Unboxing Apple’s Biggest Smartphone Yet
We couldn’t help but smirk as we were unboxing the iPhone 6 Plus because we kept thinking about Apple’s previous pronouncements saying that the 4-inch displays offer the best user experience and that phablets were just to unwieldy to use. Apple finally relented to the demand of the market though and they finally came up with bigger iPhones. We’ve already reviewed the iPhone 6 (click to read) and today we’d like to share with you guys our unboxing and initial hands-on experience with the much bigger iPhone 6 Plus.
Before anything else though let’s quickly go over the specifications of Apple’s first phablet.
iPhone 6 Plus Spec Sheet
- Apple A8 1.4GHz dual-core Cyclone processor
- Quad-core PowerVR GX6450 GPU
- 1GB RAM
- 16GB/64GB/128GB Internal Storage
- 5.5-inches IPS LCD, 1920×1080 pixels, 401 pixels per inch
- 8.0-megapixels rear-facing camera with dual-tone flash
- Can record video 1080p @ 60 fps and 720p @ 240 fps
- 1.2-megapixels front-facing camera
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, 3G, HSPA+, LTE
- GPS with aGPS, GLONASS, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, Apple Pay (Powered by NFC)
- Fingerprint sensor
- iOS 8
- 2915mAh battery
Compared to the specifications that Android flagships carry, the iPhone 6 Plus might look below par. True to form though Apple delivers a smooth, virtually lag-free, and now long-lasting experience with the iPhone 6 Plus. It’s clearly not just about the processors anymore but how the software and hardware work together. More on that though when we publish the full review. For now let’s dive into the unboxing!
Different Box, Bigger iPhone, Refined iOS Experience
The iPhone 6 Plus comes in a biiiiggg white box. From the packaging alone you can already tell that this is a massive device and that’s exactly what we found when we popped open the lid and picked up the phone for the first time. It’s basically a GIANT iPhone. The design elements that we saw with the iPhone 6 are all there including the tapering display, rounded edges, and the sleek aluminum back (with the annoying lines). It’s just… bigger.
The iPhone 6 Plus kinda feels like a surfboard because it’s quite tall. Apple needed to make it taller than the other phablets by Android because they needed to preserve the iconic TouchID/Home button at the bottom which takes up space. That said, don’t bother using this with just one hand because you will just get very frustrated. The display size and form factor was really meant to be used with two hands. The experience becomes so much better that way.
To give you guys a better idea of how big the 6 Plus is, check out this photos of the iPhone 6 together with the iPhone 6 Plus.
And we thought the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 was already big when we first got our hands on it! Lol!
Despite the size, the iPhone 6 Plus still managed to be super thin. Amazing how Apple was able to cram in so much technology into this beast given how slim the chassis is. Technology has truly advanced in the last 3-4 years.
Unfortunately the protruding camera is there at the back. Combine this with the fact that the iPhone 6 Plus is a bit hard to grip, you really need to invest in getting a good case for this device. Our personal recommendation is that you guys check out the Apple leather back cases. These cases are thin, lightweight, and very stylish. They don’t add unnecessary bulk or heft to the device.
Does it Bend?!
Before we move on, let’s take some time to address the major concerns that the iPhone 6 Plus BENDS. We haven’t pushed on it with crazy force like how they’ve been doing it on the different videos that surfaced online lately. However we can say that we’ve been using this as our daily driver for the last two weeks and it hasn’t bent a single degree. As it stands we believe that the iPhone 6 Plus won’t bend with day-to-day (even heavy) use. It probably will though if you intentionally try to destroy it.
Other than the iPhone, the usual array of Apple freebie accessories are included in the box. We have the Apple EarPods (which suck), the Lightning Cable, the wall charger, and a bunch of manuals and the Apple logo sticker. Nothing really different though we wish that Apple changes the bundled earphones soon. They just suck terribly and it’s unbefitting of a company that touts music as one of their passions and strengths.
When it comes to the software, iOS 8 runs very well on the iPhone 6 Plus. Most developers have already started optimizing their applications so that we don’t get pixilation on the display. By the way, we just have to say that the display of the iPhone 6 Plus is one of the very best that we’ve seen in years. Our team is split in the middle on who’s better though — the Galaxy Note 3 Super AMOLED or Apple’s 5.5-inches IPS dipslay with 1920×1080 pixels resolution.
Full Review Coming Soon!
We’ve already been using the iPhone 6 Plus for well over a week now so just expect to wait only a few days from this writing for the complete and full review of the device. So far though we can already say this: the iPhone 6 Plus is meant to be used with 2 hands, it has tremendous battery life, the display is simply gorgeous, get a case for the protruding camera and to improve grip control, and finally don’t try to bend it, hehe. We’re still in the early stages of this review but we can already say that the iPhone 6 Plus brings a lot of major improvements to the table that can definitely merit an upgrade even for 5 and 5S users (for the 4 and 4S, it’s really a no-brainer, get a 6 or 6 Plus).
Watch out for our full review soon! We’ll be thoroughly testing the battery life, sturdiness, and the camera. 🙂
If you want one, please do check out Kimstore. Click the link to visit their site.
