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Review: Apple iPhone 6

By Andre Schild, ITWeb contributor.
Johannesburg, 09 Oct 2014
iPhone 6 has a new design, equipped with a faster processor, better camera and new version of its mobile operating system.
iPhone 6 has a new design, equipped with a faster processor, better camera and new version of its mobile operating system.

While modern smartphones were getting bigger each year, Apple held on to relatively small screens. This year, the tables have turned and the once so innovative company from Cupertino now follows its competition by introducing two bigger iPhones. How does it stack up to other phones? Does the bigger screen make it a better business phone? Here's our expert review of the new iPhone 6.

The bigger 4.7-inch screen isn't the only new feature of the iPhone 6, which is already setting record sales figures. Apple also implemented a new design, equipped it with a faster processor, better camera and new version of its mobile operating system.

Look and feel

First thing we notice when holding the new iPhone is the curved design. The iPhone 4 and 5 were quite sharp-cornered and, therefore, less comfortable to hold, especially for longer periods of time. The new curved design clearly gives the iPhone 6 a better feel in the hand than its predecessors. The downside is that it takes a firmer grip to hold it and pick it up from a flat surface. Because of the curved design and silky smooth finish of the underside, the iPhone 6 can easily slide out of your hand. In addition to the curved design of the chassis, the screen itself is also curved around the edges and gives the phone a unique look.

In this new design, Apple made one choice we just can't comprehend. Because the iPhone 6 is so thin (6.9mm), the camera lens slightly protrudes. This makes the phone wobbly when on its back and prone to scratches. It's not the end of the world, but a clear concession in the design.

There are a lot of reports about extreme bendability, even to a breaking point, of both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Naturally, we wanted to see for ourselves how bendable this model actually is. In reality, we found the iPhone 6 to be quite solid and firm.

Display

The new iPhone 6 is equipped with what Apple calls Retina HD screen technology. It is supposed to be a lot better than the standard Retina screen. In reality, and compared to the iPhone 5S, the improvement is minimal. The screen does have a slightly higher resolution but that's a logical result of the increase in screen size.

Typical business-related apps like mail, calendar and the browser can squeeze in a bit more information on the slightly bigger screen. Compared to other current smartphones, only the Samsung Galaxy S5 has a higher quality screen with better brightness and contrast.

Under the hood

Apple surprised both friend and foe by introducing the Apple A7-chip, as seen in the iPhone 5S. The A7 was the first 64-bit ARM processor ever introduced in a smartphone. With iPhone 6, Apple is using the second generation of its 64-bit chip called the A8, which according to Apple should make the iPhone 6 25% faster in generic calculations and up to 50% in the graphics department.

With the introduction of the iPhone 6, Apple also presented Apple Pay. This new wireless payment system requires a near-field communication (NFC) chip, which is implemented in this iPhone for the first time. Unfortunately, Apple Pay will not be available in SA in the near future. This makes the NFC chip in the iPhone 6 useless for the time being.

Performance

While using the iPhone 6 in real-life business scenarios, however, we didn't notice the extra processing power of the new chip. iOS ran smooth as butter on the iPhone 5S and is still smooth on the iPhone 6.

To really reveal the raw power of the new A8 processor, specialised benchmark software was used. GeekBench determined the actual speed boost compared to the iPhone 5S' A7 chip was 16%. We also used the Peacekeeper suite that showed a performance increase of 17%. Finally, the Kraken test showed a 15% speed boost compared to the iPhone 5S. On average, the new iPhone 6 is not 25% faster like Apple claimed, but only 16%.

Apple claims the biggest performance gain should be noticed in graphic-intense scenarios. So we also used special benchmark software to try and measure how close to reality these claims actually are. By using the GFXBench App, we determined (on average) the iPhone 6 is 36% faster than the iPhone 5S in graphics.

Battery life

Accurately testing the battery life of any mobile device can be tricky, and smartphones are no exception. Some apps and features require more energy than others, usage varies from day to day and specific settings can greatly influence how long the device will last on a full charge. However, battery life is a key consideration for business users. Longer battery life means less dependency on a power source or charger.

To get a good indication of the battery performance, we did a series of standardised tests that try to drain the battery as fast as possible. This represents the worst-case scenario, the minimal time that the fully charged phone is usable. Our test shows that, when continuously browsing the Internet, the battery is completely drained after 7.5 hours. Only the HTC One (M8) and Sony Xperia Z have a slightly longer battery life. The new iPhone 6 clearly outlasts the Samsung Galaxy S5 and iPhone 5S. It would be safe to state that the new iPhone 6 can easily last a complete working day, including overtime, at the office.

Camera

Instead of increasing the number of megapixels of the back-facing camera in the iPhone 6, Apple decided to further improve the quality of the image sensor, focus detection and the lens itself. The better quality of these components reveals itself in difficult scenarios, like a moment with just a tiny bit of light. The iPhone 6 handles darkness better than the iPhone 5S and also outperforms rivals like the Samsung S5 and HTC One (M8). Furthermore, the iPhone 6 focuses faster and with the help of new features in iOS 8 it is now possible to configure exposure and focus separately. These improvements make the camera on the iPhone 6 ideal for business trips or important corporate events.

Apple has also improved shooting videos with the new iPhone 6. Autofocus is much faster now, which enables the phone to continuously focus during videos. Video fragments are recorded in full HD resolution but now in 60 frames per second (fps) instead of 30 like the iPhone 5S did. This results in super smooth and high-quality video, one of the best we have ever seen on a smartphone.

While the iPhone 5S was able to capture video in slow-motion using 120fps, the new iPhone 6 does it using 240fps. Slow-motion videos are captured in 720p resolution, but nonetheless breath-taking to see.

Connectivity

The iPhone 6 comes pre-installed with iOS 8. This new version of the operating system features a virtual keyboard that tries to predict the words you are looking for when typing. It actually tries to learn from your previous text input and this new feature works like a charm. Business users will like the slightly enlarged virtual keyboard, since it makes typing a bit easier and faster.

In summary

Pros: Ergonomic design, screen, camera, battery life, performance, iOS 8
Cons: High price (especially for 16GB version), protruding camera lens
Dimensions: 138 x 67 x 6.9 mm
Weight: 129g
Storage: 16GB, 64GB, 128GB
Screen: 4.7-inch (1334 x 750, 326 pixels per inch)
Connectivity: USB, 3G, 4G, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, NFC
Processor: 1.4GHz A8 (dual core, 64-bit) + M8 motion co-processor
Rating: 8.5/10
Price: R9 899 (16GB version)
Availability: 24 October 2014

Also, the iPhone now accepts other types of keyboards, like Swype. This opens up a lot of new and interesting ways to communicate. iOS 8 also opens the doors for developers to go even deeper into the operating system than ever before. As a result, iOS 8 doesn't feel like a "walled garden" as much as it did before. And that is a good thing for both developers and users.

Verdict

The iPhone 6 isn't as innovative as we had hoped. Improvements like the curved design, slightly better hardware and bigger screen are small and subtle for both typical consumers as well as business users. Nevertheless, they make this iPhone even more pleasurable to hold and use than its predecessors.

Current iPhone 4(S) owners should definitely consider upgrading. Satisfied iPhone 5(S) users have no acute reason to upgrade, unless they can't resist the temptation of all the small enhancements the iPhone 6 has to offer. Demanding business users should also give the iPhone 6 Plus a try because of the significantly bigger screen.

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