I believed the retina stuff too... until I held a Galaxy with a 1080p screen next to my iPhone 4. I couldn't detect individual pixels, but the aliasing on the iPhone 4 is obvious in comparison. It really does make a difference. 1080p is now my minimum. Sorry Apple, you just lost $300...
The new nVidia Shiled (review: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8296/the-nvidia-shie... ) is likely to be well distributed in the US and, as anand's review shows, it's a whopper of an 8" $299 Android tablet, in addition to being the gaming tablet of all time, leaving probably the next two iPad's in the dust.
Not a big fan of Apple, and honestly...Apple has fallen far behind its competitors in terms of innovation and consumer satisfaction ( see http://www.topreport.org/phones/ for example...)
Not a big fun of Apple and there are a lot of better phone in the market that are highly rated based on consumer satisfaction ( see http://www.topreport.org/phones/ for example...)
Tegra K1 is about 60% faster, runs hot like hell at 85 degrees, pulls 7W of power and throttles in a tablet with a magnesium heat spreader (!)
A8 is slower, runs cooler than A7, it is supposedly 50% more efficient ( even taking that with a reserve, means it's a <2W chip) and it supposedly doesn't throttle at all in any situation in a ultracompact phone.
Yes, K1 isn't SoC for smartphones. But in tablets SoCs power consumption doesn't really matter. And it's still using not so power efficient Cortex A15. That's why i wanna see K1 with Denver CPU.
Actually if you take nexus 7 2013 and run asphault 8... It gets scorchingly hot underneath so does ipad air if you max it out by running benchmark non-stop, but you are wrong it doesn't actually throttle where is your proof?? Anandtech did an entire article on battery life and temperatures for the nvidia shield.. So what extensive testing did you do?? Tegra K1 has a 5 watt TDP on par with a typical tablets
The biggest heat generator in the iPad Air is the display, not the SoC. Can warty between two hot spots where battery is connected and where is the SoC and a almost unnoticeable warm spot at minimum brightness.
So why it runs trough an 20 Wh battery in about 140 minutes at max load ? From where is that additionall 3,7 W ? Solely from a 8" display at 200 nits ? Don't think so.
the chip is 5 watt. the screen is pulling another watt. the wifi will pull another 1-1.5 watts. the battery is 20 wh at optimal temperature and fully charged. there are losses to account for as well in the dc-dc converters inside and general transmission losses for an electronic device like this. you can't take the specced rating of 20wh as absolute on a battery
Together that's just 7-7,5 W. The tablet pulls 8,8 W during gaming, battery capacity variance in all new tablet doesn't have such big impact. During the gaming benchmark (not a game), I don't think they are downloading something, also wi-Fi doesn't pull anywhere near 1,5 W.
So the Tegra K1 GPU should have similar power efficiency compared to the GX6650 GPU at equal performance levels, especially when rendering is done at full precision on both (note that Tegra K1 always renders at full precision just like any other modern day console, desktop, or notebook GPU).
At Tegra K1's peak GPU performance (which is ~ 2.4x higher than A7), the power consumption for the application processor + mem. should be less than 5w.
In Shield Tablet, Tegra K1's GPU performance does NOT throttle until after > 100 continuous benchmark loops (!) when the battery % capacity is extremely low. So the magnesium heat spreader does it's job very well. I've also read that CPU performance in this tablet does not throttle much over time either, unlike what you would see in any smartphone (including iPhones) or any typical thin fanless tablet.
"Full" precision is a waste of power in mobile space, according to not only Imagination technologies.
Tegra peak performance just 60% better now. Considering 50% better power efficiency and no throttling in ultra thin phone, it's safe to consider A8 is somewhere around 2W.
A7 was throttling, because it wasn't allowed to reach anywhere near K1 temperatures and again A8 doesn't throttle at all, even in a ultra thin phone. Can you feel the difference ? No throttling in a ultra thin phone and running at 80 degrees in a 8" tablet with dedicated heat spreader without reaching peak perf ?
Tell me something i don't know)) And that's in Single-Core. In Multi-core, k1 beat a7 (~2600 vs. ~3400) And, the k1 beat the a7 in gfxbench — 13fps vs. 30fps in Manhattan Offscreen.
"No match" is an overstatement since they should be pretty close. Also, as pointed out, no phones are sporting the 32-bit K1 and that's likely due to thermal reasons. The dual core 64-bit version of the K1 (Denver) might change things, but who knows. Phone manufacturers have been avoiding Tegra like the plague since Tegra 4. Finally, no games even utilize close to the full power of the K1 except for a few nvidia-specific titles like Trine 2. There's the point about future proofing, but it's probably moot for most people wanting to buy cutting-edge flagship phones anyway.
The iPhone 6 Plus is 1080P at $300 with the 5.5" screen. I don't get this. Is this a Samsung employee?
If you had a credible issue, it would be that Apple is letting 16 GB be the base model instead of 32 GB. That is what gets me to cursing. Wise up Samsung son.
I don't want a 5.5 in slab for a phone. My 'credible' issue is that the phones don't both have 1080p screens. Seems like a misstep to me from a company so concerned with making things easier for coders (and yes, I saw the scaling demo). Also, you have a valid point, the 16GB price point is idiotic. FYI, I HATE Samsung phones. TouchWiz is a buggy pig of a skin and I hate the plastic feel. The 1080p screen was the only important factor in my comment... Why all the hate? This is Anandtech, not Engadget...
The purpose of the 5.5" screen is to help the older people that have trouble with the smaller items. This phone should display those over 20% bigger, which seems a bit strange compared to a regular iPhone, but which is great for people who are used to iPads.
"The purpose of the 5.5" screen is to help the older people that have trouble with the smaller items.". Lol...too funny! I don't know where you spend your days, but you are delusional. I see so many people of all ages using large screen phones wherever I go. Being a business professional I choose a Note 3 for the purpose of multi-tasking and the stylus for jotting down quick notes instead of typing. A large screen is just more functional than some little small screen. I use a phone as a tool not some toy!
You'd be surprised how many old foggies buy Notes because they think on screen elements will be bigger tho... I know several lawyers and two doctors that did so. Enthusiasts know things are scaled and mostly the same size, but the average buyer is clueless.
i thought the purpose of the 5.5 inch screen was for those individuals with larger hands. you know "so it can be accessed with one's thumb from corner to corner ... accident? i don't think so"
Excuse me, but if you were planning to pay $299 for the phone, then you can indeed have a 1080p screen, on the iPhone 6 Plus, the screen size is then 5.5''.
The iPhone 6 that has the 4.7'' with the 750p display is $199. These are prices with contract, but the price difference between them, unlocked and without contract, is $100 as well.
And now to my opinion: I rather have a display that has amazing color accuracy and contrast, and is 750p than a less accurate display that has a 1080p panel (all other things being equal). I will definitely wait for the review of both phones from this website, Anandtech always posts amazing, detailed reviews, if the screens are super accurate (like everything seems to indicate, from past experience) and the cameras as well have very good color reproduction and performance in low light (comparing to everything but HTC One, vanilla and M8), then the iPhone 6 and Plus will be the first iPhones in a couple years to be on my top phone list.
I rather have better but less than more and worse. Like Apple says about these phones "Bigger than bigger." I think the review on this site will prove that. I'll be very disappointed if it doesn't.
The 16 GB base model is crap. I have an iPhone 5 and iPad. I don't and won't stick up for Apple here. They want to milk me? ...let me keep this on the up and up. A 32 GB base model iPhone meant that I would have more content on it - like apps.
It's funny, you guys act like this is Apple exclusively! And they're using SanDisk $8 BestBuy SD cards for storage. Damn near EVERY phone company is releasing 16 & 32GB phones! I've got a Note 3 (also used for my business) & 5s, my personal phone. Waited a month and a half to pick my Note up with 64GB, they never showed! Very few are offering 64, and if it's not a Sammy, it doesn't have a slot. (I know, there are exceptions) to expand. Lastly, EVERY OEM is and has always charged a $100 premium to double the storage. At least Apple's 2014 phones are offering 128GB! And at a hundred over the 64. There IS an upside. And other than the S5 which I had zero interest in, I'm not familiar with anything else, this hear as a flagship that's beating Apple on contract with a 64 & 128 model. Could open the door for a 256GB iPad. It's funny to read this gibberish when it's ubiquitous in the industry. LoL
For me, the problem isn't memory, but the upgrades. I don't mind the low end being a 16GB SKU, but going to a 64GB SKU shouldn't cost $200 more, it should cost $75 max.
SDRAM, yes, flash no. $.25 a gig is likely the high end of what a big manufacturer like Apple is paying. I'd guess closer to $.15-.18 per GB.
Lets keep in mind that there are full SSDs marketed for around $100 that are 256GB in capacity now. That includes a controller, DRAM, board, other board components and a casing. Oh and profit margin.
I'd wager a guess the difference between 16GB and 32GB for Apple would likely be less than $3 per phone. Yes times tens of millions that is something...but not much something. Of course, compared to the, likely, millions in lost upgrades from 16GB to 64GB...that is millions times $100...a lot of lost opportunity if folks decided 32GB was "good enough" and didn't opt for the 64GB model.
I wish they'd just go 32GB as an entry level device and budget devices moved up to 16GB from 8GB, but I don't run the world, I only live in it. It is at least nice that the $100 upgrade moves you from 16GB to 64GB now, instead of being $100 for only 16GB of extra storage capacity, even if Apple's profit margin on the jump is something like 20:1.
$100 really isn't that much money. Apple has always gone for the people who are willing to spend an extra $400 on upgrades, and they know they won't get double the upgrades if they cut the price of those upgrades in half.
Instead of making the 16GB-to-64GB jump $100, though, I really wish they just changed the base to 32 GB.
So what you're saying is they're gouging to the tune of $1/GB rather than $3/GB? (assuming it costs them $48 extra rather than $32 extra for the first step up, tho it's probably not even half that) Everybody's doing the same thing, doesn't mean it's right, particularly without expandable storage; and some OEM only change around $50 for the step up. Jumping from 16GB to 64GB is the only thing not making it completely ludicrous, viewed in line with the $100 premium for the larger model.
They're gouging because SSDs are using higher performing flash than the embedded type in the phones. Hence no need for a USB 3 sync cable with your iTunes.
SDRAM, yes, flash no. $.25 a gig is likely the high end of what a big manufacturer like Apple is paying. I'd guess closer to $.15-.18 per GB.
Lets keep in mind that there are full SSDs marketed for around $100 that are 256GB in capacity now. That includes a controller, DRAM, board, other board components and a casing. Oh and profit margin.
I'd wager a guess the difference between 16GB and 32GB for Apple would likely be less than $3 per phone. Yes times tens of millions that is something...but not much something. Of course, compared to the, likely, millions in lost upgrades from 16GB to 64GB...that is millions times $100...a lot of lost opportunity if folks decided 32GB was "good enough" and didn't opt for the 64GB model.
I wish they'd just go 32GB as an entry level device and budget devices moved up to 16GB from 8GB, but I don't run the world, I only live in it. It is at least nice that the $100 upgrade moves you from 16GB to 64GB now, instead of being $100 for only 16GB of extra storage capacity, even if Apple's profit margin on the jump is something like 20:1
>implying that because it's apple somehow 720p is better than 1080
The problem is, is that if the 6 wasn't the flagship device, 720 would be fine. But, it IS the flagship device. If an android manufacturer released a 720p flagship device, people would complain massively. The Moto X wasn't even a flagship, and people complained about it's 720 display. "retina" really doesn't mean anything. It's not some special technology. Resolution is resolution, and in my opinion, the standard iphone 6 just does not have enough of it.
So true, 720p was what the top end Android devices had 2 years ago. Such a phone with Android now costs let's say $300 without a contract but OK let's add a metal case and make it $400 with no contract and I'm being generous here. Apple always had high prices but they had high specs too, in line or even better than everyone else's so I really can't understand this. Some of the iPhone 6 tech is no match for today's Androdi phones and it's still got 1 year ahead of it.
I disagree with the 6 plus being the flagship. Spec wise yes. 1080p and OIS. However the public perception will be that the 6 is the flagship. It had no suffix. Otherwise it works be the six mini or some variation.
320 ppi isn't junk, but it's not bad either. A 5.5" phone with 1534x863 would be the same density, so a 5.5" 720p phone would be something to call out. Above 300 ppi, you start to have those tradeoffs between good quality and more power usage. The iPhone 6 Plus has a much larger battery, so it's a good tradeoff to make. They also didn't go to 450 ppi, which is probably a good thing.
Why do people calculate the price of a phone using the contract price? This is hiding the ~$600 subsidy you are paying the carriers and something like $500 off-contract. You have to add that in if you're really going to argue. $100 over two years is a pittance when you consider how much you're already paying for a fancy phone.
Feel free to complain. Just try to be more accurate next time.
The problem is that 750 pixels allow the phone to continue using 326dpi retina resolution so that clickable area keeps exactly the same size has on retina iPhones. It then propose 38% more viewing area. A full HD display on a 4.7'' screen would reduce the size of clickable elements and increase the battery drain. The screen is an IPA screen with 3 subpixels by pixel and a retro lightning and not a Super AMOLED screen with a PenTile matrix and mostly 2 subpixels by pixel.
For me, there is one very important factory that matter much than row resolution is the application ecosystem that take party of it. And from that point of view, appart from some applications and the browser/mailer, there is very few high quality productivity app or game that really take advantage of very high resolutions phones. Whereas on the iPhone, there is the Pages/Numbers/Keynote suite of apps and more high quality games (optimize for a smaller range of GPU). And that is more important than raw specs.
Some people can, some people can't. And that's ignoring the much more common aliasing aspect which manifests as a perception of "sharpness" compared to the pure ability to see individual pixels.
I can see the pixels at 300ppi at 30cm. I consider it a mixed blessing.
MOST people could Never tell the difference between 720/1080p on a sub 6" display. Period. I don't care HOW close you hold it to your face, you're not going to distinguish the differences in resolution. In fact, dollars to donuts a better calibrated and accurate 720 in comparison with an average or lesser 'quality' calibrated 1080 @ 5" you'd pick the 720 100% of the time ;). Seriously. It's not possible.
And the one that continues bringing this up, drop it. We get it! 1080 or die! What about 2540? Isn't that the new HiDPI display to have? Over 600dpi? Good lord. I'm all for high resolution and happy to see 3D pageantry leave the CES stage to make way --->4k and higher displays for our living rooms and cameras, sources and graphic horsepower to make it all work ...well. And bandwidth, distribution. Etc. There's a limit to even perfect vision can 'see'. Poor display is a poor display. But there's plenty of incredible 720p displays on the market that are phenomenal. And Apple's not had a reputation for releasing poor displays. Samsung's AMOLED technology has come a long way, but IPS/LED doesn't suck. Nor will 720p @ 4.7" or 1080@5.5!
Seriously, I also don't get this obsession with 1080p in an effin smartphone! Overkill is truly an understatement when it comes to this "necessity." That's why I quickly dumped the Samsung S4 and went back to the "older" iPhone 5. The S4 was a stuttering, laggy, piece of junk. Couldn't even run Handbrake-converted movies without feeling like I was watching a Netflix movie on dial-up!
Same with gaming. Didn't seem as fluid as even my older iPhone 4S.
Well I think facepalm is not worth it in this case so just a LOL would do. This is tru inovation here people, 1334x750 is a never before seen resolution as far as I know. Apple did it again ... Seriously I know specs aren't everything but geez, Apple is really behind these days. I'm perfectly happy with my LG Optimus G which has a similar resolution but it came out in 2012 so yeah...
True but where's the inovation, where's the new here, it seems like they just went with we made the screen bigger, good enough. 326 ppi isn't bad at all and I'd call it good enough but not for a > $500 dollar phone and the latest Apple stuff.
Agreed. I shook my head. The only thing about this launch that impresses me is A8 itself. 2 Billion transistors in a mobile SoC? That is massive. Also first mobile SoC on 20nm. Have to give them credit where credit is due, A8 looks like a beast. Unfortunately most of the rest of the launch is just apple playing catch-up (or not, cough 720p cough) to the rest of the market.
Yet consistently in the top 2 or 3 on DisplayMate and 'here' when released. Hmmm. More to a display than 'pixel density'? They were first out the door with HiDPI displays on a mobile handset at 3 ½"! Cool! Others have managed to get 2540 displays to now fit in our hands. But at the expense of battery power. An excellent display is SO much more than resolution. ESPECIALLY @ this size. Just. Wait. Reviews will be out sooner than later. But Brian and his crew will take the time. As will DisplayMate. THEN you can see how silly it is and what a waste of time in a day to look up, link and share 'top 40 pixel densities' with us! (Like a new radio format or something?) ---& forcing me, to respond to you, for wasting YOUR time;) (sarcasm intended. Last part only though!)
I guess after reading such an underwhelmed audience here, yet seeing reality in the real world (faster, heavier and quicker sales than EVER, AT&T retail management quote), it's tough to understand why a group of geeks like us can't understand Apple's NOT going to melt your or our collective minds each and every year with a 'new and exciting way to Make A Rectangle Phone/Computer for yer pocke,,,,never. Mind. Others get it. Many don't. So much more to the new 'phone' than ppi density. Metal, for instance. New code. NEW CODE! Metal/Swift. iOS 8 And OSx 10.10. And Handoff/Continuity. Answer your phone or don't from your Mac. Finish the email on the can that you started at the desk on your iPad. Vertical and horizontal integration and aggregation. iCloud disc and apps that really 'work' and aren't there to just take space. From the OEM or carriers. Developers that develop. Innovatively and creatively for literally anything you're interested in. As a pilot for 27 years, it's amazing what the iPad Mini 2 has done for our business. It's mine and our fellow pilots' kneeboards. That's kinda out there, right? Music creation or art. Photo or video manipulation, actually using MS Office on a tablet! Real productivity, real utilities, incredible support and XCode allows Developers to very easily set their apps up for resolution recognition. At this stage of development, most are working and using vector and easily scalable UIs between iPad 1/2 and 'new' 4 & Air, mini, 3.5 standard and 'retina' the switch to the 5/5s ...for the paper they can and some do 'make', they'll get it done. In fact, dozens everyday as we discuss are being updated and channeled This will be the biggest iPhone launch In history. And that'll make it the biggest launch in electronics History! Apparently studying those "top 40 Rez charts" doesn't much matter to the masses. Which is good. No need to waste battery life by increasing needlessly the resolution to fill in a spec sheet somewhere It was mind melting when the '4' dropped. To everyone. Nothing since has surpassed that surprise in your hand. Nothin
couldn't agree more. particularly your last sentence hit the nail perfectly.
these complaints about pixel density are downright ridiculous. and it's so ironic, as well: these blindfolded people accuse apple of charging too much for the iphone, but are actually proud of their 100% redundant displays - THAT is what i call getting fucked by capitalism. 1080p only makes sense on *very* large phones, 1440p (!!!) only makes sense on large tablets.
it's the same with cpu/gpu specs, but no, actually worse. the iphone has always offered extremely smooth performance, while android was a laggy piece of shit until recently... due to 2.6 ghz quad cores. wow. brilliant craftsmanship.
if you can't afford or simply don't need a high-end smartphone, windows phone is so much better than android. awesome value, solid OS, no bullshit, great hardware from nokia. that said, the iphone is still the best in its category by far.
In past years we had done the live blog because Apple wasn't live streaming the event. The massive problems with the stream this year not withstanding, we felt a live blog would be redundant now that there was a stream.
Ryan, please continue with livestreams in the future. I can't view the livestream. Very slow internet. Plus I like to read you guys' take on the specs and the features etc. I mean, that is what we are here for right? For your thoughts on the matter. I like how you guys can look at a product in a neutral manner, praise the good parts and call them out on the bad parts..
I agree here with the live blog. Apple's live stream sucked @ss. Their twitter blog was good, but I do get tired of them blowing themselves the whole time. I miss Anand.
Ah, I thought it might've had something to do with Anand's departure and the resources available. Personally I could take or leave any of the live blogs, but I'm glad you didn't pass on it cause the site didn't have or didn't wanna budget the means for it.
yeah... please continue a live blog. Perhaps it would be redundant repeating what they list and present, but it would be nice to actually add comments in to parts that apple doesn't explain to give us additional insight to the hardware
I agree, the live streams have always been on point, informative, and, must important of all, didn't necessitate any form of buggy/slow streaming. Additionally, I often prefer to read a key sentence or two than put up with an excessive amount of marketing based presentation fluffery. Please bring back the live streams.
Is that $399 ON CONTRACT for a 64GB device? Yikes. Am I the only one that thinks the combined sticker shock of +$100 for the larger model and +$100 more for each capacity bump is gonna leave a lot of people wide eyed?
I'm glad they skipped 32GB AND are offering 128GB variants tho, even if the prices are ludicrous (unless you're burying the headline and those are off contract prices). Glad they finally adopted NFC, is there any sort of interoperability with other NFC implementations or is it strictly for the payment scheme?
Those are some pretty thin devices, might be the most impressive thing for me tbh. Not that I wouldn't trade 2-3mm for more battery capacity, and/or wireless charging.
Yeah, because everyone has access to fast 3G/4G (or a decent data plan for that matter). Having only 16Gigs of storage on a FLAGSHIP device with no expansion is simply not acceptable anymore. Cloudstorage or not.
Not everyone lives in a big city, where 4G covarege is something normal. Also most data plans simply sux from where i'm coming. So yeah. Using cloud storage is really not the way to go. And i'm sure i'm not the only one.
So yeah, there really is no reason for them not to offer iPhones from 32G or even 64GB capacity. Flash is very cheap nowdays, so its only reasonable to include more than 16GB on a 700$+ device. Just sayin'.
A. if you have crap service you dont care about cellphones to begin with. B. they offer a 128GB model why are you blinding yourself to that just to complain
Yeah pricing is pretty ridiculous. You get a nexus 5 for less than that without contract. And then you can get one that actually suits you. And where I live you don't save a cent anymore anyway by going with a contract.
Very disappointed in the level of coverage of iPhone event from AT. Frankly post event articles are below the quality level that AnandTech has set in previous years for Apple events.
Don't put your feelings off on me. I am quite happy with the Apple releases. I miss the impressions given by the AnandTech team as the information is coming live. Last year was excellent at it provided highly informed first impressions on the data before there was time to deeply analyze the data. Those impression are something I came to AT for. So this year I feel AT dropped the ball and let their readers down.
Have read this site since the first article Anand posted. Don't think I have ever felt so let down by the coverage as I do today. Ryan if this your idea of covering live events for all companies I will just go elsewhere for my coverage. I am off to read your post event article in depth now. I hope it lives up the standards that have been set for post event follow up articles.
Your disappointment is simply misplaced. The coverage is just right. The problem is that thefe is not that much to cover. 5.5/1080 smart phone with 1GB RAM? 802.11ac? LTE Cat 4? 8MP camera?Phones like this were interesting last year. AT would serve their readers better by covering new technologies and high end phones.
Looks like they are just catching up with last year's feature set. I like the processor, but the question is what is the impact on battery life? Sure they will have power management like everyone else, but then when running apps, will it drain 2x faster and need twice the battery capacity to last a day, or did they manage to increase the transistor count without drastically increasing the power draw? And the screen resolution won't be much of a hindrance IF the color pallet is done well. Granted, text won't be as sharp, but pixels alone aren't the defining factor in sharpness and clarity. The upside is that they won't be using half the power to drive all the unneeded pixels. This is perhaps my biggest complaint with the latest Android phones, all those pixels and all at the cost of battery life.
Otherwise I don't see anything particularly bad here. I still wouldn't buy an Apple product for myself and especially wouldn't allow it for my employees still, but for those Apple lovers out there, welcome to the features we Android users have enjoyed for the past year and a half, looks like you will have a decent phone on your hands for once..
I'm thinking this chip is so big and dense because it will mostly run at low clockspeeds to save power. Big and massively parallel. I wonder how many cores it has (probably two that can at times spike to a high frequency). But I imagine most of the chip will be idle all the time.
~720 screen 1810mAh battery (according to GSMArena) Rear mounted mono speaker No waterproofing 1GB RAM (according to GSMArena) No expandable storage 8MP camera without IOS 1080p video recording limit (although 4k video is not massively important, yet)
Specs don't really matter. My Android phone has a 1080p screen, 2GB of RAM, expandable storage, higher MP camera, etc.. But overall it's been a pain in the ass for me the last year of owning it, being laggy and buggy for a lot of things I do. I'll be glad to get rid of it Once the specs get past a certain point (retina display, and fast enough processor) useability is more important.
Not sure what exactly what you're doing on yours, but my Z2 has been pretty flawless for me. Sure, it does lag every now and then, but I'm also someone who can actually make Android run out of RAM on a phone with 3GiB of RAM. And can legitimately use 6+cores and 32+GiB of RAM on a desktop.
In the case of my Z2 know where it lags, when it lags, and why it lags, and it boils down to having apps that use WAY too much RAM instead of using a disk cache.
Isn't it odd how things have changed in terms of how these phone manufacturers present their newest wares? Apple's presentation looks like it was all about specs, and how they improved this by X amount. Moto on the other hand doesn't push for specs, but more the experience.
I feel like it used to be the other way around. Android was trying to catch up so it was Ghz this, GB that. But now they've moved onto to differentiate themselves via audio fidelity, touchless controls, waterproofing, curved screens, etc.
I can say much the same about desktops and laptops. To a large extent, even the slowest machine is faster than the average user needs it to be (and has been that way since the Core 2 days), so the return for advertising specs is just not that high. Then the market became so uniform with such small margins that it was back to advertising specs.. it's the only thing left to do when everyone sells the same thing.
I don't see any mention of the RAM available on the 5.5". I'd think it would need to be 2GB at least to run smoothly considering the extra pixels and the 64bit CPU.
Never has Apple appeared so far behind the Android ecosystem. All of these features have been included in devices for quite some time now. Even a barometer was included in the Galaxy Nexus.
Great move to finally offer a larger screen option. I suspect the 16:9 was chosen to keep the device as narrow as possible for single-handed operation.
So far behind? And metal on the development side is behind? At the same time for the last few years at launch Apple has smoked the competitors on performance. Now, the performance picture doesn't look as good 6 months after launch, but hey.
Android and Apple are doing okay. We need Windows Phone to catch up and pressure them.
The 5s only had a retina display where as the new 6 has a retina HD display yet the ppi are exactly the same. Absolute clowns. The sad thing is, millions will fall for it.
Am I the only one who f'ing hates bulky phones? Maybe if Apple gets their act together to release a slimmed down version of the 5S with upgraded specs I'd buy an iPhone some day. If I wanted a monster in my pocket a Lumia would provide much more bang for the buck.
Finally. There was no harsher critics of Apple then me last 3 years (Steve was still alive) for their retarded design fault with 3.5-4" crap which did not kill Apple only because it had huge base of "fashion" followers mostly females and technophobic males behind it. This stupidity was the best ever present to competition to rise almost to the stars, leaving Apple with ~10% world market share. Hundreds of billions of US dollars flew abroad and will still fly. Now try to put gene back to the bottle, bitten Apple.
Gruber (Daring Fireball) speculated a "3x retina on a higher-than-1080p screen" for the 5.5" iPhone, so he got it wrong. So how does the 6+'s 1080p display do the "retina" thing? Is it 2x like all other iOS Retina devices (then icons will be smaller than in other iPhones, but can display more content)? Or is it 3x (icons will be bigger; but displays less contents than the iPhone 6)? Or something else?
please... someone justify the 299 on the iphone 6 plus to me... i have a lg g3/ 32GB/ 3GB ram/ quad core beast/ 5.5 qhdd/ micro sd/ better looking/ lazer auto and stabilization 13 MP camera/ bigger- better battery/ and lighter device for 100 USD.... what is wrong with you apple. did you get dropped as a kid?
Because I'm already in the Apple ecosystem, and don't want to learn something else. Oh yea, and three years from now the iPhone 6+ will still get software updates while G3 will be forgotten.
3 years from you'll be ashamed to own and Iphone 6+ if it will even work by then ( yes Apple phones do break too ). You are right with the updates but it's not that big of a factor as I doubt it most people keep the iPhone for more than 2-3 years. The iPhone does have a decent value when you sell it as second hand and yes, there's the loved Apple ecosystem ( which I hate with all my heart but hey .... )
i don't even know why I went to other tech sites before anandtech. This article right here has all the information found in 10-12 articles on other sites.
NFC has been in use since 2004, Android is using it has a secure payment method since Android JB.
The point is, last time it was useless, they even made fun of it and how you would touch phones to use it, now it's an oasis in the middle of the desert.
750p, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage on the 4.7" are all major disappointments on a 2014-2015 flagship device. The rest of the improvements are just catching up to industry standards. Once again it looks like Apple spent more on aesthetics than hardware.
Hopefully Anand and Brian can help change some of Apple's culture in this regard, but I guess as long as the Sheep keep lining up, not much will change.
I've never understood this fascination with specs. What matters is what the end user experience is like. And in that regard, the iPhone is unmatched and it's Android, Windows Phone, etc, that are all catching up.
So Apple finally catches up to the competition is the theme of the year, eh?
That's not really innovation. It's iteration. Nothing wrong with that, but I've read too many articles proclaiming this to be Apple innovation again when it's just me-too'ing of Android. (I imagine Steve Jobs is spinning in his grave right now at all those versions of the iPhone and aping of Android.)
The apple way, selling over expensive crap to stupid consumers that like to get robbed.
This has been a disastrous launch in every respect. The iwatch is such an ugly piece of crap, it is truly unbelievable how a company, formerly known for its remarkable design, dares to put out such a crap ton of shit. Some characteristics are glaringly obvious and inherent to it: over expensive, hardly innovative, limited functionality and usability (need of an iPhone to make it work), looks exactly like a toy watch and so on.
There are of course way better smart watches out there, especially form the likes of Samsung, Sony, Motorola, Asus, LG, simply put, there is no need for another piece of over expensive junk.
The iPhone 6 is technologically stuck in pre-2011 times, a base model witch a capacity of 16GB without the possibility to use SD cards isn't even funny anymore. The screen resolution is horrendous, it isn't water proof, shock and dust resistant, it offers nothing innovative, just some incremental updates over its predecessor, both lacking severely behind their competitors at their respective launch dates.
Now the Iphone 6 Plus offers a „Retina HD“ screen, full 1920x1080p, oh wow, where have you been for the past 4 years apple, talk about trailing behind. That’s pathetic. The interesting thing about that is the fact that apple always manages to sell backwards oriented, outdated crap to its user base, all while pretending to be an innovative technology leader. The similarities regarding any form of sectarian cult are striking.
You gotta love how Apple always comes up with new marketing bullshit terms, aka "Retina HD", with the intention to manipulate its users while preventing easy comparisons with its competitors by withholding the actual specs. Apparently it’s not enough to have an 1080p screen, you have to call it "Retina HD" to make those suckers buy it, otherwise someone could look at the 4K Amoled and Oled screens form LG and Samsung devices and get outright disappointed. Same goes for everything else. Every outdated „feature“ needs to get its own marketing label to persuade buyers with crappy „experience“ and „usability“ ads, while covering the truth with marketing gibberish, knowing full well that only a fraction of aforementioned buyers cares to look at the facts and dares to compare them.
Car engines come to mind. For comparisons shake let’s look at a 1.0 liter, turbo charged petrol engine and a V8 compressor. What’s better should be obvious, but by calling the former an „ecobooster“, thus giving it a special marketing label, this joke becomes a „feature“, something positive that can be added tot the list of features of a car.
By doing so a negative aspect is transformed into a positive one, the reality is distorted, non tech savvy buyers are manipulated and comparisons are made more difficult (another layer of marketing bullshit to overcome), well done marketing department. You see , if something is seriously lacking (of course for profit, what else), don’t bother explaining, just give it a nice marketing term, distort reality, make it a feature and call it a day. Fuck that!!
The Apple Iphone 1 and Ipad 1 might have been innovative at their time, but since then, the bitten apple has been continuously rotting from the inside outwards, always swarmed by millions of Iworms which regale themselves with its rotten flesh, not forgetting all other Americans who support apple by means of their tax dollars to finance its bought US Treasury/Government bond interest rates.
Last but not least, every Apple product includes a direct hotlink to the nsa, free of charge, something that might make it a good value, after all.
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retrospooty - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
"new iPhone 6 has a 4.7" display that has a 1334x750 display"Not sure if facepalm or LOL... LOL
Intervenator - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
But why... If its retina why in the world would you want more? And the hit on battery performance... WHY?ChefJeff789 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
I believed the retina stuff too... until I held a Galaxy with a 1080p screen next to my iPhone 4. I couldn't detect individual pixels, but the aliasing on the iPhone 4 is obvious in comparison. It really does make a difference. 1080p is now my minimum. Sorry Apple, you just lost $300...kron123456789 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
"The GPU is supposed to be a GX6650." - but if it's only 50% faster, it's supposed to have same frequency. And that's still no match for Tegra K1.invinciblegod - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Considering that k1 is only found in tablets, it is an invalid comparison.kron123456789 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Fair enough. We'll see when the new iPads will come out.lucam - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Don't think IPAD Air 2 will use different soc. So in this round of the year the K1 will have the best GPU available in the market.Jumangi - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
And it will also end up having only a fraction of the install base as the iPad in the tablet space.Its irrelevant how powerful a SoC is is hardly anybody but some obscure Chinese companies use them.
Jeff Bellin - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
The new nVidia Shiled (review: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8296/the-nvidia-shie... ) is likely to be well distributed in the US and, as anand's review shows, it's a whopper of an 8" $299 Android tablet, in addition to being the gaming tablet of all time, leaving probably the next two iPad's in the dust.akdj - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
Just take a gander at their forums. Not a lotta happy 'Shield' owners out there. At all.craighamilton - Saturday, December 6, 2014 - link
Not a big fan of Apple, and honestly...Apple has fallen far behind its competitors in terms of innovation and consumer satisfaction ( see http://www.topreport.org/phones/ for example...)craighamilton - Saturday, December 6, 2014 - link
Not a big fun of Apple and there are a lot of better phone in the market that are highly rated based on consumer satisfaction ( see http://www.topreport.org/phones/ for example...)lilmoe - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
I wonder how it'll fair with some tweaks, Denver cores, plus the shrink to 20nm.I bet it'll hold its on on a smartphone.
GC2:CS - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Tegra K1 is about 60% faster, runs hot like hell at 85 degrees, pulls 7W of power and throttles in a tablet with a magnesium heat spreader (!)A8 is slower, runs cooler than A7, it is supposedly 50% more efficient ( even taking that with a reserve, means it's a <2W chip) and it supposedly doesn't throttle at all in any situation in a ultracompact phone.
This is an efficiency war, not a performance war.
kron123456789 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Yes, K1 isn't SoC for smartphones. But in tablets SoCs power consumption doesn't really matter. And it's still using not so power efficient Cortex A15. That's why i wanna see K1 with Denver CPU.Jumangi - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
Are you joking? Unless you leave it plugged into a wall socket power consumption always matters.hahmed330 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Actually if you take nexus 7 2013 and run asphault 8... It gets scorchingly hot underneath so does ipad air if you max it out by running benchmark non-stop, but you are wrong it doesn't actually throttle where is your proof?? Anandtech did an entire article on battery life and temperatures for the nvidia shield.. So what extensive testing did you do?? Tegra K1 has a 5 watt TDP on par with a typical tabletsGC2:CS - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
The biggest heat generator in the iPad Air is the display, not the SoC. Can warty between two hot spots where battery is connected and where is the SoC and a almost unnoticeable warm spot at minimum brightness.Morawka - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
The k1 is 5w tyvmGC2:CS - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
So why it runs trough an 20 Wh battery in about 140 minutes at max load ? From where is that additionall 3,7 W ? Solely from a 8" display at 200 nits ? Don't think so.wetwareinterface - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
the chip is 5 watt. the screen is pulling another watt. the wifi will pull another 1-1.5 watts. the battery is 20 wh at optimal temperature and fully charged. there are losses to account for as well in the dc-dc converters inside and general transmission losses for an electronic device like this. you can't take the specced rating of 20wh as absolute on a batteryGC2:CS - Sunday, September 14, 2014 - link
Together that's just 7-7,5 W. The tablet pulls 8,8 W during gaming, battery capacity variance in all new tablet doesn't have such big impact. During the gaming benchmark (not a game), I don't think they are downloading something, also wi-Fi doesn't pull anywhere near 1,5 W.fivefeet8 - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
I've had the tablet for weeks now and have yet to notice any throttling, but do continue.ams23 - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
That is incorrect. Tegra K1's GPU is ~ 50% more power efficient than the A7 GPU at equal performance levels: http://images.anandtech.com/doci/7622/Screen%20Sho...So the Tegra K1 GPU should have similar power efficiency compared to the GX6650 GPU at equal performance levels, especially when rendering is done at full precision on both (note that Tegra K1 always renders at full precision just like any other modern day console, desktop, or notebook GPU).
At Tegra K1's peak GPU performance (which is ~ 2.4x higher than A7), the power consumption for the application processor + mem. should be less than 5w.
In Shield Tablet, Tegra K1's GPU performance does NOT throttle until after > 100 continuous benchmark loops (!) when the battery % capacity is extremely low. So the magnesium heat spreader does it's job very well. I've also read that CPU performance in this tablet does not throttle much over time either, unlike what you would see in any smartphone (including iPhones) or any typical thin fanless tablet.
GC2:CS - Sunday, September 14, 2014 - link
Believing nVidia numbers is rather foolish."Full" precision is a waste of power in mobile space, according to not only Imagination technologies.
Tegra peak performance just 60% better now. Considering 50% better power efficiency and no throttling in ultra thin phone, it's safe to consider A8 is somewhere around 2W.
A7 was throttling, because it wasn't allowed to reach anywhere near K1 temperatures and again A8 doesn't throttle at all, even in a ultra thin phone. Can you feel the difference ? No throttling in a ultra thin phone and running at 80 degrees in a 8" tablet with dedicated heat spreader without reaching peak perf ?
lukedotv - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
the a7 beat the tegra k1 in geekbench by 1000 to 1400 ish. The a8 gets about 1600kron123456789 - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
Tell me something i don't know)) And that's in Single-Core. In Multi-core, k1 beat a7 (~2600 vs. ~3400)And, the k1 beat the a7 in gfxbench — 13fps vs. 30fps in Manhattan Offscreen.
johnny_boy - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
"No match" is an overstatement since they should be pretty close. Also, as pointed out, no phones are sporting the 32-bit K1 and that's likely due to thermal reasons. The dual core 64-bit version of the K1 (Denver) might change things, but who knows. Phone manufacturers have been avoiding Tegra like the plague since Tegra 4. Finally, no games even utilize close to the full power of the K1 except for a few nvidia-specific titles like Trine 2. There's the point about future proofing, but it's probably moot for most people wanting to buy cutting-edge flagship phones anyway.eanazag - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
The iPhone 6 Plus is 1080P at $300 with the 5.5" screen. I don't get this. Is this a Samsung employee?If you had a credible issue, it would be that Apple is letting 16 GB be the base model instead of 32 GB. That is what gets me to cursing. Wise up Samsung son.
ChefJeff789 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
I don't want a 5.5 in slab for a phone. My 'credible' issue is that the phones don't both have 1080p screens. Seems like a misstep to me from a company so concerned with making things easier for coders (and yes, I saw the scaling demo). Also, you have a valid point, the 16GB price point is idiotic. FYI, I HATE Samsung phones. TouchWiz is a buggy pig of a skin and I hate the plastic feel. The 1080p screen was the only important factor in my comment... Why all the hate? This is Anandtech, not Engadget...mkozakewich - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
The purpose of the 5.5" screen is to help the older people that have trouble with the smaller items. This phone should display those over 20% bigger, which seems a bit strange compared to a regular iPhone, but which is great for people who are used to iPads.L A - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
"The purpose of the 5.5" screen is to help the older people that have trouble with the smaller items.". Lol...too funny! I don't know where you spend your days, but you are delusional. I see so many people of all ages using large screen phones wherever I go. Being a business professional I choose a Note 3 for the purpose of multi-tasking and the stylus for jotting down quick notes instead of typing. A large screen is just more functional than some little small screen. I use a phone as a tool not some toy!Impulses - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
You'd be surprised how many old foggies buy Notes because they think on screen elements will be bigger tho... I know several lawyers and two doctors that did so. Enthusiasts know things are scaled and mostly the same size, but the average buyer is clueless.ToastyFlake - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
Being a "business professional", you must be an older person :)wetwareinterface - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
i thought the purpose of the 5.5 inch screen was for those individuals with larger hands. you know "so it can be accessed with one's thumb from corner to corner ... accident? i don't think so"Milkman128 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
6+ is 1080Pgoshirn - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Excuse me, but if you were planning to pay $299 for the phone, then you can indeed have a 1080p screen, on the iPhone 6 Plus, the screen size is then 5.5''.The iPhone 6 that has the 4.7'' with the 750p display is $199. These are prices with contract, but the price difference between them, unlocked and without contract, is $100 as well.
And now to my opinion: I rather have a display that has amazing color accuracy and contrast, and is 750p than a less accurate display that has a 1080p panel (all other things being equal). I will definitely wait for the review of both phones from this website, Anandtech always posts amazing, detailed reviews, if the screens are super accurate (like everything seems to indicate, from past experience) and the cameras as well have very good color reproduction and performance in low light (comparing to everything but HTC One, vanilla and M8), then the iPhone 6 and Plus will be the first iPhones in a couple years to be on my top phone list.
I rather have better but less than more and worse. Like Apple says about these phones "Bigger than bigger." I think the review on this site will prove that. I'll be very disappointed if it doesn't.
sigmatau - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
A phone with 16GB of storage with no memory card slot is pure garbage for $299 on contract. Same for a 16GB phone for $199 on contract. That is all.retrospooty - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Yeah, same for 16gb storage on a "high end" (cough) phone. FFS, its 2014 and that memory costs them pennies.nathanddrews - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Yes, but pennies multiplied by millions of phones is a lot of... wait a second...eanazag - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
The 16 GB base model is crap. I have an iPhone 5 and iPad. I don't and won't stick up for Apple here. They want to milk me? ...let me keep this on the up and up. A 32 GB base model iPhone meant that I would have more content on it - like apps.akdj - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
It's funny, you guys act like this is Apple exclusively! And they're using SanDisk $8 BestBuy SD cards for storage. Damn near EVERY phone company is releasing 16 & 32GB phones! I've got a Note 3 (also used for my business) & 5s, my personal phone. Waited a month and a half to pick my Note up with 64GB, they never showed! Very few are offering 64, and if it's not a Sammy, it doesn't have a slot. (I know, there are exceptions) to expand.Lastly, EVERY OEM is and has always charged a $100 premium to double the storage. At least Apple's 2014 phones are offering 128GB! And at a hundred over the 64. There IS an upside. And other than the S5 which I had zero interest in, I'm not familiar with anything else, this hear as a flagship that's beating Apple on contract with a 64 & 128 model. Could open the door for a 256GB iPad.
It's funny to read this gibberish when it's ubiquitous in the industry.
LoL
mkozakewich - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
That would still be millions of DogeCoin!hojnikb - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Actually, memory is one of the most expensive components in the phones BOM.Its certanly more than pennies
SodaAnt - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
For me, the problem isn't memory, but the upgrades. I don't mind the low end being a 16GB SKU, but going to a 64GB SKU shouldn't cost $200 more, it should cost $75 max.invinciblegod - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Actually, it's $100 more now. $200 more is for 128GB.azazel1024 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
SDRAM, yes, flash no. $.25 a gig is likely the high end of what a big manufacturer like Apple is paying. I'd guess closer to $.15-.18 per GB.Lets keep in mind that there are full SSDs marketed for around $100 that are 256GB in capacity now. That includes a controller, DRAM, board, other board components and a casing. Oh and profit margin.
I'd wager a guess the difference between 16GB and 32GB for Apple would likely be less than $3 per phone. Yes times tens of millions that is something...but not much something. Of course, compared to the, likely, millions in lost upgrades from 16GB to 64GB...that is millions times $100...a lot of lost opportunity if folks decided 32GB was "good enough" and didn't opt for the 64GB model.
I wish they'd just go 32GB as an entry level device and budget devices moved up to 16GB from 8GB, but I don't run the world, I only live in it. It is at least nice that the $100 upgrade moves you from 16GB to 64GB now, instead of being $100 for only 16GB of extra storage capacity, even if Apple's profit margin on the jump is something like 20:1.
azazel1024 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
BAH! Sorry, replied to wrong response. Ignore!mkozakewich - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
$100 really isn't that much money. Apple has always gone for the people who are willing to spend an extra $400 on upgrades, and they know they won't get double the upgrades if they cut the price of those upgrades in half.Instead of making the 16GB-to-64GB jump $100, though, I really wish they just changed the base to 32 GB.
mules - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Both memory, SDRAM and Flash/NAND are one of the least expensive components.SDRAM is about $6-$12/Gig and Flash is about $0.25-$1/Gig.
Jacking up the price by $100 to go from 16GB flash to 32 is just gouging. They all do it, and they are all gouging.
invinciblegod - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
It's $100 for 64GB.Impulses - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
So what you're saying is they're gouging to the tune of $1/GB rather than $3/GB? (assuming it costs them $48 extra rather than $32 extra for the first step up, tho it's probably not even half that) Everybody's doing the same thing, doesn't mean it's right, particularly without expandable storage; and some OEM only change around $50 for the step up. Jumping from 16GB to 64GB is the only thing not making it completely ludicrous, viewed in line with the $100 premium for the larger model.eanazag - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
They're gouging because SSDs are using higher performing flash than the embedded type in the phones. Hence no need for a USB 3 sync cable with your iTunes.azazel1024 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
SDRAM, yes, flash no. $.25 a gig is likely the high end of what a big manufacturer like Apple is paying. I'd guess closer to $.15-.18 per GB.Lets keep in mind that there are full SSDs marketed for around $100 that are 256GB in capacity now. That includes a controller, DRAM, board, other board components and a casing. Oh and profit margin.
I'd wager a guess the difference between 16GB and 32GB for Apple would likely be less than $3 per phone. Yes times tens of millions that is something...but not much something. Of course, compared to the, likely, millions in lost upgrades from 16GB to 64GB...that is millions times $100...a lot of lost opportunity if folks decided 32GB was "good enough" and didn't opt for the 64GB model.
I wish they'd just go 32GB as an entry level device and budget devices moved up to 16GB from 8GB, but I don't run the world, I only live in it. It is at least nice that the $100 upgrade moves you from 16GB to 64GB now, instead of being $100 for only 16GB of extra storage capacity, even if Apple's profit margin on the jump is something like 20:1
rudolphna - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
>implying that because it's apple somehow 720p is better than 1080The problem is, is that if the 6 wasn't the flagship device, 720 would be fine. But, it IS the flagship device. If an android manufacturer released a 720p flagship device, people would complain massively. The Moto X wasn't even a flagship, and people complained about it's 720 display. "retina" really doesn't mean anything. It's not some special technology. Resolution is resolution, and in my opinion, the standard iphone 6 just does not have enough of it.
Milkman128 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
the 6+ is 1080P why are you picking on the lowest end possiblebeggerking@yahoo.com - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
because 6 costs 2x more than other flagship devices with at least 1080p resolution released years ago... Nexus 4/5 Note2-3 S4 etc..none of these icrap are flagship devices in comparison to anything on the market.
mcirsta - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
So true, 720p was what the top end Android devices had 2 years ago. Such a phone with Android now costs let's say $300 without a contract but OK let's add a metal case and make it $400 with no contract and I'm being generous here.Apple always had high prices but they had high specs too, in line or even better than everyone else's so I really can't understand this. Some of the iPhone 6 tech is no match for today's Androdi phones and it's still got 1 year ahead of it.
eanazag - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
The flagship is the 6 Plus. All those who would be complaining about resolution are likely going for a larger than 5" screen.zachdatank - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
I disagree with the 6 plus being the flagship. Spec wise yes. 1080p and OIS.However the public perception will be that the 6 is the flagship. It had no suffix. Otherwise it works be the six mini or some variation.
mkozakewich - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
320 ppi isn't junk, but it's not bad either. A 5.5" phone with 1534x863 would be the same density, so a 5.5" 720p phone would be something to call out. Above 300 ppi, you start to have those tradeoffs between good quality and more power usage. The iPhone 6 Plus has a much larger battery, so it's a good tradeoff to make. They also didn't go to 450 ppi, which is probably a good thing.FelixDraconis - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Why do people calculate the price of a phone using the contract price? This is hiding the ~$600 subsidy you are paying the carriers and something like $500 off-contract. You have to add that in if you're really going to argue. $100 over two years is a pittance when you consider how much you're already paying for a fancy phone.Feel free to complain. Just try to be more accurate next time.
FrenchMac - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
The problem is that 750 pixels allow the phone to continue using 326dpi retina resolution so that clickable area keeps exactly the same size has on retina iPhones. It then propose 38% more viewing area. A full HD display on a 4.7'' screen would reduce the size of clickable elements and increase the battery drain. The screen is an IPA screen with 3 subpixels by pixel and a retro lightning and not a Super AMOLED screen with a PenTile matrix and mostly 2 subpixels by pixel.FrenchMac - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
For me, there is one very important factory that matter much than row resolution is the application ecosystem that take party of it. And from that point of view, appart from some applications and the browser/mailer, there is very few high quality productivity app or game that really take advantage of very high resolutions phones. Whereas on the iPhone, there is the Pages/Numbers/Keynote suite of apps and more high quality games (optimize for a smaller range of GPU).And that is more important than raw specs.
erikiksaz - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Hah, so if a car manufacturer told you that "normal" MPG for most cars was 30mpg and that's all you'd really need anyway, would you believe them?Needless to say, most people can differentiate between 720p and 1080p. Anything greater than 1080p, not as simple.
NetMage - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Actually, even on a 30" TV most people can't tell the difference, let alone a 4.7" screen.ZeDestructor - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Some people can, some people can't. And that's ignoring the much more common aliasing aspect which manifests as a perception of "sharpness" compared to the pure ability to see individual pixels.I can see the pixels at 300ppi at 30cm. I consider it a mixed blessing.
kalita - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
They could if someone gave them 1080p content.akdj - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
MOST people could Never tell the difference between 720/1080p on a sub 6" display. Period. I don't care HOW close you hold it to your face, you're not going to distinguish the differences in resolution. In fact, dollars to donuts a better calibrated and accurate 720 in comparison with an average or lesser 'quality' calibrated 1080 @ 5" you'd pick the 720 100% of the time ;). Seriously. It's not possible.And the one that continues bringing this up, drop it. We get it! 1080 or die! What about 2540? Isn't that the new HiDPI display to have? Over 600dpi? Good lord.
I'm all for high resolution and happy to see 3D pageantry leave the CES stage to make way --->4k and higher displays for our living rooms and cameras, sources and graphic horsepower to make it all work ...well. And bandwidth, distribution. Etc.
There's a limit to even perfect vision can 'see'. Poor display is a poor display. But there's plenty of incredible 720p displays on the market that are phenomenal. And Apple's not had a reputation for releasing poor displays. Samsung's AMOLED technology has come a long way, but IPS/LED doesn't suck. Nor will 720p @ 4.7" or 1080@5.5!
milesmutt - Thursday, September 18, 2014 - link
Seriously, I also don't get this obsession with 1080p in an effin smartphone! Overkill is truly an understatement when it comes to this "necessity." That's why I quickly dumped the Samsung S4 and went back to the "older" iPhone 5. The S4 was a stuttering, laggy, piece of junk. Couldn't even run Handbrake-converted movies without feeling like I was watching a Netflix movie on dial-up!Same with gaming. Didn't seem as fluid as even my older iPhone 4S.
Too much resolution CAN be a bad thing, people.
marcokatz - Friday, September 26, 2014 - link
Good point! :)mcirsta - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Well I think facepalm is not worth it in this case so just a LOL would do.This is tru inovation here people, 1334x750 is a never before seen resolution as far as I know. Apple did it again ...
Seriously I know specs aren't everything but geez, Apple is really behind these days. I'm perfectly happy with my LG Optimus G which has a similar resolution but it came out in 2012 so yeah...
kron123456789 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
They're just stick with 326ppi)) But standart 1080p and 400ppi display in iPhone 6 Plus is really an improvment for Apple)mcirsta - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
True but where's the inovation, where's the new here, it seems like they just went with we made the screen bigger, good enough. 326 ppi isn't bad at all and I'd call it good enough but not for a > $500 dollar phone and the latest Apple stuff.rudolphna - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Agreed. I shook my head. The only thing about this launch that impresses me is A8 itself. 2 Billion transistors in a mobile SoC? That is massive. Also first mobile SoC on 20nm. Have to give them credit where credit is due, A8 looks like a beast. Unfortunately most of the rest of the launch is just apple playing catch-up (or not, cough 720p cough) to the rest of the market.darkich - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
The Exynos 5430 is the first 20nm SoC.As for the A8, i expected 2GHz and more than 50% greater CPU performance. So, slightly underwhelmed.
nathanddrews - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
*cough*Intel Silvermont in 2013 (22nm, but c'mon)
Samsung Exynos 5430 in August 2014
Intel 14nm SOC shown off today at IDF
PCMerlin - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Poor iPhone 6 ... it will forever be know as the phone that couldn't quite make it to 1337 status.der - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
100coolhardware - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Pretty crazy that the iPhone 6 is barely in the top 40 of pixel density for phones:http://pixensity.com/list/phone/
The iPhone 6 Plus displa actually seems quite nice with the 1920x1080 resolution and its pixel density is in the top 20.
akdj - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
Yet consistently in the top 2 or 3 on DisplayMate and 'here' when released. Hmmm. More to a display than 'pixel density'? They were first out the door with HiDPI displays on a mobile handset at 3 ½"!Cool! Others have managed to get 2540 displays to now fit in our hands. But at the expense of battery power. An excellent display is SO much more than resolution. ESPECIALLY @ this size. Just. Wait.
Reviews will be out sooner than later. But Brian and his crew will take the time. As will DisplayMate.
THEN you can see how silly it is and what a waste of time in a day to look up, link and share 'top 40 pixel densities' with us! (Like a new radio format or something?) ---& forcing me, to respond to you, for wasting YOUR time;) (sarcasm intended. Last part only though!)
I guess after reading such an underwhelmed audience here, yet seeing reality in the real world (faster, heavier and quicker sales than EVER, AT&T retail management quote), it's tough to understand why a group of geeks like us can't understand Apple's NOT going to melt your or our collective minds each and every year with a 'new and exciting way to Make A Rectangle Phone/Computer for yer pocke,,,,never. Mind. Others get it. Many don't. So much more to the new 'phone' than ppi density. Metal, for instance. New code. NEW CODE! Metal/Swift. iOS 8 And OSx 10.10. And Handoff/Continuity. Answer your phone or don't from your Mac. Finish the email on the can that you started at the desk on your iPad. Vertical and horizontal integration and aggregation. iCloud disc and apps that really 'work' and aren't there to just take space. From the OEM or carriers. Developers that develop. Innovatively and creatively for literally anything you're interested in. As a pilot for 27 years, it's amazing what the iPad Mini 2 has done for our business. It's mine and our fellow pilots' kneeboards. That's kinda out there, right? Music creation or art. Photo or video manipulation, actually using MS Office on a tablet! Real productivity, real utilities, incredible support and XCode allows Developers to very easily set their apps up for resolution recognition. At this stage of development, most are working and using vector and easily scalable UIs between iPad 1/2 and 'new' 4 & Air, mini, 3.5 standard and 'retina' the switch to the 5/5s ...for the paper they can and some do 'make', they'll get it done. In fact, dozens everyday as we discuss are being updated and channeled
This will be the biggest iPhone launch In history. And that'll make it the biggest launch in electronics History!
Apparently studying those "top 40 Rez charts" doesn't much matter to the masses. Which is good. No need to waste battery life by increasing needlessly the resolution to fill in a spec sheet somewhere
It was mind melting when the '4' dropped. To everyone. Nothing since has surpassed that surprise in your hand. Nothin
oxymorphon - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
couldn't agree more. particularly your last sentence hit the nail perfectly.these complaints about pixel density are downright ridiculous. and it's so ironic, as well: these blindfolded people accuse apple of charging too much for the iphone, but are actually proud of their 100% redundant displays - THAT is what i call getting fucked by capitalism. 1080p only makes sense on *very* large phones, 1440p (!!!) only makes sense on large tablets.
it's the same with cpu/gpu specs, but no, actually worse. the iphone has always offered extremely smooth performance, while android was a laggy piece of shit until recently... due to 2.6 ghz quad cores. wow. brilliant craftsmanship.
if you can't afford or simply don't need a high-end smartphone, windows phone is so much better than android. awesome value, solid OS, no bullshit, great hardware from nokia. that said, the iphone is still the best in its category by far.
marcokatz - Friday, September 26, 2014 - link
Well said!adityarjun - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
No more liveblog coverage from AT? I was looking for reading about the iPhone launch coverage here!Intervenator - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Same...Ryan Smith - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
In past years we had done the live blog because Apple wasn't live streaming the event. The massive problems with the stream this year not withstanding, we felt a live blog would be redundant now that there was a stream.adityarjun - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Ryan, please continue with livestreams in the future. I can't view the livestream. Very slow internet. Plus I like to read you guys' take on the specs and the features etc. I mean, that is what we are here for right? For your thoughts on the matter. I like how you guys can look at a product in a neutral manner, praise the good parts and call them out on the bad parts..adityarjun - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Any liveblog you would suggest?eanazag - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
I agree here with the live blog. Apple's live stream sucked @ss. Their twitter blog was good, but I do get tired of them blowing themselves the whole time. I miss Anand.Kvaern - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
That's a shame, your coverage last year was an excellent read.Cibafsa - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Kinda miss the commentary nonetheless.Impulses - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Ah, I thought it might've had something to do with Anand's departure and the resources available. Personally I could take or leave any of the live blogs, but I'm glad you didn't pass on it cause the site didn't have or didn't wanna budget the means for it.lukewayne - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Yes please resume live streaming. It's the opinion alongside info that we come for. Love the insight that we have gotten before on day one.Sushisamurai - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
yeah... please continue a live blog. Perhaps it would be redundant repeating what they list and present, but it would be nice to actually add comments in to parts that apple doesn't explain to give us additional insight to the hardwareNimiz99 - Friday, September 12, 2014 - link
I agree, the live streams have always been on point, informative, and, must important of all, didn't necessitate any form of buggy/slow streaming. Additionally, I often prefer to read a key sentence or two than put up with an excessive amount of marketing based presentation fluffery.Please bring back the live streams.
Sunrise089 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Agree. Not hard to find other liveblogs, but is prefer AT's deeper knowledge and emphasis on just the facts. :(meshugge - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Yes - definitely agree - miss ur live coveragemahoffmansts@comcast.net - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
No surprise here - anandtech provides the most accurate and concise review. No other tech site even comes close.nathanddrews - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Except they have nothing about IDF, which contained infinitely more interesting technologies and devices.:(
Impulses - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Is that $399 ON CONTRACT for a 64GB device? Yikes. Am I the only one that thinks the combined sticker shock of +$100 for the larger model and +$100 more for each capacity bump is gonna leave a lot of people wide eyed?I'm glad they skipped 32GB AND are offering 128GB variants tho, even if the prices are ludicrous (unless you're burying the headline and those are off contract prices). Glad they finally adopted NFC, is there any sort of interoperability with other NFC implementations or is it strictly for the payment scheme?
Those are some pretty thin devices, might be the most impressive thing for me tbh. Not that I wouldn't trade 2-3mm for more battery capacity, and/or wireless charging.
hojnikb - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
you can be sure these prices are ON contract (why would iphone 5c be free then?).And to be honest. 16GB of internal storage on a 2014 FLAGSHIP device is just pathetic.
My flagship from 2012 had more space than that.
nathanddrews - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
You don't need storage, thanks to iCloud.hojnikb - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Yeah, because everyone has access to fast 3G/4G (or a decent data plan for that matter).Having only 16Gigs of storage on a FLAGSHIP device with no expansion is simply not acceptable anymore. Cloudstorage or not.
Also *icloud celeberty leak* :)
nathanddrews - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
If you don't have good service, you're using it wrong.hojnikb - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
well, that a preatty weak argument.Not everyone lives in a big city, where 4G covarege is something normal. Also most data plans simply sux from where i'm coming. So yeah. Using cloud storage is really not the way to go. And i'm sure i'm not the only one.
hojnikb - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
So yeah, there really is no reason for them not to offer iPhones from 32G or even 64GB capacity. Flash is very cheap nowdays, so its only reasonable to include more than 16GB on a 700$+ device. Just sayin'.Milkman128 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
well then get the 128 GB model. Problem solvedhojnikb - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
For +200$ ? Yeah. i think not.Not that i would buy an i device anyway. just pointing out how silly it is, to offer 16GB version at.
Milkman128 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
A. if you have crap service you dont care about cellphones to begin with.B. they offer a 128GB model why are you blinding yourself to that just to complain
crazysojujon - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
LOL How about paying 45 bucks a day to rent a car so you can go to work... Oh wait, I have legs to walk there paying 45 dollars is silly.eanazag - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
I think this is sarcasm.beginner99 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Yeah pricing is pretty ridiculous. You get a nexus 5 for less than that without contract. And then you can get one that actually suits you. And where I live you don't save a cent anymore anyway by going with a contract.eanazag - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
They could have offered 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB. Apple, get your hand out of my pocket and drop 16GB for the last decade.hojnikb - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Yeah, a 32GB version should be the bare minimum nowdays. Atleast for flashshit devices anyway-drzzz - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Very disappointed in the level of coverage of iPhone event from AT. Frankly post event articles are below the quality level that AnandTech has set in previous years for Apple events.nathanddrews - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Maybe you're just disappointed in Apple. Don't kill the messenger.drzzz - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Don't put your feelings off on me. I am quite happy with the Apple releases. I miss the impressions given by the AnandTech team as the information is coming live. Last year was excellent at it provided highly informed first impressions on the data before there was time to deeply analyze the data. Those impression are something I came to AT for. So this year I feel AT dropped the ball and let their readers down.Have read this site since the first article Anand posted. Don't think I have ever felt so let down by the coverage as I do today. Ryan if this your idea of covering live events for all companies I will just go elsewhere for my coverage. I am off to read your post event article in depth now. I hope it lives up the standards that have been set for post event follow up articles.
lilo777 - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
Your disappointment is simply misplaced. The coverage is just right. The problem is that thefe is not that much to cover. 5.5/1080 smart phone with 1GB RAM? 802.11ac? LTE Cat 4? 8MP camera?Phones like this were interesting last year. AT would serve their readers better by covering new technologies and high end phones.perpetualdark - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Looks like they are just catching up with last year's feature set. I like the processor, but the question is what is the impact on battery life? Sure they will have power management like everyone else, but then when running apps, will it drain 2x faster and need twice the battery capacity to last a day, or did they manage to increase the transistor count without drastically increasing the power draw? And the screen resolution won't be much of a hindrance IF the color pallet is done well. Granted, text won't be as sharp, but pixels alone aren't the defining factor in sharpness and clarity. The upside is that they won't be using half the power to drive all the unneeded pixels. This is perhaps my biggest complaint with the latest Android phones, all those pixels and all at the cost of battery life.Otherwise I don't see anything particularly bad here. I still wouldn't buy an Apple product for myself and especially wouldn't allow it for my employees still, but for those Apple lovers out there, welcome to the features we Android users have enjoyed for the past year and a half, looks like you will have a decent phone on your hands for once..
hechacker1 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
I'm thinking this chip is so big and dense because it will mostly run at low clockspeeds to save power. Big and massively parallel. I wonder how many cores it has (probably two that can at times spike to a high frequency). But I imagine most of the chip will be idle all the time.jb14 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
yup buddy he is yanking your chain. You're just holding it wrong...Coup27 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
So, to put a finer point on things:~720 screen
1810mAh battery (according to GSMArena)
Rear mounted mono speaker
No waterproofing
1GB RAM (according to GSMArena)
No expandable storage
8MP camera without IOS
1080p video recording limit (although 4k video is not massively important, yet)
Waited how long for this? Go home Apple.
Xinn3r - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Yep, this just about sums up how much feature is missing from Apple's new hardware... a little bit dissapointed tbh.kmmatney - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Specs don't really matter. My Android phone has a 1080p screen, 2GB of RAM, expandable storage, higher MP camera, etc.. But overall it's been a pain in the ass for me the last year of owning it, being laggy and buggy for a lot of things I do. I'll be glad to get rid of it Once the specs get past a certain point (retina display, and fast enough processor) useability is more important.ZeDestructor - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Not sure what exactly what you're doing on yours, but my Z2 has been pretty flawless for me. Sure, it does lag every now and then, but I'm also someone who can actually make Android run out of RAM on a phone with 3GiB of RAM. And can legitimately use 6+cores and 32+GiB of RAM on a desktop.In the case of my Z2 know where it lags, when it lags, and why it lags, and it boils down to having apps that use WAY too much RAM instead of using a disk cache.
erikiksaz - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Isn't it odd how things have changed in terms of how these phone manufacturers present their newest wares? Apple's presentation looks like it was all about specs, and how they improved this by X amount. Moto on the other hand doesn't push for specs, but more the experience.I feel like it used to be the other way around. Android was trying to catch up so it was Ghz this, GB that. But now they've moved onto to differentiate themselves via audio fidelity, touchless controls, waterproofing, curved screens, etc.
ZeDestructor - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
I can say much the same about desktops and laptops. To a large extent, even the slowest machine is faster than the average user needs it to be (and has been that way since the Core 2 days), so the return for advertising specs is just not that high. Then the market became so uniform with such small margins that it was back to advertising specs.. it's the only thing left to do when everyone sells the same thing.SpartanJet - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
I don't see any mention of the RAM available on the 5.5". I'd think it would need to be 2GB at least to run smoothly considering the extra pixels and the 64bit CPU.eanazag - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
They never mention RAM, especially when they keep it the same. 2GB should be the minimum for 64 bit iOS devices.MikeMurphy - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Never has Apple appeared so far behind the Android ecosystem. All of these features have been included in devices for quite some time now. Even a barometer was included in the Galaxy Nexus.Great move to finally offer a larger screen option. I suspect the 16:9 was chosen to keep the device as narrow as possible for single-handed operation.
Impulses - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Probably easier to source panels too.eanazag - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
So far behind? And metal on the development side is behind? At the same time for the last few years at launch Apple has smoked the competitors on performance. Now, the performance picture doesn't look as good 6 months after launch, but hey.Android and Apple are doing okay. We need Windows Phone to catch up and pressure them.
Poncho_D - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
So...wtf is retina HD? Isn't that stating two completely different resolutions as one screen type?eanazag - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Quick answer: a lack of marketing creativity.Coup27 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
The 5s only had a retina display where as the new 6 has a retina HD display yet the ppi are exactly the same. Absolute clowns. The sad thing is, millions will fall for it.mkozakewich - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Near the top: "The thickness of of the 4.7" model is 6.6mm"The chart has it correct: 6.9mm
eanazag - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
For the record, I don't need a thinner phone. Give me more battery at the same thickness.GC2:CS - Saturday, September 13, 2014 - link
Wait for the 6Seanazag - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Damn shame Home Depot is missing from Apple pay.Daniel Egger - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Am I the only one who f'ing hates bulky phones? Maybe if Apple gets their act together to release a slimmed down version of the 5S with upgraded specs I'd buy an iPhone some day. If I wanted a monster in my pocket a Lumia would provide much more bang for the buck.castle9 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
What is H7 ISP? I'm not familiar with Apple's naming convention of their ISP. Does anyone know?SanX - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Finally. There was no harsher critics of Apple then me last 3 years (Steve was still alive) for their retarded design fault with 3.5-4" crap which did not kill Apple only because it had huge base of "fashion" followers mostly females and technophobic males behind it. This stupidity was the best ever present to competition to rise almost to the stars, leaving Apple with ~10% world market share. Hundreds of billions of US dollars flew abroad and will still fly. Now try to put gene back to the bottle, bitten Apple.barry spock - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
The only thing that really sticks out to me is that they're finally doing a 128gig. Damn I wish they'd managed that for the 5s.tuxRoller - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Sapphire screen?StealthX32 - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Nope. Sapphire screen is only on the Apple Watch.ssiu - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Gruber (Daring Fireball) speculated a "3x retina on a higher-than-1080p screen" for the 5.5" iPhone, so he got it wrong. So how does the 6+'s 1080p display do the "retina" thing? Is it 2x like all other iOS Retina devices (then icons will be smaller than in other iPhones, but can display more content)? Or is it 3x (icons will be bigger; but displays less contents than the iPhone 6)? Or something else?ssiu - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Found the answer: rendered at 3x (2208x1242) then downscaled to 1080p. Not sure I like the idea ...https://twitter.com/stroughtonsmith/status/5094381...
austinsguitar - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
lol. i bet battery life is just as bad as the current iphones XD...austinsguitar - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
please... someone justify the 299 on the iphone 6 plus to me...i have a lg g3/ 32GB/ 3GB ram/ quad core beast/ 5.5 qhdd/ micro sd/ better looking/ lazer auto and stabilization 13 MP camera/ bigger- better battery/ and lighter device for 100 USD.... what is wrong with you apple. did you get dropped as a kid?
TEAMSWITCHER - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Because I'm already in the Apple ecosystem, and don't want to learn something else. Oh yea, and three years from now the iPhone 6+ will still get software updates while G3 will be forgotten.mcirsta - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
3 years from you'll be ashamed to own and Iphone 6+ if it will even work by then ( yes Apple phones do break too ). You are right with the updates but it's not that big of a factor as I doubt it most people keep the iPhone for more than 2-3 years.The iPhone does have a decent value when you sell it as second hand and yes, there's the loved Apple ecosystem ( which I hate with all my heart but hey .... )
edlee - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Top comment of the day, and so true, it doesn't say much about a person when they are using a three year old phonelilo777 - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
You'll need three years of iOS updates just to reach the parity with today's Android. Nothing to brag about.wickedme - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
i don't even know why I went to other tech sites before anandtech. This article right here has all the information found in 10-12 articles on other sites.Rontalk - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
Can I use the T-mobile contract-free iphone 6 with any carrier. (IS IT UNLOCKED?)Nuno Simões - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
Apple 2012 - NFC sucks, it's useless.Apple 2014 - NFC is a top notch technology.
fackamato - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
That doesn't mean Apple is wrong. Why launch a product with a feature that won't be in use for a couple of years?Nuno Simões - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
NFC has been in use since 2004, Android is using it has a secure payment method since Android JB.The point is, last time it was useless, they even made fun of it and how you would touch phones to use it, now it's an oasis in the middle of the desert.
2thdec4y - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
Perhaps true - but it took Apple to make NFC relevant.Nuno Simões - Thursday, September 11, 2014 - link
Did you miss the part where NFC was in use since 2004?TelstarTOS - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
I'm not disappointed. The Plus is almost everything I was expecting.chizow - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
750p, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage on the 4.7" are all major disappointments on a 2014-2015 flagship device. The rest of the improvements are just catching up to industry standards. Once again it looks like Apple spent more on aesthetics than hardware.Hopefully Anand and Brian can help change some of Apple's culture in this regard, but I guess as long as the Sheep keep lining up, not much will change.
mrochester - Thursday, September 11, 2014 - link
I've never understood this fascination with specs. What matters is what the end user experience is like. And in that regard, the iPhone is unmatched and it's Android, Windows Phone, etc, that are all catching up.HisDivineOrder - Wednesday, September 10, 2014 - link
So Apple finally catches up to the competition is the theme of the year, eh?That's not really innovation. It's iteration. Nothing wrong with that, but I've read too many articles proclaiming this to be Apple innovation again when it's just me-too'ing of Android. (I imagine Steve Jobs is spinning in his grave right now at all those versions of the iPhone and aping of Android.)
mrochester - Thursday, September 11, 2014 - link
Apple are already ahead of the competition. It's Google catching up with Apple with things like Android L, and Microsoft with Windows Phone 8.1 etc.AppleCrappleHater2 - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
Worship the holy apple.The apple way, selling over expensive crap to stupid consumers that like to
get robbed.
This has been a disastrous launch in every respect. The iwatch is such an
ugly piece of crap, it is truly unbelievable how a company, formerly known for
its remarkable design, dares to put out such a crap ton of shit. Some
characteristics are glaringly obvious and inherent to it: over expensive,
hardly innovative, limited functionality and usability (need of an iPhone to
make it work), looks exactly like a toy watch and so on.
There are of course way better smart watches out there, especially form the
likes of Samsung, Sony, Motorola, Asus, LG, simply put, there is no need for
another piece of over expensive junk.
The iPhone 6 is technologically stuck in pre-2011 times, a base model witch
a capacity of 16GB without the possibility to use SD cards isn't even funny
anymore. The screen resolution is horrendous, it isn't water proof, shock and
dust resistant, it offers nothing innovative, just some incremental
updates over its predecessor, both lacking severely behind their competitors at
their respective launch dates.
Now the Iphone 6 Plus offers a „Retina HD“ screen, full 1920x1080p, oh wow,
where have you been for the past 4 years apple, talk about trailing behind.
That’s pathetic. The interesting thing about that is the fact that apple
always manages to sell backwards oriented, outdated crap to its user base, all
while pretending to be an innovative technology leader. The similarities
regarding any form of sectarian cult are striking.
You gotta love how Apple always comes up with new marketing bullshit terms,
aka "Retina HD", with the intention to manipulate its users while preventing easy
comparisons with its competitors by withholding the actual specs. Apparently it’s
not enough to have an 1080p screen, you have to call it "Retina HD" to make those
suckers buy it, otherwise someone could look at the 4K Amoled and Oled screens
form LG and Samsung devices and get outright disappointed. Same goes for
everything else. Every outdated „feature“ needs to get its own marketing label
to persuade buyers with crappy „experience“ and „usability“ ads, while covering
the truth with marketing gibberish, knowing full well that only a fraction of
aforementioned buyers cares to look at the facts and dares to compare them.
Car engines come to mind. For comparisons shake let’s look at a 1.0 liter, turbo
charged petrol engine and a V8 compressor. What’s better should be obvious, but
by calling the former an „ecobooster“, thus giving it a special marketing label,
this joke becomes a „feature“, something positive that can be added tot the list
of features of a car.
By doing so a negative aspect is transformed into a positive one, the
reality is distorted, non tech savvy buyers are manipulated and comparisons are
made more difficult (another layer of marketing bullshit to overcome), well done
marketing department. You see , if something is seriously lacking (of course for
profit, what else), don’t bother explaining, just give it a nice marketing term, distort
reality, make it a feature and call it a day. Fuck that!!
The Apple Iphone 1 and Ipad 1 might have been innovative at their time,
but since then, the bitten apple has been continuously rotting from the inside
outwards, always swarmed by millions of Iworms which regale themselves with its
rotten flesh, not forgetting all other Americans who support apple by means of
their tax dollars to finance its bought US Treasury/Government bond interest rates.
Last but not least, every Apple product includes a direct hotlink to the nsa,
free of charge, something that might make it a good value, after all.
Ceterum censeo Applem esse delendam.
co4nd - Monday, September 15, 2014 - link
Sucks when you can't afford one doesn't it.milesmutt - Thursday, September 18, 2014 - link
Oh, it's you again. Posting the same crap in every Apple iPhone 6 article in AT. You seriously need to get laid, bro.Axee7 - Tuesday, September 23, 2014 - link
DOn't buy iPhone 6 Plus.. Its huge and over thin and it get bent so easily.. I just saw horrifying pics here :( read more at axeetech dot com