iPhone 6 Plus review - bigger and better

You certainly can't accuse Apple of messing around and not going the whole hog. Once it had decided that larger screens were the way to go it pulled the big iPhone 6 and the even bigger iPhone 6 Plus out of the bag, which we're looking at here. All of Apple's advertising may say that the new model's 'Bigger than bigger', but you don't truly appreciate the size of the iPhone 6 Plus until you pick it up for the first time. It's then that you realise that it's an absolute beast of a phone, with its big 5.5in screen dominating the front.

This is the same size screen as on the LG G3, but the iPhone 6 Plus is considerably taller and the much bigger phone. It's largely due to the need to fit the TouchID fingerprint sensor underneath the screen. We suspect that the larger bezel at the top is to keep the phone symmetrical. Our initial concern was that the iPhone 6 Plus was going to be a little too large to carry around, and a little uncomfortable in the hand. While there's no getting away from the fact that the phone is going to be too big for some people, it's certainly not too big full stop, and it's surprisingly comfortable to hold.

This time around Apple has gone for a smooth curved design, with the glass curving down to meet the aluminium body. As well as giving it nicer feel, compared to the iPhone 5S' sharper, squared-off edges, it makes the iPhone 6 Plus that bit grippier in the hand. It helps that it weighs just 172g (it's heavier than plastic-made phones, but we'd take a bit more weight and metal any day) and is only 7.1mm thick, as these factors stop the phone from feeling too bulky in your hand.

Of course, the iPhone 6 Plus looks every bit as gorgeous as previous models. Absolute precision engineering and the full aluminium body give this phone that reassuringly-premium feel that we've come to expect from Apple. Metal panels are joined with plastic inserts, which are most likely there to improve mobile reception, with metal notoriously bad at blocking signals. While this could look a little cheap, Apple's joined to the two together well and the handset looks fantastic. As with the 5S, the handset is available in Space Grey, Silver and Gold. All colours are neatly done, so it's really a matter of personal preference as to which one you want.

Some people have complained that the iPhone 6 Plus bends. Apparently, the issue comes from the handset being kept in tight back pockets, bending out of shape when people sit down. We've not run into this problem ourselves, Apple has put the handset through strenuous tests, and most the videos showing the handset bending have used excessive force. In any case, the tough sturdy frame of the iPhone 6 Plus feels rigid enough. It goes without saying that, as with any expensive piece of electronics, it's worth treating the phone with care.

As the phone is so much larger than previous models, Apple has had to change the design slightly. Most noticeable is that the power button has moved from the top to the right-hand side of the phone, where it's easier to reach with a finger or thumb, depending on which hand you're holding it in. It can still be a little bit of a reach, particularly for people with small hands - it's another good reason to try the phone in store before you buy to make sure that you're comfortable with the size.

On the other side of the handset it's business as normal, with the volume buttons and the silent mode rocker switch still there. We're pleased to see that this physical switch still exists (it looks set to be taken off the iPad Air 2), as it's still the most convenient and easiest way of turning on a silent mode, on any current phone.

Screen

Of course, it's the display that's going to get all of the attention, as the 5.5in display takes up the bulk of the front of the handset. It doesn't have the much rumoured sapphire glass that everyone was hoping for, but has ion-strengthened glass instead. This is scratch and shatter resistent, but it still pays to be careful with the handset and a case or screen protector is a must.

In order to keep to its policy of shipping Retina devices, where you can't see individual pixels at normal viewing distances, Apple has had to increase the pixel count from the iPhone 5S' display, giving the iPhone 6 Plus a Full HD (1,920x1,080) display.

The LG G3 has a higher 2,560x1,440 resolution. In fairness side-by-side, its screen is slightly sharper, particularly when viewing high-resolution photos. However, it's not streets ahead in terms of sharpness and in day-to-day use, particularly with text, you're not likely to really see many differences. At 401 pixels per inch (ppi) it's fair to say that the iPhone 6 has enough resolution and its screen is more than sharp enough. Besides, adding more pixels would most likely increase drain on the battery and put more strain on the CPU, too. If you care about having the highest-resolution phone, then this isn't the model for you; if you want a sharp clear display as part of a bigger package, then the iPhone 6 Plus is a great choice. Besides, the LG G3 has a rather dim screen in comparison.

As usual, Apple has stuck with LCD technology for the display, fitting an LED-backlit IPS panel. The display has dual-domain pixels, which help improve viewing angles. There have been some complaints about screens that use this technology before saying that black can look a bit purple; we didn't get this on the iPhone 6 at all. Viewing angles are superb. Compared side-by-side with the iPhone 5S, at extreme angles the older phone takes a slight purple-tinge to the screen, but the iPhone 6 maintains its pure colours.

Black levels and contrast are said to have been improved for the iPhone 6 Plus, and the readings from our colour calibrator seemed to confirm this with a low black level of 0.4cm/m2 and a contrast ratio of 1,403:1. That's one of the best results we've seen for an LCD display, managing deep blacks and great contrast. Screen brightness is also very good at 572.13cm/m2. There are few screens brighter than this, and it tells, as we found the phone incredibly easy to view outside. Even better, a new polarised filter on top means that colours stay accurate when you wear sunglasses. Wearing sunglasses we found that our iPhone 5S had a slight purple tinge to it, where as the iPhone 6 Plus did not.

Colour accuracy is something that's hard to measure. DisplayMate tested the iPhone 6 Plus and measured colour reproduction at more than 100 per cent of the sRGB colour gamut; sister-site PC Pro registered coverage at 95.5 per cent of sRGB; our own calibrator said that it was producing 90.5 per cent of the sRGB colour gamut. Given that ourselves and PC Pro use the same software and the same colour calibrator, it would appear as though Apple uses two different panels. From the graph below, measured from our iPhone 6 Plus, most of the slightly-reduced coverage appears to be in the red portion of the spectrum, with the phone displaying a little more blue and green than the gamut defines. Still, that kind of score is still pretty good and puts the iPhone 6 Plus on a level with the LG G3 and HTC One (m8). Using our test photographs it's hard to see any issues with the screen, and fine detail and vibrant colours were all displayed well.

iOS 8

Apple has installed iOS 8 on the iPhone 6 Plus. Our iOS 8 review goes into more detail, but in short, this is the best mobile OS that Apple has ever released. It looks great, is more open (you can install your own keyboards, for example), and works brilliantly across all of your Apple devices. For example, you can answer a phone call on your iPad, or start writing an email on your iPhone and finish on your iPad. With the iPhone 6 Plus and its higher-resolution screen, iOS 8 adds in a new landscape mode. On the home screen this puts the Dock vertically down the right-hand side of the screen, and rearranges everything else to fit. Given the size of the phone, this mode may be more comfortable for a lot of people to use.

Apple has also added in a landscape mode for emails, putting the current mail box down the left-hand side of the screen, with a preview window appearing in the right. It's similar to the way that the iPad Mail client works. It's a nice little touch that makes the most of the extra resolution and screen size, and we hope that other developers also adjust their apps to work in the same way.

You don't always want to use your iPhone in landscape mode, so Apple has added in a new mode called Reachability. Double-tap the home button (don't click, just tap) and the whole screen slides down so that you can reach the top of it with a thumb. It's useful, but a little basic in operation and you kind of think that Apple could have done a bit more with the feature, particular as there's a ugly block of blank screen at the top. Don't forget, there are still the normal gestures, so you can swipe on the left-hand side of the screen to go back in Safari. Admittedly, the iPhone 6 Plus is still very large and there will be times you need to grasp it two-handed, but we found that we could generally get away with using it one-handed.

One area that some developers need to work on is upgrading their apps for the high-resolution display. Existing iPhone 5S apps are scaled to fit the screen, but if they don't include iPhone 6 Plus-sized icons and text, they look a little blurry and lose the sharpness they once had. This should change pretty rapidly, as both iPhone 6 models have sold so well that it's in the developers' interest to update their apps.

Keyboard

With the extra space available on the phone, Apple hasn't simply stretched its old keyboard to fit. Instead, you now get a couple of extra keys in landscape mode, including a button to delete all text (great for filling in forms when you make a mistake) and arrow keys for more finely moving the cursor.

Apple's new QuickType keyboard has been installed, which gives you three word or phrase suggestions as you start to type. It bases the choice both on the application (messages use more slang than email), and the person you're talking to (a friend has looser language than colleague), learning as it goes based on how you've previously entered text. We're big fans of it, with the new system causing fewer errors than the old autocorrect system that only gave you a single choice and often 'corrected' automatically, whether you wanted it to or not. Of course, if you don't like what you get then you can simply replace the keyboard with a third-party one of your choice.

TouchID

TouchID makes a welcome return in the iPhone 6 Plus. Other handsets may have a fingerprint reader for security, but none works as well as TouchID, where you only have to touch, not swipe, to activate it. This lets you click TouchID to turn on the phone, then hold to unlock it all in one easy motion. On top of that Apple has now opened up the system, so app developers can use it for authentication and to protect private details. It's early days yet, and Amazon only supports the tech for its US app. 

NFC and Apple Pay

Along with the iPhone 6, the iPhone 6 Plus is the first Apple handset to have NFC built in. This is designed to be used with the Apple Pay system, which will let you pay for goods using contactless payments in store (it can also be used for online transactions, and NFC is not required for this). However, the system is only available in the US for now, so we haven't been able to test it. As soon as it rolls out in the UK we'll update this review to explain how well it works.

Performance - Apple A8

Inside is a brand-new Apple A8 SoC. This has a dual-core, 64-bit processor running at 1.4GHz. Now, it may sound a little slow in comparison to the 2GHz+ quad-core CPUs installed in Android phones, but performance is about more than specifications. In this case, the A8 is highly-optimised for Apple's hardware and operating system, so it doesn't need a ridiculous clock speed or more cores in order to be fast. Running the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark, the iPhone 6 Plus completed the test in 365.8ms, which makes it the fastest phone we've seen to run this test.

Apple has also boosted the performance of the graphics chip. Running the 3D Mark Ice Storm test returned a score of 17,509 on the Unlimited test, which puts the iPhone 6 Plus up there with the flagship Android phones. Apple has also created the Metal API, which will let games developers squeeze more performance out of games and make the look more detailed. Given the clout Apple has, lots of developers will start using it, so expect to see more and more enabled games. For a look at the technology in action, Pocket Gamer has side-by-side comparisons of games running with and without metal.

It goes without saying that iOS 8 is beautifully optimised for the A8, producing super smooth transitions and no slow-down wherever. We keep saying it, but Android isn't quite there yet and iOS on Apple hardware has the distinct edge.

Battery life

With the A8 comes a new 20nm manufacturing process, which means that the SoC draws less power and is more efficient than the A7 that came before it. That's good, as there's a much bigger screen to power here, with an always-on backlight.

Fortunately, the larger dimensions of the phone have meant that Apple has fitted the biggest battery it has ever put in a smartphone: a 2,915mAh model. The combination of this big battery and power-efficient SoC gave us the best battery life we've seen from an iPhone in our video playback test, lasting 14h and 48m. That's an improvement over the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 6, so you'll easily be able to get through a day's worth of heavy usage with this handset. It's important to note that with the screen off and the phone generally synchronising in the background, it sips power. As such, we found that we could go an entire day of fairly heavy usage, including syncing email accounts constantly, browsing the web and using maps, and still have enough charge left to not panic that the phone's about to die.

It's charged via the Lightning port on the bottom of the phone. Apple still ships the same 1A USB charger as with previous iPhones; however, using the iPad's 2.1A charger or similar high-power third-party adaptor will charge your phone much more quickly.

M8 co-processor, fitness and Health

Sitting alongside the A8 is the M8 co-processor, which is a low-power part that can constantly monitor the phone's sensors. This means that fitness apps can use the built in accelerometer, gyroscope and, new to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, barometer, without draining the battery too much. With the iPhone 5S the M7 felt rather under-utilised, but the iPhone 6 Plus already has a use for it via the Health app. This can use the M8 and phone's sensors to track how many steps you take a day and, based on the barometer information, how many flights of stairs you've climbed.

Health doesn't present this figure to you automatically, and you have to add Flights Climbed and Steps to the Dashboard manually to start collecting the data. Accuracy isn't perfect and it would occasionally miss the odd stair climb or two, but having this facility built straight into the phone is at least useful for giving a general overview of how fit you are.

Health can also pull in more data from other apps, so you should be able to get more accurate tracking using third-party fitness devices and apps. There are few that support Health at the moment, so we couldn't test this feature out, although we expect this to change in the coming months.

Camera

The camera is one of the most important aspects of a smartphone, so it's no surprise to see that Apple has upgraded the model here. The physical sensor is still the same size 1/3" model with large 1.5µm pixels as in the iPhone 5S. While more resolution was expected, this is another case of Apple simply not playing the resolution game: more pixels on a sensor this size, would mean that each pixel would get less light and there would be more noise. Apple has also stuck with the same f/2.2 aperture lens.

While these features haven't changed, the new sensor has some improvements. These include Focus Pixels, which are used for phase detect auto-focus. With phase detect, the camera can accurately measure the distance to the object it's supposed to be focussing on, and then snap the lens into the right position. With contrast detect, which the iPhone 5S and a lot of other smartphones use, the lens has to be moved in and out of focus, measuring the contrast in the scene to find the correct focus. The latter system is a lot slower, and you'll see the on-screen image changing as the camera looks to focus. With the iPhone 6 Plus, focussing is much quicker and there's none of the hunting to get there. This makes it faster to snap off a shot and not to miss a shot.

The iPhone 6 Plus is also the only model to get optical image stabilisation (OIS), which helps reduce blur through camera shake. In low light, the iPhone monitors its sensors to detect moment and then adjusts the lens to compensate. This lets the camera pick a slower shutter speed without introducing blur. OIS only works with still shots, as video is still stabilised digitally. There's still the same dual-LED true tone flash, which uses a coloured LED in conjunction with a white LED to balance the flash colour with the ambient light. The result is that photos look natural even when you use the flash, removing the tell-tale shininess that a regular flash causes.

In addition, there's a new image processor. This retains the incredible burst mode from the iPhone 5S: just hold down the shutter button and you can capture shots at full pelt while there's still storage space left. The iPhone will then pick out the shots it thinks are the best, so that you can save them. Using the timer mode (3s or 10s), the camera will fire off 10 burst shots quickly, and will automatically select the best one for you, although you can save any of the others. It's a great way for capturing group shots and making sure that you've got a decent photo at the end.

Image quality is excellent. Shots outside were well exposed with plenty of detail and little noise in the image. We were impressed with the colours and the level of detail captured in the sky, too. An HDR mode, which can be set to automatic or toggled manually, helps capture more detail when you've got bright and dark parts in the same image by capturing multiple exposures and blending them together, and does a decent job, too. In terms of sheer colours and quality, the iPhone 6 Plus' camera is excellent. The resolution does mean that images aren't quite as sharp as those captured on higher-resolution smartphones, but these handsets tend to be noiser, so it feels like a fair trade off. You can click the images below to view the full-resolution photos.

Inside in low light, image quality is still very good and we managed to capture some decent, low-noise shots handheld thanks to the OIS. Compared to the iPhone 5S (bottom image), the iPhone 6 Plus's (top image) shots are more detailed, with better colours, more detail and less noise. Overall, the iPhone 6 Plus delivers the best low-light shots bar the Nokia Lumia 1020.

It's good to see that iOS 8 finally gives proper exposure controls. Just tap on screen where you want to focus, then slide your finger up or down to adjust the exposure, until you have it at the point you're happiest with. It's a small upgrade, but a neat one that lets you capture the photo you want, rather than letting the camera handle everything automatically.

The new ISP also gives a new 240fps Slo-mo video mode, shot at 720p. This is double the frame rate of the iPhone 5S' Slo-mo mode and it really makes a difference. As you can see from the video below of the tube train pulling into a station, you can pick out every single detail on the passenger's faces; a similar shot taken on the iPhone 5S was still impressive, but lacked the same fine detail.

We also had great fun with the Time-Lapse mode, which is part of iOS 8 and available on the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, too. You can shoot some impressive vistas, speeding up slow action into one rapid blur, or you can create some cool effects, such as a journey sped up to epic proportions - check out the video below of a journey through London.

Of course, you can just shoot regular 1080p video at 30fps or 60fps. Video quality is pretty good, particularly in brightly lit areas. Unfortunately, the OIS doesn't work in this mode, with Apple using digital stabilisation instead. It's a minor shame that there's no 4K mode, although given that most people won't have a 4K display to show the footage on it's perhaps understandable why Apple didn't add shooting at this resolution.

Wireless

Of course, 4G is supported across all of the UK's networks. The UK model supports pretty much all of the LTE bands, so, depending on your roaming deals, you'll be able to use 4G in practically any country. Call quality is still excellent, with clear transmitted speach and a loud, clear speaker.

Apple has also upgraded the Wi-Fi to 802.11ac, providing up to 150Mbit/s download speeds. For large apps and iCloud backups, the new wireless technology is great to see, although you'll need to have equally-as-fast broadband in order to see the difference.

Storage options

As with all previous models, there's no microSD card slot, so you have to make do with the built-in storage. This starts at 16GB (£619), which is a little too small, skips 32GB (this feels as though it should have been entry level) and then gives you the option of 64GB (£699) or a massive iPad-equalling 128GB (£789). Given the options available, the 64GB version feels like the model that most people should buy - we had a 64GB iPhone 5S and struggled to fill it up.

Conclusion

It's fair to say that the iPhone 6 Plus is something completely different from Apple, and something that the company wouldn't even have attempted a year ago. The real question comes donw to whether or not you think that the company has gone too far and the handset is too large. That's something that we can't answer for you: you'll need to go into an Apple store and pick up the phone for yourself to see if you're happy with the size. As far as we're concerned, the phone is big, but it's definitely not too big and we didn't have a problem carrying it around. If you think it's too large, then there's always the iPhone 6 for you.

The question isn't really, is the iPhone 6 Plus a big phone, but more is a good big phone? We'd have to say that it is. The screen's great and Apple makes the most of the extra resolution and size that you get. Performance from the 64-bit A8 chip is also top-notch, with the highly-optimised iOS 8 still outperforming Android systems. Battery life is also much improved to the point where you don't have to get charge anxiety during a normal day, either. Price is something that's harder to mitigate, as the iPhone 6 Plus costs a fair whack, particularly if you buy the 128GB version. See our best iPhone 6 Plus deals article to get the best contract and SIM only deals.

Of course, there's a lot of good competition out there. The Samsung Galaxy S5 has better battery life and similar performance, with a great Super AMOLED screen, but you have to make do with its plastic screen. The LG G3 is another great choice if you want to go Android - it has the same size screen, but packs it into a much smaller body, and it's a lot cheaper to boot. Again, it's plastic body doesn't have the same feel as the metal body on the iPhone 6 Plus, though. Finally, the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 4 looks set to give this handset a run for its money, if you're happy to go the Android route.

While those phones may compete to a certain degree, it's fair to say that the iPhone 6 Plus is still the best phablet overall thanks to everything you get. For starters, you're guaranteed to get the next version of iOS on its day of release - how many Android phones can say the same thing? Then, there's Apple's entire ecosystem, which is getting better and better. With OS X Yosemite and iOS 8, you'll be able share tasks and features across all of your devices seamlessly. On top of all that, the Apple App Store still has the best selection of quality apps in it. Put all of that together and there aren't a lot of good reasons not to buy the iPhone 6 Plus. It's definitely the slickest, quickest, best-made phablet that you can buy and wins our Recommended award.