iPhone 6 Plus. Does Size Matter?
EssaysiPhone / reading / Tech Sunday16 Comments
So….. my iPhone 6+ arrived last week. The big’un. I was worried when I ordered it that maybe it would be too big. That it would bend. I thought I end up wishing I’d ordered the 6 instead. Because here’s a truth. If I don’t have my phone, I am disconnected from the world and if it’s too big to carry, how was I doing to manage during those few moments when I’m unchained from my desk? Or maybe I would drop the phone because it wouldn’t fit. In my pocket.
One of the guys at the day job has a honking big Samsung phone that he puts on his desk, and it makes a statement, so there was this how big is yours thing going. And mine was smaller. I felt. . . diminished. So, with my upgrade eligibility staring me in the face, I ordered the 6+. Plus the AppleCare. Plus a case.
When it came I thought, huh. Not as big as I thought. But compared to the iPhone 4? Is it any wonder I had feelings of inadequacy?
Out Of The Box
I got the phone out of the box and spent the next million hours backing up the old phone restoring to the new one, activating, setting things up. I wanted to use the phone and could only go check the backup and restore process. Half a million years left!! At last, though, I could actually use the phone.
First Impressions
I did not find the size unmanageable. I don’t have particularly large hands but I have no trouble holding the phone in one hand. The iPhone 4 is small enough that you can use it one handed. You can’t keyboard one handed with the 6Plus, but I haven’t found that an issue, to be honest. I don’t put the phone in my back pocket. It sticks out too far, and I don’t feel that’s wise even with a small phone. It does fit in my jeans front pocket, but it sticks up and if I need to stoop or bend for any reason I did worry that it would fall out. However, carrying the phone isn’t a problem so far. I can’t say much about coat or jacket pockets yet. It’s not cold enough here for that yet, plus I work in an extremely casual environment even when at the office.
Love. I have Love
The phone’s screen resolution is unbelievably crisp and clear. I can hold the phone at arm’s length and have no problems reading text. It is a joy to read on this phone. Most of my apps have put out updates to iOS 8 but there are a couple that haven’t and they do have some issues. That is a fault of the app maker, not the phone.
I did run into an issue with my Pebble watch and the iPhone. At first everything seemed fine, then there was an iOS update that rebooted the phone and suddenly, my watch battery was draining from 90% to 20% in a matter of hours. It has something to do with a change in the iPhone bluetooth. A little Googling around provided a work around that involved resetting the watch to factory defaults and reconnecting and since then the watch battery is back to lasting several days.
Battery Life
Speaking of battery life. With my 4, I was getting to the point where if I was near an outlet, I needed to be charging the phone. I was rarely getting a full day of battery from the iPhone 4. So far, I can go a couple of days before I panic about battery. And that’s with the same usage patterns. We’ll see how the phone holds up.
Conclusions
I don’t have a 6 to compare it to, though I assume the screen resolution is equally gorgeous on the 6. I like this phone a lot. I can leave it on my desk with pride.
Love my 6.,..wanted the plus but didn’t want to wait.
I CAN’T DECIDE! AHHH
I love my six plus. My husband will probably get one too.
@Danielle: Yeah, when I ordered the 6 plus, it gave a delivery date of mid to late October. But it came the 3rd.
@Kristi: I think you should visit a store and compare the 6 and 6 Plus. I think it’s pretty important that you feel comfortable with the size.
@helen: ;-)
Congratulations on your new phablet. ;)
I used the original Samsung Galaxy Note for about a year and a half. A lot of people laughed at it when it came out, but the size was wonderful for surfing, reading text, and all kinds of other things. Except for making phone calls without an earpiece/earphones, it didn’t feel odd to use at all. And it fit in a lot of pockets.
But after about a year, I just got tired of carrying around such a large device. Even when it was pocketable it was big. It took up more space on a dining table (two Notes on a cafe table is like having two extra bread plates). One-handed typing was not happening and two-handed was not that comfortable for me.
The battery was a great bonus. Larger phone, larger battery (enough to offset the screen drain).
tl;dr version: I totally believe and understand everyone’s joy at the Big Phone. But I want to know how you all think about it in eighteen months.
Still waiting for mine. But I figure with a purse, I’ll hardly notice any difference. And with a small child, I don’t see any return to my tiny, purse, no purse pre-child life any time soon.
@Sunita: Yes, that is my thought as well. I can get a new phone in a year and I wonder if I’ll be getting a smaller phone at that time.
@Sylvie: Purses. That is a thing. ;-)
I love my Note 2, even two years later. That it makes a great ereader is a large part of that satisfaction. I don’t know when I’ll upgrade to something new but it will likely be another Samsung Galaxy Note.
I have big screen envy! Recently I got my first smartphone. I was really keen on getting the new Galaxy Note, but because of my wrist pain issues, I settled on the iPhone 5S. There are times I really wish for more screen space, but I find holding it enough of a strain that I know I made the right decision.
I moved from an iPhone 4 to a 6, and I’m liking the size of the 6. Part of my decision, though, was that I carry my iPad around with me constantly–bought a purse built just for that, and it’s rare that I don’t use it. The 6 does indeed have a gorgeous screen and the size is great for lots of apps and for fitting more stuff on one screen.
Now, I just have to figure out what’s messed up about my messages since the upgrade– instead of being simultaneous on iPad and iPhone, they are sometimes on one, sometimes both, and sometimes on both but lagged on one device. Probably something to do with the security setup on the (work-owned) iPhone….
I got the 6 Plus and since I got it through my work I was considering asking them to switch me back to a regular for the first couple weeks I used it because it was just too big to comfortably use one-handed. Then I went on a week-long business trip and fell in love with it! I don’t think I could go back to a smaller one now. It was so great to be sitting at the airport or in the hotel using the bigger screen. I never even used my laptop that I lugged along on the trip.
Very interesting perspectives. Thanks all of you for weighing in.
In a year, we should revisit this post and let each other know if we’re going bigger or smaller.
Great review. I have an upgrade coming up in about a month and the iPhone 6 Plus is…tempting. BUT. I’ve never had an iPhone last very long for me. I’ve had the 3G, 4 and 5 — none of them have ever lasted over a year/year and a half. They always crap out on me with hardware problems. So I am a little nervous about getting another iPhone, potentially. My old, back-up HTC MyTouch 4g from 4 years ago is still going strong, so I’m not sure why I’ve had such bad luck with iPhones.
My phone right now is a Note 3, which I’ve had for about a year. Still love it. I actually like the size, because I lose stuff very easily, and the Note 3 is not a phone that is easily lost.
I also love my Galaxy Note – I think I’ve had it 2 yrs now? But I’m also someone with vision issues, and now I can’t imagine going back to reading anything on a tiny screen without space to enlarge it. Now if I can only get my 75 yr old mom to get a new iphone rather than squinting at the tiny screen on her old one…
I have a younger male relative whose iPhones never last 2 years. Mine, however, do. So I wonder if the issue is usage amount or luck. On the other hand, he had a problem with the battery just giving out and then with the power plug connection ceasing to work. He carries his in his front pocket, I believe with no case… so … who knows?
Rationality is difficult for me on this. I love my iPhones past and present and have had no real issues. But I cannot deny I know others who have.
I’m getting the 6, upgrading from the 4S. I considered the 6+ because of the battery alone, but a colleague bought it and I tried it out, and my hands just aren’t large enough for it to be comfortable. So the regular 6 it is. :) It’s already ordered and I’m looking forward to playing with it.