8 Things you need to know about Apple iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus

Finally, Apple’s iPhone 6 is here. Keeping up with most of the rumours, this newest iteration of the iPhone comes in two screen sizes - 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch . The 4.7-inch model is called iPhone 6 while the jumbo-screen phablet is christened iPhone 6 Plus. Apple has crafted the biggest and thinnest iPhones ever. Here’s everything you need to know about the iPhone 6 models.

Design

In the bid to keep up with the growing demand for larger displays, Apple has finally dropped its 4-inch display and moved onto larger display sizes. However, this doesn’t mean the device has got any bulkier. In fact, the company, known for shedding off weight with each generation leap has continued its tradition. The iPhone 6 as well as iPhone 6 Plus are the slimmest iPhones ever at 6.9mm and 7.1mm respectively. It should be noted that the iPhone 5S was 7.6mm slim. Moreover, the rounded edges and glass front curves, gives it an iPad-like look.

Display

The larger displays have also ensured more pixel resolution of 750 x 1334 for the iPhone 6 and 1080 x 1920 for iPhone 6 Plus. They are also believed to be the most powerful iPhones ever. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus come with the all-new A8 processor. Apple claims that it comes with 2 billion transistors, making it 25 percent faster for any ordinary computing task and 50 percent faster for graphics.

Battery

This boost in power won’t take a toll on the battery life either, claims the company. In fact, the devices claim to offer slightly better battery life. While iPhone 5s offered 10 hours of battery life over Wi-Fi, the iPhone 6 increases it by an hour to 11 hours and iPhone 6 Plus to 12 hours. The battery life will also ensure prolonged talking on the phone compared to 10 hours offered by their predecessor - 14 hours on the iPhone 6 and 24 hours with the iPhone 6 Plus.

Camera

On the camera front (8MP), these devices come with a plethora of improvements. Firstly, they are fitted with a new sensor for faster auto-focus to avoid blurry shots. You will also find a new slow-motion video feature. Basically, you can take videos at 240 frames per second and then slow them down to view at a fraction of their original speed. One of the interesting features is Burst selfies. This means take several quick selfies and select the best among them. In addition, the iPhone 6 Plus also comes with optical image stabilization that detects and offsets shaky moments.

Connectivity

Both models come with some networking improvements compared to its predecessor. These devices now support 20 different frequency bands, allowing them to operate in more countries. The technique called carrier aggregation allows the devices to utilize multiple frequency bands at the same time that can offer speeds 50 percent faster than the iPhone 5S, claims Apple. Besides cellular network, Apple has also improved Wi-Fi capabilities with the support for 802.11ac.

iOS 8

The iPhone 6 and its bigger sibling run the latest iOS 8 operating system unveiled at WWDC earlier this year. Some of the highlights of the iOS 8 include integration of Mac and iPhone allowing easy switching between one device to another, Swype-like QuickType onscreen keyboard, support for third-party keyboards, iCloud Drive service that lets users save a file and automatically synchronize it across devices, to name a few.

Apple Pay

The iPhone 6 also comes with support for Apple’s new Pay mobile payments service. The NFC chip helps with contact-less payments at supported terminals. The purchases are authenticated via the device’s TouchID sensor. The company has teamed up with American Express, MasterCard, and Visa, as well as the six largest banks in the US. About 22,000 retailers will work with its Pay service and will be available in the US next month.

Price

As expected, the iPhone 6 costs $199 for the base model with 16GB of storage, $299 for a 64GB model and $399 for a 128GB model (with contract). The larger size iPhone 6 costs $100 extra -  $299 for a 16 GB model, $399 for 64GB and $499 for the 128 GB  model. The previous models get a price cut, the iPhone 5S  sells for $99 and iPhone 5C free with contract. Users can opt for space grey, silver or gold options. The pre-orders for the new iPhone begin on September 12 and Apple fans can visit the retail store on September 19.