Apple announced today the introduction of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The iPhone 6 will have a 4.7 inch display, and the 6 Plus will have a 5.5 inch display. They are the thinnest phones Apple has ever made. Design wise they are reminiscent of the first generation iPhone.
The iPhone 6 Plus has a resolution of 1920 by 1080 with 401 pixels per inch. That’s full 1080p HD resolution. Impressive. The iPhone 6 has a resolution of 1334 by 750 with 326 pixels per inch for more than a 720p Retina display. The iPhone 6 has a barometer that senses air pressure to measure relative elevation, which will be incredibly helpful for fitness apps. The iPhone can now tell if you’re going up hills, down hills, and over just about any other terrain you decide to traverse. The new Health app, for example, will give you a detailed look at your health and fitness data.
The iPhone 6 has an 8MP iSight camera, 1.5µ pixels, ƒ/2.2 aperture, and an all new focus pixel sensor. Focus Pixels are a technology previously found only in professional DSLR cameras. The phone has continuous autofocus, and thanks to Focus Pixels, focus changes are automatic and almost undetectable. They determine focus direction and how far to move the lens. It’s a significantly better camera.
The iPhone 6 starts at $199 with a two-year contract. It comes in gold, silver, and space gray. The iPhone 6 Plus starts at $299 with a two-year contract. It also comes in gold, silver, and space gray.
Wi-Fi calling is a new feature for making high-quality calls when cell conditions are less than favorable. The iPhone 6 supports Voice over LTE. This is wide-band audio for voice that sounds amazingly clear. The iPhone 6 has faster LTE than the iPhone 5s, and more LTE bands than any other smartphone for better roaming. Of course both new phones will have Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint sensor.
Apple also introduced Apple Pay. Everything you need for Apple Pay is built into iPhone 6. According to Apple it has a groundbreaking NFC antenna, and the security of Touch ID. To get started with Apple Pay, you can simply add a card from your iTunes account. Apple Pay combines seamlessly integrated hardware, software, and services in a way unique to Apple. Apple Pay will work with the three major payment networks: American Express, MasterCard, and Visa. Apple Pay will be available in the U.S. in October 2014. It is expected to be available worldwide in the near future.
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be available September 19th. You can pre-order yours starting September 12th. Yes, I will be definitely be ordering one. The 6 and 6 Plus aren’t perfect, but they make impressive strides when it comes to the evolution of this revolutionary product line.
Apple also introduced the Apple Watch today, and compared to what’s already on the market, it obliterates the competition. It starts at $349 and will be available early next year. We’ll discuss it in more detail closer to its release date.