iPhone 6 Plus, One Month Later

[su_dropcap style=”flat” size=”4″]W[/su_dropcap]ho would have thought that Apple would finally succumb to the phablet fad, which Samsung started.  One month after I got my iPhone 6 Plus, there’s but one thing that summarizes my experience – the iPhone 6 Plus isn’t an admission of defeat in my opinion, but a re-mastery of an already established brand – iPhone.

If you’re out in the wild hunting for your next phone, and the iPhone is one of your major options, stick around and read on. This article may dispel some negativity if you feel an indifference towards the iPhone and Apple (or Steve Jobs or anyone at Apple).

Bigger than Big Indeed

The new iPhone – the 5.5-inch variant – is really big. Well, for those with really tiny hands, ‘big’ is an understatement. That’s why the iPhone 6 is a popular choice because of its larger brother’s sheer size. It’s Retina display draws much detail now, and it’s exactly what I wanted for a phone – for the iPhone, to be more exact. Its resolution is 1920 x 1080 resolution is something I didn’t think would happen on Apple mobile devices. It’s now a reality, and it’s totally a delightful thing for a media-whore like me. Consuming media and playing games are much more immersive with its humongous display. Imagine yourself playing Leo’s Fortune or SimCity BuildIt in full HD resolution on an iPhone – yes, it’s surreal! Full HD movies now occupy the screen of the iPhone without losing quality at all.

[blockquote cite=”https://apple.com/iPhone”]The iPhone 6 Plus’ resolution is 1920×1080, while the iPhone 6′ is 1334×750[/blockquote]

Circling the iPhone 6 Plus on my hands is somewhat a trembling sight and experience due to its physical dimensions. It’s slimmer than my Sony Xperia Z3 by .2 millimeters. It’s insane. It’s a much bigger phone, yet the slimmest in comparison to Sony’s latest flagship device.

Its minimalist looking metal body/enclosure looks like it’s taken out from a highly sophisticated spaceship. It’s slippery, so I highly recommend that you get a back cover and screen protector on Day 1. Its protruded camera and external antenna strips look like design errors, but it’s an issue, which Apple has a ready answer to. Spoiler: function over design.

Reachability

It’s semi difficult to use the phone using one hand. Double-tapping the Touch ID brings down the UI (user interface) so you can reach the upper part of screen without physically reaching for it. It’s an excellent implementation, but it still requires extra care to handle to phone. Who would even want to drop a PhP38,000 worth of smartphone without any protection?

Another major redesign is the Sleep/Wake button, which Apple put on the right side of the phone. It’s somewhat an expected design employment, as it’s definitely going to be very uncomfortable had Apple put the said button on top of the device.

Huge Beast

Apple claims that the iPhone 6 Plus is 50x faster CPU-wise and 84x better in terms of GPU performance. This is definitely not baloney as it’s really faster in all respects. Technically inferior compared to many flagship Android devices, the iPhone 6 Plus fared better in my experience. I never – YES, NEVER – experience any lags or hiccups, thanks to its A8-chip with 64-bit architecture and 1gb RAM, plus a custom GPU PowerVR GX6450 quad-core graphics. I never had any issues on playing graphics-intensive and benchmark games like Real Racing 3, Leo’s Fortune and Infinity Blade III.

[stextbox id=”info” caption=”Tip:”]Get the 64gb or 128gb for maximum space from Smart.[/stextbox]

During my latest Benchmark using Geekbench 3, the iPhone 6 Plus’ multi-core score is 1,195. The highest it could get – based on previous results by other benchmarkers – is up to 2,873.

The Genius of Apple

I neither call myself an Android nor an Apple fan. However, I’ve got a solid reason why I prefer the iPhone over other devices. In many respects, I concur that there’s an excitement in tinkering the software of most Android devices but I already lack the luxury of time to do such. The iPhone and its ever simple operating system – iOS 8 – is purely a sanity preserver for me, and some of you can probably relate to this.

iOS 8 is an embodiment of zen. Its simplicity and distraction-less user interface can effectively give you more time to do other things. If you’re not a fan of iOS 8’s minimalist vibe, this is – in my opinion, the philosophy it concretizes.

I’m Wallhugger No More

One of the reasons why I waited and chose the iPhone 6 Plus over the iPhone 6 is its 2,915mAh battery. This is easily the top reason over its full HD display. My real life experience puts this phone as my top daily driver, and I wouldn’t think of switching to a new one for a very long time. I was happy with my Xperia Z3 Dual because of its total up time from full charge, but the iPhone 6 Plus’ is definitely much better.

2 weeks after using the device, the device can stay up to more than 8 hours of moderate use on LTE. One day, I recorded the tasks I did and here’s the result for your reference:

[stextbox id=”info” caption=”Battery Test Guide”]TIME – ACTIVITY1; ACTIVITY 2 – Post Activity Battery Level [/stextbox]

8:00 AM – Started Waze; LTE ON; GPS ON; Fully Charged

9:05 AM – Stopped Waze; LTE ON; GPS ON; Facebook/Messenger Notifications ON [progress size=”87″ animated=”active”]

10:30 AM – Break Time; Played Tap Titan, Brave Frontier; LTE ON; GPS ON; Facebook/Messenger Notifications ON [progress size=”68″ animated=”active”]

12:00 PM – Lunch Time; Played Tap Titan, Sim City BuildIt; LTE ON; GPS  ON; Facebook/Messenger Notifications ON [progress size=”52″ animated=”active”]

1:30 PM – Meeting; Used Evernote to record meeting with occasional note taking; LTE ON; GPS ON; Facebook/Messenger Notifications ON [progress size=”48″ animated=”active”]

3:20 PM – Break Time; Played Tap Titan, Braver Frontier; LTE ON; GPS ON; Facebook/Messenger Notifications ON [progress size=”29″ animated=”active”]

5:30 PM – Started Waze: LTE ON; GPS ON; Spotify ON [progress size=”5″ animated=”active”]

NFC – Too Late in the Game, Restricted to Apple Pay

Admittedly, its NFC chip’s restriction to Apple Pay is a bit disappointing especially for countries that do not support it like the Philippines. While such feature might soon come to the Philippines, Apple should have at least enabled its NFC to support device and accessory pairing.

Super Cameras

The new iPhone phablet is packed with an 8mp camera with optical image stabilization, phase detection autofocus and dual LED (dual tone flash). While these imaging features sound too complicated, everything just means one thing – it takes great detailed photos! The key word is ‘detailed’, and its 1.5 micron-pixel camera is responsible for producing highly detailed photo. For Apple, it’s all about increasing the quality of the photos, not increasing the quantity of pixels. Take a look at the 2 photos and notice the level of detail both pictures have. High resolution copies of the photos may be download on this Dropbox link.

Zoomed version

Zoomed version

Its performance is a hit and miss, however, on subjects in low light conditions.

Additional Sample Photos

Verdict

Finally, the iPhone can now be a daily driver for a power user like me. It’s a huge leap from last year’s iPhone 5s for many reasons: bigger build, better Full HD screen, higher capacity cameras. It’s a wonder in many respects, which will definitely delight people who are currently fans of the iPhone, and will amuse the ones who are engulfed by the flexibility of Android.

It’s an expensive bringer of delight, but it’s tagged with emotional and functional value, which many don’t seem to appreciate. If budget is truly a constraint, getting an iPhone without contract isn’t a practical purchase. It’s far cheaper and more practical to get the new iPhone via a reliable carrier.

Giancarlo Viterbo

Website

Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.