 2.1A charger, charging with an iPad charger takes approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes.
It bends?
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0-3fIs2jQs&w=580&h=370]
If you have even turned on a TV in the last week, then you probably learned about the bendgate scandal in which Apple was accused of iPhone 6 it bends. The American company claimed that only 9 people showed up at its stores with bent iPhone 6 terminals, and then gave journalists access to the laboratories the destroyed 15.000 iPhone 6 terminals to test their resistance and see if they can be sold on the market in safe conditions.
Various resistance tests confirmed that iPhone 6 is more resistant to impacts and shocks than its predecessors, and a reputable American organization even confirmed that the scandal regarding bending is exaggerated. The iPhone 6 has an aluminum case and if you apply a large force to a certain point of it, then the case will bend, but it is easier to bend an HTC One M8 than an iPhone 6 terminal, and here you will find it the explanation for the problem.
In a week of using the iPhone 6, I didn't manage to bend it, although I carried it in the front pocket of my pants, including while driving, so if you manage to bend it, I'm waiting for some interesting pictures.
4G and Wi-Fi – faster navigation at higher speeds, support for VoLTE and Wi-Fi Calling
iPhone 6 has a modem chip implemented Qualcomm who offers them compatibility with 20 LTE frequencies around the globe, the most supported by any smartphone, allowing at the same time surfing the Internet at speeds up to 150 Mbps. On the 3G side, things are similar as in the past, the same support, the same maximum speeds supported by the network, so from this point of view you will not have any surprises.
The other day I presented you in an article 4G iPhone 6 Plus speed in Bucharest and now I'm talking about iPhone 4 6G speed in Bucharest, the terminal managing to obtain the highest speed recorded by me in the tests done in the capital.
iPhone 6 4G - speed in Bucharest
As you can see in the image above maximum 4G speed iPhone 6 reached in Bucharest is 116.63 Mbps in the tests done during yesterday, this being also the highest speed achieved by me in any test done for any smartphone or any tablet in Bucharest. Even if this is the maximum speed you can hope to get in Bucharest, notice in the images below that on average, browsing is done at speeds of 30 Mbps - 60 Mbps, all depending on the area where you are.
Considering that in Bucharest there are many smartphones, tablets or modems constantly connected to 4G network, there is a possibility that in the country you can get better 4G speeds with iPhone 6, depending on your city. In Suceava, I obtained 140 Mbps in tests with a Samsung Galaxy S5 on an empty network, most likely, so in your city you could have much better speeds.
Also for 4G, Apple has implemented support for the technology Volta, this allowing us to make voice calls while using a 4G network, at the moment the terminals switch to 3G for calls. Unfortunately, no operator in Romania has announced the implementation of support for this system, so it is not known when or if it will be available.
On the Wi-Fi side, Apple has finally implemented support for Wi-Fi 802.11ac, a technology that Macs have had available for more than half a year. The hardware upgrade for iPhone 6 will bring users speeds Wi-Fi up to 3 times higher than in the case of using a connection Wi-Fi 802.11n, and in practice we are talking about transfer speeds of over 433 Mbps with compatible routers.
Separate from the new Wi-Fi technology, the Apple company has officially launched support for Wi-Fi Calling with compatible mobile phone operators. Unfortunately the function Wi-Fi Calling it cannot work without the support of mobile phone operators, so in the US for now only those from T-Mobile can use it at the moment. In Romania, no mobile operator has yet announced its intention to offer this functionality, free or paid, for its customers, but anything is possible until the fall.
touch ID – same security, improved user experience
iPhone 6 has one touch ID improved, I heard this in various rumors, but specifically the company Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), said absolutely nothing about any substantial change made for the fingerprint reader from terminals. Even so, if we are not talking about the inclusion of a new chip for reading fingerprints, we are definitely talking about improving the software behind it, because in iOS 8 I had a very good experience with touch ID on these terminals.
In contrast to the iPhone 5S which "misses" quite often at fingerprint reading, iPhone 6 it works almost without any problem, from this point of view, fingerprint reading is done just as quickly, but without errors. If at iPhone 5S it sometimes happens that my fingerprint is not read if the fingers are a little wet or oily, Touch ID from iPhone 6 he does much better in these situations.
I don't know how many of you own it iPhone 6 si 6 iPhone Plus and you owned an iPhone 5S in the past, you noticed this change made by the Apple company, but I for one am happy to see that Touch ID has been improved. Last year the system was criticized precisely because of these problems and it seems that Apple took note of the users' complaints, so Touch ID in iPhone 6 si 6 iPhone Plus it works great, at least for me.
If you think that the change could only be a software for iOS 8, I will tell you that the iPhone 5S generates the same problems when reading in iOS 8, so Apple has probably modified the firmware inside the fingerprint reader.
What experiences have you had with Touch ID?
Accessories
If you think that in the iPhone 6 box you will find who knows what surprise on the accessories side, well I tell you that Apple has nicely packed the same Lightning cable, the same charger and the same EarPods as in the case of the iPhone 5S. From this point of view, there is nothing new and I don't think there will be any in the coming years, considering that Lightning technology is new and Apple will not change it too soon.
On the other hand, for the iPhone 6, Apple has designed dedicated covers made of leather and silicone, these having the role of protecting the terminal from possible impacts or even bending. The covers are currently available in Apple stores abroad, but as soon as the official launch of the terminals will take place in Romania, they will be available for purchase from all the stores that will sell the terminal.
Is it worth buying iPhone 6?
Over the course of a week, I was asked many times if it was worth buying iPhone 6, the questions coming both from owners of iPhone terminals and from owners of terminals Android, so in this article I will try to answer as clearly as possible to the question that will bother many.
First of all, I will tell you that the transition to iPhone 6 implies the acceptance of a 4.7 inch screen and giving up the idea that you can use the terminal in very easy conditions with one hand, and here I'm talking specifically for those who have an old iPhone model. If you have one iPhone 3G, iPhone 3Gs, iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S and you want a fast iPhone, with a screen that displays content as clearly and beautifully as possible, but you don't care about the size, then iPhone 6 is worth buying.
If you own one iPhone 5 or iPhone 5C and you want to have a fast iPhone with a large screen that displays images much better than your terminal, but you don't mind the size, then iPhone 6 worth buying. If you have one iPhone 5S and you are only interested in having a bigger screen on which to view the information, then iPhone 6 worth buying, with the mention that in terms of performance you will not notice any difference because it practically does not exist.
If you have a terminal Android with a smaller screen, then probably its performances are clearly inferior and the switch to one iPhone 6 it would be an extremely smart move for you. If you have a top Android smartphone with an equivalent or larger screen, then iPhone 6 it's worth buying just for the idea of returning to the iOS platform, which is, in theory, more stable and safer, because in terms of performance or functionality, you won't have anything to gain.
iPhone 6 has an autonomy better than any other old iPhone, it performs better than any other old iPhone, except the iPhone 5S, has a bigger and better screen than any other old iPhone, and with that I think I have said everything that matters most. Choosing an iPhone 6 does not have to be a compromise, it has to be a rational decision because you will make the transition to a larger, faster, probably more beautiful terminal for some, with a better 4G connectivity.
That being said, I say that iPhone 6 is worth buying, under the above conditions.
PRICE in Romania
iPhone 6 has not officially been launched in Romania and will not be launched until next month at the earliest, but various online stores have it listed, one of them having almost the entire range available on this page. Unofficially iPhone 6 is sold in Romania since the day of launch, the delivery of the terminals being done depending on the arrival of the parcels from the USA to our country, few users actually receiving what they ordered.
- iPhone 6 16 GB – 3499 LEI;
- iPhone 6 64 GB – 3999 LEI;
- iPhone 6 128 GB – 4499 LEI;
- iPhone 6 Plus 16 GB – 3999 LEI;
- iPhone 6 Plus 64 GB – 4499 LEI;
- iPhone 6 Plus 128 GB – 4999 LEI.
Although the prices of the stores are close to those of Apple Stores in Europe, that is, up to 400 LEI higher, unfortunately you have to be very careful with the terminals you buy. The stores offer guarantees at various services in Bucharest, and for now it is not known if the international guarantee for the iPhone is accepted in Europe, so in case of problems you may not have the quick solutions you want.
conclusions
I explained in a separate article why iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus represent the biggest change for iPhone in 7 years of existence and I will not prolong this review with everything that is written there, but I recommend you to read it. After a week of using the iPhone 6, I can only say that I am impressed by the big change in terms of the user experience and I definitely recommend that you try an iPhone 6 in a store to see if it suits you.
With the iPhone 6, the Apple company enters a new world of smartphones, of terminals with large screens, and I can only be happy that we will finally have the opportunity to see more content on the screens. From my point of view, an upgrade to iPhone 6, from any other smartphone, is the most suitable choice, because you will have absolutely nothing to lose, but only to gain, from all points of view.
Finally, I await your opinions in the comments.
