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Apple iPhone 6 Plus
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iPhone 6 Plus Review: Almost Too Much of a Good Thing
by Jamshed Avari
The iPhone 6 Plus breaks a lot of the rules and defies a lot of the logic that Apple has stuck to for a number of years. It’s a copycat device, it chases a market that the company did not create for itself, it introduces fragmentation in a previously restrained product lineup, and it doesn’t immediately give you the sense that you need to own one. In short, it’s the most un-Apple-like Apple product we’ve seen in a very, very long time.
The famously selective company ( many would call it arrogant) repeatedly dismissed and even ridiculed the idea of outsized smartphones for many years; defying industry trends and sticking with a smaller shape that was easy to use in one hand despite an obvious shift in the market. In the past, Apple has been defined by its refusal to participate in such bubble markets and has instead created its own - it suffered endless criticism for being the only PC manufacturer to never have offered a netbook, but then proceeded to destroy that entire product category by introducing the iPad and defining the future of touch-first portable devices.
Now, that philosophy seems to have been discarded completely. Apple has done a 180 and is now chasing a market created by one of its fiercest rivals. The iPhone 6 Plus is many years late to the phablet party - Apple couches this by saying it only makes moves when it knows it’s ready with something truly brilliant, but it isn’t hard to see this as a very reactionary product. In fact, this is one of the rare Apple products that will be defined by its competitors. Apple seems confident that the iPhone 6 Plus will work against the SamsungGalaxy Note 4, LGG3 ( Review | Photos) and others in this size class. Let’s see if that holds true, or if Apple will come out of this battle looking like a sore loser.
Look and Feel
The iPhone 6 Plus is pretty much identical to the iPhone 6 in terms of styling and proportions, but is of course larger. It’s significantly bigger than the iPhone 5s and absolutely towers over the 4S and earlier models - anyone who has used an iPhone before will be a little thrown by its sheer size. It’s just awkward; like a teenager who’s had a sudden growth spurt. It fits in a trouser pocket but you’ll always feel it there when walking around.
Competitors in the Android space have moved to on-screen controls and minimal bezels - the idea being that all attention should be focused on the screen. That isn’t the case here - there’s a lot of space both above and below the screen, necessitated by the physical Home button with its integrated Touch ID sensor.
What does work for the iPhone 6 Plus is how it feels. Apple hasn’t in any way reduced the amount of attention it pays to physical, material and construction quality. The curved aluminium sides and rounded corners are a departure from the iPhone 5- and 4-series, and feel better in the hand. The glass front extends right to the edges and is also curved to meet the aluminium frame - this makes it one of the most comfortable phones to hold up to your ear, but leaves us slightly worried about potential shattering if the phone is ever dropped.
The iPhone 6 Plus is also amazingly thin. It isn’t all that light, but the weight is very nicely balanced. The power button has been moved to the right edge, which is another touch pioneered by competitors. Everything else is the same as before - volume and mute controls on the left, SIM card tray on the right, and headset socket, Lightning port and speaker cutout on the bottom.