Tech turkeys: Apple and Google dominate the year's menu of failures
In the spirit of Festivus here is our full list of the worst technology products and services of the year.
When Apple opened up preorders for the new iPhone 6 I immediately – pretty much instinctively – pulled the trigger on the iPhone 6 Plus. My thinking was "why would I want the 4.7-inch display when I could get a 5.5-inch display?" Have I made the right choice?
When Apple opened up preorders for the new iPhone 6 I immediately – pretty much instinctively – pulled the trigger on the iPhone 6 Plus. My thinking was "why would I want the 4.7-inch display when I could get a 5.5-inch display?"
After all, if I think of all the work I've done on my iPhone 5 with it 4-inch display, then going to 5.5-inches will mean much more screen to work with.
But a 5.5-inch display is a huge ramp up from the 4-inch display that I've been used to on my old iPhone, and so over the days between placing the order and receiving the handset , a question has nagged at my brain:
Is the iPhone 6 Plus just big, or is it too big?
I didn't manage to score an iPhone 6 Plus on launch day, but one has fallen into my hands this morning, so after tearing off the cellophane and freeing it from it's little cardboard delivery vessel I decided to find out for myself.
Note: This is a first impressions review based on a few hours of handling and using the iPhone 6 Plus. I will follow this piece up in 10 days with another, where I will pass on further thoughts, and decide whether I will keep the iPhone 6 Plus or move to the smaller iPhone 6.
iPhone 6 Plus | iPhone 6 | iPhone 5s | iPhone 5c | |
Dimentions HxWxD (mm) |
158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 | 138.1 x 67.0 x 6.9 | 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 | 124.4 x 59.2 x 8.97 |
Weight (g) | 172 | 129 | 112 | 132 |
Display size | 5.5-inch | 4.7-inch | 4-inch | 4-inch |
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1334 x 750 | 1136 x 640 | 1136 x 640 |
Pixels per inch | 401 | 326 | 326 | 326 |
Contrast ratio | 1300:1 | 1400:1 | 800:1 | 800:1 |
Processor | 64-bit A8 | 64-bit A8 | 64-bit A7 | A6 |
Motion coprocessor | M8 | M8 | M7 | N/A |
Original storage capacities (GB) | 16/64/128 | 16/64/128 | 16/32/64 | 8/16/32 |
Wi-fi | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11a/b/g/n | 802.11a/b/g/n |
Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.0 | Bluetooth 4.0 | Bluetooth 4.0 | Bluetooth 4.0 |
iSight camera | Updated 8-megapixel iSight camera with 1.5µ pixels, f/2.2, and optical image stabilization | Updated 8-megapixel iSight camera with 1.5µ pixels, f/2.2 | 8-megapixel iSight camera with 1.5µ pixels, f/2.2 | 8-megapixel iSight camera, f/2.4 |
Flash | True Tone | True Tone | True Tone | LED |
Facetime camera | 1.2-megapixel photos (1280 by 960), 720p HD, f/2.2, with burst mode and auto HDR for photos and video | 1.2-megapixel photos (1280 by 960), 720p HD, f/2.2, with burst mode and auto HDR for photos and video | 1.2-megapixel photos (1280 by 960), 720p HD, f/2.4, with auto HDR for photos | 1.2-megapixel photos (1280 by 960), 720p HD, f/2.4 |
Video | 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps or 60 fps |
1080p HD video recording at 30 fps or 60 fps |
1080p HD video recording at 30 fps) |
1080p HD video recording at 30 fps |
Slo-mo | Slo-mo video at 120 fps or 240 fps | Slo-mo video at 120 fps or 240 fps | Slo-mo video at 120 fps | N/A |
Talk time | Up to 24 hours on 3G | Up to 14 hours on 3G | Up to 10 hours on 3G | Up to 10 hours on 3G |
Standby | Up to 16 days | Up to 10 days | Up to 10 days | Up to 10 days |
Internet | Up to 12 hours on 3G, up to 12 hours on LTE, up to 12 hours on Wi-Fi | Up to 10 hours on 3G, up to 10 hours on LTE, up to 11 hours on Wi-Fi | Up to 8 hours on 3G, up to 10 hours on LTE, up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi | Up to 8 hours on 3G, up to 10 hours on LTE, up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi |
Video/Audio playback (hours) | 14/80 | 11/50 | 10/40 | 10/40 |
Sensors |
Barometer |
Barometer 3-axis gyro Touch ID Accelerometer Proximity sensor Ambient light sensor Digital compass |
3-axis gyro Touch ID Accelerometer Proximity sensor Ambient light sensor Digital compass |
3-axis gyro Accelerometer Proximity sensor Ambient light sensor Digital compass |
Colors |
Space gray |
Space gray Silver Gold |
Space gray Silver Gold |
White Yellow Blue Red Green |
Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
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