6 or 6 Plus?

Yesterday’s Apple announcements were pretty spectacular. The Apple Watch looks like a really promising product and I’m sure I’ll end up getting one.The more pressing question however is for those of us upgrading to the new iPhone. You can now choose between the 6 and 6 Plus models. I am planning on pre-ordering so I’ve been spending way too much time thinking about which device makes more sense.

The differences are quantifiable:

iPhone 6

Awesome with a 4.7 inch screen.

iPhone 6 Plus

All the iPhone 6 awesome plus a 5.5 inch screen, better camera (optical image stabilization), longer battery life, and $100 more.


I wrote earlier about the dilemma for people that want a small phone but the best features and that situation now exists, at least a little bit. I’ve been leaning toward the larger phone because I’m really curious about how a bigger screen would change my relationship to my iPhone. I really like my iPad and if I had some of those features in my pocket at all times, I may really like that. I’m so curious that I’ve made a mock-up with this template from Ars Technica. I printed the page, folded it around the 6 Plus size, and taped a stack of index cards to the back to give it the approximate thickness of the actual phone. I’ve carried it so far in my fancy work pants and my jeans. It fits fine in my pocket. I’ve set it in my car mount and it seems like the larger screen will not be a problem for me to carry around and a benefit when viewing. In addition to giving me some idea of whether or not the 6 Plus will work, walking around with a paper phone in my pocket has provided my family a seemingly infinite amount of amusement.

I’m probably going to just order the big one. It’s not a tattoo. It’s a phone. If the big one doesn’t work, I suspect next year Apple will have another phone that I’ll be similarly lusting after.