Apple has officially announced the iPhone 6. Unveiled during a press event on September 9, 2014, the iPhone 6 was introduced along with the iPhone 6 Plus. As the successors of the iPhone 5S, the models mark the first major increase in screen sizes since the taller iPhone 5.
As the competition gets tougher and tougher for the new iPhone, the Cupertino-based company needed something special, and something to fight back against the moves being made by its rivals, especially those that came from HTC One M8, Samsung Galaxy S5, LG G3 and Sony Xperia Z3. All have surpassed the iPhone 5S in terms of size, specs, power and performance.
For years Apple has kept its iconic iPhone to a standard 4-inch diagonal screen size. But the current demand is just wanting more than that. The late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs once mocked bigger phones from Samsung as something people wouldn't want to buy. But things have changed.
Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller stated that "they're a lot bigger," while CEO Tim Cook said that the new "big" iPhones are the best iPhones Apple had ever made.
Apple has essentially accepted that the market has moved in a direction the founder didn't predict. People want bigger phones now. And Apple is finally jumping to the territory where big phones are already led by Asian manufacturers.
With the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple counters the attacks in hoping to be the pioneer in quality and performance by giving new things under the new devices' aluminium frames, while at the same time, delivering the already famous iPhone experience up to a next level.
The Slim and Round Design
At first sight, the iPhone is always straightforward. The design never changes significantly, and in each and every new versions of the iPhones, Apple keeps its signature by making it clean and sharp by just adding minor cosmetics to please the eyes. The design of the iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus is influenced heavily by the iPad Air that has a curved glass front and an aluminium rear, bringing a metallic, almost ceramic feel. With three colors (gold, silver, and space grey) finishes, the iPhone 6 is 0.69 cm thick, while the iPhone 6 Plus is 0.71 cm thick; the thinnest iPhone ever. The iPhone 6 weighs 4.55 ounces (129 grams)
The major difference of the new line-up is the screen size. Both iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus are massively increasing in term of display size. Their displays, branded as "Retina HD", is 4.7" (16:9 resolution at 1334x750px) for the iPhone 6, and 5.5" (1080px ion-strenghtened) for the iPhone 6 Plus. Rather than using traditional methods to create the higher-resolution, with the Retina HD display and its dual-domain pixels, Apple developed photo alignment that involves using UV light to position the display's liquid crystals. Better-aligned crystals and improved polarizer deliver a better viewing experience, with deeper blacks and sharper text.
The larger screen size of the iPhone 6 Plus enables Apple to implement landscape view. By switching from portrait to landscape, the 6 Plus delivers new experience to iPhone users.
By losing the sharp edges in favor of the new sleek and rounded sides, the new iPhones feel more pleasing to the hands. But despite their thin figures, the new iPhones that are created by blending anodized aluminum, stainless steel, and glass, don't have the overly-lightweight feeling of its predecessors.
Apple's iPhones have all been known to have smaller screen sizes than their competitor to keep customers able to use the device with one hand. However, the demand of multimedia and user experience can longer be pleased by just a crisp display. The increase of the screen sizes mark the first time an iPhone is going beyond its trademark. To accommodate the larger sizes, the 6 and 6 Plus have their power buttons moved to the side instead at the top to improve its accessibility.
And by making it thinner, Apple condensed the iPhones' hardwares, and made chips smaller and batteries thinner.
Same Camera, Better Handling
The camera on the new iPhone line-up is still at 8MP in size. The iPhone 6's rear-facing camera is upgraded with a new sensor containing a large 1.5-micron pixels with f/2.2 aperture lens, and the ability to shoot 1080p video at either 30 or 60 frames per second. The iPhone 6 Plus camera adds support for optical image stabilization, while the iPhone 6 retains digital image stabilization.
The iPhones also have new features like the option to capture 1080p HD at 60 fps, 240-fps slo-mo, and time-lapse video. The 8MP packs new sensors such as Focus Pixels, improved face detection, and exposure control.
With a larger aperture and all-new sensor technology, the front-facing FaceTime HD camera is now able to capture 81 percent more light. It also has improved face detection and new burst mode that takes 10 photos per second.
New Powerhouse for Better Performance
The iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus include an Apple A8 system-on-chip with M8 motion coprocessor. The systems are an upgrade to the previous versions that powered the iPhone 5S. The chip that is built on second-generation 64-bit desktop-class architecture, is now manufactured by TSMC rather than Samsung, who had manufactured all previous iPhone processors.
Since the CPU and graphics performance are faster than on the A7 chip, even while powering a larger display and incredible new features, Apple said that despite they are designed to be power efficient (up to 50 percent more energy efficiency than the A7 chip), the new processors are still able to sustain higher performance.
The iPhones are packed with a barometer sensor to sense air pressure to determine elevation, an accelerometer sensor to measure distance for walking and running, and a gyroscope to know whether the user is stationary or moving.
The new iPhones can connect to certain LTE networks in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Germany, UK, Australia, Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
iOS 8 and Apple Pay
The iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus is shipped with iOS 8, the eighth major release of Apple's mobile operating system debuted at the WWDC 2014. Although the operating system isn't a massive overhaul, it still brings several tweaks to improve usability and experience.
One of the big changes that came along with the new iPhone is the new Apple Pay system (mobile wallet). The iPhones now have the long awaited NFC technology inside it, and with Apple Pay, contactless methods of payment is now available.
Conclusion
Apple's new iPhone line-up is aiming to deliver new experience to its users. The new sleeker and thinner design, and with the massive increase in screen sizes, the iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus is delivering what Apple needs to compete with its relentless competitors from Asia.
But this year, Apple seems to not focus on its new iPhones as hard as it did with the previous iPhones. The new iPhones may pack new design, but its features and abilities are not leaping forward like its predecessors. There are no new innovation the company is already famous for. Apple in 2014 is focusing more of smarthome framework, applying health features in its devices and more into wearables.
At the event of the new iPhone introduction, Apple also has announced the Watch. Apple's strength has always been in hardware and design. Because the company is good at it, they can manage to merge the two better than most other tech competitors. With Apple's Watch, the company highlighted a new design dedicated to small-screen wearables with the advancements and the ability to zoom into a screen of moving circular apps with Digital Crown scrolling wheel for navigation.