As you know, I co-host a weekly podcast with David from UKMobileTech called Gav & Dave’s Tech Podcast. It is a light hearted tech podcast broadcast bi-weekly. To subscribe click here for iTunes or copy and paste this link into your favourite podcast app.
Episode 24 is now live for your listening pleasure.
Flashback a few months and the only phone really on my mind was the upcoming Samsung Note 4. Yeah, I knew Apple was bringing out bigger iPhones but based on all the leaks I couldn’t see how these newer iPhones would compete against an almighty specification sheet of the Note 4. Without wishing to be sounding harsh, the Note 4 on paper crushes the iPhone 6 Plus.
However, Apple released the new iPhones ahead of the Note 4, so I decided it would be totally harmless to at least try the Plus. The smaller version was of no interest to me, even though it felt easier to manage in one hand. Fortunately. As I have reviewed over 20 smartphones in the last 18 months, you quickly gather a perspective on what makes a good phone and what doesn’t. I also try to commit to any new phone completely. That means powering off any other phones and being totally reliant on the new handset.
Switching on and moving back to iOS on a smartphone felt weird initially. So different to android and yet at times so similar. So as each day passes, I am “feeling” happier and really “enjoying” using my iPhone like no other phone. In fact, these sensations are so strong, I have actually cancelled my Note 4 pre order.
I’ve been trying to work out why I’m feeling this way. My thoughts as to why run along the lines of everything feels less cluttered. Apps seem more tailored and polished despite the apps that are zoomed in too much and need updating. iMessage. FaceTime. Handoff. iTunes sync with my videos, photos and music – having a two way sync and having a neat and tidy setup feels good. Even the camera app is a simple operation but works really effectively. Plus battery life is top notch and the headphone output is phenomenal.
I will be sharing more of my thoughts shortly on my next podcast with Dave Rich, “Gav & Dave’s Tech Podcast” which will be live later today. During this podcast there is a special guest appearance from the Mafia.
Below are 5 shots taken at speed and randomly. Some have a filters applied from the iPhone Photos app. Really pleased with these photos.
Apple has released iOS 8.02 which has same change log as 8.01 except this version fixes phones that lost Touch ID and cellular.
Interestingly it is being rumoured that the person is charge of this update was the same middle manager in charge of the maps launch.
The press have been stating the iPhone 6 is the world’s best smartphone camera. So lets put these auto mode cameras to the test. This is a simple auto mode test. 3 samples of the same shot, the first from the LG G3 and then the iPhone 6 Plus.
In some ways I felt the iPhone 6 did a good job, and in others the G3. I will create a more in depth comparison, but I thought some of you might be interested.
So which phone wins for you?
Remember LG G3 first then iPhone 6 Plus.
As you can see from the shot above the iPhone 6 plus got the lighting all wrong.
The above shots are trickier. The iPhone does a better job with the sky. G3 has more detail. Close call.
One thing that is evident is the iPhone 6 has a wider field of view, which could be a bonus.
This is the first iPhone for 9 months. In the last 9 months I have used android as my main smartphone platform as choice. I hated my 5S for its pathetic battery life. A trip to London and at 10% by 9am. Also the screen felt too small or cramped.
So here I am with the 6 Plus. First thoughts. Its a whopper. Huge. Tall. In fact it sticks out of my work shirt front pocket by about 2cm. The LG G3 was protruding about 1cm. Next thoughts. iOS is so different to android. I tried to swipe the 6 screen on. I have also double tapped the screen. I am having to get used to using Touch ID and the home button. This is the first thing you do to access your phone and you’re instantly reminded just how good Touch ID is implemented. And then you go thru the process of setting up a few core apps and services. This is a slow process as I use 2 step authentication for absolutely everything.
Next, was the sync to iTunes on my mac. This takes a while as my music, apps, videos, books, photos and more all get transferred across. iTunes is great for this sort of thing. Except, the order of my photo events are not in alphabetical order. This is annoying. During the first sync, the iPhone crashed. iTunes on my mac crashed as well.
Apps. These look weird where they have just been enlarged to fit the 5.5 inch screen. Twitter is a good example of an app done well. I hope it does not take long for all these apps to get updated, but it seems odd that android apps probably are designed better for larger screens at the moment.
The biggest delight of the iPhone 6 is the audio quality. It is an OMG moment. Absolutely marvellous sound quality and really rocking my headphones.
Suddenly I find iMessage, FaceTime and other Apple services all becoming useful as many family and friends have an iPhone.
But I am not enamoured by this phone as much as I would have hoped. Apps crash, apps looks zoomed too much and there are so many bugs. But it is early days!
If you look at any news website over the last week you will have seen noise about scalpers or groups and or gangs or people buying the new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, and paying in cash for onward sale abroad.
More is then written detailing the third world conditions some of these people are queuing in, the mess left behind, how one member lets 100 plus people in front thereby preventing a real Apple customer and fan making a purchase and so on.
So this raises some questions. Should Apple allow scalpers, gangs or groups to make these purchases? Could Apple and the security on site do more to prevent queue jumping?
My thoughts are as follows. I believe Apple could do a considerable amount more to stop this practice. I have no qualms with a scalper buying stock, so long as they queued properly and didn’t queue jump and Apple implemented more measures to make the queues more sanitary. Apple is a technology company. So every buyer of a phone needs some form of identification like a driving licence. Next payment can only be made by a credit card. Next using facial recognition software, every person’s face is photographed and if they reappear for another 7 days trying to buy more iphones then they will not be allowed. Next Apple should employ security from the night before to manage the queue and provide a ticketing system which with all the other measures will prevent unsightly queues and allow normal people to buy the product. Now once stock levels are plentiful Apple could relax the credit card only rule and maybe a few more. Apple could also make sure that all the countries where the stock is sold on the black market is made available at the same time as all other countries.
But what incentive does Apple have to undertake all these actions? Over the weekend this was a sight witnessed in an Apple Store. 5 people arrive in the queue. Clearly 4 of them where under instruction to buy as many iphone 6’s as possible. Preferably the 6 Plus. Apple told them that they could only sell 2 phones to each person and each person would have a separate transaction. The ring leader then gave each person the respective cash required. So that was £7,000 in to the tills. Would any store want to lose this amount in a space of 5 minutes?
Finally, there is more stock filtering through. At 12.01am this morning it was possible to reserve for pickup from most Apple UK stores whatever iPhone 6 or 6 Plus model you required.
At 6.30am, there are still a selection of iPhone 6 and a few 6 Plus available but only from about one third of Apple’s stores. To check whats available at your local store and to reserve one, click here https://reserve.cdn-apple.com/GB/en_GB/reserve/iPhone/availability
This is the last time I will provide this information, as it is evident Apple does have enough stock to meet demand , so long as you are prepared to reserve for store pickup at 12.01am!
These are the stores with iPhone 6 Plus at 6.30am –
Regent Street
Princesshay
Milton Keynes
Festival Place
Drake Circus
Cribbs Causeway
Churchill Square
Chapelfield
And the below stores have iPhone 6 at 6.30am –
Chapelfield
Churchill Square
Cribbs Causeway
Drake Circus
Festival Place
Grand Parade
Milton Keynes
Princesshay
Go download the new update from Apple. So last night thousands did and boom. No touch id and cellular. The remaining change log was –
Release notes are as follows –
Fixes a bug so HealthKit apps can now be made available on the App Store
Addresses an issue where 3rd party keyboards could become deselected when a user enters their passcode
Fixes an issue that prevented some apps from accessing photos from the Photo Library
Improves the reliability of the Reachability feature on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
Fixes an issue that could cause unexpected cellular data usage when receiving SMS/MMS messages
Better support of Ask To Buy for Family Sharing for In-App Purchases
Fixes an issue where ringtones were sometimes not restored from iCloud backups
Fixes a bug that prevented uploading photos and videos from Safari
It seems there is a nasty bug. After updating Touch ID and network/cell activation both fail.
Updated – if you restore 8.01 via iTunes this seems to fix issues. So don’t use OTA
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 