Taking a look back at another week of news from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop covers the public availability of the iPhone 6 smartphones and the first reviews; the good, the bad, (and the ugly?) of iOS 8; tearing down the smartphone in public; another preview of OSX Yosemite; Tim Cook on Privacy; October 21st; and U2.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the very many discussions that have happened around Apple over the last seven days.
Today Is iPhone Day!
Following last week’s announcement, today saw the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus go on sale to customers. As well as fulfilling the pre-orders, a number of lucky customers queuing outside Apple Stores around the world were able to buy their new smartphone over the counter
The release has also sparked reviewers into action across the Internet, including the Tech Team here at Forbes.
Supersize My Smartphone
I started the ball rolling with a review of Apple’s phablet, the iPhone 6 Plus. It’s a curious device, because (unlike the iPad approach) this is just a bigger iPhone! That leads to some UI issues, notably with Apple’s reachability:
Apple’s desire to retain one-handed operation has damaged the user interface. Apple’s reachability solution, which scrolls the whole screen down so elements can be hit with a thumb, is certainly functional but it feels like a fudge. It’s the sort of workaround that a developer puts in with a note to ‘polish this before release’. I’m not sure if there’s a better solution without reworking the UI in portrait mode, but Apple should have tried to find one.
Still, it’s a monster of a battery, with 2-3 days of mixed use easily achievable on one charge.
The iPhone 6 Plus (image: Ewan Spence)
The Perfect But Not So Small Package
Going for the svelte option of the iPhone 6 was Gordon Kelly. Looking to cut through the hype, Kelly found a larger smartphone than expected, with some great design touches. The iPhone 6 does come with a larger screen than previous iPhone models, but Apple has continued to use its own design language – and in this game a few extra millimetres can lose you the championship ring:
That said not everything is a success. By far the biggest flaw in both new iPhones are their large top and bottom bezels which make the phones too long for their screen sizes. Looking at the iPhone 6 this results in a length of 138.1mm (5.44-inches), almost as long as the Samsung Galaxy S5 which has a 5.1-inch display. This means the top corners are as hard to reach as on a 5-inch+ phone and Apple really could do with shearing a lump off both ends.
The iPhone 6 (image: Gordon Kelly)
Oh and I really must point out Austin Mann’s review of the iPhone 6 Plus’ camera. It’s gorgeous. Seriously, grab a coffee and go over, I’ll wait here for you.
Who Else Reviewed The iPhone?
It’s not just the Forbes team who have been reviewing Apple’s latest smartphone hardware – pretty much every tech blog on the planet has an opinion (and access to review hardware). Earlier this week I brought together highlights from some of those online reviews of the new iPhone 6 handset:
The consensus view is that with the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple has two hit smartphones going on sale this Friday. While there are no big wins over the iPhone 5S apart from the screen size, the iterative improvements on the handsets have made a lot of reviewers very happy.
With highlights from David Pierce, Walt Mossberg, Nilay Patel, David Pogue, and John Gruber, this collection of reviews, alongside our own, should help you decide which device to buy, if any.
What Has Apple Got Under The Hood?
Everyone wants to know what’s under the hood of the iPhone, curious to find out what makes it tick. The staff at iFixit have a long and noble history of tearing down hardware to find out not only what makes up a piece of hardware, but how easy it for someone to manage a DIY repair.
With the arrival of the iPhone 6, they set about the smartphone with their typical level of skill - and once they were finished they turned their attention (and the webcam) on the iPhone 6 Plus.
…The Little Matter Of iOS 8
Joining the hardware in the full glare of public view was iOS 8. Now available on the new handsets, and as an over the air download for a number of older devices (reaching back to the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S). Forbes’ Amadou Diallo takes a look at the top eight features of Apple’s latest platform, while Mark Rogowsky leads the roll call of the negative side of iOS 8 with the eight misses in Apple’s mobile operating system.
OSX Yosemite Iterates Once More In Public
iOS 8 went through a number of developer previews before it was released publicly. OSX Yosemite is going through the same progress, and early this week Apple released two more previews of Yosemite – Public Beta 3, and Developer Preview 8. These are available through your Mac based App Store client and the update section of that app.
A Note About Privacy
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook published a letter on the Apple website this week talking about the privacy of user data. The website (at apple.com/privacy) sets out the principles that Apple is looking to follow with user data. It’s clear that Apple does not agree with a number of other Silicon Valley companies in the role that user data can have on the balance sheet.
We’re publishing this website to explain how we handle your personal information, what we do and don’t collect, and why. We’re going to make sure you get updates here about privacy at Apple at least once a year and whenever there are significant changes to our policies.
…Our business model is very straightforward: We sell great products. We don’t build a profile based on your email content or web browsing habits to sell to advertisers. We don’t “monetize” the information you store on your iPhone or in iCloud. And we don’t read your email or your messages to get information to market to you. Our software and services are designed to make our devices better. Plain and simple.
Alongside this release is the news that Apple does not hold any encryption keys for iOS 8, which makes it impossible for Apple to access a locked device and its data.
U2 (image: Wikipedia)
I Still Haven’t Found The U2 Album I Was Looking For…
The fallout from U2′s forced appearance in the ‘purchased’ ledger of every iTunes accounts continues. Giving everyone a free album would sure be a win, right? Right?
Forbes’ Bobby Owsinski looks at the some of the issues that the push-promotion has created both for the Irish band, and the Cupertino based Apple. Probably the most damning one is this:
Let’s face it, they’re all in their 50s, and while they’ve done an admirable job staying relevant far beyond the life span of most artists, to a great number of younger people it’s just, “Who are U2 and why are they sending me their spam music files?” The fact that the song that’s featured in the ad (“The Miracle of Joey Ramone”) is about another dinosaur rocker (although well-deserving) doesn’t help the cause either.
There’s more where that came from!
Let’s Do It All Again On October 21st?
And finally, Reuters reports a potential Apple event on October 21st to launch two new iPads and OSX Yosemite. Long time Apple reporter Jim Dalrymple fires off his traditional response:
Nope.
That settles that, then.
Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, and don’t forget this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, will be available later this weekend.
In Pictures: Reviewing The iPhone 6
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The iPhone 6
When dummy units of both models began leaking in June they were derided as ugly and bulky and when specifications appeared they were attacked for being underpowered compared to the competition. Now as reviews fly in the new iPhones are being heralded as the best mobile phones ever made. This is a remarkable turnaround, but is it deserved? In many ways yes.
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