Apple has unveiled the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, featuring larger displays and powered by a new A8 processor that is 25 percent faster than its predecessor. The new phones, Apple’s thinnest iPhones ever, also come with a built-in NFC radio antenna to enable payments via the new Apple Pay.
Without a larger screen phone, Apple’s mobile browser share is expected to further decline, according to Adobe’s 2014 Mobile Benchmark report. Phones with larger screens drive more web traffic than ever before. Web browsing on four-inch or larger phones grew by 132 percent year-over-year (YoY) while browsing on smaller phones (four-inch or less) decreased by 11 percent YoY. In addition, tablet browsing flattened and only saw a minor increase of 1.8 percent YoY.
The iPhone 6, with a 4.7-inch screen displaying 1 million pixels, is just 6.9 mm thick, while the 5.5-inch 6 Plus is 7.1 mm thick and displays 2 million pixels.
Both phones feature a new motion co-processor, the M8, that can distinguish between different activities such as walking, cycling or running, the company said, and can estimate distance and elevation. The phones also feature a new barometer sensor.
For Internet connectivity, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus use 150Mbps LTE and support 20 LTE bands. The new iPhones also support high-quality voice calls over LTE (VoLTE) as well as Wi-Fi calling.
With support for up to 20 LTE wireless bands—more than any other smartphone in the world—the new models make it easier to experience high-speed networks around the world, says Apple. Both iPhones also include 802.11ac Wi-Fi with speeds up to 433 Mbps and Bluetooth 4.0.
Running on Apple’s iOS 8 operating system, the phones have an 8-megapixel iSight camera with an f/2.2 aperture. Both can record 1080 HD video at up to 240 frames per second for slow motion effects.
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
The iPhone 6 comes in gold, silver or space gray. It will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of US$199 for the 16GB model, $299 for the 64GB model and, for the first time, a new 128GB model for $399 with a two-year contract.
The iPhone 6 Plus comes in gold, silver or space gray, and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $299 for the 16GB model, $399 for the 64GB model and $499 for the new 128GB model with a two-year contract.
The phones are due to be available on Sept. 19 in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, Australia and Hong Kong, among others.
Apple Watch
The company also pulled the wraps off its long-awaited wearable — the Apple Watch, which connects to the iPhone for notifications, email and calls. It is also a health and fitness device.
The Apple Watch also acts as a miniature GPS device, complete with walking or driving directions.
Apple Watch
Mobile payments
Apple Pay
The company says Apple Pay is an easy way to securely pay for physical goods and services in stores or apps with just the touch of a finger. Users can pay securely and conveniently in stores by simply holding the phone near the contactless reader while keeping a finger on Touch ID; there is no need to unlock your iPhone or launch an app.
With Apple Pay, users can also make one-touch purchases within apps, without having to enter credit card or shipping information. All payment information is kept private, encrypted and stored securely in the Secure Element, a chip inside the new iPhones.
Apple Pay, however, will be exclusive to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, because the new phones are equipped with the requisite NFC radio antenna.
IMAGE CREDIT: APPLE
