What comes from Apple, has one eye, and makes androids extremely angry? The answer is simple: the new iPhone. That’s right, Android users, we’re about to go into in-depth detail about how your phone from three years ago that everyone made fun of you for is a mind-bendingly huge masterpiece with the simple addition of iTunes and the label of a piece of fruit on the back.
The new iPhone, released Sept. 19, has mixed reviews amongst the consumer base despite selling more than 10 million units within a single weekend. Some find satisfaction in the changes made, some find it to be blasphemy directed towards their base beliefs and in some cases certain people have actual problems with their phone and its properties that make it break far more easily.
So what are the new features? An extremely improved camera, up to 128 gigabytes of memory, with a minimum of 16 GB, not counting iCloud options, better pixel display, a larger screen, and has built-in iOS8.
The pixel and graphical display has increased by 50 percent and there has been a 20 percent battery performance boost. All things considered, the iPhone 6 is perhaps the most radically changed version in comparison to the previous iPhones of recent years, especially when comparing the size, increasing its height from 4.7 inches to 5.5 inches.
The new features are clearly large in number this time around, completely changing the way iPhones are used in certain respects, especially when considering iPay. Near field communication (NFC) chips are placed within the iPhone, allowing the user to purchase with their MasterCard, American Express, or Visa using only their Apple ID, no card required. This is currently a US-only feature, but is soon being brought to the UK. It’s available for use not only in the Apple store, but in real-world establishments as well, such as McDonalds, Subway, and Staples.
All new features considered, this onslaught of positives is not without its negative counterparts. Keeping details in mind, Apple has removed the 32 GB option, leaving only 16, 64, and 128 GB.
Additionally, the iPhone 6 Plus is not much different than the iPhone 6, the only real difference being its Optical and Digital Image Stabilization qualities. This, along with the fact that the glass on the ends of the iPhone is curved, forms another concern for the iPhone; the fact that it is essentially becoming a previous version of an Android phone.
“The iPhone is all about the hype,” junior Thomas Cilmi said. “My phone can do everything that the iPhone can. I even find some of the 3rd party apps better than the iPhone, such as 6snap instead of Snapchat. It seems as though it’s the same thing as previous versions but only bigger.”
Androids also use OIS and DIS capabilities in their cameras, and have used said image programs for quite some time. This, along with the increased size of iPhones, makes it seem as if the iPhones are becoming no different than their Android counterparts.
However, when all is said and done, it all comes down to what the customers think about the phone.
“I love it,” junior Courtney Tedino said. “I’m a big iPhone person. I would never switch to Android or Samsung. I had the 4 for almost three years and it was great but obviously it got old and slower and I dropped it a million times. The 6 has great speed, the screen is a huge, clear picture, and it has good sound, I’m all for it.”
On the Seton Hall campus in particular, the IT department has had their own separate problems with iPhones and similar apple products.
“We haven’t seen too many problems with the iPhone 6s,” junior tech admin Raul Ausa said. “We have had trouble with Apple products, but not the iPhone specifically. Most of them can’t use campus network, so we set them up with our own network.”
The iPhone might have been bigger than expected, but seeing as how evidence regarding the bending reports shows that the iPhone does not, in fact, have the consistency of a toasted marshmallow, the newest iPhone should not be disregarded as a failure, especially when considering all of its new features.
Sean Fahey can be reached at sean.fahey1@student.shu.edu.
