The iPhone I've been requesting that Apple make is finally here. My iPhone 6 Plus safely arrived this morning and it's everything I hoped it would be. With great finesse and style, it encapsulates all I'd envisioned a larger iPhone would offer. I am not in the least bit disappointed, in fact, if it was a quarter-inch to a half-inch bigger that would've been just fine with me. My first impressions (and unboxing video) follow after the break.
I realize that the new iPhone 6 Plus won't be for everyone, and Apple knows it too. For people with smaller hands, or folks not inclined to wear big-pocketed jeans or cargo pants everyday, the largest iPhone may not be very desirable. But for someone like me, someone who uses the heck out of the iPhone for numerous tasks, including but not limited to gaming, streaming video, writing, photography, and browsing the web, the iPhone Plus is exactly what I've been dreaming of. Do I feel it's too big to carry around or use effectively? Nope, not at all, at least not for me. But as The Loop's Jim Dalrymple pointed out in his early reviews of the new iPhone 6 series, "The choice over which of these to buy will be the most personal decision that iPhone owners have ever had to make when choosing a device."
It seems to me that if you are a core gamer, looking for a portable console-caliber gaming experience, there's simply no question. The iPhone 6 Plus is the phone to get. If you spend a lot of time gaming (or photo editing, or typing, or drawing, or making music, etc,) then the increased screen real estate is well worth any rumored trade off or supposed drawback of having Apple's largest phone. I'm mean, do gamers even use their iPhone as a phone anyway? Texting and email is the preferred means of communication for so many of those gamers, so the increased screen size for typing is just another plus from that point of view.
Can I type one handed with it? Sure, absolutely. Can I hold it up in one hand and type with that same hand? Nope, but that's not how I type on my iPhone anyway. Typically I either lay my iPhone down on a table or my lap to type single handed, or I type two handed, usually with just my left forefinger and right thumb, (weird, I know) as a matter of preference. Then there's always Apple's new reachability feature which is supposed to make interacting one-handed with the larger iPhones a bit easier by pulling the UI down so the thumb can reach it. However I haven't used it much, other than to test it out. Like I said, I don't think the iPhone 6 Plus is too big, for me it's a perfect size—at last! So I'll have to let you know in future reviews whether or not Reachability is something I end up getting much use from.
It's not just the gaming aspect or the comfort of typing on a less claustrophobic-feeling touchscreen that so dramatically enhances my experience of the iPhone 6 Plus. Any app that calls for intense graphic scrutiny is complemented by the larger Retina HD screen of the iPhone 6 Plus. Are you a photographer, or perhaps an aspiring photographer? I can't think of a better or more appropriate phone for you, on any platform. Or maybe you are a musician who composes using Garage Band, or a writer who does most of your work on your iDevice. Again, I'd say this might indeed be the perfect phone for you too. Sure, if you have to have your phone fit the pocket of a pair of tight skinny jeans, then the iPhone 6 Plus may not "fit" your criteria. But most people can come up with a way to carry this phone around with them if they want to. After all, it's just not that big; it's smaller than a book, smaller even than some calculators. Certainly the iPhone 6 Plus is more ergonomic than the cellphones of the early '90s, yet at the time we all lugged those massive devices around with pride.
One of my primary complaints about the iPhone 6 Plus, (aside from a notoriously protruding rear camera!) would be its weight, for one. While I am able to use the 6 Plus one-handed in portrait mode, its weight begins to feel like a burden on my hand and wrist before long, so there's that to consider. Another point to consider if you are still trying to decide if you even want to upgrade to a 6 or 6 Plus is that the power button has been relocated to the upper right side of the device. I don't care for this change for several reasons. First of all, at the risk of repeating myself, it's just not that big of a phone. Reaching an extra inch to find the power button if it were still at the top doesn't seem like much to ask. It wouldn't be such a bad thing except for the fact that the new location of the power button is directly opposite the volume rocker, which makes adjusting the volume without powering off, and since it's so easy to accidentally press the volume rocker when attempting to press the power button, taking a screenshot (by pressing both the home and power button simultaneously) without capturing the volume level display box in the shot. a minor gripe, and one I can live with, but still worth mentioning.
I think any aversion to the iPhone 6 Plus a lot of it has to do with our present conditioning. Over this past decade many of us were conditioned to think of smaller phones as better. And that may have been true for awhile, but now the way people use their phones has changed so dramatically. Now our iPhones are more akin to our personal computers, a place where we can go for all purposes; from entertainment and communication to productivity and education—among other things. More and more, our iPhones are what we use to get stuff done. The larger screen just makes sense, and it's a wonder (to me as well as to many Samsung phablet owners) that Apple took as long as they did to release this larger iPhone. I'm glad they did though, it's definitely proven to be well worth the wait.
The unboxing...
If you can't see the embedded video, just click HERE.
