Last week Apple released two new smartphones, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. This release marked the first time Apple released a phone with a screen size over five inches.
While many people have longed for a large iPhone, there are others that believe the 5.5″ inch display of the iPhone 6 Plus is too big. I’ve been using big phones, or phablets, since the original Samsung Galaxy Note was released in 2011. I love big phones and don’t imagine ever going back to a sub 5 inch phone. I’m writing today to help convince the masses that the “big phone” is the only way to go!
iPhone 6 Plus Pros and Cons
In this article, I review the iPhone 6 Plus pros and cons. I will cover what I liked and disliked about the phone, and give you my buyers recommendation. This includes whether I think you should go with the 6 Plus or go with the smaller iPhone 6.
Are you thinking about buying the iPhone 6 Plus? Do you think it’s too big? Are you worried about one hand operation? Do you think it’s too expensive? I own the 6 Plus. Let me help you decide!
[su_tr_336280_in_article_center]iPhone 6 Plus Pros
Below are some of the advantages I believe make the iPhone 6 Plus one of, if not the best smartphone on the market.
- It has a big beautiful screen. Not only is it large, it’s also sharp and bright. Photos and videos look great on the iPhone 6 Plus.
- It’s light and thin. Everyone I handed my iPhone 6 Plus to said that they expected the device to be heavier. The phone is quite light and thin for its size.
- Great camera and related features. The iPhone 5s already had a great camera. The 6 Plus improved on it a bit with its new features. These features include super fast autofocus, optical image stabilization (OIS), 1080HD video recording at 60fps, and 240 fps slow motion video recording. The 6 Plus may very well replace your dedicated point and shoot camera.
- All day battery life. The best reason to get the 6 Plus over all other iPhones is its all day battery life. The bigger device includes a bigger battery that lasts well into the next day.
- There’s more storage on the upgraded models. To get additional storage on previous iPhones, you had to pay $100-$200 extra to increase your storage to 32GB-64GB respectively. With the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the extra cash now gets you 64GB-128GB instead. While I would prefer an SD expansion slot over paying a premium for additional storage, at least the iPhone 6 gives you more storage for the money than it did in the past.
- Touch ID is one of my favorite features of the 6 Plus. This allows you to unlock your phone and authorize purchases using merely your fingerprint. In my experience, Touch ID works 99% of the time. No other smartphone on the market has implemented a fingerprint reader that works as well as Touch ID.
- Accurate speech recognition. The iPhone 6 allows you to compose messages speaking to it. Its speech recognition is very accurate. In a couple weeks of using the feature, I have found that it rarely makes a mistake.
- Predictive typing. When composing messages with the on-screen keyboard, the iPhone 6 predicts what you are going to type next. It learns over time what words you use and allows you to quickly select the word instead of typing it out. Since I often send the same messages to my wife, the iPhone accurately predicts the right words I want to send to her.
- Fast performance. I have yet to notice any slow down in using the iPhone 6 Plus or iOS 8. Launching most apps and games appears to be faster on the 6 Plus than with previous iPhones.
- Landscape apps. When holding the 6 Plus in landscape, some apps take advantage of the extra screen size to display alternate views. For instance, the messaging app displays a larger keyboard with additional buttons available when the 6 Plus is held in landscape.
As you can see, the iPhone 6 Plus has a long list of compelling features. The phone isn’t without a few drawbacks, however. Let’s check out a few of them.
iPhone 6 Plus Cons
Head on over to the next page to see some of negatives I found with the iPhone 6 Plus.
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Image credit: Cult of Mac
In case you missed it, see the iPhone 6 Plus pros on the previous page. On this page, I will cover the cons.
iPhone 6 Plus Cons
While I think the iPhone 6 Plus is a compelling device, it does have its share of negatives. See the iPhone 6 Plus Cons below:
- Will it bend? Shortly after the iPhone 6 Plus released, a YouTube video was released showing how the iPhone 6 Plus could be bended with bare hands. Apple has since stated that bent 6 Pluses are extremely rare. The YouTube author has also acknowledged that a considerable amount of force is required to bend the 6 Plus. Is this a big problem? We’ll have to see over time how many people experience bent iPhone 6 Pluses.
- The 6 Plus is a bit on the slippery side. If you are not careful, you could easily drop it. I suggest getting a case to make this less of a possibility.
- One hand operation may be a chore for folks that are accustomed to using the smaller iPhones. While I insist that big phones are much more useful than smaller ones, I recognize that many people feel that a big phone is a con.
- Camera supports only 8MP. The iPhone 6 Plus takes great photos, yet its camera supports far fewer pixels than other flagship phones. Some smartphones support up to 20MP photos. This shouldn’t affect most people. However, if you care about having the best specs, the 8MP camera is at a disadvantage when compared to other phones.
- No 4K video recording. Other flagship smartphones are offering this capability while the 6 Plus is limited to 1080p video recording. I don’t consider this a big con however since 4K monitors have not really caught on yet. Thus, relatively few people can view 4K content.
- The Camera lens protrudes from the body. This makes the optics more susceptible to getting bumped, snagged, or damaged. I suggest getting a case to protect the lens.
- At Launch, many apps are not optimized for the large screen size. Thus you may experience some scaling issues and fuzziness. This will certainly be resolved over time but in the near term, your favorite apps may look bad on the 6 Plus.
- The built-in keyboard doesn’t leverage the increased screen size of the 6 Plus while in portrait mode. I’d like to see additional buttons added, such as a period or comma. There should be a row a buttons for numbers. I’d also like to see alternate characters added to the letter buttons for easier access, via a long press. My Galaxy Note 2 from two years ago already has all of these features.
- The lack of “back button” will annoy those coming from Android. Navigating apps can be a chore since there is no dedicated back button. While swiping from the left in some internal apps gives you the same functionality, it doesn’t work consistently enough to replace a dedicated back button.
- The iPhone 6 still lacks widget support on the home screen. Widgets provide convenient access to data and functionality. They have been available on Android for years. I’m really puzzled by why this still hasn’t been implemented in iOS.
- It doesn’t run iPad apps. Perhaps Apple should create a new category of apps to take advantage of the larger screen. Until that happens, it would have been nice to be able to run iPad apps on the 6 Plus. For now, the 6 Plus is mostly a large iPhone, with few apps taking advantage of its larger screen.
- No SD Card slot. To expand the storage, you have to pay either an extra $100 or $200 for 64GB or 128GB. In contrast, many Android phones have an SD card slot. So when I buy a new Android phone, I can expand its storage by using the SD card I purchased several years ago.
- The NFC functionality only works with Apple Pay. Unless you plan to use Apple Pay, you can basically state that the iPhone still does not support NFC since you cannot use it for any other purpose.
- Is it just me or does the ring/silent switch move around when the 6 Plus is in my pocket. I missed a couple calls in the past week because I mistakenly switched the phone to silent. I hope this gets prevented by adding a case to the phone.
- The iPhone 6 Plus doesn’t offer much that hasn’t been available on Android for years. With the iPhone 6, Apple is playing catch-up more than it’s innovating. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it’s worth pointing out.
This is certainly a huge list of cons, although some are minor or possibly temporary. Are these drawbacks enough for me not to recommend the iPhone 6 Plus? Find out in the section below.
[su_tr_336280_in_article_center]iPhone 6 Plus Buyer’s Recommendation
I’ll say this without wasting anymore time: the iPhone 6 Plus is the best iPhone ever made. Period.
It combines a big gorgeous screen with a great camera and great battery life. It effectively replaces the need to have a separate iPad, portable video player, or handheld video game system.
I concede that one hand operation on the 6 Plus can be a chore. However, I think the pros of the big screen out weighs the cons. I’m may not be the only one that thinks so. The 6 Plus sold out quicker than the 6 ahead of the launch. This could be due to supply issues with the bigger screen but I suspect is due to demand. Hopefully Apple will let us know for sure.
iPhone 6 Plus vs iPhone 6 vs iPhone 5s
In my opinion, the 6 Plus is clearly superior to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s. The big screen gives the iPhone 6 plus a versatility advantage over the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s. The 6 Plus camera has features the 6 and the 5s do not. The battery life along makes the 6 Plus better. The 6 and the 5s will struggle to last a whole day while the 6 Plus lasts well into the next day. If you buy the iPhone 6 or iPhone 5s over the 6 Plus, you will definitely experience battery life envy.
For complete coverage on which iPhone to choose, see my iPhone 6 Plus vs iPhone 6 vs iPhone 5s comparison.
iPhone 6 Plus vs the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and other flagship Android phones
When comparing the iPhone 6 Plus to top Android phones such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, the decision becomes murkier. I don’t think either phone is great enough to warrant switch platforms, especially if you have already invested in many apps and media. The 6 Plus has a slightly better ecosystem and better user experience. The Note 4 has better specs and some unique features such as the built-in stylus. When the Note 4 is released, I will do a head-to-head comparison. For now I’d suggest trying out each device.
Still undecided?
Still not convinced that your next phone should be the iPhone 6 Plus? Let me help you decide! Share your questions and concerns in the comments section below. I’ll do my best to demonstrate why you need the iPhone 6 Plus.
Have any iPhone 6 Plus pros and cons you would like to share? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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