iPhone 6 pros and cons, addressing the new flagship

Apple’s new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been all the rage in the past few weeks, but many of you who haven’t had the chance to hold the new Apple flagship may be wondering why you should or shouldn’t buy the new devices. With this in mind, I will try to paint a picture of the pros and cons of the iPhone 6, the smaller Apple flagship launched in September, so that you can get an overview of what is good and bad on the iPhone 6, and why that is. Don’t forget that in the end, you need to test any device you are planning to buy so that you can properly determine whether you enjoy the design, build, specs, camera and performance of the device. Never make a blind decision when it comes to smartphones, if you plan on holding on to your freshly acquired device for more than a year. You could always re-sell or give your iPhone 6 away as a gift, but why go through all that hassle if it can be avoided by simply doing a bit of research before buying on impulse?

The iPhone 6 is meant to be the newest flagship from Apple and is also meant to showcase the new iOS 8 from the company. The software and hardware put together aim to offer a comprehensive user experience which can be improved if you are already an avid Apple user and are accustomed with the Apple ecosystem. Continuity is one of the software features that I really like about iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, because it allows for Pusshbullet-like interactions between your devices without having to install a third-party (probably not as secure as Apple’s feature) application. Naturally, iOS 8 brings quite a few more features to the iPhone 6, such as a revamped notification center which now supports third-party widgets, third-party keyboards, an improved Siri assistant as well as better Spotlight searches and overall improvement in performance. The design of iOS 8 doesn’t vary much from iOS 7 because Apple chose to focus more on function and features rather than design with its brand new OS. The iOS 8.1 update is also rolling out on Monday, October 20, so the issues the mobile OS has been having since its launch should be fixed by that.

Putting OS out of the way, you should be aware that OS is a big part of choosing your phone and this category would place itself in both the pro and con sections of the iPhone 6 analysis. That’s because if you are interested in the iPhone 6, you should take into consideration that once you go Apple, you can’t go any other way. You have to understand that the iPhone 6 is not as customizable as other Android phones, in case you are thinking about switching from one. For Android users, this might be a con, while for Apple fans, this is definitely a pro. The iPhone 6 won’t allow ROMs and widgets on your homescreen, but if you are a genuine iPhone 6 fan, that shouldn’t be bothersome. It does set limitations on what kind of apps you can use, and you can not customize the interface as you can with Android.

Naturally, one of the big pros of the iPhone 6 is that it’s the newest Apple device you can find. Apple is one of the most popular smartphone manufacturers in the U.S. and you will surely attract attention with your iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, especially with the bendgate scandal. People will want to test the bendgate on your iPhone 6, and I’m not saying you should let them, if the occasion rises, but you shouldn’t worry too much about them bending the iPhone 6 because only 9 iPhone 6 Plus units have been sent to Apple with this concern. Unless you put quite a lot of force into bending the iPhone 6, it probably won’t. That’s because of another pro of the iPhone 6: aluminium unibody. People are increasingly leaning towards aluminium constructions in phones, similar to the HTC One M8 and Apple managed to create a great metal design for the iPhone 6 as well as the iPhone 6 Plus. Apple iPhones, as well as iPads are known for their durability, so if you decide to get your hands on the iPhone 6, be sure to be able to keep it around in full-bloom for at least two years.

The iPhone 6 price is one of the cons, though, so you might be disappointed that there is quite the hefty price tag on the iPhone 6. The iPhone 6 price is kind of disappointing for some, because it doesn’t offer such a great bang for buck ratio as the Nexus 6 or LG G3 for example. The iPhone 6 retails for $650, off contract. That’s the same as Google’s and Motorola’s new Nexus 6 unit. There’s no doubt, that the Nexus 6 is a tad superior to the iPhone 6, with a bigger screen with a higher resolution, awesome features and processing power as well as the new Android 5.0 Lollipop. Nonetheless, keep in mind that the iPhone 6 is a smartphone, with a 4.7 inch Retina display, while the Nexus 6 is a phablet, with a 6 inch qHD display. Nonetheless, the iPhone 6 still remains top-notch and high quality, so you won’t be losing anything if you end up buying the phone. While it may seem that the iPhone 6 price is too high, think about it this way: you get a ton of features for that money.

Another iPhone 6 pro argument is the features it brings to the tablet. TouchID has been improved on the iPhone 6 and now works better and faster than on previous models like the iPhone 5s. TouchID can now be used for Apple Pay, which is another pro feature for the iPhone 6. Apple Pay is not a unique new concept, but since Apple got into the business of mobile payments, hundreds of banks have hopped into bed with Apple Pay. Google Wallet and other mobile payment services were out for a long time before Apple Pay arrived, but it seems that whenever Apple gets in on something, enterprises and businesses show a lot more interest than with other companies. Apple Pay is actually a nice feature to have.

With Apple Pay, you can use your iPhone 6 NFC in order to swipe your phone instead of a credit card with a tap-to-pay process that allows you to pay for stuff and services without having to whip out your wallet. At the same time, the upcoming Apple Watch, release date set for early 2015, will also feature the same Apple Pay tap-to-pay function. The only con for the iPhone 6 and Apple Pay is that it ties down NFC. That means that the NFC chip in the iPhone 6 is locked to Apple Pay. On the other hand, that was the case with TouchID when it first showed up, only to be opened up to developers later on. That might occur with the NFC chip in the iPhone 6, too, so you might be able to use NFC tags with the iPhone 6 in the future.

Another iPhone 6 pro is the new HealthKit suite, which is a health monitoring platform. Apple partnered with health insurance companies as well as the Mayo Clinic for HealthKit so that you can connect to health care providers and share your information with them, in case you need professional advice. HealthKit is an improved health metrics and fitness monitoring system, which allows for you to count steps, calories, monitor your sleep and many other things. This counts as a pro for the iPhone 6 because it offers integration with health care providers, otherwise, the app in itself isn’t a novelty, since you can find many similar apps on iOS as well as Android and Windows, and from companies like Samsung, Google and HTC as well.

HomeKit is another iPhone 6 Pro, and much like Samsung’s Smart Home platform, it offers you the option of controlling your home automation devices directly from your iPhone 6. You can now customize as well as control smart light bulbs, air conditioning systems, thermometers, heating systems, ventilation as well as door locks, wall sockets and other electronics in your home. While at first, HealthKit and HomeKit didn’t work on iOS 8, the subsequent updates Apple issued fixed the problems, and iOS 8.1 promises to optimize the OS for all the new features included in the new iPhone 6 and iPad Air suite.

iPhone 6 cons include the absence of high-res audio and a microSD card slot, as well as a pretty generic screen resolution which could have been made better if Apple had put just a little more effort into it. With the iPhone 6 price on the hefty side, you would have expected to see at least a qHD screen like on the LG G3 or Nexus 6.  An iPhone 6 con would be its design, aside from the metal build. You have those white strips on the iPhone 6, the rounded edges and the thick bezels, which aren’t very appealing since you can find much nicer looking devices like the Huawei Ascend Mate 7, Sharp Aquos Crystal, LG G3 and Nexus 6 which have really thin bezels, easy to use and ergonomic designs, as well as something different in their overall looks. The iPhone 6 looks and feels generic, in my mind, so there’s no novelty on the outside. But that depends on preference. If you genuinely like the design Apple uses in their handsets, the repetitive design of the Apple iPhone 6 should not be a deal-breaker for you.

I can honestly say that I am not an Apple or an iPhone fan, and the iPhone 6 doesn’t appeal to me because of its design, as well as the restrictions iOS 8 and iPhone 6 pose, because I’m an Android user and have been one for several years now. Nonetheless, I can (also honestly) say that the pros of the iPhone 6 outweigh the cons, so if you’re not bothered by the iPhone 6 price, iOS 8, Apple ecosystem or the thick bezels on the device, there’s nothing more to say. If you like the iPhone 6, you should definitely go for it because you have nothing to lose.