Iphone 6 -Review

Update: After upgrading our iPhone 6 to iOS 9 we revisited the handset to see how it was getting on. We've updated our review with the findings, and its new competition in the iPhone SE.

Why do we have the Apple iPhone 6? Well, back in 2013, despite record sales, the Cupertino brand was heading for a fall. The brand had been trading on the same phone for four years, and something big was needed to keep it current.

So with that, the iPhone 6, and its bigger brother, the iPhone 6 Plus, were born to keep Apple at the sharp end of a market that was starting to lust after powerful, big-screen smartphones with clever and premium design.

• Compare: all the best iPhone 6 deals

The iPhone 6 certainly addresses a number of the problems Apple had developed, coming with a much larger screen (although not dramatically increasing the size of the phone) a boosted processor, better camera, improved battery and, crucially, overhauled design. Much of the ground work that went into the iPhone 6S was done here, with the iPhone 6.

This is the sixth iPhone I've reviewed, and there's a distinct sense that this one is really rather different.

I wrote in 2013 that Apple was becoming more aware that the time when it could define what consumers would buy in the smartphone was ending – and with the 4.7-inch screen, it clearly had to admit defeat in the smaller screen market.

There will be some who will miss that 4-inch screen size, maintaining that they don't want a bigger display on their phone – but nearly all of those people won't have spent any appreciable time with a larger device, and I believe that a good portion of you thinking you need a smaller phone will quickly come to appreciate the power a bigger handset brings, without compromising quality.

Apple's now appeased those longing for a new 4-inch handheld though, with the launch of the iPhone SE. It sports the specs of the iPhone 6S, uses the body of the now-discontinued iPhone 5S and sports a lower price tag than the iPhone 6, giving the latter some tough new competition.

But while the iPhone 6 has answered a lot of the problems I've had with previous iterations of Apple's handsets, there are some issues that still swirled when I handled the phone for the first time – and many of them persist even now that the iPhone 6 has been superseded.

Why did Apple decide to not join the masses with a really high-res screen? Why is the iPhone 6 still one of the most expensive phones on the market? Has Apple done enough to improve the quite dire battery life of previous models, especially at a time when many high-end Android phones are easily chugging through a day's hard use without thirsting for a charger's caress?

Let's take a quick look at the price – and it's not pretty.

At launch you were looking at £539 for the 16GB version, £619 for the 64GB option and £699 for the 128GB model.

That's since dropped to US$549 (£459, AU$929) for the 16GB version and US$649 (£539, AU$1,079) for the 64GB option, with the 128GB handset having been discontinued with the arrival of the iPhone 6S.

That's about as much as you'd pay for a brand new Android flagship just a few months after launch, yet the iPhone 6 is no longer the top model in its range.

Then you've got the iPhone SE which has the same features as the newer iPhone 6S for $150 (£100, AU$250) less than the iPhone 6. You'll have to compromise on screen size, but you could get a better phone for less.

Design

Let's take a look at the first thing most people will wonder about before picking up the iPhone 6: how will it actually feel in the hand?

This is a big departure for Apple, marking a time when it's admitted that the industrial, sharp design of the last four iPhone models is a little outdated and needs to up the ergonomics to really compete.

Well, with the Apple iPhone 6 we're looking at one of the thinnest and sleekest handsets in the market – still. It's got a strong combination of metal back (which feels exceptionally premium, borrowing bucketloads of design language from the iPad Air) and the way the screen curves into the chassis gives it a slight lozenge feel.

The iPhone 6 looks the business, and at 6.9mm thin it's very nice to hold, though the Samsung Galaxy S6 has since edged it out at 6.8mm thick. I do still feel that phones that push harder on ergonomics are a better choice though – the HTC One M9 bows out at the back and fits in the palm a little better – but that's quibbling. This iPhone just feels really well made.

Apple has always favoured a flatter phone than the rest of the market though, and placed on a desk it looks great. It does feel great in the hand too, but as said others impress more if I'm being hyper-critical.

There's also the issue of the large plastic strips that flow through the top and bottom of the device. Given metal is a nightmare material to try and get radio signal to penetrate, these are clearly there to offset that.

While the plastic does seem to give good signal performance for the most part, it's nothing amazing, and to my eyes they're a little unsightly and ruin the sleek back of the iPhone 6; their presence seems at odds with Apple's design ethos.

The other big design change is to the power button, which has now been moved to the right-hand side of the phone. This makes a lot of sense and, given the phone is now a larger device at 138.1 x 67 x 6.9mm, hitting the top of the handset is a much harder task, so moving the button is the right thing to do.

However, that doesn't mean the metallic keys don't have a little wiggle to them. Running your hand up and down the sides idly will result in you noticing a very slight looseness to the power and volume buttons... I'm in danger of being too critical here, but for the price it's not the sort of thing I expect to see.

The other important design change here is the camera now protrudes slightly on the rear of the phone. It's good to see that happening, as it shows that Apple isn't willing to compromise on camera quality in order to just whack in a thinner phone.

The protrusion is a little worrying in that laying the Apple iPhone 6 down flat on a table could see scratches appearing, but the sapphire glass that covers the lens should ensure that's pretty safe.

The rest of the iPhone 6 is very similar to the iPhone 5S, with the speakers at the bottom flanking the Lightning port. Well, I say speakers: it's just the one speaker, but thanks to the slightly elongated bottom of the phone you won't cover it when holding the phone in landscape orientation.

This was irritating when trying to game or watch a movie without headphones on older iPhones – but this upgrade, combined with the lightness of the iPhone 6, means you won't have a similar problem for the most part, as the hands sit lower and free of the speaker generally.

Sadly the headphone port still resides at the bottom of the iPhone 6, meaning you'll still probably get your phone out of your pocket the wrong way around when listening to music.

Going back to the iPhone 6 after a prolonged spell using the iPhone 6S as a daily driver, it's remarkable how much lighter the older phone feels in the hand. You can feel every one of those extra 14 grams, and it's the one area in which the newer iPhone suffers by comparison.

Let me make one thing very clear though: the Apple iPhone 6 is another iconic handset in terms of design for Apple. It's not the best looking on the market (I'm still giving that title to the HTC One M9), but it's definitely right up there, and for the price I'd expect nothing less.

You can pick up the iPhone 6 in Space Gray (the colour I've had on test here), or the more standard Silver. There's no longer a Gold model available, and nor do you get access to the snazzy Rose Gold colour option that debuted with the iPhone 6S.

The important features of the Apple iPhone 6 are hard to list. On the one hand there are so many of them that I don't really know where to start, but on the other hand the iPhone 6 is very much an iteration of a long line of Apple smartphones, and shares a lot of features with previous smartphones.

However, there are some standout additions that I want to talk about.

Screen

The screen of the iPhone 6 is definitely an upgrade from before – you can't increase the size, resolution, colour reproduction and power efficiency without calling it an improvement.

The resolution on offer is 1334 x 750, which is a change from the 1136 x 640 resolution of previous iPhones. Thanks to being increased to 4.7 inches though it's still 326 PPI, which means you'll get a very familiar experience visually.

My technology reviewer hat wants to criticise Apple for not going Full HD with the display here, let alone QHD like the Samsung Galaxy S6, but when I first picked up the iPhone 6 I wasn't sure if it was a real or dummy device, such was the closeness of the display to the glass.

The improved contrast ratio (the difference between the deepest blacks and the whitest whites) is really something to behold, and the colour reproduction is very impressive too. It's not in the same league as the Samsung Galaxy S6's Super AMOLED screen, but then again a lot of people feel that screen is too saturated in colour.

It's worth noting that Apple has pretty much stuck with the exact same screen for the iPhone 6S. The latest iPhone might have 3D Touch pressure-sensing technology stashed within, but the picture is nigh-on identical to its predecessor. In that sense, the iPhone 6 screen remains as good as it gets at this size.

In terms of a more scientific approach, DisplayMate has conducted in-depth tests of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus displays, comparing them to the smaller previous model – and there's good news and bad news here for prospective iPhone 6 buyers.

The good news is that the iPhone 6 is a big step forward on the iPhone 5S. The screen is more correct when it comes to colour reproduction, and as mentioned the contrast ratio (which is important for the more atmospheric movies) is improved, as I noticed in the original techradar tests.

However, here's the bad news: the iPhone 6 Plus has a much better screen. This is mostly due to the resolution, with DisplayMate noting at the time that the Plus has "the Best Performing LCD that we have ever tested".

• See the full DisplayMate findings here

In short, the findings corroborated our own. The iPhone 6 hits the marks when it comes to day to day use, but if you're after better resolution, brightness or more intense colour reproduction, there are better options on the market, with better tech.

As such, I'm not going to give Apple a pass here for that lower-resolution screen. Why are we looking at what is essentially a 720p screen when as far back as 2013 we were seeing smartphones using a Full HD display at the same size?

Okay, so arguments can be made that it saves battery, and that the increase in sharpness is imperceptible at this size. And they're not incorrect statements. It's a great-looking display, and if you've got fewer pixels to drive then the battery will hold out longer.

Rivals such as the now-defunct Samsung Galaxy Alpha and the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact both offer similar dimensions, and are also at the same resolution, meaning there's been some of the same thinking here by other brands in terms of the lower pixel density.

But there's a cost reduction associated – the Z5 Compact in particular – where Apple is sitting pretty at the top of the pile when it comes to price.

The difference in sharpness is visible when the iPhone 6 is held next to a 1080p device, let alone a QHD one. Something like the HTC One M9 or Samsung Galaxy S5 has sharper, crisper text, and the movie-watching experience is definitely superior.

You might argue that people won't compare the Apple iPhone 6 with a Full HD display, but of course they will: the iPhone 6 Plus has one, and most people will hold both in their hands before deciding which to choose.

I wouldn't disparage a phone for not having the best spec if it wasn't warranted, but for Apple to launch a flagship without packing the best screen technology possible seems a little unfair.

There's a clear lack of clarity in the crispness of the text and images, especially when browsing the web, and while you probably won't miss it much when solely using the iPhone thanks to the enhanced screen technology, I can't see a reason for Apple not sticking in an amazing screen here.

This issue has arguably only gotten worse with the iPhone 6S, but let's not kid ourselves – it was a big enough drag with the launch of the iPhone 6.

Battery life or design can be the only real problem here – and if it's the former, then Apple should be having a long, hard look at its OS to find out why it can't handle a Full HD screen when competitors were managing it ages ago, and are now moving on to QHD displays.

If it's the latter, then the thickness could have easily been increased by a millimetre to accommodate, and it wouldn't have bothered anyone – just look at the 2mm-thicker iPhone 6S for evidence of that.

Camera upgrades

I'll be giving this a lot more focus (I thank you) later on in the review, but for now it's important to really see what Apple is offering from a top-level perspective given that it's stuck once more with an 8MP sensor.

This is a bold move in my eyes when rivals like Samsung and Sony are pushing harder and harder with improved megapixel counts, almost hitting 21MP. So, on the face of it, it seems that Apple was woefully behind the competition, even at the time of the iPhone 6's launch in late 2014.

However, regular readers will know that I'm firmly in the camp of quality over megapixel numbers, and while the rivals' snappers are very good indeed, there's no reason to think that decent pictures can't be grabbed from even a 5MP sensor – after all, that's still good enough to fill a Full HD TV.

So what's Apple done here? Well, the main talking point is Focus Pixels, additional elements that work out where light is actually coming from, so they can provide directional information to the camera to focus more quickly.

This, combined with the lower MP count (which makes the task of taking a photo less onerous for the sensor) improves snapping speed.

However, that's in theory. I didn't notice anything particularly speedy in taking rapid pictures (not counting burst mode) but the additional time did seem to result in well-focused pictures.

Apple's still got the Auto HDR mode on offer here as well, which means a larger selection of your photos will look better naturally. There are also new camera modes to play with, with HD panoramas and a new timelapse feature that's integrated into the app itself.

I feel annoyed at myself for getting excited about the new timelapse feature, testing it out the first day I got my hands on the phone – in reality, it's been on offer for a long time through standalone apps in the App Store, so it shouldn't be something to be lauded.

It's okay as a feature too. I can't see when you'd really need it, and you do need to keep the phone plugged in and ideally on a tripod, but it's not a bad thing to have, and performs well if you've always wondered what the dawn breaking outside your bedroom window looks like (spoiler: it's pitch black for most of it).

It should be pointed out that the iPhone 6 doesn't get the new Live Photos feature introduced with the iPhone 6S, even with the shift to iOS 9. I can't say I'm too bothered though – Apple's automated three-second videos have proven to be a nice gimmick, but nothing more at this stage.

The other element that's been improved on the iPhone 6 camera is the video: Slo-Mo now can pump out 240 frames per second for smoother super-slow movies, and 1080p standard video is now shot at a very smooth 60fps.

Both of these upgrades actually give that 'hyper real' effect that some movies have exhibited at your local multiplex in recent years (there's the Hobbit films, and, er…) and while I really like the way it looks on the phone screen, there will be some that think it's too much.

I'd agree with that for a cinematic shot, but for home videos I think it really adds a touch of class.

Facetime HD camera

The smartphone self-portrait craze shows no signs of going anywhere, and Apple has joined the contest to make people think it has made the ultimate 'selfie' phone.

It makes me sadder every time I write that word.

Again, I'll dig further into this new feature later in the review, but it's definitely a much better front-facing camera, and comes with the features I'd be looking for if I was into taking loads of photos of my face.

For instance, the f/2.2 aperture ratio of the 1.2MP camera is pretty darn good, and helps to capture good photos in low light. On top of that you've got an HDR mode for snaps and video, which appears to fire automatically, as there's no option to toggle it from within the app itself.

And there are the lovely pre-shot filters to have a look at as well, so if taking a picture of yourself isn't enough, you can always make it look weirder.

However, it's not got the resolution power of some of the other handsets on the market – the HTC One M9, for instance, has a much better front-facing camera, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 even incorporates a panorama mode for the self-portrait lovers.

I'm not saying this is critical technology, but if you're one to buy a phone for the pictures you can take of yourself, there are better options out there