My Week With The iPhone 6 Plus

Another September has essentially come and gone and with it another new iPhone iteration. Like most techies I find myself drawn to new tech when it gets released. I grabbed a PS4 at launch last year but I'm also the same kind of techie that will own both consoles at some point down the line(despite my original feelings on the X-Box One) while also owning a gaming quality PC. And when it comes to phones and gadgets I'm no different. So when the iPhone 6 was announced at the beginning of September I knew I had to have one. It also worked out that my upgrade eligibility was coming up right at that same time having done so for the iPhone 5 two years ago and after suffering with a bugged out battery for months I was ready for something new.

There were rumors for a while that Apple was going to release two versions of their phone, similar to last year's 5c and 5s reveals. This year though wasn't about a budget phone and then real upgrade but more of a full on upgrade from the 5. But at the same time Apple did something they've rarely done before and gave into what has essentially been a trend with these bigger sized phones on the market; attributed to phones like the Galaxy Note. So here you have a slightly bigger 4.7 phone in the iPhone 6 along with your mandatory upgrades on the inside and then you have the whopping 5.5 inch iPhone 6 Plus. As a geek that is all in on the iOS platform I had thoughts about whether I should opt for the smaller phone and trade in my iPad 2 for an iPad Mini. I came to the conclusion that getting the bigger phone and keeping my iPad 2 would be a more fiscally responsible decision.

Financials aside though, I had to take into account that the phone was pretty massive. I'd never held a Note until the week pre-orders were to go live. I toyed around with one briefly at work thanks to a coworker who owned one. Brief impressions of the expected size of the phone were positive and I placed my pre-order that Friday morning. The next week of fretting over my pre-order and the delivery date were rather frustrating. The Apple store was down at 3 am and that meant I needed to order through AT&T. Because of my discount through work that meant ordering through their Premier site which had some issues processing the early batch of orders. Still it was only an extra two days before my iPhone 6 Plus was comfortably in my hands. 

Took some time to get used to the size officially. Even after placing my pre-order I was worried that I would find the phone unwieldy after extended use. I'm a pretty short dude, standing only 5'0" and I've got small hands. That week long wait had me going back and forth about if I had made the right decision. After a week with the phone I can honestly say it was. If you're like me you're the kind of person that is on their phone a lot. That means lots of web browsing, music, games..basically it's like the phone is attached to you hand. I'm also the kind of person that works on the phone for a majority of the day so I hate actually calling and talking to people. I'm a big fan of texting and Facebook communication. One of the best parts about the smaller phones was being able to navigate these phones with one hand.

Thankfully even for someone with small hands this is not a problem on the 6 Plus. Granted it does take a little more maneuvering of the phone but it can be positioned in a way that it works comfortably.  For an avid texter and someone who does a lot of Facebooking this was a major concern that was quickly deflated once I actually had extended use with the phone. Now it's just as easy as using my iPhone 5 was. Once I had handling the phone under control I could focus on other aspects of using the phone. 

Considering that my previous phone had battery issues I was pretty sold on the idea of the 6 Plus having greater battery life. Though you can never really be sure until you put the phone through its paces. I work a 9 a.m to 5:30 p.m shift. There are breaks in between and a few chances to do some browsing and play some games during a slow day. So when I had a slow day this passed week I actually did this. Considering my iPhone 5 had problems getting through a morning with a full charge I was wary. To my surprise I found myself using the phone more and more during the day and by the time 5:30 rolled around and it was time to leave I was still working with a battery between 70-75%. Needless to say I was impressed. 

By this point my major concerns had been taken care of. Great battery life and ease of use. The improvements to iOS 8 also go a long way to making the phone a great experience. Trying to go back to my 5 after would just feel weird. You never realize how much you can do with the extra screen space until you have it. Not to mention the landscape mode which is great for managing email and playing games. Unfortunately as of this writing I haven't put the phone through it's full paces as far as games go as I've only been playing Godus and Clash of Clans. However I have noted performance issues of Clash of Clans on my iPad 2 while it runs buttery smooth on my iPhone 6 Plus. 

When it comes down to it, what you really need to consider is what you can do with the extra screen space and if you need it. But also take into consideration the portability of it. My work slacks have deep pockets and I would normally carry a wallet in one pocket and my phone in the other. My jean pockets aren't as forgiving and when it came down to it, I figured I need a case that protects the phone but also allows me to cut down on some pocket clutter. Going with a folio/wallet case means I'm not fighting for space in my pockets since the phone does happen to take up a considerable amount of space. 

There's also the possible bending issue that people keep bringing up; but I think as long as you have a decent case you should be set. As stated earlier, I use my phone often so it's always in my hands. There's no time for it to sit in my pocket for a potential bending. And when it's not in my hands it's either on my desk at work in my case(which doubles as a kickstand) or on my desk at home. In the end..I really can't think of a reason not to get this phone. The extended battery life is a plus and the added enhancements to the camera(for image stabilization) totally make it worth it.