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iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus: Which is best for me?

Apple has launched two new iPhones, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus – so what’s the difference between these two shiny smartphones and which should you buy?

Less than 24 hours ago, Apple thrust its brand new iPhone into the big bad world, but the iPhone 6 comes in two different flavours: a 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the huge 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus.

So what’s the difference between the two, and which is best for you? Let’s have a gander.

Apple iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, which should I buy and which is best for me?

iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: Design

The most obvious difference between these two phones is the look and feel. While the iPhone 6 is a good size bigger than previous iPhones, sporting a 4.7-inch screen, the iPhone 6 Plus goes a step farther with a massive 5.5-inch display. That’s as big as the mighty LG G3.

Impressively, the iPhone 6 Plus is only a fraction thicker than the smaller model. However, it is a great deal heavier too and existing iPhone owners will notice a real difference.

Model iPhone 6 iPhone 6 Plus
Height 138mm 158mm
Width 67mm 78mm
Thickness 6.9mm 7.1mm
Weight 129g 172g

That extra weight is hardly a deal breaker of course, and the main deciding factor between these two models will be the logistics of carrying around a larger device every day. Sadly the iPhone 6 Plus isn’t quite as compact as the LG G3 despite their shared screen size, so you’ll definitely be either stretching your thumb across the display or using the phone two-handed (even with Apple’s nifty home button double-tap feature to virtually pull the screen down).

Personally, we’re leaning towards the iPhone 6 as we won’t struggle to cram it inside our pants pockets.

Apple iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, which should I buy and which is best for me?

iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: Media

If you’re tempted by those more spacious iPhone 6 screens for watching movies or playing about with apps and games, you should probably consider the iPhone 6 Plus.

Both new models have IPS LCD screens, which are equally as bright and produce gorgeous, lifelike images, just as you’d expect from Apple. However, while the 4.7-inch model sports the same 326 pixels-per-inch sharpness of the old iPhone Retina screens, the iPhone 6 Plus finally gives us the Full HD boost we’ve been waiting for.

Apple iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, which should I buy and which is best for me?

At 401ppi, the iPhone 6 Plus offers visuals almsot as sharp as most Android rivals. It’s questionable how much actual difference this will make when you’re kicking back with a movie, but we’ll be comparing the two handsets in full when we get them in.

iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: Features

When it comes to features, the two different models of iPhone 6 are identical in almost every respect. They both pack NFC for mobile playments, Touch ID for security, 20-band LTE support and of course they both rock an 8-megapixel camera. 

iPhone 6 or 6 Plus which is better

However, Optical Image Stabilisation is only found on the iPhone 6 Plus, so if your home videos are normally vomit-inducingly shaky, you might want to opt for the bigger model. We’ve yet to test this feature, but it should significantly reduce wobbly footage and keep everything nice and smooth.

Read next: Everything you need to know about the iPhone 6’s camera

iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: Performance and battery life

Both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sport the same A8 processor, so should perform identically. However, there is a significant difference when it comes to battery life. The table below shows what you can expect from both devices.

Model iPhone 6 iPhone 6 Plus
Audio 50 hours 80 hours
Video 11 hours 14 hours
Wi-Fi web browsing 11 hours 12 hours
4G LTE web browsing 10 hours 12 hours
3G web browsing 10 hours 12 hours
3G calls talktime 14 hours 24 hours
Standby 10 days 16 days

If you’re always on the move, the iPhone 6 Plus is definitely the more enticing handset. We’ll be sure to test out Apple’s claims of course, to make sure battery life is actually that good.

iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: Pricing

Another serious difference between the two iPhone 6 models is the price of the buggers. The iPhone 6 Plus naturally costs more than its smaller brethren, between £80 and £90 more per skew:

Model 16GB 64GB 128GB
Apple iPhone 6 £539 £619 £699
Apple iPhone 6 Plus £619 £699 £789

Check out our full coverage of where to buy the iPhone 6 in the UK.

iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: Verdict

If you love watching movies as well as shooting them on your phone, the iPhone 6 Plus should be a serious consideration. As long as you can tolerate that bulkier, heavier design, the spacious Full HD screen and OIS support are great features you don’t get with the standard 4.7-inch iPhone 6. Add in extra battery life and it’s a pretty solid package.

Of course, if your wallet is already being stretched by that incredible cost or you’d prefer a more manageable device, the 4.7-incher is likely to be a more satisfying purchase.

Read next: Should existing iPhone owners upgrade to an iPhone 6?

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