iPhone 6

iPhone 6
iPhone 6 Plus

The front face of the silver iPhone 6
Codename N61
Brand Apple Inc.
Manufacturer Foxconn, Pegatron (on contract)[1]
Slogan "Bigger than bigger"[2]
Generation 8th
Compatible networks GSM, CDMA, 3G, EVDO, HSPA+, LTE
First released September 19, 2014
Availability by country
Units sold 10 million in opening weekend
Predecessor iPhone 5C
iPhone 5S
Related Apple Watch
Type Smartphone (iPhone 6)
Phablet (iPhone 6 Plus)
Form factor Slate
Dimensions 6: 138.1 mm (5.44 in) H
67.0 mm (2.64 in) W
6.9 mm (0.27 in) (7.67 mm (0.302 in) inc. lens) D
6 Plus: 158.1 mm (6.22 in) H
77.8 mm (3.06 in) W
7.67 mm (0.302 in) (7.1 mm (0.28 in) inc. lens) D[6][7]
Weight 6: 129 g (4.6 oz)
6 Plus: 172 g (6.1 oz)
Operating system Original: iOS 8.0
Current: iOS 8.3, released April 8, 2015
System on chip Apple A8
CPU 1.4 GHz dual-core ARMv8-A Cyclone 2nd gen.
GPU PowerVR Series 6 GX6450 (quad-core)[8]
Memory 1 GB LPDDR3 RAM
Storage 16, 64 or 128 GB
Removable storage None
Battery 6: 1810 mAh[9]
6 Plus: 2915 mAh[10]
Data inputs Multi-touch touchscreen display, triple microphone configuration, Apple M8 motion coprocessor, 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer, digital compass, iBeacon, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, Touch ID fingerprint reader, barometer
Display Retina HD Display, LED-backlit IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16:9 aspect ratio, 500 cd/m2 max brightness (typical), and oleophobic coating
6: 4.7 in (120 mm) 1334x750 pixel resolution, 326 ppi pixel density, 1400:1 contrast ratio (typical)[11]
6 Plus: 5.5 in (140 mm) 1920x1080 pixel resolution, 401 ppi pixel density, 1300:1 contrast ratio (typical)[11]
Rear camera Sony Exmor RS ISX014 [12][13][14]
8-MP with 1.5 focus pixels, True Tone Flash, autofocus, IR filter, Burst mode, f/2.2 aperture, 1080p HD video recording (30 fps or 60 fps), Slow-motion video (720p 120 fps or 240 fps), Timelapse, Panorama (up to 43 megapixels), Facial recognition, Stills while recording video, Auto-HDR
6: digital image stabilization
6 Plus: optical image stabilization[11]
Front camera 1.2-MP (1280×960 px max.), 720p video recording (30 fps), Burst mode, f/2.2 aperture, Exposure control, Face detection, Auto-HDR
Sound Mono speaker, 3.5 mm stereo audio jack
Connectivity

[15]

[15]

Hearing aid compatibility M3, T4
Website www.apple.com/iphone-6

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are smartphones running iOS developed by Apple Inc. The devices are part of the iPhone series and were unveiled on 9 September 2014 and released on September 19, 2014. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus jointly serve as successors to the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus include a number of changes over its predecessor, including models with larger 4.7 and 5.5 inches (120 and 140 mm) displays, a faster processor, upgraded cameras, improved LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity, and support for a near-field communications-based mobile payments offering.[16][17]

Pre-orders of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded 4 million within its first 24 hours of availability—an Apple record.[18] More than 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices were sold in the first three days, another Apple record.[19]

History

Centered around the device's size; the majority of iPhone models have used 3.5-inch displays—which are smaller than screens used by flagship phones from competitors. The last change in size for the iPhone series came with the iPhone 5 (continued with the iPhone 5C and 5S), which featured a display that was taller, but the same width as prior models, measuring at 4 inches diagonally. Following Apple's loss in smartphone market share to companies producing phones with larger displays reports as early as January 2014 suggested that Apple was preparing to launch new iPhone models with larger, 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays.[20][21][22]

Reports prior to its unveiling also speculated the possibility that Apple would use a new iPhone model to introduce a mobile payments platform using near-field communications—a technology that has been incorporated into many Android phones, but has experienced a low adoption rate among users.[23]

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were officially unveiled during a press event at the Flint Center for Performing Arts in Cupertino, California on September 9, 2014. The event featured other previously-rumored product announcements by Apple alongside the new iPhone models, including the Apple Pay mobile payment platform, and the company's entry into the wearable computing market with the Apple Watch smartwatch.[24]

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were unveiled on 9 September 2014 and released on September 19, 2014; pre-orders began on September 12, 2014.[25] In China, where the iPhone 5S and 5C were the first models in the iPhone series to be released in the country on the same day as their international launch, Apple notified local wireless carriers that it would be unable to release the iPhone 6 line in China on the 19th because there were "details which are not ready"; local media reported that the devices had not yet been approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and earlier in the year, a news report by state broadcaster China Central Television alleged that iPhone devices were a threat to national security because iOS 7's "frequent locations" function could expose "state secrets."[26][27]

Specifications

Hardware

The design of the iPhone 6 line is influenced by that of the iPad Air, with a glass front that is curved around the edges of the display, and an aluminium rear that contains two plastic strips for the antenna.[28] Both models come in gold, silver, and "space gray" finishes. The iPhone 6 has a thickness of 6.9 millimetres (0.27 in), while the iPhone 6 Plus is 7.1 mm (0.28 in) in thickness; both are thinner than the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, with the iPhone 6 being Apple's thinnest phone to date. The most significant changes to the iPhone 6 line are its displays; both branded as "Retina HD Display" and "ion-strengthened", the iPhone 6 display is 4.7 inches in size with a 16:9 resolution of 1334x750 (326 PPI, minus one row of pixels), while the iPhone 6 Plus includes a 5.5-inch 1920x1080 (1080p) display (401 PPI). The displays use a multiple-domain LCD panel, dubbed "dual-domain pixels"; the RGB pixels themselves are skewed in pattern, so that every pixel is seen from a different angle. This technique helps improve the viewing angles of the display.[29]

To accommodate the larger physical size of the iPhone 6 line, the power button was moved to the side of the phone instead of the top to improve its accessibility.[16][17] The iPhone 6 features a 1810 mAh battery, while the iPhone 6 Plus features a 2915 mAh battery. Unlike the previous model, the rear-facing camera is not flush with the rear of the device, and has a slight "bulge" around the lens. It has a Dual-core 1.4 GHz Cyclone Processor (ARM v8-based).[30]

Both models include an Apple A8 system-on-chip, and an M8 motion co-processor—an update of the M7 chip from the iPhone 5S. The main difference between the M8 and the original M7 coprocessor is that the M8 also includes a barometer to measure altitude changes. Phil Schiller touted that the A8 chip would provide, in comparison to the 5S, a 25% increase in CPU performance, a 50% increase in graphics performance, and less heat output. Early hands-on reports suggested that the A8's GPU performance might indeed break away from previous generations doubling of performance at each yearly release, scoring 21204.26 in Basemark X compared to 20253.80, 10973.36 and 5034.75 on respectively the 5S, 5 and 4S.[31]

LTE support is expanded on the iPhone 6 line, with support for over 20 LTE bands (7 more than the iPhone 5S),[32] up to 150 Mbit/s download speed, and VoLTE support. Wi-Fi performance has been improved with support for 802.11ac specifications, providing speeds up to 433 Mbit/s—which is up to 3 times faster than 802.11n,[32] along with Wi-Fi Calling support where available. The iPhone 6 line adds support for near-field communications (NFC), which is used exclusively for Apple Pay—a new mobile payments system which will allow users to store their credit cards in Passbook for use with online payments and retail purchases over NFC.[33] NFC support is restricted to Apple Pay only, and cannot be used for any other purposes (such as sharing content with other iPhone users).[34]

While still 8 megapixels in size, the iPhone 6's rear-facing camera includes a new sensor which, like the camera in the iPhone 5S, has 1.5 micron pixels, an f/2.2 aperture lens, and the ability to shoot 1080p video at either 30 or 60 frames per second. The camera also includes phase detection autofocus.[35] It can also record slow-motion video at either 120 or 240 frames per second. The iPhone 6 Plus camera is nearly identical, but also includes optical image stabilization.[16][17] The front-facing camera was also updated with a new sensor and f/2.2 aperture, along with support for burst and HDR modes.[16][17]

Software

See also: iOS 8 and History of iOS

The iPhone 6 line ships pre-loaded with iOS 8, while the iPhone 5S shipped pre-loaded with iOS 7. Apps are able to take advantage of the increased screen size in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus to display more information on-screen; for example, the Mail app uses a dual-pane layout similar to its iPad version when the device is in landscape mode on the iPhone 6 Plus. As it uses an identical aspect ratio, apps designed for the iPhone 5, 5C, and 5S can be upscaled for use on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. To improve the usability of the devices' larger screens, an additional "Reachability" gesture was added; double-touching the Home button will slide the top half of the screen's contents down to the bottom half of the screen. This function allows users to reach buttons located near the top of the screen, such as a "Back" button in the top-left corner.[16][17]

Reception

Sales

Apple Inc. announced that within 24 hours of availability, over 4 million pre-orders of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were made, exceeding the supply available.[36] More than 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices were sold in the first three days.[37]

Critical reception

Both iPhone 6 models have received generally positive reviews. Re/code called it "the best smartphone you can buy".[38] TechRadar praised the iPhone 6's "brilliant" design, improved battery life over the 5S, iOS 8 for being "smarter and more intuitive than ever", along with the quality of its camera. Improvements such as performance, battery life, VoLTE support, and other tweaks were also noted. In conclusion, the iPhone 6 was considered "good, even great, but there’s little about it that’s truly ambitious or truly moving the needle. It’s just a refinement of a lot of existing ideas into a much more pleasant package."[28]

The iPhone 6 Plus was praised its inclusion of optical image stabilization and slightly better battery life than the 6.[35]

Criticism

However, the plastic antenna strips on the rear of the phone were criticized for resulting in poor aesthetics, the display for having lower resolution and pixel density in comparison to other recent smartphones - including those with the same physical screen size as the iPhone 6, such as the HTC One, and for not having a sufficient justification for its significantly higher price in comparison to similar devices running Android or Windows Phone.[39] The Verge considered the iPhone 6 to be "simply and cleanly designed" in comparison to the 5S, noting that the phone still felt usable despite its larger size, but criticized the antenna plastic, the protruding camera lens (which prevents the device from sitting flat without a case), and the lack of additional optimization in the operating system for the bigger screen. In regards to the 6 Plus, Engadget panned the device's design for feeling uncomfortable to hold and harder to grip in comparison to other devices such as the Galaxy Note 3 and LG G3.

Technical Problems

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were affected by a number of notable hardware-related issues:

Chassis bending

Shortly after its public release, it was reported that the iPhone 6 Plus chassis was susceptible to bending under pressure, such as when carried tightly in a user's pocket. While such issues are not exclusive to the iPhone 6 Plus, the design flaw came to be known among social media users as "bendgate."[40][41] A study by Consumer Reports found the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were slightly more durable than the HTC One, but considerably less durable than the other phones tested.[42]

Apple responded to the bending allegations, stating that they had only received nine complaints of bent devices, and that the damage occurring due to regular use is "extremely rare." The company maintained that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus went through durability testing to ensure they would stand up to daily use.[43] The company offered to replace phones that were bent, if it is determined that the bending was unintentional.[40]

On October 1, 2014, it was reported by Axel Telzerowm, editor-in-chief of the German technology magazine Computer Bild, that following the posting of a video where a presenter was able to bend an iPhone 6 Plus, an Apple Germany representative informed the publication that it had been banned from future Apple events and that it would no longer receive devices directly from Apple for testing. Telzerowm responded by saying that "we congratulate you to your fine new generation of iPhones, even if one of them has a minor weakness with its casing. But we are deeply disappointed about the lack of respect of your company."[44]

Hair ripping

On October 3, 2014 9to5Mac released a post claiming that certain iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users complained on social networking sites that the phone ripped off their hair when they held the phone close to their ears when making a call or taking a call.[45] This second design flaw was given the term "hairgate." Twitter users claimed that the seam between the glass screen and aluminium back of the iPhone 6 is to blame, with hair becoming caught within it.[46][47]

Flash storage performance

Some users reported that 64 and 128 GB iPhone 6 models had experienced performance issues, and that some 128 GB iPhone 6 Plus models would, in rare cases, randomly crash and reboot. Business Korea reported that the issues were connected to the triple-layer cell NAND storage of the affected models. Triple-layer cells can store three bits of data per cell of flash, and are cheaper than dual-layer cell solutions, but at the cost of performance. It was reported that Apple had planned to switch the affected model lines back to multi-layer cell flash, and address the performance issues on existing devices in a future iOS update.[48][49][50]

Optical image stabilization issues

It was reported that the optical image stabilization systems on some iPhone 6 Plus models were faulty, failing to properly stabilize when the phone is being held perfectly still, leading to blurry photos and "wavy"-looking videos.[51] The optical image stabilization system was also found to have been affected by accessories that use magnets, such as third-party lens attachments; Apple issued advisories to users and its licensed accessory makers, warning that magnetic or metallic accessories can cause the OIS system to malfunction.[52]

Timeline of models

IPhone 6 IPhone 6 IPhone 5S IPhone 5C IPhone 5 IPhone 4S IPhone 4 IPhone 3GS IPhone 3G IPhone (1st generation)
Sources: Apple press release library[53]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Apple is already preparing for 2015’s massive iPhone 6s launch – and so should you". Yahoo!. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  2. ↑ "iPhone 6 Bigger than bigger". Apple. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Apple Announces Record Pre-orders for iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus Top Four Million in First 24 Hours (Press Release)". Apple. September 15, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  4. ↑ "iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus Available in China on Friday, October 17 (Press Release)". Apple. September 30, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus Arrive in 36 More Countries and Territories This Month (Press Release)". Apple. October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  6. ↑ iPhone 6 Leaks Reveal Protruding Camera And Detailed Dimensions Forbes 8/25/2014 @ 9:16SA
  7. ↑ iPhone 6 dimensions revealed by latest leak Luke Johnson, Trusted Reviews 22 August 2014
  8. ↑ "Chipworks Disassembles Apple's A8 SoC: GX6450, 4MB L3 Cache & More". AnandTech. September 23, 2014.
  9. ↑ iPhone 6 Teardown
  10. ↑ iPhone 6 Plus Teardown
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "iPhone 6 Technical Specifications". Apple. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Sony Develops "Exmor RS," the World's First*1 Stacked CMOS Image Sensor Also introduces imaging modules that deliver high picture quality and compact size, for use in mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets". Sony Global. August 20, 2012. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  13. ↑ "iPhone 6 Plus vs Sony Xperia Z3 Rear Camera Comparison". Camera Debate. September 28, 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  14. ↑ "Apple Supplier Sony Debuts 21-Megapixel Image Sensor With Ultra Fast Autofocus, 4K HDR Video". Mac Rumors. November 17, 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Apple - iPhone 6 - View countries with supported LTE networks". Apple. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 "iPhone 6 announced: 4.7-inch display, Retina HD resolution, A8 processor". The Verge. Vox Media. September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 "iPhone 6 Plus with 5.5-inch display announced". The Verge (Vox Media). September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Apple Announces Record Pre-orders for iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus Top Four Million in First 24 Hours". Apple. September 15, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  19. ↑ Apple sells 10 million iPhones in opening weekend record
  20. ↑ "Apple iPhones to Come Out With Bigger Screens". Wall Street Journal. January 24, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Apple Readies a Big Bet on Big-Screen Phones". Wall Street Journal. September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  22. ↑ "iPhone 5: a little bit taller, a little bit baller". Ars Technica. September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  23. ↑ "More signs point to mobile payments for iPhone 6 -- and for an iWatch". CNET. September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  24. ↑ "See All the Glorious Gadgets From Apple’s Big Event". Wired.com. Condé Nast. September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  25. ↑ "iPhone 6 release date September 19th, prices start at $199 for 4.7-inch on contract, $299 for 5.5-inch on contract". The Verge (Vox Media). September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Release of iPhone 6 Delayed in China". New York Times. September 10, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  27. ↑ "Apple denies iPhones are ‘a national security threat’ to China". The Guardian. July 14, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 "iPhone 6 review". The Verge (Vox Media). Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  29. ↑ "Understanding Dual-Domain Pixels in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus". Anandtech. Purch Inc. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  30. ↑ "Apple is hiding an embarrassing iPhone 6 camera bulge". The Verge (Vox Media). September 16, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  31. ↑ "iPhone 6 A8 GPU benchmark suggests it's behind the curve". GSMArena. September 12, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 "Apple - iPhone 6 - Connectivity". Apple. September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  33. ↑ Reardon, Marguerite; Tibken, Shara (September 9, 2014). "Apple takes NFC mainstream on iPhone 6; Apple Watch with Apple Pay". CNET. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  34. ↑ Hein, Buster (September 15, 2014). "Apple confirms iPhone 6 NFC chip is only for Apple Pay at launch". Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 "iPhone 6 and 6 Plus review: bigger and better, but with stiffer competition". Engadget. September 16, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  36. ↑ Caldwell, Serenity (September 15, 2014). "Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus pre-orders top 4 million in 24 hours". Macworld. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  37. ↑ "Apple iPhone 6 and 6 plus sales top ten million in first weekend". The Guardian. September 22, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  38. ↑ "iPhone 6 Review: It’s a Winner". Recode (CNBC). Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  39. ↑ "iPhone 6 review". TechRadar (Future plc). Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 "Apple Will Start Replacing Bent iPhones". Business Insider. September 25, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  41. ↑ "Apple boycotts COMPUTER BILD: An open letter to Tim Cook". Computer Bild. September 29, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  42. ↑ Consumer Reports test results find iPhone 6 and 6 Plus not as bendy as believed We stress test Apple's new phones, plus comparable models from Samsung, LG, and HTC. iPhone 6 And 6 Plus Bend Test - Consumer Reports News. September 26, 2014 08:00 PM
  43. ↑ "Apple responds to bent iPhone 6 complaints, all nine of them". Engadget. September 25, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  44. ↑ "Apple accused of banning media covering ‘Bendgate’ from official events". RT.com. October 1, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  45. ↑ Ayeai (October 3, 2014). "My iPhone 6 Plus is yanking out my hair". 9to5Mac. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  46. ↑ "Buyers complain iPhone 6 ripping out their hair". Times of India. October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  47. ↑ Cook, James (October 3, 2014). "HairGate: iPhone 6 Customers Are Complaining That The Phone Is Ripping Out Their Hair". Business Insider. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  48. ↑ "128GB iPhone 6 Plus crash and reboot bug blamed on memory quality". BGR. November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  49. ↑ "Apple to switch faulty flash storage type for iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus". GSMArena. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  50. ↑ "Apple to Change Controller IC of NAND Flash Used in iPhone 6, iPhone 6+". Business Korea. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  51. ↑ "Some iPhone 6 Plus units are suffering from a weird camera issue". PhoneArena. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  52. ↑ "Accessories with magnets/metal might interfere w/ iPhone 6 Plus optical image stabilization, NFC on new iPhones". 9to5Mac. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  53. ↑ Apple Inc. (2004-2010). Press Release Library. Retrieved June 24, 2010.

External links

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Preceded by
iPhone 5C / iPhone 5S		 iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus
8th generation 		Succeeded by
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