Dan Frommer still likes his iPhone 6 Plus ... and I love mine
Dan Frommer, writing over at Quartz, published a 30-day review of the iPhone 6 Plus today. The verdict? "After more than a month of everyday use, it has become even more of the pocket computer I've always wanted." I've had mine now for well over a month, and every day I love the iPhone 6 Plus even more. I thought it would be fun to follow up on Frommer's major points with those of my own, so be sure to read his review and compare our comments.
"Yes, it's still 'too big' -- in the best way" Like Frommer, I have not found the iPhone 6 Plus to be "too big". It fits in all of my front pants pockets (including shorts!), it tucks nicely into a blazer pocket, and it works perfectly with my SCOTTeVEST jacket and vest. Thanks to the big screen, I can now show my wife photos from across a table without having to pass the phone over to her. I even find it easier to hold as a camera than the smaller iPhones from the past. For some reason, my little hands like the bigger phone.
"My phone isn't bent" Mine isn't either, and it will probably never be bent. As with Frommer, I have been asked about bending by total strangers. My response has always been, "anything will bend if you apply enough force to it."
"It is an amazing tool for travel" Ditto. I just came back from a 20-day trip and found the iPhone 6 Plus to be even more useful than my previous iPhones. Whether it was looking at maps while wandering Montreal, editing and publishing posts on TUAW (something I could never do with a smaller iPhone), or taking incredibly fast Google Photo Sphere images to add to Google Maps, the iPhone 6 Plus was wonderful. I found my iWerkz Universal Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard to be a perfect companion to the Plus.
"The battery life has been the best surprise" Amen! For every person who has ever bought a Mophie Juice Pack to help make it through the day on an iPhone, you're in for a shock with the 6 Plus. I think the lowest battery level I've seen in the month since I purchased the phone was about 32 percent. Today, after doing the update to 8.1, adding credit cards, looking at those Photo Sphere images, answering text messages, and more, I have 77 percent of my battery after six hours of use.
"I'm hooked on Apple Pay" Thanks to being on incredibly slow shipboard internet service for two weeks, I didn't update to iOS 8.1 until today. That means I haven't had an opportunity to use Apple Pay yet. But setting it up? It took me less than a minute to add a credit card. Amazing.
"It hasn't replaced my iPad" Well, in this case it has replaced my old iPad mini, and I find that I'll often reach for the iPhone 6 Plus instead of my iPad Air. On the other hand, there are certain games that are just easier to play on the iPad. I'll definitely keep my iPad Air around ... but I don't think I'll race to upgrade to an iPad Air 2.
Bottom line: Frommer said that "I didn't return it in shame, or swap it for the smaller iPhone 6", and there's no reason that I'd ever do that. The iPhone 6 Plus has exceeded my expectations in all respects, and as far as I'm concerned it's still the best iPhone Apple has ever made. Now you'll have to excuse me; I need to go buy something just so I can try Apple Pay.
