Tuesday, September 9, 2014

iPhone 6 Plus with 5.5-inch display (updated)

[Watch the entertaining Apple Keynote releasing iPhone 6, Apple Pay, and the new Apple Watch.]

iPhone 6 Plus with 5.5-inch display announced starting at $299, article.

I want to thank my fans at Apple for answering my requests, by far the biggest of which the keen reader will have no trouble recalling: that the iPhone six came with a 5.5-inch display, making it a perfect portable ereader (and generally better for so many things)!

I wonder what kind of profit margin companies are getting on phones though. I just bought, as seen below, a wonderful high-class 12 inch tablet. And the 5.5 inch iPhone 6+ is over £250 ($400!) more expensive than that tablet! It is around £700 ($1000) with 64 GB storage! To me that it looks like ugly price gouging. I love apple and their products, but sometimes their pricing really leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

Anyway, as I had expected, Apple did not want to disenfranchise their customers in tight jeans, so the phone comes in two sizes, the big ("phablet") iPhone 6 Plus, and the more regular-sized iPhone 6 (with a good-sized 4.7-inch display). I think those sizes are perfectly chosen.

The cameras are improved in various small ways, though the resolution is the same 8MP. The most important improvement is optical image stabilization to help with camera shake, really a must these days. But that is only on the 6 Plus. (I think that's one of the reasons it's slightly thicker (though still thinner, amazingly, than the iPhone 5s).
Oh, the autofocus is also faster, which is important.

The iPhone Four was the first iPhone I got genuinely interested in. iPhone 6 Plus is the second one. I expect it to be outstanding.


Update:
Our old ally Janet Tokerud has posted about why you should get the 6 Plus. In part:
5. 2-Column Landscape View in iOS 8. Not available on iPhone 6.
6. One device is better than 2. This is a mini mini iPad not just an iPhone but that too. 1 device to maintain and purchase. 1 cellular connection. You won’t need to lug your iPad mini or maxi around as much. Or you can sell/trade-in the mini.


I couldn’t agree more. Unless one really just needs a phone, or money is really tight, this is currently the king of hand-held Everything Machines. I haven’t been this excited since the iPad 1.

I’ve tried writing a book on an iPhone 4. Can be done, but it gets old. This one, no problem. Portable keyboard, and boom, you’re a mobile writer. I'm actually thinking of a book I want to write on this. Get out of your home/office and yourself, good for the creative juices. (I like a good simple text editor which saves in the cloud, like My Writing Spot.)

And it’s a great portable entertainment center too. Buy all ten seasons of Friends and never fear a waiting room again!
And it sure looks gorgeous. I did not think they could beat the iPhone 4/5. I bet that rounded, slim form, bigger, feels really good in the hand.

14 comments:

Janet Tokerud said...

Hi Eolake,

I'm considering the 5.5" iPhone 6 Plus but concerned with a woman's sized hands that it will be so big it will be awkward. But, I think 5.5 is going to be absolutely perfect for ereading. It also straddles between iPad mini and iPhone making it work for both possibly. Unfortunately I have to order without being able to try it out and see how hard it is to put in a jeans pocket. I know it will fit a back pocket because the 7" Nexus 7 does that (just barely and sticks out the top). Want to hear more from the expert!

Janet Tokerud said...

By the way, I'm leaning towards the larger Apple Watch as well since I don't want to be limited by the smaller size in terms of functionality as a computer or whatever it is going to be. I would assume guys would automatically opt for the large size as usual but most women have a little smaller frame to work with for carrying that larger watch size. I've done it before though with conventional watches back b4 iPhone.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Hi Janet, good to hear from you again.

Aahhhhh, yes, this will be my next bitching campaign: I'll scream repeated for an Apple Watch with a larger screen!
(I'm half serious: it seems very small. But most people seem very concerned about how clumsy it'd look larger. I think it's a view of habit.)

For me there's no doubt: it's the iPhone 6 Plus. I love reading on a phone of that size, 5.5-inch. (And for web sites too, big difference.)
But then I'm big, with big hands. If you've tried a 5.5 phone and have trouble...
(Are you not near an Apple Store so you can compare them after the 17th?)

For many years, I guess since the iPod came out, I've only bought cargo pants, the big, closable side pockets are a boon. But then I don't think so much about my style as most women have to. :-)

I haven't used a watch for many years, and I don't text or work out much. But I might possibly get a Apple Watch just for how great it looks. (That was a big part of my reason for finally getting an iPhone, the iPhone 4.)

Ganesha Games said...

I'll be getting the 6 plus as soon as it is offered with a plan here in Italy. I ended up paying little more than 10 euros/month for my 4, it is still a rock solid phone...

but I've been clamoring for a larger screen and was ready to switch to a Sony or a Samsung if Apple didn't go big.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Exactly!!

Reviews of the Samsung Note 4 are really damn positive. Apple came in the last minute with this.

From the beginning, the small displays of phones have felt like a straightjacket to me, it'll be a pleasure to get this.

I have a Nokia 1520, which is fantastic hardware-wise, but there are so few apps for Windows Phone OS.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Janet, a pleasure to see how you can make up your mind swiftly and with certainty. :-)

TC [Girl] said...

And the 5.5 inch iPhone 6+ is over £250 ($400!) more expensive than that tablet!

Eo, here in the States, you lock into 2-year contracts where, [at least in my case, w/Sprint], where you become "eligible for an upgrade" in 1-year $75 off; 2-years $150 off, so...for instance, unless you are wanting more than the minimal memory, back when I started w/the iPhone, I think I paid a whopping $100!! And that could be because it was close to when the 5's came out... So, as was mentioned in the Keynote (which I LOVED, BTW; thanks for having provided that link!!), they are offering the lowest memory "5" phones for FREE, WITH a 2-year contract, as an incentive to continue to move whatever inventory they, still, have left on them...

And...I am going to have to wait until January to upgrade, from my 4S, because I'm not eligible for an upgrade, until then...BUT...when I do, it's most certainly going to be the '6 PLUS!' :-D LOVE the 'Apple Pay and can't WAIT to not have to constantly worry about STUPID passwords and credit card security, HOPEFULLY, as much w/that type of system...

--

I’ve tried writing a book on an iPhone 4.

Cool; I didn't realize that...

Can be done, but it gets old. This one, no problem. Portable keyboard, and boom, you’re a mobile writer. I'm actually thinking of a book I want to write on this. Get out of your home/office and yourself, good for the creative juices. (I like a good simple text editor which saves in the cloud, like My Writing Spot.)

I've been considering Scrivner; have you heard of it? Seems to get even better reviews that 'My Writing Spot.' I love the synching ability; and...I WOULD get a separate keyboard to use, as well...just the usual: which one feels the best; makes the most sense...

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Scrivener is apparently great. But it's complex, and it runs on Macs, not iPads or phones.

Maybe I'll use Scrivener one day when a projects demands the futures, for example having side-files with ideas and notes and data. But for now, I work best with K.I.S.S.

Anonymous said...

Janet,

If you cannot hold the phone of you choice, get some cardboard. Cut it to the size of the phone you are questioning. Stack layers together until you get to phone thinkness. Now, pick it up, "dial it" and talk away for awhile :-) Then decide.

Robert

Bronislaus Janulis / Framewright said...

Personally, I'm happy with the size of the 4S; works well as a communication device, and with teens, I do text, as that's how they communicate. Perfectly adequate as an e-reader; the text is scalable. Limited as a writing tool, but functional, as Pages syncs between the 4S, and my iPad Mini and desktop. I think it's a mistake to not offer an updated phone in the more compact size of the pre 5 generations. I've used the full size iPad, and am far happier with the mini size, and for a device I clip to my belt, smaller is more comfortable.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

OK, different strokes for different horses, to mix adages.

I think one would quickly get used to a 4.7 size. But they keep the 5s and the 5c in production, and very cheap.

I text too, sometimes. But on that size screen, it was a big pain, until Dictation came along. Even with a bit of correction, it beats trying to get my manfingers to hit those minuscule targets.

TC [Girl] said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
TC [Girl] said...

(Try that, again):

Just read this... Been meaning to ask you which of your phones is your favorite, as I'm closing in on the close date of my contract, and wanting the 6+

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