Apple stores opened at 8 a.m. local time around the world on Friday.CNET
For Apple fans who wait in line for hours, if not days, to buy a new iPhone, there's no greater fear than dropping the prized possession they waited so long for. But that's exactly what happened to one man in Australia.
Early on Friday, Jack Cooksey was first in line at an Apple store in Perth, Western Australia. After the doors opened and he purchased an iPhone 6, he ecstatically showed it off to a local news channel. During the interview, Cooksey appeared to have some trouble opening the iPhone 6 box. As he popped off the top -- perhaps getting a little too excited to see Apple's latest iPhone -- the brand new iPhone 6 fell to the pavement below.
For a moment, there was a gasp (and laughter) in the crowd surrounding Cooksey. Quick on his feet, he bent down, picked up the handset and discovered, much to his relief, that it survived the scary fall.
The comedic drop was set against the backdrop of what could be one of the biggest iPhone launches in Apple's history. Apple announced the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus at an event on September 9. Last Friday, the company kicked off preorders of the two iPhones and sold 4 million units in the first 24 hours, setting a new preorder record.The entire event, which was caught on live television, was likely one of the first iPhone 6 drops in the world. Thanks to Australia's time zone, Apple fans in the country are some of the first in the world able to get their hands on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
Apple stores opened at 8 a.m. local time around the world on Friday. Other retailers and carrier stores are also carrying the devices. It's expected that stock will be tight.
Apple CEO Tim Cook opens the doors Friday morning at Apple's Palo Alto store.Mariel Myers/CNET
As the world turns and the sun rises Friday, Apple stores worldwide have opened their doors to massive crowds seeking the new iPhone 6 andiPhone 6 Plus.
This year's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are most notable for their scaled-up screen sizes of 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches, respectively, giving Apple fans the option of larger handsets already commonplace among Android phones.
Both iPhone models include the new 64-bit A8 processor, an improved 8-megapixel rear camera, longer battery life, and an NFC chip that, at launch,will be used exclusively by the Apple Pay payment service that kicks off in the US in October.
Demand for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus was high when preorders began last Friday. Within hours, all iPhone 6 Plus models were on a three- to four-week delivery delay, while most iPhone 6 models were pushed back to seven to 10 days.Apple later announced record preorders of more than 4 million iPhones in the first 24 hours.
Thousands of people lined up for the iPhone around the world. In years past, store employees handed out cards to people waiting for the phone, allowing them to claim a specific configuration of the device. But that came with some problems, such as people changing their mind or switching cards with others. Also, it wasn't always accurate with what was still in stock.
This year, the reservation system went digital in some places, including the US. Apple Store employees collected the names and contact information of everyone in line, as well as which phone models they wanted, and the customers would then receive an email or text with the reservation details. The people then could leave the line and return later to purchase the device -- but the iPhone had to be bought that day. And it didn't let people skip the line when they returned.
According to an Apple Store employee in San Francisco, Apple's new reservation system crashed Friday morning. As of 7:30 a.m. PT, the system had gone back online on the East Coast, but it was unclear the status of the system in the Midwest or West Coast. We've contacted Apple for information and will update the report when we know more.
Many customers in line in New York and San Francisco said they found the idea of a new digital reservation system helpful so they could leave and come back later, but some in San Francisco have complained the system didn't work.
Jose Carrasco, a 29-year-old working in software sales, got in line in San Francisco at 5 a.m. PT but didn't get to the front until after 1 p.m. By then, the store was out of 6 Plus models, the device he originally wanted, Carrasco said. And the digital reservation system never worked for people waiting at that Apple Store in downtown San Francisco.
"They ended up not implementing any type of system," Carrasco said. "It was just wait and see what they had left in stock when you got to the front of the store. [But] the staff did a great job of checking on everyone who was waiting in line and communicating stock levels."
Check out launch scenes from CNET's reporters around the world:
SYDNEY -- First in line for the world's first on-sale time zone is Salvatore Gerace, who has been queued up since before the Apple announcement event last week. He admits he is here as a PR stunt for his new app and will be giving away the phone as a prize to promote his company.
The queues in Sydney are the strongest seen since the iPhone 3G (Australia's first iPhone), and estimates put the number in the queue just before opening at over 1,200. Apple has been using iPads to help customers in line prepare their orders prior to the 8 a.m. local opening time.
Others in the Sydney queue include Claudius Stocker, a backpacker in the line at No. 30, having only arrived a day previously. While he's clearly an Apple fan -- "they do everything better than the other manufacturers", he tells us -- he's also here to make money.
The George Street Apple Store in Sydney is the focus of attention as the first time zone where the iPhone 6 goes on sale.Seamus Byrne/CNET
"I am also shooting a documentary," he says before co-opting a friend to film us filming him. Rather candidly, he admits that he'll be "selling my iPhone 6 as soon as stocks run low -- I am a poor backpacker and this is almost a few days work for me!"
Further down the line are Rafael and Eduardo, both Brazilian. "We came over from Brazil just for this!" They've queued since lunchtime Thursday but are clearly excited enough about their trip that even sleeping out overnight feels like an adventure. Rafael plans on getting the iPhone 6, while Eduardo is keen on the 6 Plus: "It might be too big, but I want to try it myself to find out."
Among the huge numbers of Apple Store staff on site for the Sydney opening, some keen-eyed observers said they spotted Angela Ahrendts, Apple's new senior vice president of retail and online stores, on hand for the Sydney opening.
SINGAPORE -- Unlike the other launch countries, Apple doesn't have retail stores on the island state. As such, the Apple iPhone 6 can only be purchased from carriers or third-party resellers.
For locals, signing a new two-year contract is the easiest way to get a subsidized iPhone 6 or 6 Plus.
Play
Dinnie Lim, who works at a local startup, turned up at 8 a.m. local time to collect her phone after making an online reservation from local carrier SingTel. She's upgrading from the previous generation to the iPhone 6.
"I'm loving it," she said. "Though it feels a bit too big."
Because Singapore is the only country in Southeast Asia that's part of the global launch, visitors from other countries such as Vietnam and Bangkok planned holidays to coincide with Apple's retail date. These tourists either want to get their hands on the Apple smartphone way ahead of their fellow citizens or are hoping to make a quick buck by reselling the iPhone once they are back home.
Resale prices can easily fetch twice the original retail price and handily cover the cost of their holiday here. Such buyers are more than willing to queue overnight or even the day before to secure a few phones.
LONDON -- Apple's flagship shop in London's historic Covent Garden played host to a typically enormous queue this morning, as eager Brits lined up to get their paws on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
Masses queue for the iPhone 6 outside London's Covent Garden store.Luke Westaway/CNET
Apple has implemented a digital queueing system this year, which sees those in line assigned a QR code that tells employees in the shop exactly which model, size and colour iPhone that customer is after. This speeds up transactions inside the glassy walls of the store itself -- and gives Apple a better grasp of which models are most in demand.
Based on a straw poll of those in the queue, neither the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus appeared to have an edge in terms of popularity. Brad Karp was one buyer waiting to pick up a reserved 128GB iPhone 6 in gray, who told me he'd opted for the more diminutive model as he "didn't want to have to buy new pants for bigger pockets."
New iPhone owner Laurie brandishes his purchase outside London's flagship Apple store.Luke Westaway/CNET
Also opting for the iPhone 6 was Laurie who went for a 64GB model in gray and said the 6 Plus was a bit too close to the iPad Mini for his liking. Another customer named Graham said he felt the same way, noting that the Nexus 4 he'd been using previously was big enough. iPhone buyer Clarence, by contrast, chose the 5.5-inch 6 Plus. As an app developer, he said he wanted access to Apple's biggest smartphone screen.
NEW YORK -- A line of hundreds of people filled the sidewalks for blocks around Apple's marquee Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan early Friday morning. Some had been waiting near the store's giant glass cube for weeks.
Among them were Manhattan residents Nama Matheus and Hunter Kemp, who became friends after meeting near the front of the line about two weeks ago. Before the store opened, the two joked about the difficulties of having to wait outside for days. "Horrible idea -- never doing this again," Kemp, 25, said with a laugh. Both planned on buying an iPhone 6 Plus with 128 gigabytes of storage.
The Fifth Avenue Apple store in Manhattan may have had a longer line for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus than for other launches.Sarah Tew/CNET
Further away from the cube, Jonathan Lawrence, a 23-year-old college student from Brooklyn, said he had waited since 4:30 p.m. local time Thursday and had spent a sleepless night outside. Still, he smiled about the idea of getting his iPhone 6 Plus before most of his friends, saying it would make him "very, very happy."
Nearby at Grand Central Terminal, two long lines stretched from either side of the entrance to the train station. The night before, Noah Selling, a 31-year-old IT professional, was sitting on a camping chair, waiting patiently since the early evening for his chance to buy an iPhone 6 Plus. He had already preordered the phone through AT&T, but found out his device wouldn't ship to him until October, so he decided to try getting it earlier by camping out for the night.
"I thought I'd take a risk here," he said, but lamented that it was "going to be a long night."
The first person out of the flagship Manhattan store wasn't the first person in line. It was Andreas Gibson, a preorder customer who "only" had to wait outside since 3 a.m. local time.Sarah Tew/CNET
As the Fifth Avenue store was about to open, a group of Apple employees surrounding the entrance cheered and then counted down, as a crush of television cameras crowded the sidewalk nearby. The first two in line were Mississippi residents Moon and Jason Ray, who were there to promote the Video Medicine app, which lets you video-conference with doctors. They weren't originally first in line, but then their company paid $1,250 each to the first two people -- Brian Ceballo and Joseph Cruz -- so that Moon and Jason Ray could step into the first slots.
Still, the first out of the store was Andreas Gibson, a preorder customer who only had to wait outside since around 3 a.m. local time. He ecstatically held up his iPhone 6 Plus as he came out of the store and the media swarmed him, as has become tradition.
It wasn't all smooth sailing. At around 7 a.m ET people lined up near the back of the line on 59th Street started running in an attempt to skip. The line appeared to be on the verge of breaking down, but Apple employees slowed them down, and were able to halt the rush.
SAN FRANCISCO -- As of 2 p.m. PT on Thursday, only 30 people waited in line at the Apple Store near San Francisco's Union Square. By 8 a.m. Friday, the line had swelled to what appeared to be more than 1,000, and people just kept joining the line. People who've been to previous iPhone launches at the store said the line appeared to be much longer than earlier years, stretching around all four sides of the block.
The line at the San Francisco Apple Store stretched more than four blocks long on Friday.James Martin/CNET
Huong Dinh, the first person in line, arrived at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, along with five companions. Some were buying devices to send to family members. Further down the line, Marco Abella and Raj Kaur arrived at 1:30 a.m. on Thursday in the midst of the first rainstorm San Francisco has seen in weeks. The 25-year-old nurses, wielding umbrellas, said they planned to buy the 64GB iPhone 6 Plus in gold.
"I've wanted to try a bigger phone since the Samsung one first came out," Kaur said. "Now I can rub it in Samsung peoples' faces that the iPhone's bigger too."
Cassidy Szarnicki, a 19-year-old student about to start her freshman year at UCLA, arrived at the store at 1 a.m. to be about 10th in line. She bought the 64GB iPhone 6.
Buying his phone from Switzerland via a telepresence robot, Anil Dharni appears in the Stockton Street Apple Store in San Francisco via his iBot. His friend, Andy Keidel, waited in line with the robot.James Martin/CNET
"I originally was going to preorder online, but it said it was backed up," Szarnicki said. "I didn't want to wait."
Anil Dharni, meanwhile, "virtually" waited in line with his friend, Andy Keidel. The two entrepreneurs live in the Bay Area, but Dharni was traveling in Switzerland on Friday. They originally planned to pay someone to wait in line for them but were worried about the risks involved. Instead, Keidel waited in line, and Dharni talked with store employees through Apple's FaceTime videoconferencing app, running on an iPad fixed onto a cardboard robot.
"Telepresence is becoming bigger," said Keidel, who got in line at 7 p.m. Thursday and was joined by Dharni and the virtual "iBot" at 1 a.m. "So why not make something that makes that look respectable?"
Some of the first customers in line for the iPhone at the Apple Store near San Francisco's Union Square make their purchases.James Martin/CNET
He was quick to note the iBot was not a business or any product but was just something fun to do for waiting in line. He and friends built the cardboard robot just before getting in line, buying the speaker to project Dharni's voice -- and music overnight -- from the Apple Store before it closed Thursday. Both bought the iPhone 6 Plus in 128GB and space gray.
Apple Store employees escorted the "personal pick-up line" customers into the store first. Those were people who had ordered and paid for the device online but chose to collect it in the store. Joshua Cook, the first person allowed in the store and the first person out, left Sacramento at 2:30 a.m. to get in line in San Francisco at 5 a.m.
"It's worth it," said the 37-year-old, who has bought every iPhone on the first day they're released. "Inside, it's almost like you're a superstar. They treat you like you're one of a kind."
The GoodA bigger, crisp display, improved LTE and Wi-Fi speeds, better camera autofocus, bumped-up storage capacities to 128GB at the top end, and NFC Apple Pay mobile wallet features on the horizon.
The Bad In early tests, the iPhone 6's battery doesn't fare any better than last year's model. Some Android phones fit an even-larger 5-inch screen into the same size frame. It lacks the optical image stabilization of the bigger, more expensive 6 Plus.
The Bottom LineThe iPhone 6 delivers a bigger screen while remaining easy to handle, with plenty of features to satisfy everyone -- and the promise of Apple Pay on the horizon to potentially sweeten the deal even further.
I'm sitting on my sofa. I pull out my phone to check sports scores. Wait, which phone was it again? I'm starting to lose track. For a second, I think it's the 6 Plus. Wait, it's the 6.
I've been using the iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus side by side for a week, and I can tell you this: both of Apple's new iPhones have better, big displays. And both make the iPhone 5S' screen seem small. But I'm having a hard time picking which one I prefer. That's pretty frustrating. At least I know this: the iPhone 6 is a lot like the Plus...minus a few features.
For years, Android phones have shipped with displays in expansive, 5-inch-ish sizes, but Apple has stubbornly insisted on the necessity of a small screen for one-handed operation. The iPhone 5S, while powerful, hit a wall in viewing room: its 4-inch screen was among the smallest on the market, and, frankly, I found it limiting.
The iPhone 6 (left) and the 6 PlusCNET
No longer. Now, Apple has created two larger iPhones, one big, the other even bigger: the iPhone 6 sports a 4.7-inch screen, while the iPhone 6 Plus goes full "phablet" with a 5.5-inch display. Both of the new iPhones boast flatter designs, ship with somewhat faster A8 processors, slightly improved cameras, speedier Wi-Fi and LTE, better voice quality if you're using voice-over-LTE, and more onboard storage.
Both 2014 models also incorporate Apple Pay, the new and potentially revolutionary NFC-powered payment system that turns the phone into a credit card. Apple Pay could be the biggest feature on these new iPhones if it works as advertised; stay tuned for more on that when it launches in the US in October.
Between the two new iPhones, the iPhone 6 feels best in my hand. It's thin, elegant, performs really well, and has many of the features I need. But it lacks extra battery life and optical image stabilization, which I care about. So do you go with the more expensive, larger iPhone 6 Plus? I wish I didn't have to debate between two very similar premium phones. (Be sure to check out CNET's full review of the iPhone 6 Plus.)
The iPhone 5S, the 6, and the 6 Plus.CNET
6, or 6 Plus?
See, here's the problem: Apple has added two phones at once for the first time. And they're both pretty similar. So which one do you pick?
The good news is that the iPhone 6, which feels great to hold, has nearly all the same features as the 6 Plus. The iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus both have larger screens than previous iPhones. They both have new A8 processors. They both have 16, 64, or 128GB of storage. They both come in three colors: white/silver, white/gold, and space gray, which is black/darker silver.
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The differences between the two aren't that tremendous, but they're important. The 6 has a 4.7-inch, 1,344x750-pixel display. The 6 Plus has a 5.5-inch, 1,920x1,080-pixel display, plus optical image stabilization in the camera and the ability to run more apps in horizontal-landscape mode, with split-screen effects like an iPad. It's also significantly bigger, and weighs more -- but it does have a longer battery life.
You're not losing much with the 6. But it's not the absolute top of the line, and maybe that bugs you. If it does, get the 6 Plus.
For potential buyers of both phones, here's how it breaks down:
For owners of older iPhones looking to upgrade, these new iPhones are massive leaps in screen size. The 4.7-inch iPhone 6 will probably be more than enough, but the 6 Plus may be downright intimidating unless you're looking for a mini-tablet.
For Android owners who once jumped ship from iOS and want to come back, this is the iPhone generation you've been waiting for. It's the best iPhone since the iPhone 5. Back then, 4G LTE and an improved screen and camera made the difference. This time, a larger screen, a fast processor, NFC with Apple Pay (although likely only that), the additional customization features of iOS 8, and bumped-up storage tiers go a long way to close the feature gap with current top Android phones.
For iPhone 5S owners or habitual iPhone upgraders, think of the chief advantages as a bigger screen and the potential of Apple Pay. The improved processor, camera, 4G LTE and Wi-Fi speeds, and possible battery-life gains are steps up, but not massive leaps. In other words, if you don't have a strong desire for the larger screen, you could easily ride your iPhone 5S (running iOS 8) for 12 more months, and wait for the inevitable iPhone 6S and 6S Plus in 2015.
For hard-core Android fans, well, there are Android phones that cost less, have higher-resolution screens, boast better battery life, have removable SD card storage, and even removable batteries. You won't find all of these on an iPhone 6, but this is the most attractive iPhone yet. You can't have everything in Appleland.
Apple iPhone 6
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
Samsung Galaxy S5
Motorola Moto X (2014)
US base price (with two-year agreement)
$199
$299
$199
$99
UK base price (unlocked)
£539
£619
£350
£420
Australia base price (unlocked)
AU$869
AU$999
AU$900
N/A
Display size/resolution
4.7-inch 1,344x750 IPS (326 ppi)
5.5-inch 1,920x1,080 IPS (401 ppi)
5.1-inch 1,920x1,080 Super AMOLED (432 ppi)
5.5-inch 1,920x1,080 AMOLED (423 ppi)
Processor
1.39GHz Apple A8 (64-bit)
1.38GHz Apple A8 (64-bit)
2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon (Krait400)
2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon (Krait400)
RAM
1GB
1GB
2GB
2GB
Internal storage
16GB, 64GB or 128GB
16GB, 64GB or 128GB
16GB, 32GB
16GB, 32GB
Expandable storage
No
No
Yes (microSD)
No
Networking
802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
Operating system
iOS 8
iOS 8
Android 4.4.2
Android 4.4.4
US carriers
AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon
AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon
AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon
AT&T, Verizon
CNET
Design
My favorite-feeling 4.7-inch phone, the one that proved larger screens could be made in compact sizes, was the 2013 Motorola Moto X. Does the iPhone 6 pull off the same feel? It's close, but different.
The new iPhone design may seem bold and different, or possibly a little like the HTC One M8's curved metal, but it's also still very Apple. In fact, it's kind of like the iPod Touch design, or how the iPads are made. This iPhone is slightly thinner than before, but it feels much thinner; part of that's the increased screen size, and partly it's the curved design. Glass from the front folds ever so slightly around the edges, and the sharp industrial hard edges of the iPhone 5 and 5S are completely gone.
It also feels a little like the original iPhone, which had a curved design, too.
CNET
The new iPhone feels good to hold and beautifully solid; the metal back and glass front are smoothed, and comfortable. But it also has a slight aura of fragility; maybe it's the extra-slim look, or the massive pane of curved glass on the front. I instantly wanted to slip it into a case just to be safe.
Also, the slightly protruding camera lens on the back of the iPhone 6, while similar to the one on the fifth-gen iPod Touch, made me worry about placing the phone down on rough surfaces, regardless of the sapphire lens.
Play
The volume buttons, which were round, raised buttons before, are now elongated like those on the iPod Touch and iPad. The top-right power/sleep button has shifted to the right, like you find on some Android phones. It takes some getting used to, but it's easier to press now that the phone is bigger.
CNET
A round Touch ID home button remains at the bottom, and works the same as on last year's iPhone 5S: a simple press unlocks your phone, and it works amazingly well most of the time. This year, iOS 8 and Apple Pay will allow you to do more with Touch ID, making it an even more essential feature. But reaching that home button isn't quite as easy with one hand as it was before.
The 2013 Moto X (left), iPhone 6 (center), Nexus 5 (right). See what I mean?CNET
If I have one problem with the new design, it's the bezel around the display. It's still big; bigger than most Android phones. It means that an iPhone 6 with its 4.7-inch screen is the same size as some 5-inch screen phones. For instance, the iPhone 6 is about the same height and width as a Nexus 5, which has a larger 5-inch screen, but larger than last year's Moto X, which fits the same 4.7-inch display into a more compact body.
Both the Moto X and Nexus 5 are thicker, but the iPhone 6's thin design also means a larger, flatter body. The iPhone 6 measures 5.4 by 2.6 inches, and 0.3 inch thick (138 by 67 by 69 mm). It weighs 4.5 ounces, or 128 grams.
CNET
Can that bezel be reduced next time, perhaps? Sure, the Touch ID home button needs to fit below the screen, but the extra space on top could have been been shaved down (assuming Jony Ive can live without a symmetrical design).
Yes, the new iPhone 6 is still one-hand friendly, and a whole bunch more so than the iPhone 6 Plus. There's even a sometimes useful but weird software feature called Reachability that pulls the top half of the display down to midscreen with a light double-tap of the Home button, for easy thumb access. It's helpful for one-handed use. I just wish the whole phone was a little less big...or that it could fit a slightly bigger screen in the same chassis.
CNET
Display: Improved, but good enough?
The iPhone 6 has an increased 4.7-inch display, a similar screen size as last year's Moto X. It's big for Apple phones, but still on the smaller side for Android phones, which have moved, lately, to the 5-inch territory.
iPhones have always had phenomenal displays, in terms of brightness and color quality both: David Katzmaier here at CNET has tested the last few, and they've been among the tops in smartphones.
We haven't done full display testing on these new iPhones yet -- stay tuned for that -- but the iPhone 6's 4.7-inch IPS display looks vivid, rich, and as good as that on the iPhone 5 or 5S, just bigger. But not that much bigger. The display's 1,344x750-pixel resolution is higher than the iPhone 5/5C/5S' 1,136x640, but it has the same 326ppi pixel density. It's a good step up, and a big help for nearly anything you'd use your phone's screen for.
A grid of six-by-four apps now fits on each page plus the four in the dock below, for 28 total: on the 5's 4-inch display, it's 24. There are more pixels horizontally and vertically, unlike the merely vertical lengthening of the iPhone 5. That also means the aspect ratio's the same, and videos and Web pages scale similarly.
A handy comparison of all iOS screen sizes: 4S, 5S, 6, 6 Plus, iPad Mini, iPad Air.CNET
There aren't any optimized apps that take advantage of the extra pixels, other than Apple's core preinstalled apps, but older apps still scale up and fill the space without black bars. The results are mixed: the Kindle app and Netflix actually looked great, and text and video were crisp.
Many games look great, too, even without updating: Badland, Riptide GP2, Unpossible, and text-based games like Device 6. Some apps, however, have icons, keyboards and buttons that end up looking too large in the magnified display size. App updates will likely take care of this for most situations in the weeks to come, but right now it's not a perfect transition.
CNET
The iPhone 6 Plus has an even more impressive 1,920x1,080 5.5-inch display and 406 pixels per inch, but it's also a much larger phone. For my tastes, I'd go with the 4.7-inch iPhone 6. My opinion might change as I slowly accept ever-larger phones. I still think many people will find this 4.7-inch screen to be perfectly good, and perfectly functional while still being portable. But in the world of modern smartphones, the 6's screen resolution is a step below ideal.
It's much better than older iPhones, though. After a week using the iPhone 6, my iPhone 5S screen looks like the one on a first-gen iPhone.
Performance: Faster still
How fast do we need our phones to be? The potential of last year's crazily-fast-on-paper A7 processor still hasn't been fully tapped. The new A8 processor on the iPhone 6 isn't quite the quantum leap the A7 was. It's a 64-bit dual-core processor just like the A7, but Apple claims a 25 percent boost in speed and 50 percent graphics boost over last year's iPhone 5S.
In our tests (see the benchmarks below), we found that the A8, while faster, is a decent bump rather than a giant vault. Depending on which benchmark test you look at, the new processor was either above other phones (SunSpider 1.0.2, Linpack) or more in the middle of the pack (Geekbench 3, 3DMark).
These don't necessarily tell the whole story, but the A8 isn't a leap over the competition; it's more of a step forward year-over-year from the A7, while mobile processors keep getting faster all around. But really, what you want to know is, how do apps feel? The UI and app-launching speed of the new iPhone is zippy as always.
What will really prove how things feel are apps optimized for the new display. Those aren't really here yet in time for this early review, but stay tuned for future impressions with iPhone 6-tweaked games and apps. Also, keep in mind that Apple's new Metal coding tool for gaming could help iOS games perform even better with the A8 than what these initial benchmarks suggest.
3DMARK ICE STORM -- UNLIMITED (IN FRAMES PER SECOND)
Apple iPhone 5S
13,858
Apple iPhone 6
17,374
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
17,565
Motorola Moto X (2014)
19,802
Samsung Galaxy S5
19,802
HTC One M8
20,669
NOTE:
Longer bars indicate better performance
GEEKBENCH 3 (IN FRAMES PER SECOND)
HTC One M8
869
2409
Apple iPhone 5S
1412.2
2,562
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
1619
2881
Apple iPhone 6
1627
2924
Samsung Galaxy S5
949
2934
Motorola Moto X (2014)
1001
3052
LEGEND:
Single-core (Blue)
Multi-core (Red)
NOTE:
Longer bars indicate better performance
LINPACK MULTITHREAD (IN MFLOPS)
Motorola Moto X (2014)
803.175
HTC One M8
814.815
Samsung Galaxy S5
869.416
Apple iPhone 5S
975.92
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
1358.2
Apple iPhone 6
1378.2
NOTE:
Longer bars indicate better performance
SUNSPIDER 1.0.2 (IN MILLISECONDS)
Motorola Moto X (2014)
776.6
Samsung Galaxy S5
769.2
HTC One M8
635.1
Apple iPhone 5S
416.6
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
381.9
Apple iPhone 6
345.2
NOTE:
Shorter bars indicate better performance
An equally welcome addition is 802.11ac Wi-Fi and improved LTE antennas, which allow for faster Web browsing on both Wi-Fi and LTE.
I tried LTE browsing on an AT&T iPhone 6 across several places, including San Francisco, New York City, Montclair, New Jersey, and Green Bay, Wisconsin. Download speeds were generally somewhat better than over an LTE AT&T iPhone 5S. Upload speed was a little more impressive. In Green Bay, I averaged 5.09 Mbps download and 10.6 Mbps upload speeds in the Lambeau Field parking lot for a Jets-Packers game, while the iPhone 5S averaged 4.3 Mbps download and 6.2 Mbps upload speeds. From a restaurant in Clifton, New Jersey, I averaged 8.3 Mbps download and 4.6 Mbps upload on the iPhone 6, versus 8.4 Mbps download and 3.3 Mbps upload on an iPhone 5S. Stay tuned for more detailed testing of Wi-Fi and LTE network speeds from CNET in the days to come.
CNET
Call quality
The new iPhones have some audio-improvement tweaks for phone calls: the phones can make higher-quality audio calls via voice over LTE (VoLTE) and can make calls over Wi-Fi when your cell connection is weak. Stay tuned for more tests of this; deployment of both are happening over time and differ by carrier.
T-Mobile's voice over LTE and Wi-Fi calling features should be working now, while Verizon's nationwide VoLTE coverage should be ready by the iPhone's September 19 launch. AT&T's will take more time; a few test cities are getting VoLTE now, but your city might not get it until later this year.
Another benefit of voice over LTE is that Verizon customers will finally get simultaneous voice and data, which wasn't possible before on other iPhones. Note, however, that both parties need to be using VoLTE-compatible phones in VoLTE-compatible coverage areas to get that benefit.
I tried making a number of FaceTime and voice calls comparing the iPhone 6 with the 5S. FaceTime calls looked better to others because of the new iPhone's front-facing camera improvements. Voice calling sounded clear, with a somewhat softer, muted tone than calls on the iPhone 5S.
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Camera
It's come to the point where we expect yearly camera upgrades of significance in our phones. The new iPhone's biggest improvements come in autofocus: the 8-megapixel rear iSight camera has the same megapixel count and flash as last year, but autofocus has been improved for both still photos and videos. Apple says its new sensor uses "focus pixels," but what that means is I've found the camera does a far better job at avoiding out-of-focus shots. Your days of tapping-to-focus are over. I found that the iPhone 5S, though it took great shots, often had to do an annoyingly long focus cycle before taking a clear shot. The iPhone 6 is faster at doing this, and more invisibly so.
Both front and rear cameras have the same megapixel count as before (8 on the back, 1.2 on the front), and for the most part, except for focus, still shots that I took around my home using both cameras didn't look that much different from each other. To my eyes, the iPhone 6 camera isn't the leap that the iPhone 5S' was from the 5's. The LED "true-tone" flash remains the same, as does the sapphire lens.
Sample chicken photo taken with rear iSight camera.CNET
But don't discount the importance of autofocus for quicker clear snaps, and especially for videos. In fact, this new iPhone's biggest camera improvements are probably in the video-recording department. Videos look good even if someone dives in and out of camera: my crazy kids, five and one and a half, running around in my living room managed to look clear when I reached my phone to record a clip.
The iPhone's video-recording speeds can be set at 60fps now, which gives a more immediate crispness for high-speed action. Slow-motion video recording can be set to 120 or 240 frames per second. File sizes get high at 240fps, but you end up with highlight clips that feel like "Matrix" outtakes. And the panorama mode takes much clearer 43-megapixel photos: you can zoom in and see more detail, if you're into large panoramas.
FaceTime front-facing photos get a subtle boost with a larger f2.2 aperture, improved HDR sensors, and a quick-burst mode like the rear camera added last year. It's better for selfies in low light, and seems better so far for FaceTime calls, too. It's not dramatic, but it's noticeable. Also, the FaceTime camera has shifted off-center this time, slightly to the left of the speaker. At first it seems odd, but it's clever: I used to keep staring at my own face in the corner when I made video calls in landscape mode, which caused my eyes to drift. Now, the lens and your face can line up, and it made me avoid the "zombie" look.
Note: iPhone 6 Plus owners also get optical image stabilization for photo and video recording. iPhone 6 owners, you do not: instead, there's inferior digital image stabilization. Optical image stabilization keeps shots steadier for night or low-light pictures, which is really cool. It's a shame the 6 doesn't include it, but better autofocus is a more useful feature on a daily basis, and thankfully both cameras are identical in every other way.
The camera quality is improved, and it's most noticeable when taking larger, far clearer panorama shots, quick on-the-fly selfies, or shooting video. And the autofocus technology this time around makes everyday photos more reliably clear. But the tweaks this time are much less dramatic than they were in the iPhone 5s or 5. iPhone 5s owners aren't missing very much in this new camera, but stay tuned for more detailed camera testing.
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Storage boost: Onboard and on iCloud
Good news for storage hogs, myself included: Apple has finally bumped up this year's storage to a maximum 128GB, but you have to pay up. The $199 iPhone 6 still only has 16GB of space, which is only acceptable if you don't use your phone to take photos. The other options -- $299 gets you 64GB, $399 gets you 128GB -- are the ones I'd recommend. 64GB is plenty of space, but it's surprisingly easy to max it if you take a ton of home videos. Get 128GB if you're a serious iPhone movie maker, or an app hoarder.
Apple's iCloud storage plans, which allow for seamless online backup of mail, documents, and your entire photo library, have also fallen down to earth. You get 10GB of storage free and can pay all the way up to 1TB. And 200GB of storage now costs less per year than 50GB used to just a month ago. There are cheaper cloud storage services, but iCloud is actually competitive with places like Dropbox.
Health: a possible breakthrough iOS 8 app for medical records.CNET
iOS 8
The new iPhones have iOS 8 preinstalled, of course; Apple's latest OS will be available to other iPhone owners (4S and later, that is, or iPod Touch fifth-gen owners), too, as well as iPad 2 and later owners.
We'll post a full review of iOS 8, but in short, it's very like iOS 7, with a new deeper focus on extended functions: third-party keyboards, plug-ins, expanded notifications, seamless hand-off to OS X Yosemite-running Macs, and of course, a new Health app that aims to knit in measurements and medical reports from other apps and sources, as well as HomeKit for smart-home connectivity.
Apple Pay: Will it replace your wallet?CNET
Apple Pay: The killer app in waiting?
What could make even more of a difference is Apple Pay, an NFC-based mobile wallet technology that aims to legitimize what smartphones have been trying for years. Credit cards, banks, stores, stadiums, even Disney World will work with it. Alas, Apple Pay won't launch until October in the US, so stay tuned for a test of how it works. For now, it's a feature in waiting. While the new iPhones have NFC chips inside, it's seems like NFC will only work for Apple Pay, and not for other tap-to-pair NFC-based features that Android owners are used to.
But Apple Pay is a feature that could be epic for Apple's devices: my mom admitted it's an idea so attractive she might want to upgrade. It's a proposition people understand. And combined with Touch ID's fingerprint sensor, it could make the iPhone a portal to many ways to pay. If Apple Pay ends up being as revolutionary and influential as some are expecting, then the iPhone 6 will be even better. We'll have to see in October.
From left: iPhone 6, HTC One M8 for Windows, Samsung Galaxy S5, iPhone 6 PlusCNET
iPhone 6 versus the competition
The iPhone will never compete with the myriad unique and often deliberately boundary-pushing features on many Android phones. From Quad HD super-high-res screens on the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 to waterproofing on recent Sony phones (or the water-resistant Samsung Galaxy S5) to removable batteries or microSD cards, or smart styli, 40-megapixel cameras (on Nokia Lumia phones) and dual-level camera focus such as on the HTC One M8, the iPhone 6 lacks some bleeding-edge -- or even just merely useful -- features. I'd also count the battery-conservation modes on recent Samsung phones or the clever always-on-and-listening software on the Moto X as examples.
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And comparing the iPhone 6 with the current crop of Android phones may well be fruitless, anyway. Google's next operating system, currently dubbed Android L, is expected to see the light of day before the end of 2014. It's that OS that these new iPhones will really be competing with.
But, this is still true: the construction quality, camera quality, overall system and graphics speed, and software-hardware integration on the iPhone is a formula that's still really hard to beat. The iPhone's surrounded by increasingly equal-footed alternatives, but it's as good a workhorse, easy-to-use, full-featured phone as any of them.
Except, maybe, for battery life.
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Battery life
In the quest to create a super-thin iPhone, maybe Apple should have thought about a thicker iPhone with better battery life instead. Apple's claims are about an hour more Wi-Fi and LTE Web browsing, an hour more video playback, 4 hours more talk time, and 10 hours more audio playback than the iPhone 5S.
Our CNET video-loop battery test, which tests playback of a CNET video with Airplane mode on and screen set to half brightness, lasted 10 hours and 38 minutes, versus 11 hours on the iPhone 5S (running iOS 7). We'll be running that test a few more times, so stay tuned for a final battery score. My casual use, doing downloads, heavy Web browsing, endless social-media checks, photos, video streaming, and all the stuff I normally do on my iPhone, showed the same type of battery drain I've gotten used to on the iPhone 5S. It's enough to hang in for a chunk of the day, but it's not the all-day-plus battery life I wanted on a new iPhone.
For that, you'd need an iPhone 6 Plus, which has a significant battery boost. But, the 6 Plus is also much bigger, and its battery life isn't the sort of quantum leap that the MacBook Air achieved last year. It's a shame that the more pocket-friendly iPhone 6 couldn't have gotten a better battery, too. Do you dare get a Plus? I don't, because I value having a smaller phone. Many people might be tempted. But the real problem this year is that I really want an iPhone somewhere between the two. At least the new iPhone uses the same Lightning cables as before. A full charge from 0 percent took me around 2 hours.
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Conclusion
The iPhone 6, if you think of it as the overdue screen upgrade and feature boost that last year's iPhone 5S wasn't, is an excellent upgrade for any iPhone 5 owner. And it's finally the sort of phone that an Android owner might once again leap over to buy. But, on the whole, the 6 is a product that feels like a collection of overdue Android features, given an excellent polish by Apple hardware and software design. It's a really, really good phone. It's not revolutionary. But stay tuned, because Apple Pay, which could be Apple's most important advancement in years, hasn't launched yet...and these phones are your first ticket into it.
A 4.7-inch screen isn't massive to most smartphone users, but iPhone owners may find that it takes getting used to. But the good news is, really, that the new phones are more like size alternatives than must-have upgrades. If you consider the 5S, the 6, and the 6 Plus as 4-, 4.7-, and 5.5-inch siblings, there's a size for everyone. Apple's clearly in the screen game now, making iOS devices at all sizes and comfort levels. The new iPhone 6 isn't a giant leap in speed or graphics, from what I've seen. But its screen size makes a difference, and it is the perfect current middle ground for performance, new features, and pocketability. And while it also seems a little more like an Android phone than ever before, that's a very good thing.
I can't go with a phone that's too big. I'm not the only one. Several people, like my mom, reminded me that mobile phones used to be tremendous. They shrank in size, but started growing again thanks to smartphone screens. To get too big still makes me feel like I'm holding one of those old car phones to my face. Others might love it, or never hold the phone to their face at all. Maybe that's why Apple has two phone sizes. For me, it's the iPhone 6 that wins.
Battery life, optical image stabilization, and bigger, higher-res screens are features that matter. But that 6 Plus is big. Really big. And more expensive.
Which phone did I grab more often and use more often? The iPhone 6.
If I want better battery life this year, I guess I'll just carry an extra battery pack.
Still to come: Now, we're not done with this review yet. Far from it. We've got more coming: a deep camera test, a display test, full call quality tests across carriers, a look at how the new iPhones compare with optimized apps for iOS 8 and the new phone resolution, plus a future analysis and report on Apple Pay, and how iOS 8's new features work with Macs running OS X Yosemite. Keep checking CNET in the coming few weeks.
