Updated The Nexus 5 was really rather good... so how can Google improve?
And for my next trick... half the cost, twice the power!The Nexus 5 arrived in the second half of 2013, continuing the brand's mantra of high specs, low cost and a pure version of Android. We're
well into 2014, so our thoughts have been with Google's next iteration
of Nexus device for some time now, with the Nexus 6 (codenamed Shamu)
rumored to make an appearance very soon. There has been talk about Google's new Android Silver
program, where the search engine is apparently turning to key
smartphone manufacturers and offering resources to make high-end devices
in collaboration with Google. Some are suggesting that this could be the death of the Nexus line,
with @evleaks claiming: "There is no Nexus 6. Farewell, Nexus. Don't
worry, there's a silver lining to this cloud... Android Silver, circa
February 2015."
Explorer Edition upgrades to 2GB of RAM in the US and UK. Is it worth the price now?
"Google has created the most sought-after sci-fi-looking gadget that
everyone wants to wear at least once. But its uses are currently limited
and a Google Glass consumer edition is due out this year. Not everyone
will get their money's worth with this one-of-a-kind novelty."
An Ultrabook-style laptop with dedicated gaming hardware
"The Aspire S3 is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades. However, not every
product needs to be a king to be a success. It's only the battery life
that really disappoints here."
New features unapologetically round out Apple's previous flat design
"iOS 8 isn't a facelift like last year's update, but new messaging
features and third-party extensions for keyboards and Touch ID make
iPhone and iPad easier to use than ever. The best has yet to come, with
Mac OS X Yosemite promising even better integration next month."
We wanted the S5 to look like this... we'll accept it for the S6 still, though
The way Samsung launches phones is easy to work out: the
flagship 'S' model appears, and then a few months later the improved
Note pops up. So now the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has arrived the path is clear for the Samsung Galaxy S6. In fact, with the possible exception of the Nexus 6, the Galaxy S6 is the next biggest phone launch, despite being many months away. We're already seeing a few whispers and wonderings about this next model, and with the Samsung Galaxy Alpha trying to fix some of the design failings of the Galaxy S5
- plus the vaunted Galaxy A5 options appearing soon - there's
definitely been a quick change at the South Korean brand to try and make
its phones look much better.
Cut to the chase
What is it? The next flagship smartphone from Samsung
When is it out? Early 2015, probably March or April
What will it cost? A lot, at least as much as the pricey Galaxy S5
Samsung Galaxy S6 release date and price
There's
no official word on when the Samsung Galaxy S6 might launch, but
Samsung has a yearly product cycle which it rarely deviates far from. In fact from the Samsung Galaxy S2
onwards the company has always announced its phones at or close to MWC,
and we're certain the same will hold true for the Galaxy S6. 2015's
MWC is set to take place between March 2 and March 5, so it's likely
that we'll see the Samsung Galaxy S6 sometime around then. Possibly not
at the show itself but perhaps at a press conference a day or two before
it starts, much like Samsung did for the Galaxy Note 4 launch before IFA 2014. However, that's not when it will actually go on sale. The Samsung Galaxy S4
and S5 both launched in April, of 2013 and 2014 respectively, so
there's a good chance that you'll be able to buy the Samsung Galaxy S6
from April 2015. There's no real information on what the Samsung Galaxy S6 might cost either, but this is a flagship phone we're talking about. This means it's not likely to be any cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy S5, which at launch sold for £579 (around $972 / AU$1048) SIM free. Given
that the specs will presumably be better and that it may even have a
premium build for once it's possible that it could be even more
expensive, but we'd be surprised if Samsung went much higher than £600 /
$1000 / AU$1100.
Samsung Galaxy S6 screen
There's no sign that Samsung is ditching Super AMOLED in its screens, so we expect that to make a return in the Galaxy S6. The
resolution will likely get a boost though, as Samsung has already
revealed the 2560 x 1440 Galaxy Note 4 and even among smaller screen
sizes there's the equally QHD Galaxy S5 LTE-A in South Korea, so we expect the Galaxy S6 to have a resolution at least that high. In fact Samsung has previously said that it hopes to have smartphones with 4K 3840 x 2160 displays on the market
by 2015. It's possible then that the S6 will leapfrog 2K and go
straight to 4K, but with an early 2015 launch expected we'd be
surprised. More likely Samsung will save that for the
Galaxy Note 5... plus, surely, that's getting to the point of just too
many pixels in a phone screen? Either way, the Samsung
Galaxy S6 may have a slightly bigger screen than the Galaxy S5. The
company has slowly been increasing the size of the screens on its
flagships and we wouldn't be surprised if the Galaxy S6 were to push
things up by another 0.1 or 0.2 inches to 5.2 or 5.3 inches. If
Samsung can shrink the bezel then it could probably even achieve that
without increasing the phone's footprint. On the other hand the Note 4
is no bigger than the Galaxy Note 3
and Samsung's going to want to keep its two premium brands
differentiated, so maybe it will decide that 5.1 inches is the sweet
spot. There's
also an outside chance that the Galaxy S6 might have a flexible
display. Samsung has been looking at this sort of technology for a while
and has even recently revealed the Galaxy Note Edge: a version of the Note 4 where the screen curves down one side, so it's possible. But
we doubt Samsung would equip its flagship with such an untested
technology, so we'd expect the S range to stick with a flat screen for
at least one more year. It would be cool if the S6 had a
bendy screen though - something different from the continuously-similar
rectangular designs, right?
Samsung Galaxy S6 power
With Android L arriving shortly and bringing 64-bit support with it we fully expect the Galaxy S6 to have a 64-bit processor. As
for which processor specifically that's still rather up in the air, but
traditionally it's been equipped with a Snapdragon chip of some variety
and both the Snapdragon 808 and Snapdragon 810 are expected to start appearing in devices during the first half of 2015, so one of them seems likely. The
Snapdragon 808 is a six-core 64-bit processor with support for 2K
screens, while the Snapdragon 810 is an octa-core 64-bit chip which can
power screens of up to 4K resolution. This includes an
Adreno 430 GPU, which is said to be 30% faster than the Adreno 420, so
either way it should be in for a boost in terms of gaming and general
screen flutterings. Though it's always possible that it
will stick with the Snapdragon 805 that's found in the Galaxy Note 4 -
but come on Samsung, surely you'll go harder than that? After all,
there's a strong Exynos chip in the Galaxy Alpha, so perhaps Samsung
will go for its own chip design for the next flagship. There's
no word on how much RAM it will have, but a 64-bit processor works well
when imbued with north of 4GB, so Samsung should be looking to get the
best out of its new devices' power range. Having said
that the Galaxy S5 only has 2GB of RAM and even the Galaxy Note 4 has
stuck with 3GB, so we'd be surprised if the S6 had more than 4GB - and
lest we forget, specs for the sake of specs is never a good thing.
Samsung Galaxy S6 chassis
While we don't know what the Galaxy S6 will look like there's every chance that Samsung will mould it on the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, which launched with a metal frame but still kept hold of the polycarbonate rear from the Galaxy S5. At
just 6.7mm the Galaxy Alpha is considerably thinner than the Galaxy S5,
and we hope this is a positive sign for the Galaxy S6. A
metal frame would finally make Samsung's flagship look almost as
premium as it is and it's hard to imagine that it wouldn't roll
something similar or at least similarly high end out for its flagship,
especially as the Galaxy Note 4 has now arrived with a metal frame too. In
fact sources in Samsung's supply chain have been talking fast and loose
about the Galaxy S6, claiming the Galaxy Alpha and Note 4 will test the
waters for Samsung's metal design ahead of an all-metal flagship in the form of the S6. Weirdly
we haven't seen any leaks of the new phone, even in its usual prototype
form, so we'll have to make do with this interesting concept from Josip
Jakubiv - it's the same mottled back, but with a much larger screen and
a refined design - perhaps even a spot of metal there? Credit: Josip Jakubiv, Part Community
Samsung Galaxy S6 operating system
While Samsung is cooking up its own Tizen operating system, the Galaxy S6 will almost certainly stick with Android, and probably Android L since it should arrive several months before the S6. It
will also run Samsung's TouchWiz UI on top, albeit streamlined once
more to make sure it doesn't annoy consumers who are becoming aware of
the simplicity of raw Android, so given the Samsung Galaxy S5 was made sleeker, this could well happen again in the S6.
Samsung Galaxy S6 camera
One
of very few rumours that specifically refers to the Galaxy S6 notes
that it may have a 20MP camera, up from 16MP in the Galaxy S5. Samsung's
always about more and bigger so this seems believable. According to ETNews
the Galaxy Note 4 was originally going to have a 20MP sensor but
Samsung dropped it to 16MP (the report actually says 12MP, but we now
know that's wrong) to keep it thin while still including OIS, however
the company will instead use the 20MP sensor on the Galaxy S6
apparently. What it doesn't say is whether the S6
therefore won't include OIS or won't be all that slim, since reading
between the lines one or the other is likely to be the case. In fact at
8.5mm thick the Note 4 is already slightly fatter than the Galaxy S5, so
if the Galaxy S6 does get OIS then it's likely to put some weight on
too.
Samsung Galaxy S6 other features
There are a
few things that we can be pretty confident that the Galaxy S6 will
include. Samsung has been putting its fingerprint scanner on a number of
phones and tablets so we're sure the S6 will get it too. Likewise
it will probably retain the heart rate monitor from the Galaxy S5,
since that's also been included on the Galaxy Alpha and the Samsung
Galaxy Note 4. We fully expect a microSD card slot too,
since the Galaxy S range has always included one and we'd be very
surprised if it wasn't water and dust resistant, since the Galaxy S5 is
and removing a useful feature like that seems unlikely. Though neither the Note 4 nor the Galaxy Alpha is, so it's possible that the Galaxy S6 won't be either. We
may also see the Samsung Galaxy S6 inherit some of the new features
which have been added to the Galaxy Note 4, such as fast charging, a UV
sensor and multi-directional microphones. Something that is unlikely but has nonetheless been rumored is a retina scanner, as Samsung has claimed to be looking at iris detection. Of course such technology may still be quite a way off yet and we're not all that convinced we'll see one in the Galaxy S6.
A better body
It would be fair to say that the
dimpled back panel on the S5 wasn't universally well received. Everyone
has been crying out for a new design in the Galaxy S series for a while
now, but Samsung seemingly hasn't been listening. An S6
with a metal unibody and a premium feel would be a potential crowd
pleaser. If a redesign is on the cards, why not take it further and go
for a new form factor? A new premium profile could refresh the range and
make it feel special again. Given that the Samsung Galaxy Alpha and Samsung Galaxy Note 4
have more premium builds it's likely that the Galaxy S6 will too, but
we hope it goes all-metal rather than just packing in a metal frame.
A 2K display
No
one is impressed by 1080p any more, not when 4K TVs are in the shops.
We wouldn't have been surprised to see a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution on
the S5, but it seems QHD displays were not ready for prime time back at
the beginning of 2014. It's all change now though, with the Galaxy Note 4 and LG G3
both packing 2K screens, so anything less than a QHD display in the S6
will be a bit of a disappointment. Just make sure it doesn't hurt the
battery while you're at it, Samsung. Hey, we're not here to solve these issues - that's for your fancy R&D labs.
A 64-bit processor
Perhaps
the lack of a 64-bit processor in the S5 was an acknowledgement that
there aren't many advantages yet, or maybe it was a statement about not
copying Apple. In any case, regardless of benefits perceived and real, 64 is a bigger number than 32 so it must
be better, and if our friend's iPhone has one, if you don't put one in
the S6 we're not buying it. The good news is that with the upcoming Android L supporting 64-bit processors it's likely that the Galaxy S6 will take advantage. While
you're there, for heaven's sake add more RAM – 2GB is not enough to
satisfy the modern day demands of multi-tasking, especially if you're
going for a 64-bit chip.
A flexible design
Remember that advert where the guy folds his phone out to tablet size? That would be a real slice of fried gold and we've heard Samsung has a folding prototype
already. Failing that, a squidgy, bendy phone that can take all sorts
of damage and return to its original shape unblemished would be nice. Squeezy
controls could bring a fresh tactile element to smartphone ownership.
At the very least we expect flexibility to deliver greater durability
and new potential shapes, but it has got to be better than the Samsung Galaxy Round. Samsung's on the right track with the Galaxy Note Edge, so we're looking forward to the next step in curved and bendy screens. A bendy screen is a prime candidate for abuse
A bigger battery
We
can hold the sum total of humanity's achievements in one hand,
accessing all of our scientific knowledge, and our greatest works of
art, but only for a few hours at a time. Why are mobile phone batteries still so crap? We
need bigger batteries, more efficient power management, and faster
wireless charging. The 2,800mAh battery in the S5 might be a slight step
up from its predecessor, but it has an extra 0.1 of an inch of screen
to power. You're treading water, Samsung. Free us from the daily charge.
An end to bloatware
No-one
wants a Samsung-branded app that does exactly the same thing as an
existing Google app, only worse. We also expect a device listed as 16GB
to have more than 10GB free. The days where Android was rough and ready
and Touchwiz really added value are gone. Stock Android
is smooth and delicious, KitKat needs no embellishment and Android L
already looks like a rich and creamy desert to our tech starved
stomachs. It's time to tone it down a little. By all
means stick S Health on there as an optional extra, but please let us
uninstall all the S apps we don't want and ditch the superfluous
doubles. There is some good news here, as a top Samsung exec has been quoted as saying the firm is looking to ditch the Samsung Hub suite,
sparking talk of the end of bloatware heavy smartphones, and that
change is already happening on the Tab S range. We can but hope.
A decent pair of stereo speakers
Sadly
there's just one speaker on the S5. We don't want to have to wear
headphones or hook up speakers all the time. It's a mobile device. The HTC One clearly demonstrated the benefits of dual front-facing speakers. Sony heard it, because the Z2 and Xperia Z3 have them too. Screens
are big enough to watch movies with friends now. How about bringing
that sound quality up to scratch? A good set of stereo speakers in the
S6 would be welcomed by everyone.
A DAB chip
Wi-Fi
isn't always available and mobile data can be costly, so streaming
tunes from the cloud or internet radio can be tricky and prohibitively
expensive. FM radio seems to be rapidly disappearing from mobile devices
and the quality is pretty patchy anyway. Isn't it about
time digital radio made it into smartphones? Access to high quality
stations without the fiddling or the network connection would open up a
world of music, sport, and talk. DAB chips are coming to smartphones and we'd love to see one in the Galaxy S6.
Always listening
The Moto X
was a mixed bag, but it's undeniably cool to be able to talk to your
phone and have it blink to life. Google continues to improve Now and add
more functionality. If the Galaxy S6 was always listening, we'd get
more value out of it. Google Now has been updated to listen for commands
from any screen, but on the S6 we want it to listen even when the
screen is off. Voice recognition is improving fast. Given
that our smartphones are starting to connect to wearables, home
electronics and cars, the ability to issue voice commands brings us a
step closer to the futuristic utopia we've all been dreaming about. We want more functionality and we want it NOW
A new UX
We
already suggested that Touchwiz is no longer adding much value to stock
Android, but that doesn't mean it couldn't. A radical rethink of the
stagnant UX could wash away childish fonts and pointless features to
deliver something fresh and stylish. Samsung must have
bags of data on how we interact with our smartphones and a cursory
glance at popular launchers reveals a world of possibilities. Be bold
Samsung, offer us something new and exciting! As long as it isn't a
candy-fuelled, garish, neon nightmare, we'll give it a try.
The big iPhone is here, with a stunning design and sizeable body
"The iPhone 6 Plus is the best looking phablet around. Its specs don't
match the Android power houses and it can be tricky to hold, but there's
no denying Apple's beautiful (yet expensive) 5.5 incher is a winner."
For
Best looking phablet
Great full HD display
Strong camera for day to day use
Against
Too big to use one handed
Very expensive
'Reachability' feels tacked on
A
5.5-inch iPhone. It's something which will send a shudder down the
spines of a collective of die-hard Apple fans, a handset some thought
we'd never see from the Cupertino-based outfit. Yet here I am, staring down the barrel of the biggest iPhone in history - the iPhone 6 Plus. It arrived alongside the iPhone 6
- Apple's new flagship smartphone - which measures 4.7 inches, making
it more welcoming to a wider array of palms than the supersized iPhone 6
Plus. Many of you, especially those of an Android persuasion, may be wondering what all the fuss is about. After all the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 turned up with a 5.5-inch display over two years ago. Take a moment to glance at the history of the iPhone though, and you'll see why the iPhone 6 Plus is such a big deal.
Previously
Apple has only dealt in two screen sizes - a 3.5-inch display graced
the first five generations of iPhone, and just three have had the
pleasure of a larger 4-inch display. 5.5
inches then is a huge leap forward for Apple, moving its iPhone range
into the uncharted waters of the phablet market currently dominated by
Samsung and other Android devices. Apple is looking to
reach a previously untapped audience of smartphone users - those who
demand a large screen, with 'productivity' the main buzzword being
thrown around. A key market for the iPhone 6 Plus is Asia, where general
consensus seems to be bigger = better when it comes to smartphone
screens. In terms of specs and design there isn't a huge
amount of difference between the iPhone 6 Plus and the iPhone 6 - apart
from the obvious size. The
iPhone 6 Plus does boast a couple of unique features however. It's the
first iPhone to pack a full HD display, plus its bigger body means it
houses a larger battery than its 4.7-inch brother. Both
sport A8 64-bit processors, 1GB of RAM, M8 motion coprocessors and 8MP
rear facing cameras - but the snapper on the iPhone 6 Plus benefits from
OIS (optical image stabilisation) while the iPhone 6 makes do with EIS
(electronic image stabilisation). As with all Apple
products the iPhone 6 Plus doesn't come cheap, and you may want to brace
yourself because it's one of the most expensive handsets around. SIM-free the 16GB iPhone 6 Plus carries a lofty price tag of $749, £619, AU$999 - and that's just the start. Apple
has ditched the 32GB variant for both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus,
with the next storage level coming in at 64GB, and for the 5.5-inch
iPhone that equals $849, £699, AU$1129. The good news for
storage fans is that Apple has finally introduced a 128GB model - which
may quieten those whining about the lack of a microSD slot - but it
will cost you a small fortune. $949, £789, AU$1249 to be exact. That makes the iPhone 6 Plus comfortably more expensive than rival phablets including the LG G3, OnePlus One, Nokia Lumia 1520 and I suspect the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 when it goes on sale too, if not on a par. It's
big, it's expensive and it's likely to play second fiddle to the iPhone
6 - so is the iPhone 6 Plus worth considering? Read on to find out
Design
There's no getting away from the fact that the iPhone 6 Plus
is a big phone - but that's okay as it is, after all, the whole point
of this handset. If you're looking to upgrade from a
4-inch iPhone - or heaven forbid, a 3.5-inch iPhone - there's a good
chance the 6 Plus will blow your palm to smithereens. Even those who are accustomed to 5-inch Android devices will note the considerable width and height of Apple's first phablet. It
measures 158.1mm x 77.8mm x 7.1mm and tips the scales at 172g. To put
that into some perspective the iPhone 6 Plus is wider, taller and
heavier than LG G3 and OnePlus One - both of which also sport 5.5-inch displays. The
weight difference is obvious - the iPhone 6 Plus has a premium metal
body while the other two sport plastic finishes and to be fair it
doesn't feel overly demanding in the hand in this respect. Where
things start to fall apart a little for the iPhone 6 Plus is its width
and height, which could be the sticking point for some prospective
buyers. iPhone's have historically been the smartphone
you can depend on to fit nicely into your hand and the pocket of your
tightest jeans. At
just 7.1mm thick, the 6 Plus is almost impossibly thin - making a slide
into a jeans pocket easy, although you may find it peeking out the top,
but that's one part ticked. Slide it out and hold it in
one hand though and it's less inviting. I've been using the OnePlus One
recently, so my hands have learned to live with a large smartphone, but I
still found the iPhone 6 Plus tricky to hold on to. The
sizable bezels above and below the screen provide additional height, and
while the extra width may only be minimal compared to its rivals it's
noticeable in the palm as the 6 Plus stretches your fingers. It's
a very attractive looking handset, line it up alongside the competition
and the iPhone 6 Plus is easily the best looking phablet available. I
had the pleasure of using the gold version during the review, and while
it's my least favourite of the three colour options Apple provides
(space grey and silver being the other two), I still found it a pleasing
device to look at, touch and play with. There's no
doubting the fact that the iPhone 6 Plus is a premium device, it oozes
class and style - and so it should considering its lofty price tag. The
smooth, flat, brushed metal rear of the 6 Plus offers little in the way
of grip, and while it sports a surprisingly slender profile the fact it
isn't bulbous on its rear means it doesn't fit as snugly into the palm
as the LG G3. That lack of grip can be a little
troublesome as you'll find yourself doing a fair bit of shuffling during
one-handed operation as you move around different areas of the screen
and aim to tackle the physical keys located on the sides and front of
the 6 Plus. The separated volume keys and rocker switch
remain on the left side of the device - mirroring previous iPhone
iterations - while the power key has been moved from its traditional
position at the top to the side of the iPhone 6 Plus. This
makes a lot of sense, as it would be almost impossible to hit if it
were located on top - and it's a location we see the majority of
supersized handsets harness these days. The power/lock
key could do with being moved down the side of the 6 Plus a little,
making it easier to reach. Sony has the right idea with a centrally
located key as it falls nicely under your thumb/finger - depending on
which hand you're holding it in. It's a minor point, but
if Apple swapped the location of the nanoSIM tray and power/lock key
round the iPhone 6 Plus would be easier to use. One
blip in the smooth curves of the iPhone 6 Plus is the protruding rear
8MP camera. This isn't much of an issue and even though I feared it
would make it more exposed to damage during my review I saw no evidence
of any wear and tear. It is, after all, protected by
sapphire crystal glass making it super tough so you shouldn't have any
issues with breakages here. There were rumours in the
lead up to the iPhone announcement that Apple's new handsets would come
with dust- and water-resistant qualities. Sadly this isn't the case on
either the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus - not a huge loss by any means, but it
would have been a nice additional touch. The
top edge of the 6 Plus is an uninterrupted curve of gold metal, while
on the base you'll find the 3.5mm headphone jack, microphone hole,
lightning port and speaker grille. I found the speaker
wasn't located in the best position, with my hand sometimes covering it
when playing games or watching movies in landscape. The front facing
speaker setup on the HTC One M8 and Sony Xperia Z3 are far better placed. While
it is just about possible to use the iPhone 6 Plus one handed, I found
that most of the time I was employing both hands to ensure a firm grip
and stable typing platform. As far as phablets go the
iPhone 6 Plus is in the same boat as the rest of them - many will find
it simply too big to be practical, while those longing for a supersized
iPhone will be over the moon with its sleek, premium chassis and elegant
curves.
Interface, performance and health
Interface
The iPhone 6 Plus ships with the very latest version of Apple's mobile platform - iOS 8 - which brings with it various enhancements and improvements as well as some new apps and features. It carries on the fresh design ethos introduced by iOS 7 last year, providing a smart, slick and welcoming interface. For
those of you transitioning from older iPhone handsets you'll feel very
much at home on the iPhone 6 Plus, while any Android users considering
the jump will find the two operating systems have more in common than
ever before. The familiar rows of apps are displayed on
home screens on the iPhone 6 Plus and during initial step up you're
given the option of two icon and text sizes - I stuck with the default
option which keeps things pretty much the same as the iPhone 5S. The
second option makes everything a bit bigger, reducing the free space
surrounding the apps, filling the screen more and making everything a
little easier to read. I'd have liked an option to add an
extra column of apps, as the 5.5-inch display of the iPhone 6 Plus
could easily accommodate five columns, but unfortunately this isn't
available. Apple's simple drag and drop folder system
still works wonderfully well, and Control Panel is present with a swipe
up from the base of the display. Options here remain the
same from iOS 7, with quick settings for airplane mode, Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth, do not disturb and screen rotation, alongside screen
brightness and music controls. You
can also jump to the torch, calculator, camera and timer apps from
Control Centre - and it can be accessed at any point, no matter which
app you're currently using. The notification bar has been
given some tweaks in iOS 8 too. There are no longer three tabs (Today,
All and Missed), but rather a more condensed two (Today and
Notifications), providing a cleaner experience. On the
Today page you can select which widgets you have display by tapping
"Edit" at the bottom of the page. Needless to say I made sure the
"Stocks" widget was quickly hidden from view. Another
handy feature of iOS 8 is the ability to reply to a message from the
notification alert at the top of screen, saving you from having to load
up the messaging app every time. Apple isn't the first manufacturer to offer this functionality - I greatly enjoyed a similar feature on the LG G2 - but I'm glad to see it land on iOS and it's arguably easier to use here. When
a message comes through you need to drag down on the notification to
enter reply mode, where a keyboard will pop up allowing you to tap out a
quick message and then return you to whatever you were doing. If you'd rather ignore the message you can instead swipe sideways to remove it from view. Double
click the home key and you'll be taken to the familiar multitasking
menu, allowing you to quickly and easily skip between applications. You'll
notice at the top of the screen there are some new additions to this
area of the interface, in the form of shortcuts to your most popular
contacts. This means you can quickly make a call without
having to navigate to the dialler app - just a double press of the home
key and a tap on your friend's face will launch you into a call. Another
new feature in iOS 8 (only for the iPhone 6 Plus) is the ability to
rotate your homescreen (and multi-tasking menu), as you can on the iPad. This
allows you to remain in landscape mode for longer periods of time,
perfect if you find yourself jumping between games and videos. Apple
has also adapted some of the stock apps to run a dual-pane layout
landscape mode, again mirroring the apps on the iPad, and these include
Calendar, Messages and Mail.
Performance
Providing
the power behind the scenes on the iPhone 6 Plus is a 1.39GHz dual-core
A8 processor with 64-bit architecture and 1GB of RAM. That may not sound like a great deal of grunt, especially when you consider devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Alpha and Huawei Ascend Mate 7 sport octa-core chips, but Apple always does a good job of deeply integrating iOS with the internal components of its devices. I
ran Geekbench 3 a number of times on the iPhone 6 Plus and it averaged a
score of 2911, beating the iPhone 5S (2540) as well as the LG G3 (2561) and Sony Xperia Z2 (2765). That's a strong performance and puts it among there scores achieved by the Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8 and OnePlus One. In short, there's more than enough power housed inside the iPhone 6 Plus. During
day to day usage I found the 6 Plus ran pretty smoothly, but it's not
quite as quick as some of the top Android handsets on the market. Every
now and then the iPhone would pause for thought ever so briefly. It
wasn't long enough to cause any issues, but it was long enough for me
to notice from time to time. However, after a few weeks' use, I've
noticed the crashing bug creeping in again. Mail will sometimes drop out
when playing with auto rotating the display. It's not
just there either, as other apps would sometimes drop and close. It's
not as bad as it was on iOS 7 at the start, but the problems don't look
good for a company like Apple. Similarly, the fact that sometimes in
email I'm not able to activate the keyboard. This seems
to do more with third party implementation than anything else, but it's
still frustrating to have to force-close the app just to reply to mail. It's like being on an Android phone from 2010. Graphically
intensive games loaded up in good time and gameplay was smooth
throughout - although I did find that Real Racing 3 refused to work
correctly, while performing perfectly on the iPhone 6. You
can probably put that down to the fact iOS 8 wasn't officially
available during the review and the developer may need to just update
the game to fix that issue as no other games showed such issues. I'll be
sure to keep an eye on it. The iPhone 6 Plus (at 64GB
capacities and above) comes pre-installed with a variety of Apple's own
apps, most of which you can actually delete, which is good as else it
would have been annoying if you know you'll never use them. Among
the applications here are some new and updated faces, including Health
and Apple's now free-of-charge productivity apps (all of which can be
deleted, if you so wish); Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iTunes U, iMovie and
GarageBand.
Health
The Health app is a new
addition for iOS 8 and aims to bring together all your health and
fitness data into one unified application for your immediate
consumption. For those out there who currently use a glut
of different devices and applications to monitor various aspects of
their lifestyle then Health could be a real blessing. At the time of review few apps were actually enabled for iOS 8, meaning I couldn't fully put it to the test. The
pedometer was active though, and I was able to keep track of my steps
each day. The iPhone 6 Plus can even detect when you're going up and
down flights of stairs thanks to the inbuilt barometer in the M8
co-processor - although accuracy does vary and I found it missed a
number of flights on various days. It
can also tell you how far you've walked/run each day, and the
attractive graphs make it easy to monitor at your progress over weeks,
months and eventually years. I'm yet to see the true
potential of the Health app, but as developers enable their various
third party devices and applications to sync up with Apple's offering it
could well be an impressive offering. And let's not forget about the Apple Watch, which will be reading your various vital statistics and beaming them straight back to the Health app Battery life
Battery life has been a bit of a sticking for previous iterations of the iPhone, but there's good news with the iPhone 6 Plus. Apple
hasn't revealed the exact size of the battery inside the 6 Plus, but
considering its larger footprint it will have a bigger power pack than
the iPhone 5S. The
quoted web browsing time over 4G or Wi-Fi is pegged at 12 hours, while
Apple reckons you can get up to 14 hours of life from a single charge
during video playback, or up to 80 hours from pure music playback. These
figures are always on the generous side of things, but I have to say I
was impressed with the battery performance of the iPhone 6 Plus. With
standard usage I was easily able to get a full day from the 6 Plus
(from 7am to around midnight) with some juice still left in the tank
when it came to plugging it back in at night. That
included continuous background syncing of several email accounts
throughout the day, around two hours of music playback, a couple of
hours of gaming and various calls, messages and social media activity. It's not quite at the same level as the Samsung Galaxy S5 or HTC One M8, but Apple has closed the gap considerably between itself and its Android rivals. The
battery in the iPhone 6 Plus still suffers if you push it really hard. I
ran the TechRadar 90 minute video test, which sees a HD movie played at
full brightness with various accounts syncing over Wi-Fi in the
background. After the 90 minutes were up the battery
level on the 6 Plus had dropped to 73% - a loss of 27%, which isn't a
particularly stellar performance. The
iPhone 5S only dropped 16% in the same test, but the iPhone 6 Plus does
have a much larger, brighter and higher resolution display so the
increased drain is understandable. Of course turning the
screen brightness down will help preserve battery life a little, but
along with high intensity games the 6 Plus can drain pretty quickly. If
your battery does creep into the red then a quick trip to the easy
access Control Centre lets you reduce screen brightness to its lowest
level, allowing you to conserve some extra juice. There's
no power saving mode on the iPhone 6 Plus though, so when you hit the
dreaded 10% or 20% there's little else you can do to reduce power drain
without either switching on airplane mode or turning the handset off
completely. As
with any iPhone the battery is firmly sealed inside the metal chassis
of the 6 Plus, meaning there's no option to swap out a flat battery for a
fully charged one. This is less of an issue on the iPhone 6 Plus though, as its battery performance is considerably improved. With
the iPhone 6 Plus you can go out for a full day and not have to worry
about being away from a plug, and that simple pleasure will be a huge
plus for many iPhone fans.
Camera
The iPhone 6 Plus sports a new 8MP iSight camera on its rear and a 1.2MP front FaceTime HD snapper. As
already mentioned in this review, the camera on the back of the iPhone 6
Plus protrudes slightly from surface, as Apple attempted to make the
handset as thin as possible. You're unlikely to really
notice this, especially if you stick the 6 Plus straight into a case, so
you needn't worry. Plus the lens is covered with a panel of sapphire
glass, giving it some seriously tough protection. Reading the 8MP spec you may fear Apple has just stuck the same old snapper from the iPhone 5S into the 6 Plus, but thankfully that's not the case. It's
done some tinkering behind the scenes to improve the quality of your
snaps, and the larger 5.5-inch, full HD display means you get a lovely
viewfinder to frame your shots with. The camera app has been kept simple and clutter free, which also means the options you have at your disposal are limited. What
you do get is flash, HDR and timer controls along the top of the screen
(when in portrait) along with a option to flick between the front and
rear cameras. At the base of the screen you get a link to
the camera roll in one corner and a link to the effects overview in the
other. The latter sports eight different effects and gives you a real
time preview of all of them, including mono, fade, chrome and noir. In
the middle of these two is the large circular shutter button, but with
the sheer size of the iPhone 6 Plus it can be a little tricky to hit. Thankfully
you can use the volume keys on the side of the handset to also snap
your photos, and I found muyself using these far more than the on screen
shutter. Slide your finger from right to left over the
shutter key and you can change the aspect ratio to square and also enter
panorama mode. Panorama mode only works in portrait,
which may frustrate some users, but hold the iPhone 6 Plus in landscape
in this mode and you'll be able to take a great shot from the foot of a
skyscraper all the way to the top. If
you slide the opposite direction you'll come across the video modes.
This first one is your straight forward video recorder, and with the
iPhone 6 Plus you can shoot in full HD at 60fps. Keeping
going across and you'll find slo-mo mode inherited from its
predecessors, but as well as shooting at 120fps the iPhone 6 Plus can
also capture footage at 240fps, giving you some really awesome slow
motion results. One of the ways Apple has improved its
camera on the iPhone 6 Plus is by introducing 'Focus Pixels', which
provides the sensor with more information allowing for a faster
auto-focus, producing better results. Face, blink and
smile detection have all been improved, allowing the 6 Plus to recognise
more faces, more quickly, from further away. If
you fancy fine tuning the lighting in your photo just hold down on the
viewfinder and then slide your finger up or down to adjust the exposure
of your shot. It's a simple yet effect way to control
your photo, and the viewfinder gives you an instant preview of how your
changes are effecting the shot. Auto HDR (high dynamic
range) is another handy feature brought over from the iPhone 5S, and it
lets the iPhone do the work for you to ensure you get a generally well
lit picture. If you're not a fan of HDR then there is
the option to switch it off (or instead, turn it on permanently), but
even when it's set to auto you'll get two images saved to your camera
roll - one with HDR applied and another without. This can
cause some confusion, not to mention a picture backlog, in your camera
roll, so I'd recommend checking your shot after taking it and deleting
the copy you don't wish to keep. The
iPhone 6 Plus also has a trump card up its sleeve, something not even
the iPhone 6 can lay claim to: Optical Image Stabilisation (or OIS, for
short). It may be the first iPhone to sport OIS, but the
technology is already widely available on a variety of Android and
Windows Phone devices - nethertheless, it's good to see Apple finally
embrace the tech. So what does it mean? In the 6 Plus,
OIS works with the A8 chip, gyroscope, and M8 motion coprocessor to
reduce hand shake in lower light. This means that you'll get clear,
sharper shots even when the lighting around isn't as good. I
found that the iPhone 6 Plus performed okay in lowlight, but it didn't
exactly sparkle with some images still looking rather muddy. There
aren't pages and pages of every camera setting under the sun on the
iPhone 6 Plus, as Apple is keeping things simple and that's exactly what
the majority of smartphone photographers want. A camera which is simple
and easy to use and takes great shots with minimum fuss. For the more advanced snappers out there the additional enhancements Apple has added provide at least some level of control. It's
the automatic settings such as Auto HDR, Focus Pixel and OIS which are
the real winners for me here, allowing the 6 Plus to snap a decent photo
pretty much anywhere. Camera samples
