In a move that aims to make Apple competitive on the phablet market, the company has recently introduced a new iPhone with a very, very large screen – the iPhone 6 Plus. Just a year ago, no one would have believed that such a gargantuan phone may come out of Apple, but here it is in the flesh, sporting a massive 5.5” screen and the same beautiful metal body that's exhibited by its mainstream sibling – the iPhone 6. Speaking of the latter, we'd wager that most users who'll be getting Apple's new smartphone will be going for the 6. However, the 6 Plus being an entirely new thing for Apple, there's bound to be some serious interest in it as well.
In that case, how do people decide which one to get? Well, that's what this comparison is for – let's try to find the things that set these new iPhones apart and see how people should go about determining which one to buy.
Design
Equally beautiful, not so equally portable
It won't be a wrong statement to say that both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have the same exact design language. Both handsets look extremely cool in their metal bodies, with the only difference being the 6 Plus' dimensions being (a lot) bigger, at 6.22 x 3.06 x 0.28 inches (158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm), vs the much more compact 5.44 x 2.64 x 0.27 inches (138.1 x 67 x 6.9 mm) of the iPhone 6. So, that's the first major difference we'd like to point out here, and that's how big the 6 Plus is. Users who don't know much about the so called phablets should know that this thing is BIG – the 6 Plus may be remarkably thin, but it's a 100% phablet, so size is something you'll have to be ready to cope with, if that's the way you're willing to go. Meanwhile, the iPhone 6 is significantly bigger than previous generations of the iPhone, but it's still relatively easy to handle and use.
Button layout is exactly the same on both handsets, with the power key being on the right hand side, and the home and volume keys keeping their usual positions below the screen and on the left hand side, respectively. Despite the iPhone 6 Plus being bigger, the size of its physical buttons is the same as that of the iPhone 6. Thankfully, they are very easy to press on both handsets and don't cause any trouble.
One thing that continues to be missing from any iPhone is water resistance. Indeed, it would have been cool if any of these new iPhones could be submerged into water, like some of the Android flagships out there, but this would have probably compromised the design, so that's one trade-off that has to be made with Apple's sexy aluminum exteriors.
Turns out, size requires compromise – the iPhone 6's display appears slightly better calibrated than that of the massive 6 Plus
So, the first and most important difference here is that the 6 Plus' screen is much larger, at 5.5” compared to the iPhone 6's 4.7”. We still consider the display size of the iPhone 6 to be big enough in order to make the user experience with the phone a joy, but of course, for those who just can't get enough screen on their mobile device, the 6 Plus can offer even more. And of course, the 5.5” panel will make stuff like various multimedia content even more enjoyable on the 6 Plus.
With regards to resolution, the 6 Plus also has the finer display. Its resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels makes for the superb pixel density of 401 ppi. Of course, the iPhone 6 and its 750 x 1334 pixels (326 ppi) still display things in a crisp and beautiful way, but yeah, the visuals of the 6 Plus will be a notch cleaner.
Both panels feature great brightness output, with the iPhone 6 having the upper hand with its 600 nits, versus the 6 Plus' 570 nits. Meanwhile, though, the 6 Plus can get a bit dimmer (4 nits vs 7 nits), allowing for a slightly more comfortable viewing in the dark.
When it comes to color balance, the iPhone 6 once again has an advantage – its color temperature is about 7150 K, while the visuals of the 6 Plus are a bit colder with their 7300 K (the ideal temperature is considered to be 6500 K, with higher numbers making for colder-looking (bluish) colors). Delta E values are also higher on the 6 Plus, suggesting an overall more color-inaccurate screen. Thankfully, its numbers are still low enough for it to be considered both natural and good-looking, but it comes to show that it's not that easy to produce a super-sized touchscreen with great color characteristics.
The numbers below represent the amount of deviation in the respective property,observed when a display is viewed from a 45-degree angle as opposed to direct viewing.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set(area)of colors that a display can reproduce,with the sRGB colorspace(the highlighted triangle)serving as reference.The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x:CIE31' and 'y:CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance(balance between red,green and blue)across different levels of grey(from dark to bright).The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones,the better.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: