iPhone 6 Plus…is it too big???

By Donny Torrefranca

For the iPhone-lifers, this change from the previous iterations of Apple’s beloved smartphone will be HUGE. (pun intended) Whether you are coming from a 3.5″ iPhone 4S or older, or the 4″ screen of the iPhone 5 and up, it is obvious by the pre-order statistics that you want more screen real estate. The 2014 iPhones set an all time record for Apple, and other smartphone manufacturers for that matter, as the most pre-ordered device in a 24-hour time span. A total of 4 Million iPhones were sold in one day. Now all 4 Million pre-orders sold were definitely not all iPhone-lifers. There were definitely others who were Android-Lifers, Windows-Lifers, or maybe even their first ever smartphone and they finally ditched their Motorola StarTac or their Razrs. You may even have people like me who bounce back and forth between Android and iOS because… we have issues. Whatever the case may be. If you think you are used to carrying Android devices with big screens such as the HTC M8 (5″), Galaxy S5 (5.1″), LG G3 (5.5″) or even the Galaxy Note 3 (5.7″), prepare yourselves for when you pick up your iPhone 6 Plus.

Its the burning question everyone has on their minds, is the iPhone 6 Plus too big for me?

iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
Picture this, I am 6’3″, 200 lbs, and I’ve gone through a number of smartphones, of all shapes and sizes, that I don’t even remember how many anymore. I’ve had big phones before, from the Dell Streak 5, to the Galaxy Note 2 and 3. But the hours leading up to the pre-order I still wasn’t sure whether I want the iPhone 6 or the 6 Plus because I was thinking… “is the 6 Plus too big???” So I did my research and then I printed out an actual cut out of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. I compared it to my daily driver, the HTC M8 with its slim form factor (146.4 x 70.6 x 9.4 mm (5.76 x 2.78 x 0.37 in) but sacrificing overall length. The HTC M8 is right in the middle of the 2 iPhones in terms of size.

Screen Shot 2014-09-16 at 12.53.21 AM

 

Height x Width x Depth chart
iPhone 6           – 138.1 x 67 x 6.9 mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.27 in)
HTC M8            – 146.4 x 70.6 x 9.4 mm (5.76 x 2.78 x 0.37 in)
iPhone 6 Plus – 158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm (6.22 x 3.06 x 0.28 in)

For comparison sake, I wanted to see what the difference would be between the popular ‘phablet’ from Samsung versus the Apple’s latest ‘phablet’.

Height x Width x Depth chart
Galaxy Note 3    – 151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3 mm (5.95 x 3.12 x 0.33 in)
iPhone 6 Plus    – 158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm (6.22 x 3.06 x 0.28 in)

Seeing these numbers I recalled hearing or reading comments from die-hard iPhone fans. What they used to say about Android devices being “too big”. And refer to their iPhone 5 and 5S as “just right” and “you don’t need any more than this”. Oh how quickly times change.

So the numbers above were concerning to me. You see, when I had the Galaxy Note 1, 2, and 3… we never really got along. One instance, I had the Galaxy Note 1 for less than a day before I ended up selling it online. So I was left asking myself… WHY?  I need to be able to slide my phone in my pant pocket and the Note for me was a jacket-pocket kinda of thing. There were so many questions in my head.

Why is the iPhone so big compared to the Galaxy Note 3?
Why did Apple come up with true-phablet after staying away from that demographic all this time?
and more importantly…
Why would I even consider the iPhone 6 Plus when the Galaxy Note 3 was too big for me?

Of course, with all these questions I quickly came up with the answers.
Why is the iPhone so big compared to the Galaxy Note 3?
– It only takes one look at the iPhone 6 Plus to give you that answer.  Bezels and Home Button. Apple never changed their phone or add some sort of adjustment to accommodate the bigger screen. I mean, if anyone was fully capable of doing something so drastic, it should be Apple. They’re not going broke anytime soon. Here’s an idea, drop the physical home button and make it part of the screen… something like a virtual button.  A smart button, that is smart enough to recognize when the user needs it or at least can be called upon any time. Interesting right???

LG G3

Just look at the LG G3. It has the same size screen as the iPhone 6 Plus but compare the dimensions between the two.
Height x Width x Depth chart
iPhone 6 Plus– 158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm (6.22 x 3.06 x 0.28 in)
LG G3             – 146.3 x 74.6 x 8.9 mm (5.76 x 2.94 x 0.35 in)


Why did Apple come up with true-phablet after staying away from that demographic all this time? 

-It’s called, “a piece of the phablet pie”.  The Galaxy Note is a popular device for many reasons.  It’s a great multi-media device for people on the go. And it satisfies those who do not see the need to have a phone and a tablet. I guess this is also why I ended up getting rid of the Note.

Why would I even consider the iPhone 6 Plus when the Galaxy Note 3 was too big for me?
– Why would I even consider the iPhone 6 Plus when the Galaxy Note 3 was too big for me? Why would I even consider the iPhone 6 Plus when the Galaxy Note 3 was too big for me? Why would I even consider the iPhone 6 Plus when the Galaxy Note 3 was too big for me?

Obviously the last one was a little harder pill to swallow. I have an iPad mini which is my go-to device for my movies\browsing. The HTC M8 itself was borderline, too big but the screen size was perfect. And when you are considering a phablet, the Galaxy Note 3 has more features which enables its users to better utilize the screen real estate (multi-window to name one).

But I always said to myself, iPhones need to get bigger and when they do, they will win back some Android users who used to use iPhones. Myself included.  That being said, I will not be surprised if a good chunk of those 4 Million iPhone 6 Plus buyers\pre-orders end up returning\exchanging for its smaller iPhone 6 sibling. Maybe, MYSELF INCLUDED.  Thank goodness Apple’s customer service and fabulous return policy will do that for us no questions asked.

Oh to make me feel better about my decision, at least its not bigger than these behemoths.

Height x Width x Depth chart
iPhone 6
 Plus       – 158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm (6.22 x 3.06 x 0.28 in)
LG G Flex                 – 160.5 x 81.6 x 8.7 mm (6.32 x 3.21 x 0.34 in)
Galaxy Mega 5.8 – 162.6 x 82.4 x 9 mm (6.40 x 3.24 x 0.35 in)
Galaxy Mega 6.3 – 167.6 x 88 x 8 mm (6.60 x 3.46 x 0.31 in)

Add your comments below, we’d like to hear from you. Did you pre-order your iPhone 6\6 Plus? Are you happy with your decision?
*iPhone 6 Plus is perfect for me.
*Exchanged my 6 Plus, got me an iPhone 6 instead.
*Former iPhone user, but sticking with my Android device

About Donny Torrefranca

Former Founder of Mobile blog site MGauge.ca is the Managing Editor for TekTok.ca A smartphone fanatic which started with the iPhone 3G to multiple Blackberry and Android Devices. Willingly sacrificed an arm (and possibly a leg) in order to save his iPad 2.

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