CUPERTINO - Apple on Wednesday took the wraps off two new iPhones in a special media event held at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts. The new iPhone 6 sports a 4.7-inch display while its "phablet" cousin, the iPhone 6 Plus sports a 5.5-inch display. This marks the first time that an iPhone is bigger than 4 inches.
The iPhone 6's display has a screen resolution of 1,334 × 750 pixels, giving it a pixel density of 364 pixels per inch (pip). On the other hand, the iPhone 6 Plus' 5.5-inch display features a screen resolution of 1,920 × 1,080 pixels with a pixel density of 401 ppi. While these pixel resolutions might seem odd, the continued 16:9 ratio will allow iOS developers to easily upscale their apps to fit the new iPhones' display.
One of the most significant addition to the new iPhones is Near Field Communications (NFC) technology, which had been previously shunned by Apple. With NFC, Apple is rolling out Apple Pay, a wireless payment method that allows users to store credit cards in the iPhone 6. To make payment, users just need to tap a sensor with the iPhone to make payments.
Apple pointed out that no credit card information is being stored in the iPhone. Apple Pay comes with every iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus and it will be available next month in the US. An international rollout will come later, Apple said without providing further details.
Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook, unveils the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus during a product announcement at Flint Center in Cupertino, California on Sept 10.
Design wise, both the new iPhone 6s look more like the fifth-generation iPod Touch. The whole aluminium unibody design remains with front panel having thinner bezels and rounded edges that fit nicely with the curvy rear shell. The iPhone 6 is only 6.7mm thin while the iPhone 6 Plus is a mere 7.1mm.
Instead of two-colour tone rear shell of its predecessors, the iPhone 6s' rear sports a more uniform colour with the antenna bands coloured differently.
For those who want more battery life, the iPhone 6 Plus is said to have 24 hours of 3G talk time. On the other hand, the iPhone 6 has 14hrs of 3G talk time.
Apple has done away with the 32GB version for its new phones. They now only come in 16GB, 64GB and 128GB versions. For those who want more space for your videos, the 128GB version is a must have.
The iPhone 6 will retail in Singapore starting from $988 (16GB) and the iPhone 6 Plus will start at $1,148 (16GB). Both iPhones will be available in colours of silver, space grey and gold. The new iPhones will hit Singapore's shores on Sept 19.
