iPhone 6 or 6 Plus? Here's how I'm leaning after a day hands-on

(Scroll to end of article for pricing and specs.)

If you're in the Apple camp, then right now you're probably thinking, should I trade my iPhone 5s/5c up to an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus

I got both of Apple's new handsets yesterday.

My early impression: the 6 Plus is just a little too big. I'm leaning toward the 6.

I'll be updating this post over the next few days to take in some extra issues such as battery life (which The Verge rates as a breakthrough two days for 6 Plus and one and a half days for the 6, but the Wall Street Journal, ramping the screen to full brightness, slams as "mediocre" sub one day for the Plus and only slightly better for the 6).*

Meantime, here are ten first impressions:

1. New reachibility feature helps get around the "thumbable" problem: Apple is keenly aware that it has previously promoted the iPhone 5s/5c's 4-inch display as the logical thumble size. Any larger, Apple's TV ads asserted, an most people's thumbs can't reach all areas of the screen, rendering it impossible to use the phone with one hand.

The company has come up with a nifty feature to help get around this problem (and one that Samsung, Sony, HTC and others in the giant Android camp must have been kicking themselves they didn't think of): "reachibility".

Here's a quick click of me getting reachable on my 6 Plus (it's actually slightly smoother than this in real life; I'm right-handed but using my left in this instance as I juggle a second iPhone to take the vid):

If you lightly double-tap the home button (not double-click), the icons on the top half of the screen slide down to the bottom half of the display. This trick works with the 6 Plus (which has a 5.5-inch screen) or the 6 (4.7-inch). 

And it also works when you're inside an app, bringing content or menu bars at the top of the screen within easy reach.

It's a clever workaround. But it still involves more clicks. For example, on my iPhone 5s I simply click Messages to check my txts. One click. With the 6 Plus, I double-tap the home button, click Messages, then double tap home again to slide the most recent txt within reach. That's five taps and clicks.

I should add that often I use Siri voice commands to start apps or make a call these days, so that's zero clicks (if you haven't tried the voice assistant lately, it's got better and over time, and 4G has really helped).

2. The tip-over backwards factor. With reachibility, it is possible to use the 6 Plus in one hand. But because Plus is so tall, when you're holding it by the base of the phone it can easily tip over backwards unles you carefully brace it with you forefinger running up the back. It's literally a balancing act. Unless you have huge hands, or are particularly adroit with our fingers, you'll need two hands to use the 6 Plus. 

The shorter, lighter 6 feels like it could be used one handed, without any risk of over balancing. I can move around in one hand and just reach all areas of the screen. That, combined with reachiblity, could be the go.

3. But, but, but ... the Plus makes really good use of its bigger screen/extra pixels: For the first time apps behave differently depending on which iPhone you pick. On the 6 Plus, which has nearly twice the pixels of the 5S, when you hold the handset in landscape mode you get new split-screen viewing options in several Apple apps (pictured above). In Messaging, for example you have your inbox on the left, and a selected individual message display on the right of the screen. In calendar you can see both a weekly view on the left and the current day's appointments on the right, and so forth. The larger display is also just better for Safari's new tabbed browsing mode; for movies an games; and for existing swipe right/swipe left options to see more info in Mail or apps like Twitter.

A caveat: for now, it's only Apple's own apps have been customised to take avantage of the roomy Plus display at this point. As a Google Apps pro user, I use Google's Gmail app when I'm on my iPhone. On the 6 Plus screen, my inbox just looks bigger. Bigger type, bigger menu buttons.

4. Bendgate seems a bust: There was a flurry of publicity after pics appeared on social media of 6 Plus handsets that had allegedly bent after being carried in a front pocket. Apple seemed to take the wind out of this controversy on Friday, when the company said it had only had nine complaints about a 6 Plus bending (and bear in mind the company sold a record 10 million of the 6 and 6 Plus — it didn't break down the split — over the new models' first three days on sale.

Apple says the 6/6 Plus' aluminium and Gorilla Glass 3 unibody case is reinforced with stainless steel and titanium inserts, and was subject to rigorous pressure testing.

It' not magical; apply enough pressure and it will bend (see this video), but just holding the 6 Plus it seems solid and well-engineered, and independent testing by Consumer Reports has found it takes "significant force" to deform one of the phones. [UPDATE: I've not managed to sit on my 6 Plus twice after forgetting it was in my back pocket. Notihing happened to the phone either time.]

The case features typical Apple touches. The lens cover looks like glass, but the company says its actually sapphire. Try to rough it with sand paper and nothing will happen. Only a diamond will cut it.

5) Pocketability: Against expectations, the 6 Plus slid easily into the front pocket of my Levis (and no, it didn't snap like Kit Kat when I sat behind the wheel to drive home).

It helps that although the new models are taller and wider than the 5s/5c, they're also thinner.

The iPhone 6 is 6.9 mm thin, and the iPhone 6 Plus 7.1 mm. The iPhone 5S is 7.6 mm.

6) Slippery creatures: the 6 and 6 Plus's smooth aluminium cases can easily slip and slide around in your hand. Each cries out for a case.

Apple has duly released a series of cases for each of the new models — pictured below — in silicone ($49) and leather ($69 for the 6, $75 for the Plus) but mine won't be incoming for a few days. Of course, third parties will weigh in with cases too.

The 5s has a super smooth aluminium case too, but its squarer edges make it a lot easier to hold.

Also, a minor annoyance: the new iPhones move the sleep button from the top to the upper right hand side of the case. I've often been using the iPhone 6 Plus two-handed when I've reached for the sleep button, and accidentally tapped one of the volume buttons on the left hand side of the phone in the process.

7) Lookers? Yeah, nah, not so much as the 5s: Apple will hate me for saying this, but the more rounded edged design used for both its new phones recalls Samsung. There are still Apple-specific motifs, of course, including the round home button and the all-metal unibody. But for my money, it's doesn't have the stun factor of the iPhone 5s' sharper look.

Against this, the  slight curve of the glass at the edges of the 6/6 Plus display is a clever touch. It means you can easily swipe in from the side of the phone (the iPhone 5s' bezel is a slight bump).

8) First upside down iPhones: Good news for those who wake in the middle of their night then scrabble for their handset in the dark the 6 and 6 Plus are the first iPhones with an iPad like ability to auto-rotate their home screens. Most will use them with the home button at the bottom, but there is no right side up.

9) A beat slower to auto-orientate: Holding my iPhone 5s and 6 Plus, one in each hand, then flipping them from vertical to horizontal at the same time, it's obvious that for all its unmatched processing power, the 6 Plus is a beat slower to automatically re-orientate its screen. It's not  biggie, but fyi (going back from landscape to portrait mode it's a dead head).

As for the display itself: Apple's Retina HD display is already the best around. The new 6 Plus is the highest resolution iPhone display yet. It's 1920-by-1080 pixels, or the same full HD as your big screen TV. It also has a superior angle of viewability. The picture doesn't lose its colour even if you look at it from an extreme angle. There's also a new feature so colours look normal if you're wearing polarised sunglass (rather than the greasy rainbow effect that occurs otherwise).

The iPhone 5s/5c camera is flush with the case; on the iPhone 6/6 Plus the lens protrudes slightly.

10) Best camera around: Apple seems to have hit a home run with the new camera sensor used across the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. 

The Verge has called "iSight" the best smartphone camera ever; the Wall Street Journal labelled it the new king of smartphone cameras.

The rear camera has the same resolution as the iPhone 5s/5c (8mP) but Apple says it not about the megapixels. The iPhone 6/6 Plus sensor senses the direction of light to autofocus, rather than relying on contrast like other smartphone cameras. However it works under the bonnet, the result is obvious: the 6 and 6 Plus are really fast to auto-focus.

Both are also getting good reviews for photos taken at low light — traditionally an area where smartphones are lousy next to a standalone camera.

Apple demo'd the fast autofocus for me in a room with excellent natural light on a sunny day, but typing this in the murk of early morning, the curtains drawn, the autofocus is still superquick; more akin to what you'd expect from a DSLR.

The 6 Plus adds new stabilisation technology. It certainly demo'd well in a clip of a cyclist taking steady footage of another cycliist.

And both phones are better at taking then stitching together panoramas.

Lastly, for the selfie generation there's a new timer mode for the 1.2mP front camera plus a new burst-mode selfie option that will take 10 pictures of your mug at once (also available to people using older iPhones via the free iOS 8 upgrade; see below).

ABOVE: Samsung's Galaxy Note Edge

Big decisions about big phones
Tasty as these new handsets are, Apple is not the only smart device game in town, of course.

If you're eyeing the 6 Plus, but also prone to an Android dabble, you'll probably want to leave your "phablet" buying decision until after you've had the chance to see Samsung's Galaxy Note 4 (an NZ launch event is scheduled for October 13).. The Korean company also has the Galaxy Note Edge in the works, which uses the curved edge of its display to show alerts (see a preview of both here). 

The new Notes look sharp.

But, equally, Samsung will be keeping a nervous eye on Apple's new handsets, particularly the 6 Plus. Will it draw back those who defected to Android purely for a bigger screen?

Upgrade your old iPhone
And lastly, lastly, if you're going to sit on your iPhone 5s/5c for a while, do make sure you take the free option to upgade to iOS 8.

Apple's new software for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch adds a number of useful new features, including iOS 8

The new, free upgrade to iOS (the software that runs iPhone an iPad) includes a new health app, burst-mode selfies,  "Tap to Talk" voice messaging and Family Sharing — which automatically creates shared family photo stream and calendar, and provides an option to locate family members and their devices. Family members can also now browse and download each other’s eligible iTunes, iBooks or App Store purchases. Up to six family members can participate, each with their own Apple ID. Parents can create Apple IDs for children and, with Ask to Buy, require online parental permission for Family Sharing purchases.

iOS 8 also features better predictative text and iCloud Drive, which automatically syncs an edit to a document, or photo, across all your devices.

Support has also been added fro wi-fi calling, or offloading and incoming or outgoing cellular network call to a wi-fi network. Or starting a call on a wi-fi network but as you leave your home or office handing it off to a cellular network. It seems potentially very cool, but so far there is only one carrier lined up to support it (T-Mobile in the US).

ckeall@nbr.co.nz

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Apple store pricing (with free delivery):

iPhone 6

• 16GB: $999
• 64GB: $1149
• 128GB: $1299

iPhone 6 Plus

• 16GB: $1149
• 64GB: $1299
• 128GB: $1449

Apple is also keeping its current models on the market as "budget" models (relatively speaking) with cut-down onboard storage options.

iPhone 5s

• 16GB: $849
• 32GB: $929

iPhone 5c

• 8GB: $619

Phone company pre-order sites

• Spark
• Vodafone
• 2degrees

The the new iPhones are also available at Apple authorised resellers including Noel Leeming and Dick Smith (I was a bit miffed to walk into Dick Smith's Queen Street branch late Friday to find both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus still in stock, but available for sale on 2degrees contract only. So much for three iPhone carriers increasing competition).

As is typical at this early stage of an iPhone release, at most outlets you can only buy an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus on contract. 

Usually things loosen up a month or so after release with off-contract sales introduced.

Basic tech specs

iPhone 6: 138.1 x 67 x 6.9mm, 129g (iPhone 5s: 112g), 4.7-inch display (diagonal), 1334-by-750-pixel resolution at 326 pixels-per-inch

iPhone 6 Plus: 158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1mm, 172g, 5.5-inch display, 1920-by-1080-pixel resolution at 401 ppi.

Both models: A8 chip with 64-bit architecture, M8 motion coprocessor; front camera 1.2 megapixels, rear 8 megapixels

There's also much faster wi-fi on both models (streaking futher ahead than 99% of broadband connections in NZ, so the extra wireless bandwidth largely goes begging; still more is always better). 

And both models get the long-awaited addition of NFC (a near-field communications chip, the better to make a payment by swiping your iPhone over an eftpos terminal). However, support for the new Apple Pay — launching in the US during October — is sometime off in NZ.

See full tech specs here.

* Apple's official battery life claims are up to 12 hours internet use and up to 14 hours video playback wiith the 6 Plus and up to 10 hours internet use and up to 11 hours video for the 6.