iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus bring new size to Apple portfolio
Apple has today announced iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, as well as Apple Watch and Apple Pay.
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus feature 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch Retina HD displays respectively, and are packed with innovative technologies in a thin and seamless design. The new iPhone's feature a precision unibody enclosure of anodised aluminium that conforms seamlessly with the shaped glass of the display, resulting in a completely smooth and continuous surface.
Packed with new technologies, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus include: the Apple-designed A8 chip with second generation 64 bit desktop-class architecture for fast performance and power efficiency; advanced iSight and FaceTime HD cameras; ultrafast wireless technologies; and Apple Pay, an easier way to simply and securely make payments with just the touch of a finger.
Both models include iOS 8, Apple's most advanced mobile OS, featuring a simpler, faster and more intuitive user experience with new Messages and Photos features, QuickType keyboard, a new Health app, Family Sharing and iCloud Drive.
'iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are the biggest advancements in iPhone history,' said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. 'The iPhone is the most loved smartphone in the world with the highest customer satisfaction in the industry and we are making it much better in every way. Only Apple can combine the best hardware, software and services at this unprecedented level and we think customers are going to love it.'
iPhone 6 display features a 1334 x 750 resolution, providing 38% more viewing area than iPhone 5s, while iPhone 6 Plus features an even bigger display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, providing 88% more viewing area and nearly three times the pixels than iPhone 5s. The Retina HD displays offer advanced technologies including higher contrast for deeper blacks and dual-domain pixels for more accurate colours at wider viewing angles.
With second generation 64 bit desktop-class architecture, the all-new A8 chip offers faster performance and is more energy efficient, delivering higher sustained performance with great battery life. With Metal, a new graphics technology in iOS 8, developers can take performance of the A8 chip even further to bring console-class 3D games to iPhone. The A8 chip also includes a new, powerful Apple-designed image signal processor that enables advanced camera and video features.
Both models include the M8 motion coprocessor that gathers motion data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, compass and the new barometer, which senses air pressure to provide relative elevation. The M8 motion coprocessor can continuously measure your motion data, even when the device is asleep, saving battery life for fitness apps that use the sensors all day. With iOS 8, motion data from M8 appears in the Health app so you can see how many flights of stairs you've climbed, or how far the user has walked or run. Developers can use CoreMotion APIs that take advantage of M8 and HealthKit to create apps that help users take better care of health and fitness.
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus also introduce Apple Pay with near field communications (NFC) technology, which will initially be available only to users in the US, from this October. Users can pay securely and conveniently in stores by simply holding the phone near the contactless reader while keeping a finger on Touch ID; there is no need to unlock the iPhone or launch an app. With Apple Pay, users can also make one-touch purchases within apps, without having to enter credit card or shipping information. All payment information is kept private, encrypted and stored securely in the NFC Secure Element, a chip inside the new iPhone's.
The iSight camera gets even better with a new sensor featuring Focus Pixels for faster autofocus, making it easier to quickly capture any moment. iPhone 6 Plus users will also benefit from optical image stabilisation technology that compensates for hand shake in low light and works with iOS 8 to reduce subject motion. High definition video on iPhone improves with faster frame rates up to 60fps for 1080p video and 240fps for slo-mo, as well as continuous autofocus, cinematic video stabilisation and time-lapse video. The FaceTime HD camera now captures over 80% more light with a new sensor, larger f/2.2 aperture and advanced new features including burst mode and HDR video.
With faster LTE download speeds of up to 150 Mbps, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users can browse, download and stream content faster. The new iPhone's also support high quality voice calls over LTE (VoLTE) as well as Wi-Fi calling. With support for up to 20 LTE wireless bands – more than any other smartphone in the world – the new models make it easier to experience high speed networks around the world. Both iPhone's also include 802.11ac Wi-Fi with speeds up to 433 Mbps and Bluetooth 4.0.
The new iPhone's also come with iOS 8, with new features including QuickType keyboard, a new Health app, Family Sharing and iCloud Drive. With more than 4,000 new APIs, iOS 8 allows developers to further customise the user experience with major extensibility features and robust frameworks such as HealthKit and HomeKit.
iPhone 6 comes in gold, silver or space grey, and will be available in the UK for a suggested retail price of
