iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus vs. the Competition

After months of speculation and rumors, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are finally here, delivering on the hopes of millions of Apple fans looking for a boost in size, speed and overall power.

Unveiled Tuesday at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California, not far fromApple's headquarters, the new flagship iPhone 6 comes with a 4.7-inch screen and 16, 64 or 128GB of storage. The larger iPhone 6 Plus has a 5.5-inch screen and the same storage options.

But while we all know that the new iPhones have a built-in supply of eager consumers ready to snap them up, those still on the fence might be wondering how the devices stack up against the competition.

We put together a handy chart to give you a basic idea:

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus vs. Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One M8 vs. Lumia 930 vs. Moto X

	iPhone 6, 6 Plus	Galaxy S5	HTC One M8	Lumia 930	Moto X
Screen Size	4.7, 5.5 inches	5.1 inches	5 inches	5 inches	5.2 inches
Resolution	1334 x 750 (6), 1920 x 1080 (6 Plus)	1920 x 1080	1920 x 1080	1920 x 1080	1920 x 1080
Screen Type/ppi (pixels per inch)	Retina HD display, 326 ppi (6), 401 ppi (6 Plus)	Super AMOLED, 432 ppi	Super LCD3, 441 ppi	ClearBlack, OLED, 441 ppi	OLED, 423 ppi
Weight	4.55 oz (6), 6.07 oz (6 Plus)	5.1 oz	5.6 oz	5.89 oz	5 oz
Chipset	A8 64-bit chip w/ M8 motion coprocessor	2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 with quad-core CPU	2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 with quad-core CPU	2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 with quad-core CPU	2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 with quad-core CPU
Storage	16GB, 64GB, 128GB (both models)	16GB, expandable via microSD up to 128 GB	16GB, 32 GB, expandable via microSD up to 128 GB	32GB, no card slot	16 GB (32GB available through MotoMaker)
Connectors	Apple Lightning	microUSB	microUSB	microUSB	microUSB
Operating System	iOS 8	Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)	Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)	Windows Phone 8.1	Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)
Battery	TBD	2800 mAh	2600 mAh	2,300mAh	2,000 mAh
Camera	8MP iSight w/ TrueTone flash, FaceTime camera 1.2MP	rear camera 16MP with LED flash, front camera 2MP	rear camera Dual 4MP, front camera 5MP	rear camera 20MP Dual LED flash, front camera 1.2MP	rear camera 13MP, front camera 2MP , LED flash
Networking	Wi-Fi 802.11c, Voice over LTE, supports 20 LTE bands	Wi-Fi 802.11ac, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE	Wi-Fi 802.11ac, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE	Wi-Fi 802.11ac, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE	Wi-Fi 802.11ac, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE
U.S. Price (with 2-year contract)	iPhone 6 $199, $299, $399, 6 Plus $299, $399, $499	$149 (price may vary depending on carrier)	$49.99 (price may vary depending on carrier)	$599 (unlocked)	$99 (price may vary depending on carrier)

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Just How Different Are the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus?

The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are displayed after a product announcement at Flint Center in Cupertino, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014.

For the second iPhone release in a row,Apple launched two different models at once, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Though both are larger than any previous iPhone, the iPhone 6 Plus is much more than a phablet-sized iPhone 6. We took a closer look at the specs and features to find the biggest differences.

Bigger Screens

Let's get the most obvious out of the way first: screen size. At 4.7-inches, the iPhone 6 is a significant increase over its 4-inch predecessor, but it's still smaller than many other flagships, including Samsung's Galaxy S5 (5.1"), the HTC One M8 (5"), and the new Moto X (5.2").

But at 5.5-inches, the iPhone 6 Plus falls squarely into phablet territory currently occupied by the 5.7-inch SamsungGalaxy Note 4 and 5.5-inch LG G 3.

While it may not sound like a lot— the difference between the two totals less than an inch— it adds up to a lot of real estate.

While the aforementioned handsets come with styli to help accommodate the bigger screens, the iPhone 6 Plus does not (Steve Jobs famously hated styli.) Instead, Apple has built a solution into iOS itself. The iPhone 6 Plus' home screen will work in landscape mode for the first time ever on an iPhone.

Resolution and Cameras

Aside from the size of the display itself, the new iPhones have slightly differing resolutions—though each one qualifies for Apple's new "Retina HD" moniker.

The iPhone 6 Plus comes in at resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 with a pixel density of 401 ppi (pixels per inch) while the iPhone 6 has a slightly lower 1,334 x 750 resolution with 326 ppi.

Both models feature an upgraded 8 MP rear-facing camera and 2.1 MP front-facing shooter. The iPhone 6 Plus has the extra advantage of optical image stabilization, a significant improvement over the iPhone 6's digital image stabilization.

Battery Life

Battery life on both handsets has also been upgraded though the larger iPhone 6 Plus clocks in with the more impressive numbers with a supposed 16 days of standby, 80 hours of audio playback, 14 hours of video playback and 12 hours of Internet use.

The iPhone 6 claims up to 10 days of standby time, 50 hours of audio playback, 11 hours of video playback and 10 to11 hours of Internet use (depending on the type of connection).

Thickness and Weight

Though the iPhone 6 Plus is significantly larger than the 6, the two are remarkably similar when it comes to their thickness and weight. At .28 inches thick, the larger 6 Plus is just a hair thicker than the .27-inch iPhone 6. The slightly heftier 6 Plus weighs in at 6.07 ounces while the iPhone 6 is 4.55 ounces.

Price

The iPhone 6 follows a similar price structure as previous iPhone releases, with prices beginning at $199 (with a two-year contract) for the 16GB model, though Apple is offering more storage for your money in bigger models. The 64 GB model will run $299 while the biggest 128 GB will cost $399. Similarly, The iPhone 6 Plus starts at $299 for the 16GB version and each size up adds an additional $100 to the price tag.

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iPhone 6 Plus is a rocket fuel for phablet sales in the U.S.

Sales of outsized smartphones, or phablets, have almost quadrupled in the United States over the past year — thanks mostly to Apple's new larger iPhones.

That's according to numbers from market research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, which found that phablet sales have spiked since the release of the iPhone 6 Plus.

Phablets, typically defined as handsets with 5-in. displays and larger, made up 21% of all smartphone sales in the United States during the first quarter of 2015, says Kantar.

This represents a 15% increase from the first quarter of 2014, when phablets made up just 6% of U.S smartphone sales.

Fueling this growth was Apple's 5.5-in. iPhone 6 Plus, which accounted for 44% of the phablet market, the report says. Together, Apple's flagship smartphones, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, now account for 18% of all iPhones in the U.S.

The numbers highlight just how important screen size has become — "screen size was cited as the main reason for buying a particular phone by both iOS and Android buyers at 43% and 47%, respectively," the report says.

Before Apple launched the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus last fall, earlier reports suggestedthe company needed larger displays in order to stay competitive with rivals like Samsung.

Exactly why users are drawn to larger displays is unclear, but there are likely several factors at work. Adobe principal analyst Tamara Gaffney speculated last fall that the widespread availability of free wifi is driving more users to stream video while on the go — and other activities that are more satisfying on larger screens.

An earlier report from Kantar found Apple's larger phones were also causing changes in the European smartphone market, with more Android users switching to iOS during the first quarter of 2015.

Across Europe, Android's marketshare decreased by 3.1%, the report found, though the operating system still dominated at 68.4%. The report points to Europe's "Big 5" — Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain — as having the biggest increase in iOS users where Apple's marketshare is 20.3%.

For Windows Phone, however, the numbers are much less promising, despite its own flagship phablets in the Lumia line. Both reports note that Microsoft's operating system has "grown little" in the U.S and Europe. That's with the exception of France, where Windows Phone claims just over 14% of the market.

IKEA's new wireless charging line-up includes an iPhone 6 adapter

IKEA's wireless charging adapter for the iPhone.

Last month we reported on IKEA's move to release a range of furniture with the ability to wirelessly charge your devices, and now we have more details regarding pricing and design.

But the biggest surprise includes a set of smartphone adapter cases that allow you to seamlessly plug your iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphones into the company's new wireless charging system.

The adapters turn smartphones not already equipped with the Qi wireless charging standard into ready-to-charge devices that can be placed on any of the company's new charging platforms.

Included in the line-up of adapters are the iPhone 6 ($25) and Galaxy S5 ($15), as well as adapters for the iPhone 4 and 5, and the Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4 models. And, as you might expect, IKEA remains consistent with its unique naming construction, calling the adapters the VITAHULT (see photo above).

IMAGE: IKEA

IKEA has also offered closer looks at its charger-enabled lamps (from $69 up to $119), circular and oval movable charging platforms (from $28 up to $65) and nightstands (from $60 up to $110).

In addition to the pricing being fairly affordable in comparison to most IKEA products, the aesthetics of the tech-enabled furniture pieces are stylishly minimalist, much like something you might find in a design museum.

IMAGE: IKEA

Although IKEA hasn't given a solid date for when the devices will be available, the company is promising to deliver the wireless charging devices by late spring, which means we should see these in stores in just a few weeks.

Can the Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6 survive boiling water?

Smartphone bend tests? Booooring.

It's pretty common to see crazy YouTubers perform cringe-worthy drop tests, blend tests and even gun tests on new smartphones, but a boiling water test? On the iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S6, two phones that aren't even water-resistant or waterproof? Now, they're just grasping at straws.

We're not sure what possessed YouTube user "TechRax" to do a "boiling hot water test" on the two best smartphones out there. Whatever the reason is, the results are in: It took 10 seconds for the iPhone 6's screen to turn black and destroy itself. The Galaxy S6, however, powered through a little over a minute before it started to overheat and shut down apps.

At the the midway point, the YouTuber then takes a cooking utensil and smacks the phones around. Um, OK...

And as if cooking his smartphones wasn't ridiculous enough, the YouTuber then rinses them off in a "cold water bath." The Galaxy S6 doesn't turn on, but the iPhone 6 somehow manages to display its Apple logo, although it wasn't able to boot-up.

The lesson here? Don't boil your smartphones. Stick to eggs. Also, don't try this at home. It's a waste of two great smartphones.

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