4 ms·

This is an amazingly detailed review. But, at the end of the day, fussing over curvy edges, chevroned pixels, and extreme CPU and GPU performance is irrelevant

by cle 12y ago

This is an amazingly detailed review. But, at the end of the day, fussing over curvy edges, chevroned pixels, and extreme CPU and GPU performance is irrelevant to me. I bought the iPhone 6, but then I took it back and returned to my Nexus 5. I just can't justify spending over $700 (upgrade fees, contract, etc.) for a phone that does nearly everything my current $350 phone does. I'm sharing this because I hope that some people will avoid this mistake. They're taking advantage of the denomination effect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denomination_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denomination_effect), and I got sucked into it too. For most of the people reading this: your current phone is just fine, save your money and use it for something more important.

ghshephard 12y ago
This really depends on (A) How often you use your phone, (B) What you use your phone for, and (C) most importantly, how old your phone is. Anybody who actively uses their phone, particularly the Camera, CPU and GPU capability, definitely stands to see a pretty big improvement if they upgrade every three years, and definitely every four. The jump (for me) from the 3GS to the iPhone 5 was massive, particularly around the camera. The shutter is incredibly fast on the iPhone 5. And the Games/Display also were a pretty big leap forward. Anybody who is currently on an iPhone 4 can definitely justify moving to the iPhone 6 if they are an active user, and I would even suggest there might be value for 4S users. I'd concur with you that iPhone 5 users can probably wait another round before seriously considering upgrades though, and obviously iPhone 5S users under contract (unless they have some really huge need for the large screens), don't have any need to update anytime soon. All this is predicated on you owning your phone. Obviously anybody stuck in a contract with the carrier in which they are "subsidized" should just upgrade every two years and re-sell your phone. [Edit - I just checked out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus_5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus_5 - The Nexus 5 is less than a year old and already has a 4.9" display. Unless you are a professional phone reviewer, I'm not sure what would motivate you to pick up an iPhone 6. Returning it was almost definitely the right decision]
- rsynnott 12y ago
  > Anybody who is currently on an iPhone 4 can definitely justify moving to the iPhone 6 if they are an active user, and I would even suggest there might be value for 4S users. I went from a 4 to a 5S, and was very happy, but I'm not sure that I'd have bothered if I had a 5, or even a 4. Phones don't generally need to be upgraded every year, and most people don't do this.
- saturdaysaint 12y ago
  If you're on corporate e-mail, which almost always demands a password, I couldn't think of living without TouchID. Even using a dead simple/dumb password or swipe pattern would drive me up the wall.
  - ghshephard 12y ago
    I'm looking forward to touch ID, particularly as I have a 10 digit passcode and a (company enforced) 5 minute timeout on my phone.
autism_hurts 12y ago
The iPhone 6 handily beats your nexus in camera functionality and battery life, not to mention a host of other more "soft" metrics.
- hahainternet 12y ago
  Right, but that's $700 he'd have to pay to get a slightly better camera and slightly longer battery life. It's not particularly compelling.
nirvanatikku 12y ago
"your current phone is just fine, save your money and use it for something more important" -- no way. moving away from my Nexus 5 (which I have been unfortunately using for the past few months) back to iOS, and particularly my 6+ has been MUCH appreciated.
Kaihuang724 12y ago
As others have mentioned, it really depends on your use case. I use my phone as my primary camera, and my iPhone 6 is miles better than my iPhone 5. Although if you're not going to be taking advantage of any of the new features, then you're definitely not going to feel like a $700 phone is worth it. Then again, there's no point in even considering an upgrade to any device if your current phone is perfectly suitable.
- koyote 12y ago
  Wouldn't investing that money in a 'real' camera be more ideal though? I feel that most phones these days have pretty adequate cameras for their most common use-cases (Instagram, facebook, some holiday/party snaps, etc.). For any other use-case a proper camera is the way to go in my opinion.
  - frandroid 12y ago
    iPhone 5 and 6 have hardware and software features, like the 1000-gradient flash, that are unavailable on any other camera. It's one of the best point n shoot cameras on the market. I have a decent DSLR, and I rarely use it because I rarely happen to carry it. Even when I had a Galaxy S, with a pretty poor camera, I was making much more use of the phone camera than I thought I ever would. The affordances for instant editing and posting are just a world apart on smartphones.

by cle 12y ago

ghshephard 12y ago

This really depends on (A) How often you use your phone, (B) What you use your phone for, and (C) most importantly, how old your phone is. Anybody who actively uses their phone, particularly the Camera, CPU and GPU capability, definitely stands to see a pretty big improvement if they upgrade every three years, and definitely every four. The jump (for me) from the 3GS to the iPhone 5 was massive, particularly around the camera. The shutter is incredibly fast on the iPhone 5. And the Games/Display also were a pretty big leap forward. Anybody who is currently on an iPhone 4 can definitely justify moving to the iPhone 6 if they are an active user, and I would even suggest there might be value for 4S users. I'd concur with you that iPhone 5 users can probably wait another round before seriously considering upgrades though, and obviously iPhone 5S users under contract (unless they have some really huge need for the large screens), don't have any need to update anytime soon. All this is predicated on you owning your phone. Obviously anybody stuck in a contract with the carrier in which they are "subsidized" should just upgrade every two years and re-sell your phone. [Edit - I just checked out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus_5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus_5 - The Nexus 5 is less than a year old and already has a 4.9" display. Unless you are a professional phone reviewer, I'm not sure what would motivate you to pick up an iPhone 6. Returning it was almost definitely the right decision]

rsynnott 12y ago
> Anybody who is currently on an iPhone 4 can definitely justify moving to the iPhone 6 if they are an active user, and I would even suggest there might be value for 4S users. I went from a 4 to a 5S, and was very happy, but I'm not sure that I'd have bothered if I had a 5, or even a 4. Phones don't generally need to be upgraded every year, and most people don't do this.
saturdaysaint 12y ago
If you're on corporate e-mail, which almost always demands a password, I couldn't think of living without TouchID. Even using a dead simple/dumb password or swipe pattern would drive me up the wall.
- ghshephard 12y ago
  I'm looking forward to touch ID, particularly as I have a 10 digit passcode and a (company enforced) 5 minute timeout on my phone.

autism_hurts 12y ago

The iPhone 6 handily beats your nexus in camera functionality and battery life, not to mention a host of other more "soft" metrics.

hahainternet 12y ago
Right, but that's $700 he'd have to pay to get a slightly better camera and slightly longer battery life. It's not particularly compelling.

nirvanatikku 12y ago

"your current phone is just fine, save your money and use it for something more important" -- no way. moving away from my Nexus 5 (which I have been unfortunately using for the past few months) back to iOS, and particularly my 6+ has been MUCH appreciated.

Kaihuang724 12y ago

As others have mentioned, it really depends on your use case. I use my phone as my primary camera, and my iPhone 6 is miles better than my iPhone 5. Although if you're not going to be taking advantage of any of the new features, then you're definitely not going to feel like a $700 phone is worth it. Then again, there's no point in even considering an upgrade to any device if your current phone is perfectly suitable.

koyote 12y ago
Wouldn't investing that money in a 'real' camera be more ideal though? I feel that most phones these days have pretty adequate cameras for their most common use-cases (Instagram, facebook, some holiday/party snaps, etc.). For any other use-case a proper camera is the way to go in my opinion.
- frandroid 12y ago
  iPhone 5 and 6 have hardware and software features, like the 1000-gradient flash, that are unavailable on any other camera. It's one of the best point n shoot cameras on the market. I have a decent DSLR, and I rarely use it because I rarely happen to carry it. Even when I had a Galaxy S, with a pretty poor camera, I was making much more use of the phone camera than I thought I ever would. The affordances for instant editing and posting are just a world apart on smartphones.