image: http://static.trustedreviews.com/94/00002e40f/4fa1_orh350w620/iPhone-6-iPhone-6Plus-6.jpg
Do you iPhone 6 or 6 Plus? We help you decide which of the Apple smartphones is the best fit for you
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been on sale for a while now and we've been living with them both to figure out which is best. They might look identical but both have their own strengths and weaknesses and vary wildly as user experiences.
Size is the clearest difference. The iPhone 6 might be the bigger than any iPhone before it but it is a minnow when compared to the giant iPhone 6 Plus. The bigger a phone is the more expensive it is too, and the 6 Plus comes with a price tag that matches it's hefty dimensions. Both will play nice with the Apple Watch of course.
Watch our iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus video
SEE ALSO: iPhone 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S6
Whether you like small phones or large there's more to consider than just size.
Battery life, screen, camera and design are key factors for a good phone. The iPhone 6 Plus wins out in a few of these areas compared to its little brother. Does this make it worth the extra cost? We think so.
iPhone 6 Plus: Curved aluminium, gold or light/dark silver 7.1mm thick, 172g
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus look identical. Their dimensions are different though. The iPhone 6 Plus is 2cm taller, 1cm wider and 2mm thicker though. Doesn't sound like much does it? When it comes to phones, though, it makes a huge difference
SEE ALSO: iPhone 6 camera tips and tricks
image: http://static.trustedreviews.com/94/00002e46b/e38a_orh616w616/iPhone-6-6Plus-5S-640.jpg
There's
no point skirting around the issue – there are times when using the
iPhone 6 Plus one handed is problematic. It's not as bad as you might
expect, our average sized hands cope most of the time, unlike with the
Nexus 6. The biggest problem with the iPhone 6 Plus is reaching the far
edges of the keyboard with one hand. Trying to hit the shift key or the
number toggle can turn into a quick game of hand twister.
It takes about a week to get used to the iPhone 6 Plus's size. The more you use it the easier it is to handle. Still as a phone for a stand-up commuter the iPhone 6 is a better fit. It’s slim and narrow enough to use with as much ease as the 4-inch iPhone 5S.
As you'd expect from Apple products both phones are beautifully designed and well-made. Toughened glass covers the display. This curves as it reaches the edges and then blends almost seamlessly into the aluminium chassis. The body feels cool and is grippy enough to keep a handle on. Even though it’s the exact same design, it works better on the smaller iPhone 6. You feel more in control when using it.
image: http://static.trustedreviews.com/94/00002e44f/2c25_orh616w616/iPhoen-6-Plus-Feature.jpg
Without
a case the iPhone 6 Plus feels like a liability. A case increases the
dimensions even more but also makes the phones a lot more manageable
thanks to the added grip.
Both phones are well crafted, but the smaller size of the iPhone 6 means it’s more ergonomic. It wins the design round.
Winner: iPhone 6
iPhone 6 Plus: 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LCD, optimisation in landscape
The bigger phone, surprise surprise, comes with a bigger screen. This brings a host of benefits in use with surfing the web, playing games and watching movies the pick of the bunch. You'll happily whittle away the hours on a long haul flight watching your favourite shows or films.
It's not just size, there's a difference when it comes to the resolution. The iPhone 6 Plus is full-HD and offers a 401PPI while the iPhone 6 is 1334 x 750 pixels, which amounts to 326PPI. The PPI refers to the pixels per inch, so the higher the number the sharper a display will be. The 6 Plus does have a sharper display but you won’t notice it too much unless you bring the phone up to your nose.
SEE ALSO: iPhone 6 Plus vs Galaxy Note 4
image: http://static.trustedreviews.com/94/00002e46c/3808_orh616w616/iPhone6-iPhone6Plus-1.jpg
Both
these displays are fine even though they don't have the infinite
contrast ratios AMOLED screens do. The main difference to consider is
that extra screen real estate. The 6 Plus has a few optimisations to
take advantage of its screen. it switches to landscape mode – just like
the iPad Mini 2.
Winner: iPhone 6 Plus
iPhone 6 Plus: 8MP camera, 1/3.06-inch sensor, true-tone flash,f/2.2 aperture dual-LED flash, phase detection, OIS
Both phones come with identical front facing cameras that do a good enough job taking selfies and video calling, particularly in lower light. They're not perfect though. Phones like the HTC Desire EYE pander to the selfie generation, these iPhones barely acknowledge it.
The rear cameras are similar too. Both use 8 megapixel sensors with 1.5 micron sensor pixels, dual tone flash and include phase detection, which help the iPhones focus with speed.
The major difference here is that the iPhone 6 Plus comes with optical image stabilisation (OIS). This helps you take better photos by eliminating the blur caused by the small hand movements you make when taking a picture.
SEE ALSO: iOS 8 tips, tricks and secrets
image: http://static.trustedreviews.com/94/00002e9d2/08ad/iPhone6-6Plus-camera-600.jpg
Here's an example of how the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus cameras compare
In well-lit conditions you won’t notice much difference because the camera can shoot fast enough to minimise the effects of small shudders. When the lights go down the OIS on the 6 Plus shows its worth. Photos are sharper and colours more vivid when it’s dingy, and this applies to video as well.
SEE ALSO: Best iPhone 6 apps
image: http://static.trustedreviews.com/94/00002e9d1/8c82_orh616w616/iPhone-6-iPhone-6-Plus-came.jpg
In low-light the OIS on the iPhone 6 Plus helps
Both phones have great point and shoot cameras, but the OIS makes the iPhone 6 Plus the better camera phone.
Winner: iPhone 6 Plus
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus run iOS 8 and the experiences are almost identical barring the landscape mode we spoke of earlier. Even though the screen is bigger you get the same amount of apps viewable on your home screen – 20 in total.
iOS 7’s radical design makeover remains the same on iOS 8 but Apple has delivered some new features that make it a better operating system. A mixture of Android-esque features and some new additions help lay the foundations for a greater push into health and home automation over the coming months.
You can now add third party keyboards, use widgets, access apps from the new notification centre and have the ability to work across Mac and iOS devices in more intuitive way. Apple’s own keyboard has also had a bit of a makeover with predictive words now making an appearance.
The iPhone 6 Plus’s larger display also means that you get a few more keyboard shortcuts in landscape mode. These won’t rock your world.
Winner: iPhone 6 Plus (just)
iPhone 6 Plus: Apple A8 64-bit and M8 co-processor
Apple’s new A8 is in both phones and it’s a great processor. It uses a 64-bit dual-core 1.4GHz CPU with a PowerVR GX6450 quad-core graphics chip supported by 1GB RAM.
In our benchmark tests both phones perform extremely well and beat much of the competition in graphics intensive tasks. That’s good news if you like gaming on your phone.
An M8 co-processor also makes an appearance. This looks after all the sensors on the phone and manages the data in a much more energy efficient manner, which means better battery life.
Winner: Draw
iPhone 6 Plus: 16GB (£619/$749), 64GB (£699/$849), 128GB (£789/$949), no micro SD card support
Neither of the new Apple phones offers expandable memory. However, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus do raise the storage ceiling, from 64GB to 128GB.
This year, you get to pick between 16GB models (for the scrimpers), 64GB ones and – for the flush – 128GB phones. There's no 32GB this year and Apple won't tell us why. We did ask.
An iPhone 6 Plus with 128GB of internal storage is dream for watching movies on, offering enough memory for a hundred or uncompressed SD-quality films or 25-plus HD ones. It's going to cost a whole lot of money to own it if you buy the iPhone outright though.
Winner: Draw
iPhone 6 Plus: 2,915 mAh battery, 14 hours video, 12 hours browsing
If you think the larger iPhone comes with a larger battery then give yourself a pat on the back because you are absolutely right. The iPhone 6 Plus has a 2915mAh battery compared to the 1810mAh one on the iPhone 6. It means that the iPhone 6 Plus blows its little brother out of the water when it comes to stamina.
If you are a normal user you will be able to make the 6 Plus last two full days, which puts it up there with flagship Android phones like the Xperia Z3, One M8 and the Samsung Galaxy S5. It just keeps going and going. The iPhone 6 isn’t bad by any means, it just doesn’t come close to matching the Plus. You’ll easily get a day of use out of it but it’s a phone that you will likely want to charge daily.
In our like for like tests running standard definition video until both phones run out entirely the iPhone 6 Plus lasts for 12 hours while the iPhone 6 for 10 hours.
However, the smaller size of the iPhone 6 means that you can plonk it into a charge case without it becoming too cumbersome. It’s not the most elegant solution, though.
Winner: iPhone 6 Plus by a mile
iPhone 6 Plus: 16GB (£619), 64GB (£699), 128GB (£789), no micro SD card support
These are Apple phones so they were never going to be cheap but the iPhone 6 Plus is more expensive weighing in at a whopping £789/$949 for the top specification 128GB version. By comparison the same spec iPhone 6 costs £699/$849.
If you do decide to buy one of these phones we’d recommend going for the 64GB one unless you like to store lots of media or tinker with video editing on your phone.
The 16GB versions only have 11GB of usable memory. That's not much at all and the lack of a microSD card means you can't add storage later. If that's important it's well worth considering the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Sony Xperia Z3 or HTC One M8.
Winner: iPhone 6
Next, read our guide to the best iPhone 6 deals
However, we do like that the extra display space of the iPhone 6 Plus and its greater battery life makes it more of a power user device.
We'd opt for the iPhone 6 Plus over the smaller iPhone. If you've got the deep pockets for it, both figuratively and literally, then it is the iPhone to get.
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been on sale for a while now and we've been living with them both to figure out which is best. They might look identical but both have their own strengths and weaknesses and vary wildly as user experiences.
Size is the clearest difference. The iPhone 6 might be the bigger than any iPhone before it but it is a minnow when compared to the giant iPhone 6 Plus. The bigger a phone is the more expensive it is too, and the 6 Plus comes with a price tag that matches it's hefty dimensions. Both will play nice with the Apple Watch of course.
Watch our iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus video
SEE ALSO: iPhone 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S6
Whether you like small phones or large there's more to consider than just size.
Battery life, screen, camera and design are key factors for a good phone. The iPhone 6 Plus wins out in a few of these areas compared to its little brother. Does this make it worth the extra cost? We think so.
iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: Design
iPhone 6: Curved aluminium, gold or light/dark silver, 6.8mm thick, 129giPhone 6 Plus: Curved aluminium, gold or light/dark silver 7.1mm thick, 172g
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus look identical. Their dimensions are different though. The iPhone 6 Plus is 2cm taller, 1cm wider and 2mm thicker though. Doesn't sound like much does it? When it comes to phones, though, it makes a huge difference
SEE ALSO: iPhone 6 camera tips and tricks
image: http://static.trustedreviews.com/94/00002e46b/e38a_orh616w616/iPhone-6-6Plus-5S-640.jpg
There's
no point skirting around the issue – there are times when using the
iPhone 6 Plus one handed is problematic. It's not as bad as you might
expect, our average sized hands cope most of the time, unlike with the
Nexus 6. The biggest problem with the iPhone 6 Plus is reaching the far
edges of the keyboard with one hand. Trying to hit the shift key or the
number toggle can turn into a quick game of hand twister.It takes about a week to get used to the iPhone 6 Plus's size. The more you use it the easier it is to handle. Still as a phone for a stand-up commuter the iPhone 6 is a better fit. It’s slim and narrow enough to use with as much ease as the 4-inch iPhone 5S.
As you'd expect from Apple products both phones are beautifully designed and well-made. Toughened glass covers the display. This curves as it reaches the edges and then blends almost seamlessly into the aluminium chassis. The body feels cool and is grippy enough to keep a handle on. Even though it’s the exact same design, it works better on the smaller iPhone 6. You feel more in control when using it.
image: http://static.trustedreviews.com/94/00002e44f/2c25_orh616w616/iPhoen-6-Plus-Feature.jpg
Without
a case the iPhone 6 Plus feels like a liability. A case increases the
dimensions even more but also makes the phones a lot more manageable
thanks to the added grip.Both phones are well crafted, but the smaller size of the iPhone 6 means it’s more ergonomic. It wins the design round.
Winner: iPhone 6
iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: Screen
iPhone 6: 4.7-inch 1334 x 750, “Retina HD” LCDiPhone 6 Plus: 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LCD, optimisation in landscape
The bigger phone, surprise surprise, comes with a bigger screen. This brings a host of benefits in use with surfing the web, playing games and watching movies the pick of the bunch. You'll happily whittle away the hours on a long haul flight watching your favourite shows or films.
It's not just size, there's a difference when it comes to the resolution. The iPhone 6 Plus is full-HD and offers a 401PPI while the iPhone 6 is 1334 x 750 pixels, which amounts to 326PPI. The PPI refers to the pixels per inch, so the higher the number the sharper a display will be. The 6 Plus does have a sharper display but you won’t notice it too much unless you bring the phone up to your nose.
SEE ALSO: iPhone 6 Plus vs Galaxy Note 4
image: http://static.trustedreviews.com/94/00002e46c/3808_orh616w616/iPhone6-iPhone6Plus-1.jpg
Both
these displays are fine even though they don't have the infinite
contrast ratios AMOLED screens do. The main difference to consider is
that extra screen real estate. The 6 Plus has a few optimisations to
take advantage of its screen. it switches to landscape mode – just like
the iPad Mini 2.Winner: iPhone 6 Plus
iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: Camera
iPhone 6: 8MP camera, 1/3.06-inch sensor, true-tone flash,f/2.2 aperture dual-LED flash, phase detectioniPhone 6 Plus: 8MP camera, 1/3.06-inch sensor, true-tone flash,f/2.2 aperture dual-LED flash, phase detection, OIS
Both phones come with identical front facing cameras that do a good enough job taking selfies and video calling, particularly in lower light. They're not perfect though. Phones like the HTC Desire EYE pander to the selfie generation, these iPhones barely acknowledge it.
The rear cameras are similar too. Both use 8 megapixel sensors with 1.5 micron sensor pixels, dual tone flash and include phase detection, which help the iPhones focus with speed.
The major difference here is that the iPhone 6 Plus comes with optical image stabilisation (OIS). This helps you take better photos by eliminating the blur caused by the small hand movements you make when taking a picture.
SEE ALSO: iOS 8 tips, tricks and secrets
image: http://static.trustedreviews.com/94/00002e9d2/08ad/iPhone6-6Plus-camera-600.jpg
Here's an example of how the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus cameras compareIn well-lit conditions you won’t notice much difference because the camera can shoot fast enough to minimise the effects of small shudders. When the lights go down the OIS on the 6 Plus shows its worth. Photos are sharper and colours more vivid when it’s dingy, and this applies to video as well.
SEE ALSO: Best iPhone 6 apps
image: http://static.trustedreviews.com/94/00002e9d1/8c82_orh616w616/iPhone-6-iPhone-6-Plus-came.jpg
In low-light the OIS on the iPhone 6 Plus helpsBoth phones have great point and shoot cameras, but the OIS makes the iPhone 6 Plus the better camera phone.
Winner: iPhone 6 Plus
iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: Software
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus: iOS 8The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus run iOS 8 and the experiences are almost identical barring the landscape mode we spoke of earlier. Even though the screen is bigger you get the same amount of apps viewable on your home screen – 20 in total.
iOS 7’s radical design makeover remains the same on iOS 8 but Apple has delivered some new features that make it a better operating system. A mixture of Android-esque features and some new additions help lay the foundations for a greater push into health and home automation over the coming months.
You can now add third party keyboards, use widgets, access apps from the new notification centre and have the ability to work across Mac and iOS devices in more intuitive way. Apple’s own keyboard has also had a bit of a makeover with predictive words now making an appearance.
The iPhone 6 Plus’s larger display also means that you get a few more keyboard shortcuts in landscape mode. These won’t rock your world.
Winner: iPhone 6 Plus (just)
iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: Performance
iPhone 6: Apple A8 64-bit and M8 co-processoriPhone 6 Plus: Apple A8 64-bit and M8 co-processor
Apple’s new A8 is in both phones and it’s a great processor. It uses a 64-bit dual-core 1.4GHz CPU with a PowerVR GX6450 quad-core graphics chip supported by 1GB RAM.
In our benchmark tests both phones perform extremely well and beat much of the competition in graphics intensive tasks. That’s good news if you like gaming on your phone.
An M8 co-processor also makes an appearance. This looks after all the sensors on the phone and manages the data in a much more energy efficient manner, which means better battery life.
Winner: Draw
iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: Storage
iPhone 6: 16GB (£539/$649), 64GB (£619/$749), 128GB (£699/$849), no micro SD card supportiPhone 6 Plus: 16GB (£619/$749), 64GB (£699/$849), 128GB (£789/$949), no micro SD card support
Neither of the new Apple phones offers expandable memory. However, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus do raise the storage ceiling, from 64GB to 128GB.
This year, you get to pick between 16GB models (for the scrimpers), 64GB ones and – for the flush – 128GB phones. There's no 32GB this year and Apple won't tell us why. We did ask.
An iPhone 6 Plus with 128GB of internal storage is dream for watching movies on, offering enough memory for a hundred or uncompressed SD-quality films or 25-plus HD ones. It's going to cost a whole lot of money to own it if you buy the iPhone outright though.
Winner: Draw
iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: Battery Life
iPhone 6: 1,810 mAh battery, 11 hours video, 11 hours browsingiPhone 6 Plus: 2,915 mAh battery, 14 hours video, 12 hours browsing
If you think the larger iPhone comes with a larger battery then give yourself a pat on the back because you are absolutely right. The iPhone 6 Plus has a 2915mAh battery compared to the 1810mAh one on the iPhone 6. It means that the iPhone 6 Plus blows its little brother out of the water when it comes to stamina.
If you are a normal user you will be able to make the 6 Plus last two full days, which puts it up there with flagship Android phones like the Xperia Z3, One M8 and the Samsung Galaxy S5. It just keeps going and going. The iPhone 6 isn’t bad by any means, it just doesn’t come close to matching the Plus. You’ll easily get a day of use out of it but it’s a phone that you will likely want to charge daily.
In our like for like tests running standard definition video until both phones run out entirely the iPhone 6 Plus lasts for 12 hours while the iPhone 6 for 10 hours.
However, the smaller size of the iPhone 6 means that you can plonk it into a charge case without it becoming too cumbersome. It’s not the most elegant solution, though.
Winner: iPhone 6 Plus by a mile
iPhone 6 Plus vs iPhone 6: Price
iPhone 6: 16GB (£539), 64GB (£619), 128GB (£699), no micro SD card supportiPhone 6 Plus: 16GB (£619), 64GB (£699), 128GB (£789), no micro SD card support
These are Apple phones so they were never going to be cheap but the iPhone 6 Plus is more expensive weighing in at a whopping £789/$949 for the top specification 128GB version. By comparison the same spec iPhone 6 costs £699/$849.
If you do decide to buy one of these phones we’d recommend going for the 64GB one unless you like to store lots of media or tinker with video editing on your phone.
The 16GB versions only have 11GB of usable memory. That's not much at all and the lack of a microSD card means you can't add storage later. If that's important it's well worth considering the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Sony Xperia Z3 or HTC One M8.
Winner: iPhone 6
Next, read our guide to the best iPhone 6 deals
iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: Verdict
Big or small? Apple has taken real pains to make sure the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus offer a consistent experience. Similar screen tech, the same processor and similar-grade cameras make sure there’s no weak link here.However, we do like that the extra display space of the iPhone 6 Plus and its greater battery life makes it more of a power user device.
We'd opt for the iPhone 6 Plus over the smaller iPhone. If you've got the deep pockets for it, both figuratively and literally, then it is the iPhone to get.
