I wrote up my thoughts on picking a new phone over on the Tekside Network.
It’s almost upgrade time. Normally this is an easy decision: get the new phone. Apple threw us a curve ball this year by launching two entirely new phones. Now every Apple fan has a choice to make and it's a much, much harder choice than the 5s vs. the underpowered 5c last year. This year’s choice boils down to screen size. Yes, granted, the 6 Plus has better battery life and a better camera. Those two things will influence the choice of some people. Their scope pales in comparison to SIZE. During the keynote, when Apple announced the size, my initial reaction was to go with the 6. My gut reaction to the 6 Plus was “No. NO. No. It’s too big! It’s never going to fit in my pocket. WHY would anyone buy that? NO.” Now, I’m not so sure.
Let me take a step back. I’ve had big phones in the past. Prior to switching to iPhone, I was the Android guy at work. I liked how configurable it was and how it bashed the iPhone’s battery life, lack of copy/paste, and it’s “closed system”. We’re not going down that rabbit hole today though. The point is, I never had a “small” iPhone. I had a Droid, an Incredible, and a Galaxy Nexus. Each one getting bigger with the Nexus capping out at 4.65 inches. I really, really liked that size. Then for a number of reasons, I switched to iPhone. I was tired of apps crashing. I wanted something new and slick and I started writing apps for it. I picked up an iPhone 5, entering in at that form factor. I LOVED it. It took a week or so for it to stop feeling small, but then it felt perfect.
I initially thought: “The 6 is 4.7 inches and has a 3x screen? I’ve had that screen size before. Done.” I can upgrade on Sept 22 and now I don’t even have to think about it. I know what I’m going to get.
It’s currently Sunday, Sept 21. On Friday, a few 6’s started getting delivered to work. They exceeded everything I thought about the phone. They look great and the screen is insane. I'm still very happy with my decision.
Now some doubts are starting to pop up… I poked around in Xcode and I’m seeing the things the 6 Plus does under the hood with screen layout. On Twitter, I’m seeing other devs talking about how the 6 Plus behaves. As a developer, wouldn’t it be the responsible decision to get the bigger phone so I understand how it acts first hand? Do I need the better battery life? I read on my phone a lot, but I like reading on my Retina Mini more. The screen is gorgeous. Can I really pass that up?
Even with all of these questions, the choice still boils down to size. Will it fit comfortably in my pocket? That is the deal breaker. On Monday, I’m going to borrow a coworkers 6 Plus for an hour or so and sit with it in my pocket. I’m going to walk around with it. I’m going to climb some stairs. If it’s just too big, the 6+ is out. If it’s something I think I can adjust to, I am SO in.