iPhone 6 Review

Awaiting Delivery


On Friday my iPhone 6 was due for delivery. I waited for most of the day, wondering if UPS had missed the house or just decided not to bother.





As I left to pick up the kids from school I decided I wasn't getting my phone. I was in a grump. But on my way home I spied a brown van... a UPS van! It was heading back up the road past me so I knew it had been to my house. I pushed on the accelerator and sped home.

New and Shiny!


The hubby took a photo of my lovely brown box as I opened my brand new iPhone. More photos followed.

I've always loved the presentation of Apple products, they don't bother with any books of instructions or wires. The first thing you see when you open the box is the product, shiny and new for you to admire. Underneath a pull out 'plate' hides the wire to charge the phone and classic earbuds.

Turn it on


The phone didn't need charging before it would turn on. My current phone was backed up so all I had to do was restore the backup to my new iPhone 6. 

It took about 30 minutes to complete the restore. I had to re-enter passwords for Facebook and Twitter (and other social networks) but my preferences stayed the same.












Look, Touch


In my Apple Event post I told you the dimensions of the iPhone 6. It is quite a bit bigger than my iPhone 5. I struggle to use the iPhone 6 with one hand whereas my iPhone 5 was easy to use with one hand. I do like the bigger size and I get an extra row of icons on my screen. On that subject you can use a zoomed in view which makes icons and text a lot bigger. I'm thinking this would be useful for those people who find it hard to read smaller text.

The iPhone 6 doesn't feel heavy compared to the iPhone 5. The new curved design is stylish, there are no hard edges anywhere on the phone. I've had a few comments about how gorgeous it looks.

Camera


The camera on the iPhone 6 protrudes slightly from the back of the phone. This is obviously a consequence of making the phone slimmer. I don't mind it, it makes me more careful. The camera works pretty much the same as the one on the iPhone 5, except that I can now take a burst of pictures.  The video camera is good too, and I had a bit of fun with slo-mo videos this weekend. While filming my boys jumping into the pool I captured hilarious slo-mo videos*. If you get a chance you should play with this mode - very entertaining.

When I took the phone out with me on Sunday I took a few photos to test out the camera. Here's a few of them, unedited.

Our local park

Out walking with the boys


Touch ID


The iPhone 5 didn't has no Touch ID, it's new to me, and the hubby didn't like it much on the iPhone 5S. He complained a lot about it not working well. So far it is reliable. Gone are the days when a friend could update your Facebook status for you. 

Health App


This app is going to be amazing when the Apple Watch is available to buy. You're able to track activity with the help of third party devices. NikeFuel has a section of its own. As I don't own any of the devices that track your activity I'm unable to test out this particular part of the phone. I set the phone to track my steps and on Sunday I took 10,374 steps and went up 5 flights of stairs (the same one 5 times).

The 'sleep' button has been moved from the top of the phone to the side, next to where your sim goes into the phone. I imagine that if they'd left it at the top there would be a lot of complaints as its quite difficult to reach. The button is much easier to access at the side.


Thoughts


I love my new iPhone 6, it's sleek and stylish and has some brilliant features. The fact that I can capture fantastic photos or video wherever I am still amazes me, I remember the old cam-corders! I particularly like the steps and flights tracking, great for keeping active. 

The iPhone 6 is available to buy from the Apple Store (shipping in 3-4 weeks).