iPhone 6 Review

When the first iPhone appeared back in 2007, it caught us all by surprise and as Steve Jobs is quoted as saying: “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”

We didn’t know we wanted the iPhone until then, but times have changed and now there are plenty of rivals to the iPhone with big displays being the in thing.

Apple has long claimed that big-screen handsets are not practical – but as they become more and more popular, is Apple going to go back on its own word?

Design and first impressions - Apple iPhone 6 Review

The curved aluminium chassis looks rather like that original device – albeit like one that has been got at with a rolling pin – it’s really thin and lightweight. Measuring 6.9mm and weighing in at 129g, it is slimmer than the iPhone 5s that came out last year, but slightly more weighty. Its screen is 0.7in bigger.

One piece of aluminium makes up the sides and back, while there are antenna strips made from plastic at the top and base. It doesn’t look that good, but it is a compromise worth making, just as the HTC One (M8) had to.

Because this phone is bigger, Apple has moved the power key to sit on the right edge, rather than the top. This means it sits nicely under the left index finger or right thumb. The volume keys have also had a makeover. Apart from that it all looks as you might expect – apart from being so very slim.

It may look fabulous, but that aluminium chassis is very slippery when holding it in your hand. Grip is improved somewhat by the curved edges and slim profile but it still doesn’t feel that comfortable to hold in one hand. It doesn’t feel that safe to type one–handed either, which anyone with one of the older iPhones may find hard to get used to. However, if you’re switching from a similar-sized Android device it won’t be a problem.

When it comes to colours you can choose from silver and gold, each of which feature a white front, or ‘Space Grey’. This dark grey device has a black front.

Display - Apple iPhone 6 Review

The display measures 4.7 inches and boasts a 1334 x 750 resolution – that’s 326ppi. This gives it the spec of Apple’s ‘Retina’ display, which means that in theory, your eyes cannot identify individual pixels. This is on the whole true, and while the resolution is not equal to that of the Sony Xperia Z3, HTC One (M8) and Samsung Galaxy S5, which boast Full HD resolutions of 1920x1080, it’s still a very decent offering. Colour balance is a tad warmer, which makes whites veer towards yellow rather than blue.

The display panel is really shallow, so it feels as if you are dipping your fingers into the display as you prod the screen, and viewing angles are really impressive. Bold, sharp colours complete the feel of a totally immersive experience.

Windows Phone and Android phones now come with screens of more than 5in, but Apple’s 4.7in display seems ideal. You can get to the corners with a thumb, but if you don’t want to stretch, you can do a double tap on the Home key, which brings the UI down closer to you to help out.

If you are getting a new phone to replace an iPhone 4s or anything older, then this will seem like a huge handset. But it’s amazing how everyone gets used to bigger displays. If you want something bigger - opt for the iPhone 6 Plus, which boasts a 5.5in screen.

Performance and Speed - iPhone 6 Review

Under the hood sits a new A8 dual-core chip teamed with 1 GB RAM – but it’s not about numbers it’s about how the phone actually performs in real life. And this device just speeds through its tasks. Running on iOS 8, which is a slick, sharp new version of the operating system, the iPhone 6 runs Real Racing 3 about 10 seconds faster than the Sony Xperia Z3. We found that apps such as Twitter, Google Maps and Facebook fired up just as speedily as on the LG G3.

We have been using the iPhone 6 for the past few days and have experienced no performance problems at all. The operating system is smooth, firing up and closing apps is speedy, and the handset does not get overly hot – it does get a tad warm when gaming but that’s it.

Speaking of games, we did notice that the phone’s one speaker is at the bottom, which means that if you’re playing a game or watching a movie in landscape-mode, you end up holding your left or right hand over it – resulting in muffled sound. It’s a pity it didn’t have the two front-facing speakers seen on Sony and HTC phones.

Apple has also included its new M8 motion-tracking sub-processor. This is what it uses to keep a track of your exercise and steps – it can even take into account stair climbing thanks to its barometer, which is able to identify air pressure changes. Very clever.

One problem with iPhones is their battery life – but Apple has included a bigger 1,810mAh battery to cope with that larger screen. The result was that by bedtime the phone still had around 30% charge – far better than the iPhone 5 and 5s.

There’s no microSD card slot to expand storage space – so your choices are a 16, 64 or 128GB version of the phone. However, few people are gong to opt for the 16GB model, which means that you’re realistically looking at the £539 handset as your ‘cheapest’ option.

Snapper - iPhone 6 Review

A new system has been introduced that is said to make the snapper focus faster than ever before. Called Focus Pixels, we found it impressive and it means that for the majority of photos it is possible to just snap away and know that you will have got the subject in focus. It is only when you want to focus on a subject that is in the background or foreground that you need to tap on that part of the screen to focus.

To alter exposure, just swipe down or up the display. This allows for plenty of precision – great if you’re a keen photographer. To lock the exposure, you just need a long press on the screen. HDR is set on default, along with flash – although you can set them both to on, off or auto.

Another new feature is slow motion at 240 fps. This is half the speed that was possible on the iPhone 5s – it means you can create something that looks like it is from The Matrix – even the sound can be slowed down. It’s a pity that you can’t choose a few parts of a video to slow down.

Compared with some of its rivals, an 8MP snapper seems disappointing – 16MP is quite common in high-end phones. However, it’s the results not the numbers that speak, and we found the resulting images were really impressive. Okay, it is not possible to zoom in as you can on the 41-megapixel snapper of the Lumia 1020, but in most cases we found all images were excellent.

The Verdict - iPhone 6 Review

Consumers now want bigger screens – and that’s what Apple has delivered. It basically upgraded everything from the iPhone 5s, and threw in a large display.

It’s not huge – if you want that you should get the iPhone 6 Plus – but it is far bigger than the 5s, although it’s thinner and only a tad weightier. It makes the phone more attractive to fans of large-screen Android handsets and answers the age-old issue of battery life on iPhones.

Phone design is still important – and even though HTC and Sony have come up with some great phone designs, the iPhone remains the design king. It may feel a bit slippery, but it feels like a top-quality handset.

However, all this great design and build quality doesn’t come cheap. Prices start at £539 and go up to £699. That said, if you’re willing to splash this amount of cash, rest assured you’ll be buying the best phone on offer this year.