Well
I’ve finally gotten around to doing it today on this very bright Sunday
September 21st 2014; a first in a Series of Articles on the Apple
iPhone 6 et al.
The
Apple iPhone 6 launch on Tuesday September 9th 2014 saw the launch
of not just one but multiple products as stated in “Apple
supersizes the iPhone 6, joins the big-screen era at last”, published
September 9, 2014 10:17 AM PDT by Ian Sherr and Shara Tibken, CNET News and Apple Event September 9th
2014.
1.
4.7” Apple iPhone 6
2.
5.5” Apple iPhone 6 Plus
3.
Apple Pay
4.
Apple Watch
5.
Apple iOS 8
I
decided to wait this long so as to allow a lot of the excitement over the usual
long lines and the failure of the Online Pre-Order System to die down as it’s
already big news here in Jamaica as noted in the article “Buyers
bite big at larger Apple iPhones”, published Friday, September 12, 2014
2:22 PM, The Jamaica Observer. Thus
the focus of this article is decidedly on the 4.7” Apple iPhone 6 and the 5.5”
Apple iPhone 6 Plus, the stars of that show!
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Trust
me though, it’s everything I’d predicted in my blog article
entitled “Apple
iPhone 6 Official Invite sets Tuesday September 9th 2014 - Expect a Gold
Standard 128GB Sapphire Screen with iWatch and NFC Mobile Money and BitCoin
Wallet”.
Except
for the bigger 5.5” Apple iPhone 6 Plus, Apple Pay, Apple Watch and Apple iOS 8 which
were sorta expected by me. I’ll have to assess in another series of article on
my personal blog as well as on the Geezam blog!
Apple iPhone 6 is out –
Where to get the iPhone in America as Apple Pre-Orders are a mess
This
despite Apple taking the usual precautions to offline their Apple Store as
stated in the article “Apple
Store offline ahead of expected iPhone 6 Pre-Order Rush”, published
September 11, 2014 9:37 PM PDT by Steven Musil, CNET
News . But as you can see from the Video below, the only reliable way to
buy an Apple iPhone is to Pre-Order at a store and stand in line. A very long
line!
Right
now, post Friday September 12th 2014 pre-Order Rush the only places
you can get the Apple iPhone 6 or even the supersized Apple iPhone 6 Plus is at
a physical Apple Store. You can also purchase one of the following places as
stated in the article “When and where to buy
the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus”, published
September 9, 2014 12:22 AM PDT by Dan Graziano, CNET News that have partnered with Apple to
sell the iPhone 6:
1.
Best Buy
2.
RadioShack
3.
Sam's Club
4.
Staples
5.
Target
6.
Walmart
Most,
like Staples and Target, offer some form of Trade in offer as noted in the
article “Staples
to offer iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus”, published September 18, 2014 7:41 AM PDT
by Lance Whitney, CNET News and “Target
joins the iPhone 6 fray with trade-in offer”, published September 10, 2014
6:03 AM PDT by Lance Whitney, CNET News.
 |
This
is where you can get the Apple iPhone for a cheaper price if you trade in your
old Apple iPhone 4 or Apple iPhone 4s. Far shorter lines and less of a headache
than the Apple’s or the Carriers failed Pre-Order systems!
If
you’re an American, you can also buy the Apple iPhone 6 on contract from your
usual carriers:
1.
AT&T
2.
Sprint
3.
T-Mobile
4.
US Cellular
5.
Verizon Wireless
So
what’s new with the Apple iPhone 6, aside from having a plus sized brother, the
Apple iPhone 6 Plus. And what’s this I hear about an Apple Watch that was
launched?
First
though, some sales and availability figures!
Apple iPhone 6 Launch –
Biggest Apple iPhone Launch in Apple’s History
 |
That's
40% more than the total number of Apple iPhone 5S and 5C produces last year,
setting the stage for the biggest sale of the Apple iPhone in Apple's 38 year
history come December 2014.
This
makes sense, as Foxconn has been replacing humans with Robots since July 2014
as stated in my blog
article entitled “Foxconn
installing Robots to meet coming Apple iPhone 6 demand - 100,000 new employees
and Foxbots doing trance like Robotic dance” in a bid to keep pace with
production for what will be expected to be huge sales! Even the CEO Tim Cook
came out at the Palo Alto Store in California!
Already
Apple has broken the records pre-orders in the first 24 hours as reported in “Apple
Sells 4M iPhone 6 And 6 Plus Pre-Orders In Opening 24 Hours”, published
September 15th 2014 by Darrell Etherington,
TechCrunch and “4
Million iPhone Pre-Orders The
First
24 Hours And A Lead-Time Update”, published 9/15/2014,
by Chuck Jones, Forbes.
Then
came the actual sales of Apple iPhones on Friday September 19th 2014
and over the weekend from Saturday September 20th 2014 to Sunday
September 21st 2014! What a Sale it was! Here’s an unboxing to give
you an idea of what to expect with the Apple iPhone 6 and the Apple iPhone 6
Plus!
Weekend
Sales for the weekend have been tallied and have topped 10 million as reported
by Busineswire and quoted in the article “Apple
sells 10M iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices in first weekend”, published
September 22, 2014 5:33 AM PDT by Shara Tibken, CNET
News, effectively beating those for the Apple iPhone 5S and Apple iPhone 5C
which clocked in at 9 million in September 2013!
This
despite the Pre-Order system not working as I’d pointed out earlier and
reiterated in the article “iPhone
6 presales begin -- with US Apple Store caught napping”, published
September 12, 2014 3:15 AM PDT by Shara Tibken, CNET
News.
These
numbers compare will when stacked against past figures, save for the iPhone 5C
and 5S, figures for which Apple never gave out:
1.
600,000 for the iPhone 4 in June 2010
2.
1 million iPhone 4S phones in October
2011
3.
2 million iPhone 5 phones in September
2012
4.
4 million for the Apple iPhone 6
Good
to note, however, that Apple went onto sell 9 million Apple iPhone 5S and 5C in
September 2013 as noted in my blog article
entitled “Apple
iPhone 5S and Apple iPhone 5C sold 9 million units over the Weekend - Apple
beats Wall Street's Great Expectations for Christmas”.
So
the figures for this weekend that started on Friday September 19th
2014 and extended through from Saturday September 20th 2014 to Sunday
September 21st 2014 suggests that Apple may soon have some supply
problems. At 10 million JUST for the weekend, demand for the Apple iPhone 6 and
the Apple iPhone 6 Plus will easily burn through that 80 million stock of Apple
iPhones 6's Apple allegedly ordered!
So
now that I’ve gotten the sales stuff out of the way, time for the specs!
Apple iPhone 6 and
Apple iPhone 6 Plus – Better Specs come with the Bigger phone
The
4.7” Apple iPhone 6 comes with the usual 4.7” IPS Backlit IPS LCD Screen Retina
Display that I'd expected. It's got a resolution of 1,334x750-pixel resolution
with a 326ppi (pixels per inch) density, making the Apple iPhone 6 fully 1080p
capable. While the screen has gotten bigger, the dimensions are super slim,
weighing in at 129 grams (4.55 ounces) and is 6.9mm (0.27”) thick.
This
makes it rather lightweight and very handy to use with one hand to tap and
access Apps on screen, as it maintain the same width as the Apple iPhone 5S. It
feels the same, save for a few aesthetic changes such as the power/lock button
being moved from the phone's top edge to its right spine.
The
5.5” Apple iPhone 6 is the same as the 4.7” Apple iPhone 6 save for the a
1,920x1,080-pixel resolution at 401ppi and the physical dimensions of the
phone. Other key differences will be highlighted along the way.
 |
But
basically they're the same save for the Apple iPhone 6 Plus going jumbo to
catch up with the Phablet crowd as I’ve admitted based on the fact that three
(3) analyst, including Kantar Worldpanel
ComTech are predicting the same thing as stated in my blog article
entitled “Blackberry
Passport to launch Wednesday September 24th 2014 - 5.5-inch Apple iPhone 6 Plus
proves Phablets a Trend and Passport a success”.
What's
a great display without a fast Processor? The Apple iPhone 6 is packing a
64-bit A8 Processor, which Apple claims results in a 25% faster CPU with 50%
faster graphics. The M8 Co-Processor tricked out with some new abilities, such
as a Barometer which enable it to determine elevation in tandem with the GPS.
The
Touch ID fingerprint scanner is still there and is still covered with Sapphire
Screen and useful for and identifying you to your Apple iPhone 6 to unlock and
unlocking some Apps as explained in my blog article entitled
“Apple
iPhone and the Sapphire plated Touch ID Fingerprint scanner - The Death of
passwords and the birth of Biometrics”. Touch ID also complements the newly
added NFC (Near Field Communications) Chip that’s now a part of the Apple
iPhone.
This
NFC Chip powers the Apple Pay Service, Apple’s answer to Google Wallet but with
better industry support as proclaimed in the article “Hello
, Apple Pay, good bye Credit Cards? All bets are off”, published September
11, 2014 9:17 AM PDT by Marguerite Reardon , CNET
News.
The
Camera is the centerpiece of owning a Smartphone and the Apple's 8-megapixel
iPhone 6 iSight camera on the rear of the Apple iPhone 6. Granted, it’s still 8
megapixels but as usual Apple has chosen to incrementally improve on the
performance rather than go for a higher Megapixel density Sensor.
To
this end the 8-megapixel iPhone 6 iSight camera, automatic HDR is now the
standard. With the flash engaged, the camera shows improved Colour and
saturation levels and digital image stabilization improves images when taking
shots while moving, albeit the Apple iPhone 6 Plus offers optical image
stabilization.
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But
the magic starts once you switch to Panorama mode. The new Sapphire Lens can
capture up to 43 megapixels and the iSight camera now comes with an imaging processor
that not only deals with noise better but also has face, blink and smile
detection. Finally, Burst Mode with an auto-selection option to choose the best
picture has finally landed on the Apple iPhone 6.
Video
has finally improved, now with 1080p HD Video at frame speeds of either 30 or
60fps. Slow-motion is in HD at 120 or 240fps and HDR along with continuous
auto-focus is automatic in both modes. The 1.2 Megapixel Front Facing Camera is
now much improved for Facetime Video Calling and the improvements seem to
herald a push towards this being the norm. Again HDR is a default option but
the resolution is still at 720p HD, which I hope will improve in the next
iteration of the Apple iPhone.
Finally,
when it comes to the Internet, the Apple iPhone 6 has got you covered 4G LTE
with 150MBps theoretical Download speeds. No battery specs, but it might be the
same 2000mAh Battery sans wireless
Charging, which Apple hasn't embraced as yet. Still, you get 10 hours over 3G
and 4G LTE and 11 hours on Wi-Fi and Video.
With
those faster internal comes Wi-Fi Video Calling and VoLTE (Voice over LTE)
effectively HD Audio in a phone call, something that's incredible to use as
it's like the persons is right beside you as explained in “6
reasons why you'll eventually want voice over LTE”, published August 30,
2014 4:00 AM PDT by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News
Finally,
what an Apple iPhone without the aesthetics that we're come to love. The three
(3) colours form the Apple iPhone 5S are back:
1.
Gold
2.
Silver
3.
Space Gray
So
why is there no Sapphire Screen? Also, what's the Pricing like in the US of A
and Internationally?
Apple iPhone 6 – No Sapphire
screen but supersized 128GB and NFC-powered Apple Pay
First
thing first, for those of you who read my prediction as stated in my blog article
entitled “Apple
iPhone 6 Official Invite sets Tuesday September 9th 2014 - Expect a Gold
Standard 128GB Sapphire Screen with iWatch and NFC Mobile Money and BitCoin
Wallet”, the Apple iPhone 6 doesn’t have a Sapphire screen as I’d expected.
The
reasons are quite simple really; Sapphire Screens, though unscratchable, are
still hard to make is mass number in time for a successful launch as stated in
the article “WHY
THE IPHONE 6 DOESN’T HAVE A SAPPHIRE GLASS SCREEN”, September 14, 2014 By
Jason Hahn, DigitalTrends. Not only
that on testing failed the required drop test i.e. they shattered when dropped based
on the word of IDC analyst Danielle Levitas, who stated that Sapphire Screens
tested consistently failed drop tests.
 |
Note
that this doesn’t rule out the use of Sapphire to make smartphone screens in
the future as noted in my blog article
entitled “Apple
and GT Advanced Crystal Technologies building Sapphire Plant in Arizona –
Arizona people working to coat Apple iPhone in Unbreakable Sapphire with
possible Jamaican Bauxite Industry Revival coming”.
After
all, the US$400 Kyocera Brigadier for
Verizon Wireless has a Sapphire Screen as predicted in my blog article
entitled “US$400
Kyocera Brigadier – Verizon's Waterproof, Drop-Proof Unscratchable Unbreakable
Sapphire Screen for the Great Outdoors”, the basis of my making the claim
that the Apple iPhone 6 would be sporting one as well.
Still,
the option to pay for things like tickets and Dinners using the super-secure Apple
Pay, which works with NFC as I’d predicted in my blog article
entitled “Apple
iPhone 6 Official Invite sets Tuesday September 9th 2014 - Expect a Gold
Standard 128GB Sapphire Screen with iWatch and NFC Mobile Money and BitCoin
Wallet” makes up for the missing Sapphire screen nicely.
This
is a NFC (Near Field Communication) platform that’s part authenticated via the
fingerprint-based Touch ID that allows access to your Credit Card information
stored in a special hardware storage area on the Apple iPhone as explained in
the article “Get to know
Apple Pay ,the successor to your Wallet” , published September 9, 2014 5:44
PM PDT by Sharon Profis, CNET News.
Still
no word about BitCoin Support from Apple or Bitcoin wallets! But Apple Pay on
the Apple iPhone as well as the Apple Watch is a push into making it a
mainstream way for paying for things as noted in the article “Apple
takes NFC Mainstream on iPhone 6: Apple Watch with Apple Pay”, published
September 9, 2014 11:02 AM PDT, by Marguerite Reardon and Shara Tibken, CNET News, something Google Wallet has failed
to achieve..
So
too does the option to have memory sizes in the 128GB Range on the Apple iPhone
6. Ok fine, so what are my options
for the Apple iPhone 6 and the Apple iPhone 6 Plus and where do I get one?
Apple iPhone 6
Countries and Options –Not yet in Jamaica but I’ll be asking questions
The
Apple iPhone comes in the following options and Prices as shown in the Table
below:
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If
you are a Jamaican and you have relatives abroad who want to purchase the Apple
iPhone 6 or Apple iPhone 6 Plus unlocked, this is now allowed since President
Barack Obama signed the “Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition
Act” (S.517) on Friday August 1st 2014 as stated in my blog article
entitled “Unlocking
Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act makes Cellphone Unlocking Legal
again - President Barack Obama upholds DMCA”.
Apple
iPhone has now gone on sale simultaneously around the World on Friday September
12th 2014 in the following Developed countries as noted in Apple
iPhone 6 goes on sale around the world, published September 19, 2014 6:30
AM PDT by CNET Staff, CNET News:
1.
U.S
2.
Australia
3.
Canada
4.
France
5.
Germany
6.
Hong Kong
7.
Japan,
8.
Puerto Rico
9.
Singapore
10.
United Kingdom
By
Friday September 26th 2014, it'll be on sale in the following 20
Developed and Developing World countries:
1.
Austria
2.
Belgium
3.
Denmark
4.
Finland
5.
Ireland
6.
Isle of Man
7.
Italy
8.
Liechtenstein
9.
Luxembourg
10.
Netherlands
11.
New Zealand
12.
Norway
13.
Portugal
14.
Qatar
15.
Russia
16.
Saudi Arabia
17.
Spain
18.
Sweden
19.
Switzerland
20.
Taiwan
21.
Turkey
22.
United Arab Emirates
Not
yet on sale in Jamaican and neither have I heard any news of when Telecom
Provider LIME plans to start selling the Apple iPhone 6. I’ll be going to
Carlton Crescent Headquarters during the week to ask them questions about the
Apple iPhone 6 and when it’ll be coming to Jamaica.
Until
then Ciao! I’ll be doing a separate article on the Apple Watch at a later date,
as I have to see how well it does first!
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