The iPhone 6 Is a Disappointment

The iPhone 6 Is a Disappointment

After months of rumors and leaks Apple finally introduced their new iPhones. Called iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S, the two new iOS-powered smartphones are on par with any Android flagship smartphone. With any Android flagship smartphone launched two years ago.

I’ve watched the iPhone 6 launch event live (by the way, the live stream was a total failure) and I got bored to death. All I could think of was that, a year ago, Tim Cook said that big screens “are horrible.” Now the iPhone has a big screen and suddenly big screens aren’t “horrible” anymore. I also remembered about those ads about the iPhone fitting in your hand and Retina Display. I wonder what kind of ads they’ll make now.

In other words, the iPhone 6 has got a bigger screen, which isn’t necessarily bad. In fact it’s pretty cool to see Apple trying to catch up with Android. What bothers me is the resolution they chose for the new displays. The iPhone 6 sports a 4.7-inch screen with 750 x 1334 resolution, while the iPhone 6 has a 5.5-inch screen with 1080 x 1920 resolution. While the main rivals of the iPhone 6 arrive with 1080p screens, the iPhone 6 Plus competitors (LG G3 and Note 4) have already made the jump to Quad HD (1440 x 2560) screens. The screen resolution and size of the iPhone 6 is comparable to the one of an Android flagship circa 2012.

Because we’re talking about a new iPhone, Apple had to introduce a new processor. Both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus are underpinned by the new Apple A8 SoC “built on second-generation 64-bit desktop-class architecture.” Am I the only one here that is worried that the 64-bit processing means nothing with just 1 GB of RAM? Maybe not, but Apple and its fans are definitely not giving a crap as long as 64-bit is twice bigger than 32-bit. How do I know that the iPhone 6 only has 1 GB of RAM even though Apple didn’t reveal the amount of RAM inside its new smartphone? Because if there was an upgrade going on, Tim Cook would have screamed 2 GB of RAM so loud, that the fanboys queuing in front of the Apple Stores would have flinched.

Apple was bashed for not changing the design of their iPhone for years. The iPhone 5S looked exactly like the iPhone 5, which looked like a taller iPhone 4S, which looked exactly like the iPhone 4. Yes, this means that Apple’s 2013 flagship looked like a taller version of their 2010 flagship. Apple’s designers had a 3-year break, but now they’re back. The iPhone 6 design went through some changes, but, unfortunately,  the company’s designers are severely lacking match practice. The Apple smartphones were famous for their elegance and their original design. Now they look like squashed HTCs. Not to mention about their size. The smaller iPhone 6 is similar in size with the LG G2, a smartphone that it’s rocking a 5.2-inch screen, while the iPhone 6 Plus is bigger than a Note 4, a device that has a 0.2-inch bigger screen. Hey, Apple, have you heard about thin bezels?

Apple introduced a new iSight camera that has an 8 MP sensor, too. Seriously, 8 megapixels? I know, some of you would say that megapixels aren’t that important. So does HTC, but their “UltraPixel” cameras have proved the contrary. Can the 8 MP iSight camera compete against Samsung’s and LG’s 16 and 13 MP shooters? Should I also mention about Sony’s 20.7 Exmor RS camera and Nokia’s insane PureView sensors? Why bother? Apple’s fans will still try to convince me that the iSight camera is the best. Apple, the Android mid-rangers called, they want their cameras back!

Apple was also proud to announce that the iPhone 6 arrives with… drum roll please… NFC. That’s pretty cool, Apple, we’ve had that on Android for more than two years. In fact, I am pretty happy that Apple has finally integrated NFC and the NFC payment system called Apple Pay. This way, the NFC payments will finally go mainstream as more banks, retailers, and companies will want to use it because it’s iPhone-compatible.

Apple announced the pricing for their new iPhone, too. The 4.7-inch iPhone 6 has a starting price of $199 with a two-year contract, while the cheapest iPhone 6 Plus starts at $299. The price is comparable to the one of their main rivals. Unfortunately, the hardware is comparable to the one of Android phones that are available between $300 – $350 off-contract.

Unfortunately, the new iPhones fail to impress on any level. They are a big upgrade for any iPhone user, but they are still trailing behind their Android counterparts. I’m not seeing the the Android users mass migrate to Apple, but I am pretty sure that the iPhone will continue to lose market share. Personally, I am disappointed. Not because I considered switching to iOS, but because I wanted Apple to launch a product that forced the Android OEMs to step up their game. Apple has lost its wow factor and I wanted to be capable to end this post with “Your move, Android!” Unfortunately, I won’t.