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Apple iPhone 6 Plus
(2014-)
© 2014 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

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Apple iPhone 6 Plus

Apple iPhone 6 Plus (6.1 oz./173 g). bigger. This free website's biggest source of support is when you use these links, especially this link to it at Amazon, when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks! Ken.

 

December 2014   Apple Reviews    Audio Reviews   All Reviews

 

Introduction         top

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Adorama pays top dollar for your used gear.

Amazon

B&H Photo - Video - Pro Audio
I use these stores. I can't vouch for ads below.

The iPhone 6 Plus is extraordinary. It's like having a supercomputer and HDTV in your pocket.

The Camera is fantastic in almost any light, and the slo-mo and time-lapse video for the first time make it trivially easy to make these shots. Video stabilization is so good you really can shoot while walking and have the video come out perfectly stable!

Audio performance has also been greatly upgraded from previous iPhones, which were all pretty good to begin with. Today, the iPhone 6 Plus' direct analog audio output is better than many specialized portable audiophile DACs like the Beyerdynamic A200p which I lab-tested at the same time I tested the iPhone 6 Plus. The iPhone 6 Plus' audio output is now as good or better than most dedicated outboard DACs.

Because the iPhone 6 Plus screen is so big, I can leave my iPad at home and watch movies on the iPhone screen instead. I travel as light as possible, and with my iPhone 6 Plus, the iPad isn't needed.

It's so powerful that it replaces my MacBook Pro for most things, too, when traveling. The iPhone 6 Plus has so much computing power that it slams through everything super-fast.

Also terrific about the 6 Plus is that it comes in a 128 GB version. I finally can fit all the music I actually listen to into it, as well as have plenty of room for hours and hours of video.

 

Specifications         top

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Storage

16 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB. (no 32 GB option).

 

Camera

Main (rear) camera

8 Megapixels.

1.5 µm pixel pitch.

Mechanical and DSP image stabilization.

4.2mm f/2.2, 5 element lens with sapphire crystal cover.

Dual-color flash.

Auto HDR.

Up to 43 megapixels panorama.

10 FPS burst mode

Time-lapse.

1080p video, 30 FPS or 60 FPS.

240 FPS and 120 FPS slo-mo video.

3x video zoom.

 

Front (secondary) camera

1.2 Megapixels.

1,280 x 960 pixels.

720p video.

 

Audio Playback Formats

AAC (8 to 320 Kbps)

Protected AAC from iTunes Store

HE-AAC

MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps)

MP3 VBR,

Audible formats 2, 3, 4

Audible Enhanced Audio,

AAX

AAX+

Apple Lossless

AIFF

WAV

 

Screen

5.5" diagonal.

1,920 x 1,080 HDTV.

1,300:1 typical contrast ratio.

500 cd/m^2 maximum,

sRGB color.

 

Battery

Rated up to 24 hours 3G talk.

Up to 12 hours 3G, LTE or WiFi internet.

Up to 14 hours HD video playback.

Up to 80 hours audio playback.

Up to 16 days (384 hours) standby.

 

Size

77.8 x 158.1 x 7.1 millimeters.

6.22 x 3.06 x 0.28 inches.

 

Weight

6.090 oz. (172.7g) actual measured.

Rated 6.07 oz. (172g).

 

Included

Phone with iOS 8.

Apple EarPods with Case, Remote and Mic.

Lightning to USB Cable.

USB 5 watt Power Adapter.

Documentation.

 

Camera and Sample Images         top

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More sample images and video from Yosemite.

 

General

Of course the iPhone 6 Plus camera is fantastic. The iPhone 6 Plus camera is the best pocket camera ever conceived.

First Light on Mono Lake Tufa

First Light on Mono Lake Tufa, 21 October 2014, 7:29 AM. (iPhone 6 Plus, f/2.2 hand-held at 1/501 at Auto ISO 32, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2.) bigger.

 

Fallen Trees, Meadow, Yosemite Valley

Fallen Trees in the Meadow, Yosemite Valley, 17 October 2014, 8:18 AM. (iPhone 6 Plus, f/2.2 at 1/20 hand-held at Auto ISO 50, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2.) bigger.

 

Fence, Yosemite Valley Cemetery

Fence, Yosemite Valley Cemetery, 17 October 2014, 12:32 PM. (iPhone 6 Plus, f/2.2 at 1/30 hand-held at Auto ISO 32, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2, split-toned print.) bigger.

 

Headstone, James Lamon, Yosemite Valley Cemetery

James Lamon, Yosemite Valley Cemetery, 17 October 2014, 12:34 PM. (iPhone 6 Plus, f/2.2 at 1/125 hand-held at Auto ISO 32, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2, split-toned print.) bigger.

 

El Capitan as Seen from El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite Valley

El Capitan as Seen from El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite Valley, 17 October 2014, 2:58 PM. (iPhone 6 Plus, f/2.2 at 1/2,825 hand-held at Auto ISO 32, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2.) bigger.

 

Stoneman Bridge with leaf in water in foreground, Merced River, Yosemite Valley

Stoneman Bridge with Leaf in Water in Foreground, Merced River, Yosemite Valley, 18 October 2014, 8:04 AM. (iPhone 6 Plus, f/2.2 at 1/40 hand-held at Auto ISO 32, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2.) bigger.

I shot this on iPhone because I shot it from just inches above the water. No way was I going to crawl around down there and try peering at a tiny DSLR LCD in Live View or use a right-angle finder when all I had to do was reach down a little with my iPhone and look at its huge screen. The iPhone focuses flawlessly and everything's always in focus. Done. It sure beats fiddling with a DSLR in the muck.

 

Scrap at the Mine above Bridgeport

Scrap at the Mine above Bridgeport, 19 October 2014, 5:09 PM. (iPhone 6 Plus, f/2.2 at 1/30 hand-held at Auto ISO 32, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2, split-toned print.) bigger.

It's so easy to shoot these low angle shots!

 

Black-and-White Boats at Silver Lake

Boats at Silver Lake, 21 October 2014, 9:58 AM. (iPhone 6 Plus, f/2.2 at 1/3,597 hand-held at Auto ISO 32, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2, split-toned print.) bigger.

Flawless rendition from highlight to shadow.

 

Weathered Wood, Bodie, California

Weathered Wood, Bodie, California, 21 October 2014, 2:29 PM. (iPhone 6 Plus, f/2.2 hand-held at 1/3,300 at Auto ISO 32, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2, split-toned print.) bigger.

 

Reflection of Old Cart in Weathered Window, Bodie, California

Reflection of Old Cart in Weathered Window, Bodie, California, 21 October 2014, 3:14:10 PM. (iPhone 6 Plus, f/2.2 for 2π milliseconds at Auto ISO 32, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2, split-toned print.) bigger.

Sure, a Canon Powershot has a broader zoom range and more features, but since I'm already packing my Nikon, who cares? For 90% of shots, the fixed lens of the iPhone 6 Plus is sharper than zooms, and has the focal length I need.

I use the iPhone 6 Plus along with my DSLR to shoot better video; it has superb image stabilization so I can walk around and get rail-steady video.

Of course the iPhone shots have fantastic colors, as good as Nikon and Canon and better than Fuji, LEICA or Sony. (Fuji is great for people, but no mirrorless is as good as Nikon or Canon for everything else), and they are super-sharp. As we expect, iPhone exposure is always right on, with a better hit-rate than a DSLR.

 

Autofocus

You mean the iPhone has autofocus?

I never noticed; it focuses at least as fast as my own eyes. Much better then older iPhones, always gets perfect focus.

It's super-fast.

 

Low Light

Vacancy, Bridgeport, California

Vacancy, Bridgeport, California, 20 October 2014, 6:39 PM. (iPhone 6 Plus, f/2.2 hand-held at 1/15 at Auto ISO 250, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2.) bigger.

 

Versailles Cuban Food, Los Angeles

Self-Portrait on Wall of Versailles Cuban Food, Los Angeles, 22 October 2014, 7:12 PM. (iPhone 6 Plus, f/2.2 hand-held at 1/4 second at Auto ISO 80, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2.) bigger.

 

From airplane at night

Shot out airplane window at night. (iPhone 6 Plus at f/2.2 at 1/15 at ISO 2,000, Perfectly Clear). bigger.

 

JFK Jet Blue terminal at night

Jet Blue Terminal at JFK. (iPhone 6 Plus at f/2.2 at 1/15 at ISO 40, Perfectly Clear). Full-resolution.

 

TWA Saarinen Terminal at JFK at night

TWA Saarinen Terminal at JFK. (iPhone 6 Plus shot at f/2.2 at 1/4 at ISO 80, Perfectly Clear). © Camera-original file.

 

From airplane at night

West 30th Street. (iPhone 6 Plus at f/2.2 at 1/15 at ISO 40, Perfectly Clear). Full-resolution.

The iPhone 6 Plus shoots in significantly darker light than previous iPhones. I can shoot outdoors at night with no flash and get swell pictures, while my iPhone 5S just got black screens. The range of light over which we can shoot the iPhone 6 Plus has been significantly extended into darkness.

New also in the iPhone 6 Plus is optical image stabilization, and it really works. It's nearly impossible to get a blurred photo. Even when the live preview seems to imply it will be out of focus or blurred, the actual image is always spot-on.

 

Panoramas

Revelers at Whoa Nellie Deli, Lee Vining

Revelers at Whoa Nellie Deli, Lee Vining, 21 October 2014, 9:14 AM. (iPhone 6 Plus panorama, f/2.2 hand-held at 1/120 at Auto ISO 200, Athentech Perfectly Clear v2.) bigger or Camera-original © image file.

Panoramas are fast and easy. They cover 270º if you keep sweeping that far.

Even tilted up or down, the iPhone 6 Plus figures it out and makes a perfect file.

 

Video Stabilization and Zooming

Video stabilization is simply astounding.

I shot this clip while holding the iPhone 6 Plus at arm's length as I walked along a fence. It's as solid as if it was shot on rails, and I was zoomed-in with digital zoom!

Ryan and Katie drive at Legoland.

Ryan and Katie driving at Legoland, 30 October 2014. Katie drives crazily. (iPhone 6 Plus emailed video.)

This is a low-resolution emailed file. The original files are of course HD.

 

Slow Motion Video

LIVE VIDEOS: Ryan shoots his Nerf Gun

Ryan bombs the top can, 05 November 2014. (Nerf Elite 2-in-1 Demolisher, iPhone 6 Plus emailed Slo-Mo 240 FPS video; original is stunning HD.)

Most important is that this happens entirely automatically, and it's easier than trivial to adjust where and when the video runs fast and slow after it's been shot.

This is a low-resolution emailed file. The original files are of course HD.

 

Ryan Launches a Rocket at the Palm Desert Proving Grounds

LIVE VIDEO: Ryan Launches a Rocket at the Palm Desert Proving Grounds! 25 November 2014 (iPhone 6 Plus emailed 240 FPS range video; original is stunning HD.)

 

Time-Lapse Video

LIVE VIDEO: Sierra Wave, June Lake Loop

LIVE VIDEO: Sierra Wave, June Lake Loop, 20 October 2014, 11:45 AM. (iPhone 6 Plus fuzzy emailed time-lapse video; original is stunning HD.)

 

LIVE VIDEOS: Ryan cleans fast!

LIVE VIDEO: Ryan cleans fast! (iPhone 6 Plus fuzzy emailed time-lapse video; original is stunning HD.)

Most important is that this happens entirely automatically. We've all been able to do this on a computer in the past, but it was too much work. I made this shot simply by turning on the iPhone 6 Plus and resting it on a bumper; the jumping is me repositioning it while I was rolling.

This is a low-resolution emailed file. The original files are of course HD.

 

Printing and Publishing

Not only is the 6 Plus camera extraordinary, I can do anything with the photos right from the iPhone, while I can't do anything with Powershot or Nikon photos until they are transferred to a computer — or the iPhone.

Some people want prints from my photos right away, and lo and behold, with the Costco app I can send images to print at the Costco right near me. As soon as I get there, they're ready — or I can cause the prints to be mailed to my client right from the app.

Not only can I print photos I just shot, they are real photo prints that look fantastic and will never fade like Polaroids or ink jet prints. Just as easily as printing what I just shot on the iPhone, I was able to print any of the images I stored on the iPhone that I synced from galleries in my Mac. In other words, I could print on demand, and with the huge storage in the iPhone 6 Plus, had much of my archive in my pocket for instant printing.

 

Audio Performance         top

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Maximum Output Levels   Output Source Impedance

Gain Control   Channel Balance   Channel Tracking

Noise   DC Offset   Frequency Response   THD

Output Spectra & Square Waves   Low-Level Linearity

 

These measurements are made with an exotic Rohde & Schwarz UPL laboratory analyzer. The traces from the Rohde & Schwarz UPL laboratory analyzer are color coded for the Left Channel and for the Right Channel. When they don't lie on top of each other, it's due to channel imbalance. When they do lie on top of each other, the trace turns blue.

Unless otherwise specified, all measurements are RMS at 1 kHz into 200 kΩ.

 

Maximum Output Levels     measurements        top

Load
Maximum Output
Gain
200 kΩ
1.0145 V (0.125 dBV) @ 0.002 % THD
Maximum
600 Ω
1.008 V (0.07 dBV) @ 0.002 % THD
Maximum
300 Ω
1.001 V (0.009 dBV) @ 0.002 % THD
Maximum
37.5 Ω
0.920 V (-0.724 dBV) @ 0.0025 % THD
Maximum

 

Output Source Impedance     measurements        top

3.18 Ω.

This is great; unlike many other headphone amplifiers with larger output impedance, this low 3.18Ω output impedance will minimize low-frequency distortion and frequency response variations when used with real headphones.

 

Volume (Gain) Control     measurements        top

 

Volume Buttons

About 3.5 dB/click; the side buttons move the gain slider in 16 steps:

0 dB

-3.49 dB

-6.49 dB

-10.00 dB

-13.465 dB

-16.97 dB

-20.92 dB

-24.87 dB

-28.835 dB (halfway)

-32.83 dB

-37.22 dB

-41.86 dB

-46.82 dB

-52.23 dB

-58.28 dB

-65.50 dB

-144 dB or more (mute)

 

Volume Slider

While the buttons move in steps of about 3.5 dB, the finger slider has more range, as well as very precise settings available to the nimble-fingered.

If you slide your finger, it moves in 0.5 dB steps and maximum attenuation is -77.22 dB before muting.

Once you've slide the volume to a random position, the volume buttons raise and lower the gain from that selected gain, not the gains listed above referenced to the top 0 dB setting.

 

Channel Balance     measurements        top

The right channel is about 0.0002 dB lower than the left, at maximum gain.

This is perfect. Few labs even have the ability to measure differences this slight.

 

Channel Tracking         top

The channels track to within about a hundredth of a dB or better as the volume is changed, as expected for an electronic attenuator.

The stereo image doesn't vary as the volume is changed; this is perfect performance.

 

Noise     measurements        top

Playing digital zeros, 22 kHz bandwidth:

 
Level
SNR*
ENOB**
A-weighted
-106.6 dBV
106.7 dB
17.4 bits
Unweighted
-103.7 dBV
103.8 dB
17.0 bits

* referred to maximum output.

** Effective Number of Bits : (SNR - 1.72 dB) / 6.0206.

 

Apple iPhone 6 Plus THD

FFT while playing zeros. (CBS CD-1 track 4, R&S UPL.)

 

Apple iPhone 6 Plus THD

Wideband FFT while playing zeros. (CBS CD-1 track 4, R&S UPL.)

 

DC Offset     measurements        top

+1.32 mV left, +0.92 mV right.

 

Frequency Response    measurements    top

Apple iPhone 6 Plus THD

Frequency response. (CBS CD-1 track 11, R&S UPL.)

 

Apple iPhone 6 Plus THD

Frequency response. (CBS CD-1 track 11, R&S UPL.)

 

Apple iPhone 6 Plus THD

Frequency response. (CBS CD-1 track 11, R&S UPL.)

It's flat to +0, -0.08 dB, which is perfect, and much better than most audiophile DACs.

Yes, it rolls off a tiny bit at the top, but that won't be audible. If it was, it would make it sound slightly smoother and warmer.

 

Apple iPhone 6 Plus THD

Frequency response, 37.5 Ω load. (CBS CD-1 track 11, R&S UPL.)

Fantastic, no changes with a low-impedance load.

 

THD 0.002% (-94dB)    measurements    top

THD is negligible at every setting and every load impedance, bravo!

Apple iPhone 6 Plus THD

Harmonic content, undithered 1kHz sine wave at 0 dBFS at maximum level into 200 kΩ. (CBS CD-1 track 1, R&S UPL.)

Wow! This is mostly second-harmonic, just like a vacuum tube preamplifier.

 

Apple iPhone 6 Plus THD

Harmonic content, undithered 1kHz sine wave at 0 dBFS at maximum level into 600 Ω. (CBS CD-1 track 1, R&S UPL.)

 

Apple iPhone 6 Plus THD

Harmonic content, undithered 1kHz sine wave at 0 dBFS at maximum level into 300 Ω. (CBS CD-1 track 1, R&S UPL.)

 

Apple iPhone 6 Plus THD

Harmonic content, undithered 1kHz sine wave at 0 dBFS at maximum level into 37.5 Ω. (CBS CD-1 track 1, R&S UPL.)

 

Let's play tracks at low levels and see what happens:

Apple iPhone 6 Plus THD

Analog output harmonic content, undithered 997 Hz sine wave at -20 dBFS. (CBS CD-1 track 18, R&S UPL.)

Perfect, it's got even less distortion at -20 dBFS where it counts. Are we sure there aren't some Nuvistors or a 12AX7 in there?

Let's keep dropping the recorded level:

Apple iPhone 6 Plus THD

Analog output harmonic content, undithered 1kHz sine wave at -40 dBFS. (CBS CD-1 track 18, R&S UPL.)

 

Apple iPhone 6 Plus THD

Analog output harmonic content, undithered 1kHz sine wave at -50 dBFS. (CBS CD-1 track 18, R&S UPL.)

Fantastic, this THD is completely inaudible, even at -50 dBFS.

 

Output Spectra    measurements    top

10kHz   11+12kHz IMD   Square Wave  

Let's see a zoomed FFT of a 10 kHz sine wave. Let's see what sort of spurs surround the carrier, which show us internal jitter:

Apple AirPort Express

Zoomed spectrum of 10,007 Hz 0 dBFS sine wave. (CBS CD-1 track 9, R&S UPL.)

This is FANTASTIC! This is significantly better than previous iPhones, and better than many audiophile DACs, and almost as good as a professional reference DAC like the Benchmark DAC1 HDR.

 

Apple AirPort Express

Spectrum of 10,007 Hz 0 dBFS sine wave. (CBS CD-1 track 9, R&S UPL.)

Superb.

 

Let's see how 11+12 kHz IMD look:

Apple AirPort Express

IMD spectrum at 11 kHz and 12 kHz 1:1. (CBS CD-1 track 13, index 2, R&S UPL.)

Magnificent.

 

Let's look at square waves:

Apple AirPort Express

Spectrum of 1,002.27 Hz 0 dBFS square wave. (CBS CD-1 track 16, R&S UPL.)

This is very good, way better than Bluetooth and better than most outboard DACS.

The iPhone 6 Plus won't distort or do anything crazy when playing modern CDs that are recorded at 110%.

 

Low-Level Linearity     measurements        top

The 500Hz dithered fade-to-noise test (track 20 on the CBS CD-1 test CD) sounds great out to at least 26 seconds, or -112 dBFS. Not bad for a 16-bit system!

 

Battery Life         top

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It's big battery does more than power the huge screen. Because it's so big, the battery powers through power-sucking game and navigation apps with ease, having far more power left at the end of the day than smaller iPhones trying to run the same apps.

The big battery in the iPhone 6 Plus lasts a long time, especially when using power-hog apps like Google Maps. The 6 Plus battery is big enough to light the big screen, while power-hungry apps don't draw any more power in the 6 Plus than they do on smaller devices. Thus the extra capacity goes a very long way so we can use these apps freely without having to charge during the day. If I use my 6 Plus hard all day on a day off, I still have 35% left every night.

The big battery can take longer to charge, if you use the same iPhone charger that comes with it and every iPhone. Here's a tip: I use the larger iPad charger, and my 6 Plus charges in an hour. I suppose if it was completely dead it might take 2 hours to hit 100%, but since charges at about 1% per minute from an iPad charger it goes from 35% to 90% in an hour.

No matter how hard I hit it, I can use it all day and still have at least 35% left at the end of each day. Even with hard use I usually have 50% left.

I flew from NYC to California for my Yosemite workshops, so most of what I did was watch movies and enjoy music the whole day on the plane.

Holy cow!

After about 3 hours of music, a bit of the usual online eMail, messages and some phone calls before and after the flight — and after 4 and a half hours of watching movies on the plane — I still had 55% charge. I only used from 90% down to 60% on the plane for four and a half hours of movies and probably an hour of music. The flight had no restrictions on iPad etc. use so long as there was no cell usage, so I had music and movies playing for the entire flight cross-continent.

With the remote control of my Beyer T51i headphones, the iPhone sat in my pocket as I schlepped everything around airports and airplanes, and had music on call. I love getting to the airport an hour or two early so I can relax and enjoy my music.

In airplane mode, the iPhone 6 Plus runs longer than my iPad, which runs 10 hours on a charge. As I calculated it, I'd probably get 13 hours of movie playback on the iPhone 6 Plus!

I didn't even bother to find my charger when I got to California. I woke up the next day and still had 55% charge!

I'm digging the iPhone 6 Plus. Big batteries rule!

 

Phone         top

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Like all cell phones, I usually can't understand anything over cell phone calls. Audio is usually garbled, dull and awful since cell companies limit the call's audio frequency response to about 3 kHz and then throw away most of the audio data as part of the very lossy data compression used to cram your call over as little bandwidth as possible, typically 16 kb/s.

Here's a hint: use FaceTime audio!

FaceTime audio is fantastic: it's full-bandwidth and sounds like you're right there. It's 100% clear and I can hear everything!

FaceTime audio and regular FaceTime video also use very little data, so I don't see any extra cellular data usage. If you want to be able to talk on the phone as clearly as if you are in the room with someone, try FaceTime audio.

 

Compared         top

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Versus other brand phones

With Apple, I have far more than a stand-alone phone.

My iPhone is connected to all my other computers and mobile devices.

While I'm sure a programmer could get this all to work with an Android after a year of work, it's trivial for an artist like me to get all my media up and synchronized across all my devices.

All my photos and website links and notes and contacts and music and movies are all on all of my devices.

If I want to play music at my pool, I wake up Apple's free Remote app, and it just turns on my auto-switching amplifier and plays any of my 200 GB music library from my office Mac Pro outside via my AirPort Express. It's trivial to create a whole-house music system and play any music or streaming service from the iPhone, or from my master library, in any room of the house.

I can play any of my thousands of videos from my office Mac Pro to any of my Apple TVs, again all controlled from the iPhone. Everyone has a ton of videos they've shot, and since I have them all on my Mac Pro, I actually can play any of my kid or vacation videos in a few clicks. Easy!

I can play anything from my vast home library on my iPhone using Apple's Home Sharing. Even with the 16 GB iPhone, I can play any music or video from my huge Mac Pro's library directly to my iPhone, all while it's still stored on my Mac. I can even play different files from the same Mac Pro on different devices at the same time, and it was easy to set up.

Cool, huh?

 

Camera compared

In good light, the iPhone has better color rendition than LEICA or Sony digital cameras. It's as good as Nikon and Canon.

The iPhone has better exposure and automatic white balance than any other camera.

The iPhone is a fantastic camera for most things, but there are always some things for which one needs a DSLR.

A DSLR works far better in the dark. The iPhone 6 Plus reduces color saturation to reduce noise in dim light. One can't make time exposures at low ISOs in dim light with the iPhone, while this is easy with a DSLR.

The larger sensor of a DSLR make it easy to shoot in dim light, while the iPhone will be grainier, less detailed, and less colorful.

There's only one lens with the iPhone, which is usually exactly the lens you need. It has digital zoom in both still and video modes, but if you need telephoto, zoom, wide angle or fisheye lenses, you still need your DSLR. I'm not going to fool with dopey accessory lenses; the beauty of iPhone is its simplicity.

The iPhone usually gets everything in focus. If you need shallow depth-of-field, you need a DSLR.

I always carry my iPhone when using a DSLR. I pull out the iPhone when I need an easy closeup, a shot from a crazy angle, or need to send the shot right away.

The iPhone and DSLR work perfectly together. Each does what the other can't. Neither replaces the other.

 

Audio performance compared

Holy cow; I tested a Beyerdynamic A200p DAC and headphone amp at the same time I had the iPhone 6 Plus in my audio lab, and the iPhone 6 Plus beat it! The iPhone 6 Plus has less distortion, flatter frequency response and much better ability to drive low-impedance headphones with low distortion than the dedicated portable amp!

While all iOS devices have always sounded great if you have good transfers, the audio output of the iPhone 6 Plus is now so improved that it sounds and measures about as well as professional reference DACs like the Benchmark DAC1 HDR, and better than many consumer DACs.

The iPhone 6 Plus even has flatter response than the Benchmark DAC1 HDR! Of course an iPhone and a plug-in-the-wall professional DAC are intended for entirely different pupposes, but if the 1 volt RMS output (6 dB less than good outboard DACs and CD players) and 3.5mm jack do it for you, there's no reason not to use the iPhone's output for critical listening.

The iPhone 6 is a better analog audio source than many audiophile products, but the cottage industry created around selling you DACs and other accessories you don't need doesn't want you to know. Remember that accessory dealers, manufacturers and publications that accept advertising from these makers have a vested interest in trying to create FUD about the iPhone's audio quality. Don't beleive them and listen for yourself.

Apple has more smart engineers and far more resources than any other audio specialty company. It makes perfect sense that the iPhone output should be spectacular.

No longer do you need to waste money on DACs and headphone amplifiers, at least for most portable (low-impedance) headphones. Save your money and spend it on more music instead.

Hint: Always leave the iPhone's level all the way up when using it as a program source fed to preamp.

 

Recommendations         top

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Everyone wants an iPhone.

I live in cargo shorts, and love the big iPhone 6 Plus.

For women, or for men who wear suits, it might be too big. I had a neighbor who got one of the first 6 Plus, and she hated the size and returned it for a regular iPhone 6.

If you mostly use it as a phone, the smaller version works better. I rarely use the phone, and when I do, it takes a moment to find the right spot to stick my ear.

I prefer the huge iPhone 6 Plus. I love the huge screen, I love the huge battery and I love the optically stabilized camera lens.

The best portable headphones I've found at any price are the Beyerdynamic T51i. The included Ear Pods sound great when you use the Dirac app.

If you find my efforts here helpful, this free website's biggest source of support is when you use these links to approved sources, especially this link to it at Amazon, when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live.

Thanks!

Ken.

 

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Apple's iPhone 6 Plus page

 

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I support my growing family through this website, as crazy as it might seem.

If you've found my research helpful, this free website's biggest source of support is when you use these links, especially this link to it at Amazon, when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks! Ken.

If you find this page as helpful as a book you might have had to buy or a workshop you may have had to take, feel free to help me continue helping everyone.

If you've gotten your gear through one of my links or helped otherwise, you're family. It's great people like you who allow me to keep adding to this site full-time. Thanks!

If you haven't helped yet, please do, and consider helping me with a gift of $5.00.

As this page is copyrighted and formally registered, it is unlawful to make copies, especially in the form of printouts for personal use. If you wish to make a printout for personal use, you are granted one-time permission only if you PayPal me $5.00 per printout or part thereof. Thank you!

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

Mr. & Mrs. Ken Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.

 

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