You may like it or not but Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are definitely ahead of other premium smartphones available in the market when it comes to performance, battery life and OS, says Shruti Puri.
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus; Photograph: apple.com
Apple's new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are surely two of the most eagerly awaited handsets; everyone was waiting for a long time. Apple has released them on September 6. Overnight bookings for these handsets touched a new record after online pre-orders started on Thursday. Though overnight sales don't predict whether this time Apple will break the opening weekend pre-order sales recorded last time, the initial euphoria is no doubt unprecedented.
Figures indicate that sellers are witnessing biggest ever pre-sale launch, which is a feat in itself. Demand has already outrun supply and customers have to wait 3 to 4 weeks to get the latest iPhone devices. Apple has announced shipment delay for up to 6 weeks. On September 19, both the handsets will go on sale, whereas their availability in India will begin October 17.
Why this euphoria?
Apple has a dedicated fan following and this time it is coming with the new iOS 8 operating system, which offers enhanced integration among different Apple devices. Moreover, the company has done some major revamps over iPhone 5S along with the introduction of faster processor. In fact, this is probably the first time since Steve Jobs that Apple has launched a device with major innovations to vouch for.
What's so attractive about iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus?
1. A happening OS: iOS 8
iOS 8 comes with new functions and capabilities. The most important feature is supposedly the ability to connect with all Apple devices. Users can now send text messages, videos and photos from any Apple device.
HandsOff is an excellent continuity feature that helps users start working from one Apple device (say, Mac) that s/he had left on another Apple device (say, iPhone) or vice versa. Users can perform same work from different Apple devices without losing continuity of work, provided they remain signed into their iCloud account.
HandsOff can be used with apps such as Mail, Messages, Contacts, Calendar, Reminders, Maps, Keynote, Numbers, Pages and Safari.
For Apple lovers and existing Apple customers, this is a huge benefit and upgrade. With the help of iOS 8, users can communicate with their doctors using preloaded fitness and health apps. Moreover, Siri can be used to let users control home appliances with their latest iPhone.
2. Faster processor
Both the new devices come with 64-bit A8 chip processor that has 2 billion transistors. In terms of graphics, users will get 50 per cent faster performance and when compared to ordinary computing, A8 processor will enable users to get 25 per cent faster performance in these new iPhones.
iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are going to be treats for game lovers as well as developers. This is the first time Apple has introduced new technology, called Metal, which helps developers design console-style games.
Game lovers will get stunning visuals as well as amazing performance while playing their favourite games.
3. Other interesting features
There are numerous interesting features that will marvel Apple lovers and some of them are Swift Keyboard, Health Kit App, Apple Pay, QuickType, Spotlight, Shazam giving sound recognising powers to Siri, ability to reply text without requiring to open Message apps, upgraded photo App (with Instagram like features), ability to place calls over Wi-Fi, and many more.
4. Better battery life
One of the major complaints about iPhones was the battery life. However, reports and claims of Apple indicate that iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are going to have better battery life.
On 3G, users can now get up to 14 hours of talk time on iPhone 6 and 24 hours on iPhone 6 Plus. It needs special mention that on iPhone 5S, talk time on 3G is only 10 hours.
Can iPhone 6 and 6 Plus give premium Android smartphones a tough time?
Many have started pointing out that iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are more hype than real. In fact, most of the features are already there in other Android based devices.
However, a closer look and comparison with some of the best Android based smartphones will help people know that these Apple phones have the ability to make Android run for its money. The possible game changers are:
a. Performance
As already explained, iPhone 6 comes with 64-bit A8 processor chipset (2nd Generation) that enhances the performance significantly, in some cases by 50 per cent. Therefore, users can not only play console-type games on this device with great graphics support, but also get seamless and improved sustained performance without overheating.
When it comes to performance and multi-tasking, iPhone has always led the pack. In fact, iPhone 5S is still the fastest phone available in the market. Even Android smartphones having octa-core or quad-core processors couldn't match the last iPhone offerings. iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are much better than 5S. So, on performance basis, Android and Windows phones are no match to the new Apple devices.
Some of the leading Android run premium devices (including HTC One M8, LG G3 and Samsung Galaxy S5) come with quad-core processor, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset, 2GB RAM and great GPU. However, when compared to iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, it is practically not possible for them to match the performance level of the 64-bit A8 processor.
As performance is the top most requirement of every user, especially professionals, multi-taskers and game lovers, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are way ahead of the premium Android devices.
b. Software
iOS 8 is definitely a revolutionary operating system when compared to the existing Android KitKat versions. One of the greatest aspects is surely the Continuity feature across Apple devices, enabled by the latest iOS 8. This feature is still not available in any of the leading Android run smartphones. You can work on a single project from different Apple devices without needing to transfer or start work over and over again. Just leave your work in one Apple device (say iPhone 6) and start it over again from another device (say Mac at home) from where you left. Whether it is LG G3, Samsung Galaxy S5, or HTC One (M8), they do not have this Continuity feature yet.
c. Is iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus worth buying then?
In the US, three variants (16GB, 64GB, and 128GB) of iPhone 6 along with two year contracts are available at $199, $299, and $399, respectively. Contract free price of iPhone 6 is $649 and iPhone 6 Plus is $749. In India, their prices without tax are expected to be around Rs 45,000 and Rs 50,000. This is more or less comparable to the prices of other flagship products such as HTC One (M8), LG G3 and Samsung Galaxy S5.
It seems worthy for users to go for the Apple product because this provides far better performance, unique features (such as Continuity and HandsOff), thousands of high quality secured apps, and incomparable security than any other Android smartphone available in the market.
You may like it or not but Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are definitely ahead of other smartphones available in the market, as of now.
