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iPhone 6 – The Casual Review

iPhone 6

 

Before you go about asking me what a ‘casual review’ is, I thought I might as well explain it myself. The simple thing is, every iPhone gets talked about loads the moment it gets released, with lots of reviews popping up here and there. While the phone isn’t exactly old, it isn’t exactly new either, and I guess the train of the ‘get in there while it is still hot’ has passed. So I thought I would spend some time with the iPhone 6, as an Android user, and see what I feel and come up with. In other words, the word ‘casual’ is my excuse for presenting to you an unstructured review for the iPhone, but giving you, hopefully, more of an in depth view of what I felt about the phone.

The facts

Staring with some of the facts about the iPhone 6:

  • The 6th iteration of the iPhone was released as iPhone 6, at 4.7 inches, and iPhone 6 Plus, at 5.5 inches. This, in comparison to some Android phones, is still quite small, but finally catches up with the main competition.
  • The thinning continued, with the iPhone 6 only 6.9mm and the iPhone 6 Plus 7.1mm.
  • It is so thin that the camera bulges out of the back.
  • The iPhone 6 offers Apple’s own Retina HD display, giving you a resolution of 1334 x 750 pixels.
  • There is more power too, an A8 Processor brings first ever 64 bit iPhone, with a built in M8 motion sensor.
  • The camera has added some more fun, with slo-mo giving you a 240fps video.
  • Of course, you get a better sensor.
  • Touch ID, by far my favourite part of the iPhone, stays on, and works brilliantly, letting you buy apps, etc.
  • The iPhone 6 runs on iOS 8, which was released for the 5S, and carries on.

Look and feel

Among the many things Apple are good at, looks and feel is probably the best one. You cannot fault how the phone looks and feels. It is slim, it is slick, and it slides in and out of your pocket very well. The power button has been moved to the side so you can still use the phone one handed, and the Home button works oh so well for Touch ID.

Signal Issues

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One of the things that surprised me about the phone was the fact that every time I was at home, the signal dropped. I am not sure if it is to do with Vodafone or the iPhone 6 itself. I tried to find other people in my area who had an iPhone, and the closest I got was an iPhone 5s. They said they had never had any issues, so it could be a problem with the phone itself, or I might just be in an interesting area which is bit of a bad one for Vodafone.

You will have to forgive me for the bad quality of the above image!

What I miss the most when using the iPhone

This will only be applicable to the people who are Android nutters like me. The BACK button is something I miss the most. Yes, iOS8 has its own way of going back, which is often pretty basic once you get to use it, but it still is something I miss.

Camera

No phone review can go without the featuring of the camera. The iPhone 6 has carried on the good 8MP camera from the recent iterations, though other phones such as Lumia series, and even the LG G3 have surpassed the quality of images. As far as my usage went, where I find the iPhone to be particularly good is indoor images or images in the dark. The following are some of the test shots I have taken, which are in no particular order.

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Sunset

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Night shot of a street

2014-12-28 13.59.20 HDR

Testing Macro

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Checking out a ‘good day’

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Some bulbs!

The camera also brings slo-mo video, which is a lot of fun. I will leave you to browse a few good videos to see that one.

Installation and usage

This is more of a reflection of the iOS rather than the hardware, but the phone software is pretty solid. I have not had it being laggy or slow, or hanging on me at all.

Once you input your Apple ID, it allows you to back up from an old iPhone or iPad (or iPod Touch, I imagine) and if you choose that option it will install most of your settings, your email accounts and the apps you have used in the past. You will still need to enter passwords again, so there is the security element still there.

Other than that, as far as daily usage goes, most things work well. The advantage to Apple is of course that most of the ‘hit’ and ‘in’ apps always come to Apple first. There is also the matter that you get less spam on Apple’s App Store than you do on other formats.

What I love the most

Touch ID. It works better than any other finger print scanner I have used. It just works.

Is it worth the hype?

That is probably a very difficult question to answer. If you like Apple hardware, and you like new flashy gadgets, then yes, this is probably for you.

Is it worth the money?

This is probably where a lot of people shy away from Apple. Apple hardware tends to be more expensive than most others, but at the end of the day, most technology is worth what YOU think it is worth. Apple get away with higher prices because they have managed to maintain the hype.

It just works?

For most part, yes. It does. I didn’t run into many problems, but I have only been playing with this for two weeks.

Who is it really for?

I think the demographic is quite wide. Everyone from housewives to businessmen, as long as you can afford it, or justify the cost.

More information

While the web is full of information about the iPhone 6 (and the 6 Plus), the official page to get the numbers is Apple’s own:

https://www.apple.com/uk/iphone-6/

We’d like to thank Vodafone for sending us the iPhone 6 for review. To find out more about buying the  iPhone, you can visit their page at the following link:

http://www.vodafone.co.uk/iphone/iphone-6/index.htm

Verdict

The iPhone 6 is a good device, and worthy of its flagship title. I still think it is a bit too expensive for what it offers, but if you ignore that, it is a great device.

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