The new iPhones are, sadly, predictable. \u00a0The iPhone 6 at 4.7\u201d, the iPhone 6 Plus at 5.5\u201d, and the iPhone 5S still sticking around as the $99-with-contract option. \u00a0Apple has caved and gone the way of all other phone manufacturers, and decided that the premium phone must of necessity be a big phone. \u00a0It\u2019s the same problem with the new Moto X, which grew from an ergonomic and delightful 4.7\u201d to a just-a-bit-too-big 5.2\u201d – and every reviewer is saying how much worse the hand-feel is as a result.<\/p>\n
It drives home the point that the \u201cphone\u201d bit is more of a misnomer than ever. \u00a0These are Internet communication and media devices; telephony is an afterthought. \u00a0Holding a 5.5\u201d phone up to your head looks incredibly stupid, but you\u2019re never going to do it any more than you\u2019d hold your iPad up to your head. \u00a0The iPhone 6 Plus should more accurately be called the iPad Nano. \u00a0For anyone who\u2019s ever done a real train commute, though, needing two hands for the phone is a pain in the ass.<\/p>\n
And that, in many ways, is where the Apple Watch comes in. \u00a0After two-plus years, the mythical \u201ciWatch\u201d is finally real – and starting at a wig-splitting $350, more than even the Moto 360. Apple did well to remember that a typical mechanical watch has a crown, and that it makes an excellent input device, and maybe the integration will be enough to be worthwhile\u2026but $350 is a lot of fuckin\u2019 money for a tertiary device. \u00a0Then again, that\u2019s what I said about the iPad, and three years later the iPad Mini has almost entirely replaced my laptop for everything outside work.<\/p>\n
But back to the iPhone 6, which is almost certainly what I\u2019ll be moving to. \u00a0The screen is larger than my Moto X (and so is the phone itself, by about a third of an inch vertically), the battery life is allegedly improved, and they\u2019re finally caving on NFC payment – which is truly interesting. \u00a0Because so many other devices have NFC readers already at point of sale (gas stations, drugstore, Whole Foods, vending machine) it should only be a software update to make them work with ApplePay – but because the system relies on a thumbprint from TouchID, you can\u2019t just take the phone and start scanning to pay anywhere, which makes it safer than an actual credit card. \u00a0(People who don\u2019t understand computers are already conflating an iCloud brute force password hack with the payment system, and making themselves look stupid in the process.)<\/p>\n
So now we wait. \u00a0Will an iPhone 6 on AT&T get through the day better than an iPhone 5 on Verizon? \u00a0Almost has to, right? It had damn well better, anyway, or I might need to replace my iPod shuffle for the third time…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The new iPhones are, sadly, predictable. \u00a0The iPhone 6 at 4.7\u201d, the iPhone 6 Plus at 5.5\u201d, and the iPhone 5S still sticking around as the $99-with-contract option. \u00a0Apple has caved and gone the way of all other phone manufacturers, and decided that the premium phone must of necessity be a big phone. \u00a0It\u2019s the … <\/p>\n