After months of rampant speculation (and an abnormally high number of apparent leaks), the new iPhone has arrived. In fact, two new iPhones have arrived — the iPhone 6, and the iPhone 6 Plus.
Curiously, the announcement is being held in Cupertino’s Flint Center. It’s a venue that Apple hasn’t used for an announcement in over 15 years, but it’s the very same place where Apple debuted both the original Mac in 1984 and the first iMac in 1998.
This news is breaking at the very second we’re writing this post, so refresh the page for updates as they roll in.
Here’s what we know so far:
- Both phones feature “Retina HD” displays; the iPhone 6 comes in at 4.7 inches (at 1334×750), while the iPhone 6 Plus comes in at 5.5 inches (at 1920×1080)
- The glass on the front of the displays now curves into the body, as opposed to the flat edges of all models prior
- Apple says these are “the thinnest phones [they’ve] ever made”, at 6.9mm and 7.1mm, respectively.
- Both handsets are powered by Apple’s new A8 processor, which Apple claims is at least 25% faster than the A7 by processing power, and 50% faster by graphic rendering prowess.
- Apple is claiming drastically improved battery life across the board; we grabbed a screenshot of the table comparing the battery life across different situations on the 5S, 6, and 6 Plus — see it below.
- Both handsets will ship in gold, silver, and “space grey”
- Both handsets have 802.11ac WiFi support, a relatively new WiFi tech that carries a theoretical max. transfer speed of ~1 Gbps
- VoLTE (Voice over LTE) support allows for simultaneous voice/data over LTE networks, while drastically improving voice quality.
- The rear cameras on both phones will keep the 8 megapixel rating found on the 5S, though Apple claims they’ve improved image quality without bumping up the pixel count
- Both phones now have “phase detection” auto focus similar to what most SLR cameras use, allowing for much faster photo focusing.
- The 6 Plus will have optical image stabilization, theoretically helping the camera counteract the small amounts of blur introduced by the shakiness of your hands
- The age-old rumor that Apple would adopt NFC has finally come true! Both handsets will have NFC built-in for mobile payments. Apple has announced that McDonald’s, Whole Foods, Disney, Panera, Sephora (and of course Apple themselves) will support one-touch payments from the device, though “Apple Pay” won’t launch until sometime in October.
- The 16GB iPhone 6 will cost $199 on contract ($299 for 64GB, $399 for 128GB), while the 16GB iPhone 6 Plus will cost $299 (or $399 for 64GB, $499 for 128GB)
- Pre-orders will start September 12th, with availability on September 19th.
The big question, for us in Costa Rica, is when can we get our hand on it? There is no official word from Apple at this time, but it safe to say, based on the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S history, we should see the product in the country by November.
Source: Apple; Tech Crunch
