The Apple Store is back online after a brief outage this morning as
the company stocked its virtual shelves with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6
Plus.
The two new phones, with 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screens, are now
available for pre-order, with deliveries expected to begin next Friday.
Prices will start at £539 in the UK, for a 16GB iPhone 6, rising to £789
for a 128GB iPhone Plus.
Demand is expected to be high for the iPhone 6, which represents the
most substantial upgrade and redesign of Apple's flagship phone for
several years.
Even though extensive leaks of photographs and video had removed any
element of surprise from the big reveal, most early reviewers have
heaped praise on both the iPhone 6 and its bigger brother, the 6 Plus.
The phones are larger but slimmer, and present a softer, rounder profile than their sharp-edged predecessors.
"The wafer-like metal design and curved lines feel, in many ways,
like previous iPod Touch models and a little like the iPad," says
CNET. "The metal HTC One M8 feels bulky by comparison."
Investors reacted coolly to the new phones, sending Apple shares down
by 0.38 per cent by the end of the launch event, but among Apple fans –
and the tech press assembled in California – there was no such
moderation.
"Apple's Tim Cook told the whooping crowds at the Flint Center in
Cupertino that the new iPhone 6 is 'the most beautiful phone ever
made'," writes Matt Warman in the
Daily Telegraph. "I'm trying hard to be objective, but I think he’s right.
- The iPhone 6 at a glance:
- It will come in two screen sizes, 4.7 inches for the iPhone 6 and
5.5 inches for the iPhone 6 Plus. That compares with the four-inch
screen of the iPhone 5S.
- The frame of the iPhone 6 will be 6.9mm thick, and the iPhone 6 Plus 7.1mm thick.
- The design is a departure from recent models, with rounded sides replacing the sharp-edged, flat-sided iPhone 5S.
- The iPhone 6 screen resolution will be 1,334x750 pixels, which Apple
describes as Retina HD; the iPhone 6 Plus will feature a full HD
resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels
- The screen will be protected by ion-strengthened glass (but not the much-discussed sapphire crystal)
- The iPhone 6 has improved camera specs. Although the sensor remains
at eight megapixels, a new focusing and exposure system should improve
image quality. The iPhone 6 Plus also has optical image stabilisation.
- Both models can take slow-motion video at 240 frames per second.
- The larger screens will allow multi-tasking, allowing the user to
see an email inbox and message at the same time, for example. The app
dock can also be moved to the side of the screen, instead of the bottom.
- As expected, the handsets will come a Health app that will integrate with Nike's fitness app.
- They will also include a built-in barometer.
- Both iPhones will be available from 19 September in the UK,
- British prices are yet to be confirmed, but the Daily Telegraph says the iPhone 6 will cost £539 for the 16GB model, £619 for 64GB and £699 for 128GB.
- The iPhone 6 Plus will cost £619 for the 16GB model, £699 for 64GB and £789 for 128GB, the paper says.
iPhone 6 design
The revamped design met with near unanimous praise.
"The first thing I noticed was that it feels a lot thinner than the
5s and 5c, and its rounded edges suggest you're holding a very small
iPad mini rather than a larger iPhone," writes Nate Lanxon, the editor
of
Wired.co.uk.
"The chassis has a satisfying curvature as the rear shell folds around
to the front, and meets the glass of the display in a way that feels
nearly seamless."
Larger screens
Wired is also impressed by the sharpness of the "Retina HD" screens
on both phones, but particularly the larger model. "The 6 Plus's pixels
are so tiny they're hard to see no matter how close you get your face,"
he says.
As well as raising the pixel count, Apple has improved the displays
in other ways too, says The Times. "The screens are brighter, have
crisper colours and are covered by stronger glass," the paper says.
"They have also been designed for easier navigation using one hand."
However, there was no sign of the super-tough sapphire crystal
screens, which some commentators had expected to see in the new phone.
The camera also remained at eight megapixels, but reviewers were
impressed with the improved functionality it offered.
Improved camera
"The main improvement seems to be the Focus Pixel feature, which is Apple's take on phase-detection autofocus," reports
Engadget.
What that means is that if you're training the camera on something in
the foreground and it moves away from you, the lens will refocus
automatically.
"This was demonstrated in Apple's stage presentation," Wired's
reviewer says, "and I was pleased to see it works exactly as well when I
tested it."
The new operating system, iOS8, also allows for greater camera
control. "Until now the only way to adjust the exposure of a photo
before taking a shot was to tap on the screen to tell your device from
where to take the exposure reading," says the
BBC's
Mark Blank-Settle. "In iOS 8 the camera lets you adjust the exposure
much more precisely: tapping on the screen now brings up an icon of the
sun and, by moving a slider up and down, the image will get brighter or
darker."
Battery life
If technology journalists had any complaints, they focused on doubts about the battery.
"Both iPhones will be powered a new A8 processor that is 25 per cent
faster than the previous iPhone and 50 per cent more power efficient for
increased battery life,"
The Guardian reports.
But on stage, Apple had only promised that battery life would be at
least equal to its current models – which are frequently criticised for
their lack of power reserves.
"Take your phone out for a busy day of GPSing, mobile browsing,
texting on the go and whatnot, and you can drain an iPhone to zero in
just a couple of hours," writes
Forbes's Mark Rogowsky. And Apple "basically told the world that experience will be the same with the iPhone 6".
He blames the company for prioritising form over function, leaving
limited room for the battery by cramming all the components into a slim
frame with rounded edges.
Live: Apple launches iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
9 September
7.20pm: Tim Cook returns to the stage to walk us through the next revelation of the evening, the
Apple Watch.
6.55pm: Apple confirms that it will be introducing a
payments system
that will work in 220,000 locations around the world including,
naturally, Apple Stores. The system works in partnership with American
Express, Mastercard and Visa, and allows users to pay for goods by
holding the iPhone 6 against a reader, as if it were a contactless
payment card. Transactions are authorised using the phone's fingerprint
reader. "Cashiers don't see your name, your card number or your security
code,"
Forbes reports.
6.30pm: In a flurry of
superlatives, the Apple demonstrator says the iPhone 6 will be larger,
thinner and faster than its predecessor. But the promise on battery
life - that it will be equal or better - dashes hopes of a big leap
forward on that front.
6.15pm: The Daily Telegraph reports that "these phones are thinner than anything Apple has ever made: 6.9 mm"
6.10pm: Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, arrives
on stage a little late, but he breaks with company tradition and goes
straight to the big news: Apple is launching two new phones, the iPhone 6
and iPhone 6 Plus. Cook's predecessor, Steve Jobs, always started with
routine announcements and saved the biggest unveiling until last.
Does Apple slow old iPhones before a new release?
iPhone 6: what to expect
9 September
As the world's technology press descends on Cupertino, California,
for the launch of the iPhone 6, the Apple rumour mill has gone into
overdrive. In the year since the relatively low-key launch of the iPhone
5S and 5C, rumours have come and gone about the new specs and features
likely to find their way into its successor.
While some of it seems to be based on wishful thinking, much is
likely to prove well founded. Here is our round-up of the most
frequently discussed iPhone 6 specs, and how likely they are to make it
into production.
iPhone 6 launch date: Analysts are expecting two
versions of the iPhone 6, but it is unclear whether both will make an
appearance tonight. It'll be a huge surprise if Apple doesn't produce a
4.7-inch device, but some analysts also expect to see a larger, 5.5-inch
handset. Others think that the bigger iPhone 6 will not appear until
later in the year. It's also unclear when the new phones will go on
sale, but 19 September is the date most frequently predicted.
iPayments: Recent reports suggest that Apple is
working on a mobile payments system that will be unveiled alongside the
iPhone 6 on 9 September. "Apple has reached an agreement with American
Express to work together on its new iPhone payments system," Re/code
reported, and Bloomberg later added that Visa and Mastercard have also
signed up. The system is likely to use near field communication (NFC)
technology, which transfers data to be transferred between a device and a
reader when the two are held against each other. The iPhone 6 would
therefore work in the same way as the contactless debit and credit cards
which have recently entered circulation.
Sapphire crystal: the use of sapphire crystal (also
known as sapphire glass) for the iPhone 6 screen has been one of the
most persistent rumours about the new handset. Apple is known to have
invested heavily in the super-strong manmade material, which is
resistant to scratching and bending, but recent reports suggest that it
has been having trouble making it in sufficient quantities – and at
sufficiently low costs – to furnish an iPhone production run of 100
million units or more.
The Guardian recently suggested that Apple may end up using a blend of glass and sapphire crystal.
A Liquidmetal shell: As Apple strives to make the
new handset as slim and strong as possible, some commentators have
speculated that it may turn to Liquidmetal, an alloy that's stronger
than aluminium. In theory that would mean the handset could be lighter
and slimmer without skimping on strength or build quality, but in
practice it seems unlikely. Although one of the inventors of
Liquidmetal
predicted two years ago that Liquidmetal cases would be possible by mid-2014, its use has so far been limited to small components.
Liquidmetal components: This is much more likely. Documents published by Apple-watching website
MacRumors,
suggest that the alloy could be used in buttons and switches in order
to toughen up what have often proved to be weak points on previous
iPhones.
Aluminium frame: Although Liquidmetal may be off the
cards, most of the leaked images and technical drawings suggest that
Apple will adopt an all-metal rear frame for the iPhone 6. Previous
iPhones have made either extensive or decorative uses of glass, but this
year's preview shots appear to show a rear panel fashioned entirely
from aluminium – with a cut-out for the Apple logo.
Super-slim frame: Whatever it's made from, most
commentators expect the iPhone 6 to be noticeably slimmer than its
already svelte predecessor. A few months ago some were predicting a
depth of just 6mm, but specs supposedly leaked by Amazon in recent weeks
suggest we can look forward to a 7mm iPhone. The slender dimensions are
apparently causing problems for component-makers: the difficulty of
making a battery that's just 2mm thick has reportedly led to
production delays.
A8 chip: Concerted speculation that the new device would include a revamped processor has been "confirmed" by
Venturebeat.
"The A8 will run at a frequency of 2.0 GHz per core and will create
noticeably faster response time and graphics rendering in the new
phones," its source says. "By comparison, the A7 chips in the iPhone 5
run at only 1.3GHz per core." Even if those details prove wide of the
mark, a newer, speedier chip is a safe bet: Apple is unlikely to build
an all-new phone around old technology.
13-megapixel camera: There has been comparatively
little speculation about the iPhone 6 camera, but tentative reports out
today suggest that Apple may build in a 13-megapixels sensor capable of
recording high-resolution 4K video. "Apple is well-known for investing
millions into its camera sensor, though the company has always refrained
from entering the megapixel count race because adding more megapixels
tend to have an negative effect on the low-light performance,"
Tech Times says.
But the website sounds a note of caution: "The original source comes
from a Chinese web forum, which may not be the best place to find
legitimate iPhone 6 leaked information."
