Apple iPhone 6 Plus First Look: The Phablet Journey Begins Impressively

Rating:

4.0/5

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PROS

• More than Impressive Design
• Slimmest
• Grand Experience

CONS

• Too Big for one hand
• Very Expensive

"An Apple a day, keeps the doctor away." Apparently, that's the an ideology a major portion of people around the globe go by, when it comes to premium smartphones. Indeed, Apple has had a major shift of power in the smartphone wars with its iPhones, compared to its nearest rival Samsung.

While it still confuses us that the late Steve Jobs once mentioned his company would never make iPhone (Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, read the book), Apple makes brilliant profit in numbers each year with the sale of a new iPhone. And accordingly, we have our iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus for 2014.

Apple's iPhones have always screamed class, above anything else. Or maybe, a sort of a status quotient (if you must). However, this is the first time the Cupertino-based tech giant has entered the big display arena. While Samsung has already tried out that territory and even reaped fruits off it, it's still uncharted lands in the book of Apple.

But since everything has a first time, the iPhone 6 Plus is already here are already a big hit. While the Apple faithful remain divided on whether or not the company should be making phablets like Samsung, it also is spoilt for choices on whether to buy the handy iPhone 6 or the bigger iPhone 6 Plus.

Taking the 6 Plus into consideration for the time being, we have been sitting with one of the review units Apple provided us. And let us tell you that it's actually true when Apple fans say "once you get into it, you can never get out." Sounds more or less like a teen who just discovered the Grateful Dead.

But whatever might the case be, the iPhone 6 Plus is indeed one of the most advanced piece of technology we have seen all year, in the smartphone business. It hasn't been long since we started playing around with the device. And after a deep look on the first day into the device, we have our first look ready.

Apple iPhone 6 Plus First Look: Form Factor and Operating System

Making it the biggest iPhone in history, the iPhone 6 Plus is more or less identical to the iPhone 6 in terms of styling and dimensions. But then again, it's much larger. In fact, the handset is significantly bigger than the iPhone 5s and is of a David-Goliath combination compared to the iPhone 4S and the iPhone models before that.

This Apple-made phablet, however, is defined mainly by its screen. While some of its competitors will in fact point out that the specs are tad less than what others are offering, but we think Apple has nicely balanced it out for the handset. The "Retina HD" display has a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels.

And while most will indeed point out the fact that a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels has already been available for most Android smartphones over a year ago. And that it has also made way into many a budget handsets in recent times. We hardly believe any of them has the colour accuracy, brightness and vibrancy of the iPhone 6 Plus.

The big phablet from Apple measures 158.1mm x 77.8mm x 7.1mm and weighs in at 172g. With its 5.5-inch display, we feel Apple has nicely balanced out it all in terms of the overall feel when holding the handset. While it's not that hard to slide it into your pocket with its impossibly thin structure (at 7.1mm thickness), you will be reminded time to time about its presence.

The new iPhone 6 Plus' curved aluminium sides and rounded corners are something new compared to what we last saw in the iPhone 5S. The glass front of the phone extends to the edges and has also been curved to meet the aluminium frame of the handset.

In terms of the software that's running inside, you don't really need a genius to tell you that it runs the new iOS. However, it has to be said that Apple hasn't really made any modifications to the operating system so that it can make better use of the iPhone 6 Plus' grand display.

That being said, the iPhone 6 Plus does ship with the very latest version of Apple's mobile platform, in the form of iOS 8. And hence it brings a host of enhancement features and improvements, that sides with new apps and features. Moreover, it is a fresh look from the iOS 7 that we saw last year.

Apple's previously introduced drag and drop folder system still works out like a charm, while the Control Panel is present when you swipe up from the base of the display. Apart from that, you will find the familiar rows of apps that have been displayed on home screens on the iPhone 6 Plus. As expected, during initial step up you will be given the option of two icon and text sizes.

The notification bar has also been offered a few tweaks here and there for iOS 8. For example, the previous three tabs (comprising of Today, All and Missed) have been updated to a more relevant two options (Today and Notifications). This, according to us, offers a cleaner experience compared to the iOS of yesteryear.