Pros & Cons
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- Super-premium feel.
- Easiest smartphone OS, with the best third-party apps.
- Excellent low-light camera performance.
- Fast Wi-Fi.
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- Phone calling performance is just okay.
Apple iPhone 6 (Verizon Wireless) Specs
| Battery Life (As Tested) | 4 hours, 33 (LTE video streaming) minutes |
| CPU | Apple A8 |
| Dimensions | 5.44 by 2.64 by 0.27 inches |
| Screen Resolution | 1,334 by 750 pixels |
| Screen Size | 4.7 |
Now there's a too-big iPhone, a too-small iPhone, and a just-right iPhone: the iPhone 6. The newest iPhone's biggest feature is that it's bigger, and yes, that's a big deal. Although most apps aren't yet coded to take advantage of the iPhone 6's additional real estate, the new phone puts Apple's beloved operating system and gorgeous third-party apps into a body that no longer looks and feels cramped. That's enough to earn the iPhone 6 an Editor's Choice award on Verizon Wireless.
This is primarily a review of the Verizon iPhone 6, but the phone is available on all the major carriers at a bewildering range of prices. For instance, Verizon charges $199 with contract for the base 16GB model, Sprint includes a 16GB unit as part of a special $70 unlimited plan over two years, and T-Mobile charges nothing up front, but $27.08 per month. Unlocked, you'll pay $649 for 16GB, $749 for a 64GB unit, and $849 for 128GB.
The Measure of an iPhone
Figuring out the best size for a phone is a very delicate balance. Back in 2011, I judged the 4.65-inch Samsung Galaxy Nexus to be too large for some hands, but what I didn't get was that screen size isn't the problem. It's the overall phone width, which needs to be narrow enough so people with small, stubby fingers can grip it comfortably, while people with big, hammy fingers don't mistype words. Narrower bezels have meant we now have smaller phones with bigger screens, so everybody wins.
View All But there's still a limit. When LG introduced the G2, it said comprehensive hand studies had led it to believe that anything wider than 2.8 inches couldn't be used well in one hand, across a range of hand sizes. (Then it introduced the LG G3, which is wider than 2.8 inches. When I asked why, LG execs just threw up their hands and said "people want this," like they had no choice in the matter.)
