So 2 days before the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus go on sale, reviews from various top publications in the US are out. Below are a few synopsis, followed by what we make of them —
TechCrunch
Apple has outdone itself with the iPhone 6’s design – despite gaining a significant amount of screen real estate, it doesn’t feel huge compared to its predecessor, and it’s still a very easy device to use one-handed. If Apple has faltered anywhere with design, it might be that protruding iSight camera lens on the back, which sticks out a tiny fraction of an inch thicker than the rest.
Re/Code
The iPhone 6 is a great upgrade for current iPhone owners, or for anyone, really. It manages to provide a much larger display in a phone that’s still small enough to handle easily. It’s my recommendation for the best smartphone you can buy.
Verge
For a variety of reasons, from the camera to the app ecosystem to the hardware itself, the iPhone 6 is one of the best smartphones on the market. Maybe even the best. But it’s still an iPhone. The same thing Apple’s been making for seven years. A fantastically good iPhone, but an iPhone through and through.
Wall Street Journal
iPhones 6’s sleek new hardware sets it up to guide iPhone 6 owners into a new chapter. Instead of looking over at Android phones and wondering what I’m missing, the iPhone once again has my full attention.
What we conclude is that like every year, this iPhone too is the best that Apple has ever made. The good part is that Apple has finally given in to demand for big screen phones. Even if Steve Jobs originally didn’t believe in the concept, it was necessary as they were losing out on market share, especially in Asian countries where people love huge screen sized phones. The 8MP one in the iPhone 6 outperforms the iPhone 5s camera. This is great because instead of simply increasing the megapixel count, they have, for the fourth time, focused on capturing better images. Besides, with the faster A8 chip, iOS 8 works the best with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus; despite the increase in display resolution.
What most didn’t like (us included) are those ugly lines on the back of the phone. A la the HTC One M8, those lines just don’t look appealing. Also, that protruding camera lens. Yes, THAT. After mocking Nexus 5 users for its protruding camera lens, now Apple has literally done the same with the iPhone 6 and the only saving grace is that the lens is coated with sapphire crystals, so that should save it from easily getting scratched. Apart from that, iOS 8 feature upgrade to iOS 7 and it isn’t exclusive to the iPhone 6; it’ll be available all the way to the iPhone 4s. So, the iPhone is more evolutionary not revolutionary, which is what Apple is mostly known for. The real revolution was with Apple Pay and the Apple Watch this year. So, it’s understandable that their energies were divided.