“As I stood in line at my local AT&T store Friday morning, preparing to plunk down $399 on Apple’s next big thing, a fear crept into my thoughts: What if the iPhone 6 Plus is too big to fit into my pants pocket? Am I going to have to start carrying a purse?” Will Oremus writes for Slate.
“As it turned out, however, I had no problem sliding the iPhone 6 Plus into the pockets of my Uniqlo chinos. One of my colleagues, whose sartorial taste skews toward elfin hipster jeans, had somewhat more difficulty when he tried my new phone on for size. I’m guessing he’ll opt for a smaller version,” Oremus writes. “Yet just as I began to rejoice that I hadn’t wasted my money on a phone I couldn’t carry, a different drawback became apparent: There’s no easy way to use the device with just one hand.”
“While the double-tap feature makes it relatively easy to reach the top of the screen, it remains a struggle to reach the sides without dropping the device altogether. Two of the people to whom I briefly loaned the phone managed to fumble it within the first 30 seconds,” Oremus writes. “I’m not ruling out the possibility that I’ll eventually grow dexterous enough with the 6 Plus that its virtues begin to overshadow its limitations. But at this point, I’m also not ruling out the possibility that I’ll be back in line at that same AT&T store within two weeks to exchange it for something more manageable.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: This is a cautionary tale of an iPhone 6 Plus owner who really wanted an iPhone 6. It’s also what return policies are for; quit yer bitchin’, Will, and go get your iPhone 6!
Look at Apple user’s finally giving up their horse and buggies and catching up with where Android was years ago.
Two years ago Android was in the sewer, the same as it is now. Crawl back in troll breath.
Years ago Android was a poor copy of iOS and just getting around to dumping the mechanical keyboard.
eh… which android exactly has a 64 bit chip and 64 bit OS in them?
When iPhone users look at Android users, it’s like Time Travel, you’re glimpsing the past….
Granted, some Android devices are competing quite well, even as 32-bit devices. i wonder how they will perform once Android becomes 64-bit? It’s worth keeping open-minded about that, I’d say.
Welcome to 2013, Android, if/when you become fully 64-bit.
You mean 2014, right? Oh that’s right, you have an iPhone. They always did have issues with Daylight Savigs….. XD
Don’t be so open minded your brain falls out.
ijs
anyone that thinks to call himself coolfactor is well… kinda not so cool and not really worth listening to!
Coolfactor – if your colorblind don’t get a job as a painter.
the android OS is a Java mess due to the fact they rushed the changes to it when the iPhone came out, overlaying a touch interface over a Blackberry like KEYBOARD OS without rewriting it from the ground up. That’s why they often need 4 cores to compete.
Internet search ‘Android Lag’ if you don’t believe me.
Benchmarks used to rate iPhone and Android don’t tell the whole story as they try to keep the OS differences out concentrating on the processors (and often the tests don’t make use of 64 bit).
Real users using day to day apps often find iPhone experience way smoother and more fluid (due not just to 64 bit but Apple’s optimization of the OS and hardware). Android OEMS using OFF THE SHELF OS designed by somebody else can NEVER get the optimizations Apple can where hardware and OS are designed in lockstep (this is so obvious yet android fans refuse to acknowledge it) The mindset of the OS hardware FRACTURE can be seen from the fact most android phones even relatively new ones don’t get OS updates , the Android OEMS don’t consider the OS as INTEGRAL to them!, if they think like THAT (the OS is somebody else’s problem) how can they optimize the hardware and OS? .
There are two many advantages to 64 bit from malware protection (due to increase randomization ability) to use in the fingerprint sensor for me to write about here without going novel length.
Ah, Joe the idiot. Android is still stuck in 32-bit world. 4 cores just to run at 2-core speeds. Both you and Android are exceptionally inefficient.
Stuck in 32-bit world? WTF are you smoking. ART is fully 64-bit compatible. Spoken by someone who knows nothing about what he is talking about.
Catching up with a screen that is too big to comfortably use with one hand for many people?
And none of those old Android phones will run the latest Android software.
Joe has it backwards. It is Android that is behind what Apple is doing. Always has been. And the gap is getting bigger not smaller. Especially after the release of iPhone 6 and 6+.
No, no no. Android is far ahead of Apple — in malware and security breaches.
Except that the iPhone 6 isn’t massive because Apple couldn’t make a smaller phone that didn’t run out of power in 3 hours.
Apple users never had horse and buggies. They always drove in their BMWs, Porsches and Corvettes. Android geeks cannot afford anything beyond a cheap korean car.
I guess you forget the iPhone was out a year and a half before Android made it’s appearance, copied from the iPhone. Apple could have had larger phones years ago but deliberately decided not to roll the way of cheap knock-off manufacturers in South Korea willing to glean any advantage they can, while they can. BUT, time’s run out and the Piper wants payment.
No, you are wrong. Everyone is wrong. Apple could not have had larger screens on their phones until now.
Everyone seems to have missed the most important statement made about the larger screens at the keynote when it was said “all apps look great, even the old ones.”
It’s called resolution independence which requires high pixel counts and horsepower to make the old apps fit and look great on odd-size screens. Apple wasn’t able to do that till now, and they did it right.
Samsung will never get this right. – oh wait, they already did it, and they did it crappy.
Android might have had these “sizes” but nowhere near the quality.
You’re a dumbass and you have it backwards. Big flippin’ deal Android phones had larger screens first. If it wasn’t for Apple, Google and Samsung wouldn’t have an innovative company to COPY! Apple released a large iPhone, and I am going to love how it will totally trounce Samsung’s shitty phones.
The large screen Androids used large screens as a marketing gimmick. They were far inferior to even Apple’s 3.5″ iPhone 4s screen in quality (fun fact: the “s” officially stands for successor). Now that Apple has even higher quality screens than before (look up the difference between Retina and Retina HD) in the larger sizes, Samsung is scared shitless, as you can tell by their absurd advertisement spending all over TV and YouTube, directly slamming Apple so it can continue to trick ignorant consumers. Well you know what, let the ignorant keep Samsung junk, who cares, more high quality stuff for us. I kind of like that Samsung sells junk to cheapskate consumers, keeps Apple innovating year after year so we have more to enjoy in the future.
There is nothing more fun than listening to you fanbois backpedal. Apple makes a large phone, and since it is now branded a jesus phone, it is good. Disregard the years of bad mouthing large phones. Android was and still is light years ahead of Apple in the innovation front. IOS is only just now getting custom keyboards, pffft. Maybe in 5 years time, Apple will let you customize your lock screen. Funny that even some Apple patents show cydia icons, even Apple itself can’t stand to use non jailbroken IOS.
Boob
My opinion was and still is that the 6+ is way too big. The 6 is perfect.
That is the exact the opposite of what she said.
Got the iPhone 6 Plus delivered this morning in London, UK. Yes, it’s big – but to be honest after using it for a few hours it seems entirely natural.
I’m loving the larger keyboard (I do not have huge hands, nor do I have the hands of a twelve year old) and the additional screen real estate is awesome.
The only negative for me on Day One is that I think one looks a dork holding such a large phone up to one’s head … But that is not a problem exclusive to iPhone 6 Plus, it’s true of any larger device.
I have skinny hipster jeans, but it fits fine in my jacket pocket 🙂
Thing is, the screen is so good that apps need to be updated. Facebook text looks absolutely fuzzy. And gigantic. Other apps too.
Back Buttons are often in the upper lefthand corner. After getting used to the double-tap to move the top down, I found myself intuitively giving a single-tap on the home button to go back. Weird. I think the 6 Plus will eventually spawn its own conventions with apps knowing when you have the Plus and making buttons easier to hit. Just a hunch.
Return your ipone6+ asap, millions of people want one.
I already found the perfect shirt to carry a iPhone 6+ or iPad mini. check out this link. this shirt has hidden chest pockets. i already own some of these. the chest pockets are huge and can easily hold an iPad mini
they have many other shirts that have the same hidden pockets
http://www.511tactical.com/taclite-short-sleeve-tdu-shirt.html
these shirts with their hidden chest pockets are perfect for iPhone 6+ and iPad mini. they even sell women’s version
Stop your bitching, I take it for cash or sell it on ebay for a profit but shut-up otherwise you click whore…
I find that if I need to, I can reach the top of the screen with one hand. This is of course a dexterity issue. With the addition of a bumper case or any kind of case, this actually might be easier to do. With the slim and slick surface, as it has now, a naked iPhone 6 Plus is an accident waiting to happen.
I am currently going naked, as the case I ordered was delayed do to high demand. As soon as I get it I will feel more relaxed, and finally determine if the 6+ is going to work, long term. But I believe it will.
Sell it to the Chinese, idiot.
So you are saying that you are not smart enough to go to an Apple store, try out both sizes, (actually three) and decide for yourself which is best for you?!?!?
You think Apple should make that decision for you?
I preordered a Plus and received it on Friday afternoon, on Saturday afternoon I was back at the ATT and downgraded to an iPhone 6, even though I was coming from an Android Phone with a 5.5″ screen, this phone is much larger and I feel more comfortable with a 6. I think a 5.1 or 5.2 might be perfect for a larger size or perhaps shrinking the bezel on the plus like they did with the iPad Air
Did he not use his hands to assess “pocket compatibility”? Doesn’t say much about someone who buys an expensive thing based on pocket size rather than usability. It’s not like the size is a hidden IOS feature that only became apparent after he got home. If it smells like FUD, it must be FUD.
The iPhone 6+ is a BIG phone … if you are coming from any previous generation iPhone. If you are migrating from Android to iOS it isn’t as big of a phone as some of these reviewers/journalists want you to believe.
I have the Galaxy Note 2 and I am anxiously awaiting to be able to purchase my 6+. Since I’ve lived with the Note for the past 2 years, I know what I am getting into, and size will not be an issue. I use my Note regularly with one hand and I expect to be able to do so with the 6+, and I do not have large hands that enable me to do so. I’ve just grow accustomed to adequately operating a device of this size. Incidentally, I actually find myself using my iPhone 5 with two hands more than the my Note, due to the smaller keyboard and lack of Swype on iOS, which now has thankfully been corrected with iOS 8.
While I was in Best Buy, purchasing 2 new iPhone 6 golds, I had the fortune of being able to handle a demo unit of the 6+, untethered by the typical security chain that normally hampers your ability to get a clean sense of how a phone will feel and fit in your hand. I have to say that I was more than pleasantly surprised. I found it fit better than the Note due to is thinness, rounded corners, and the fact that it is longer and skinnier than the Note 2.
People in the Android universe have been regularly handling devices of 4.3″, 4.7″, 5.0″ and above. Going from a 4.7″ to 5.0″ device to a 5.5″ inch device isn’t as jarring as going from 4.0″ straight to 5.5″. Matter of fact, living with that 4.7″ or 5.0″ device may have already made you realize that is all you can really handle. Since you have the frame of reference, you don’t really feel compelled to make the jump to 5.5″.
Overall, I wish the general whining about the size of the iPhone 6+ would just go away. The phone is magnificent and it’s a shame that it’s release is being marred (slightly and in my opinion) by so many “whine pieces” from journalists/bloggers who probably should have initially chose the 6 instead.
Hey Oremus, you girlyman, you just take that big phone back and get yourself something you can handle. The plus was made for us Magnum men, if you know what I mean and not for wussies like you. Hussle down to the Apple Store and they will sell your big one in a heartbeat to a real man.
I hate the Plus, as I find it draws attention away from my Camel-Toe style.
Just curious, when people are using their phones with one hand, what are they doing with their other hand???
I was in line on launch day, an Apple employee with their iPhone 4/5 esque size device to take customer information to reserve a phone once they got into the store, told the people behind me that when they were available to Apple employees, he was going for the 6 because 6+ was too big for one handed use. Then he went on to the next in line to take their information down and he cupped that small iphone device between both his hands and used both of his thumbs to tap away filling in the info… Hypocrite! ; )
I’m getting the 6+ because God Blessed me with two hands!
1. walking through the airport with a roller bag in one hand
2. walking to a meeting at work with your laptop in one hand
3. walking to the fitness center with a gym bag over one shoulder
Really anytime on the move.
Walking my dog. The one handed thing is a must for me. I bought the 6, but wishing they had a 128 5S.
If he didn’t have the brains to examine the phone before he bought it, he is an idiot.
I predict lots of iPhone 6+ returns early on. The big beautiful screen makes the device very tempting. But one handed use is truly the different between a phone and tablet. The iPhone 6+ is a pocketable tablet. We humans develop lots of small habits and muscle memories. Its take a solid day or two of use before people notice what the’ve really given up with such a large device.
“I need the biggest iPhone you have… No, that’s too big…”
I made cardboard cutouts according to the measurements on Apple’s spec page (yes, I am a nerd). No prob fitting the + in my pockets, and it fits in my hand quite nicely. I have really big paws, so it’s not much of a risk for me, tho’ – now I just have to wait a couple of weeks for it to arrive 🙁
Moral of the story: don’t wear elf pants!
There are now four iPhone 6s in our family. All love them except for one thing. Even the 4.7 inch display is too big. It would be nice to have an iPhone mini. We would like a thin 3.5 inch sized phone.
Agreed. Apple needs to keep smaller sizes for ALL needs, now and in the future.
In developing countries I’m guessing the smallest iPhone would sell well.
This is really silly bickering as people are getting emotional over which brand of smart-phone one chooses. While I prefer the Apple ecosystem, I have no reason to insult someone who feels Android supports their needs better. I’d much rather live in a word with choices than not.
If you look at it from a technological point of view, its really amusing that people are arguing over the most minute differences in screen quality, processor speed, etc. etc…….
To me, its amazing that I have this small device in my pocket, that allows me to retrieve update to the minute information and communicate with anyone in the world who has a cell phone signal, instantaneously.
Its great to have opinions and express your preference but please people, keep it civil people, We have plenty of real issues facing our society that we can argue about.
Lets keep the smart phones opinions, friendly.
Like man continue to say, I used to also think that big phones looked dumb held next to the face but after numerous trips to Asia over the past several years and also what I see here in the US, it doesn’t look dumb anymore because so many people use it. You walk around Seoul or Hong Kong or Tokyo and see all these petite women talking with their 5″+ phablets and they don’t care what anyone thinks. My wife’s best friend uses a Note 2 and she has no issue with it. She just loves the big screen. My wife, who’s a petite 5-3 & 100 with small hands, held it up to her ear and said she’d be interested in the 6 Plus.