Jaime Mac's iPhone 6 review

Ah, my favorite time of year... 

No, not because of the weather.

No, not because of football.

YES because it's alllll about new iPhones. 

We all know I'm an Apple snob now - but I MUST tell you that if it weren't for my super 'forward thinking', 'techy' hubby - I may not have gotten an iPhone.  

I KNOW.  

We were team Blackberry 4 years ago - B-rad had an iPod touch & wanted to try an iPhone.  He wanted me to think about getting one too but I was a chicken. Old dogs, new tricks & a touch screen?   How would I text from a TOUCH screen?  No buttons to feel?   Whaa??   

 I wasn't allowed to touch is iPod touch after he got it so I had to threaten tell him that he had to let me touch his iPhone & play with it so I could tell if I liked it.  Like, I needed to actually be able to get into it & mess w/ it rather than just looking. 

We are on the best rotation of iPhones known to man - our 'upgrades' are available when Apple completely redesigns the phones (rather than just processor changes...)

B-rad we got the '4' when it was newly released 4 years ago.  2 years later when our contract was up it was time for the '5' which had a longer screen. Now that the 6 & 6 plus are out - hallelujah - it's time for new phones!  And unless you live under a rock, you may have heard about the two options for the new phones & complete design change.

I watched the Apple keynote live (don't act shocked) even though I had been reading rumors for months about what was going to be announced.  And since Apple decided to give us a choice this time of which phone we wanted, well - that sent me into a seriously anxiety ridden decision...

What if I get the 6, but then I like the 6 plus better?

What if I get the 6 plus & it's too big?

Normally I have NO problem at making decisions.  But THIS decision?  I mean this is really, REALLY important - almost like more than deciding who to marry.  

(I spend more time w/ my phone than I do my hubby...)

Since B-rad & I take our phones so seriously - after the keynote address & the actual specs were announced, he made me cardboard cut outs of phone sizes.  (Does he love me or WHAT?  I didn't even ask him to do it.  I only wanted him to draw them out on a piece of paper so I could see them because he understands those little tiny fractions on tape measures & I do not.) They don't have the rounded edges, but the 'size' is according to specs.  He even made them the same thickness as the specs.  He's awesome.

 I was able to hold them & see how they felt in my hand.  Then I put my phone between them to see how it compared.  

6 on the left, my 5 in the middle, 6 plus on the right.

After a few days I decided on the 6 & B-rad wants the 6 plus.    NOW the less important question - how much are we going to pay for them?

Long story short, we are with AT&T & they do their 'Next' plan where you can upgrade phones every 12 months (pay for the phone in 12 equal payments then you can upgrade) or 18 months (pay for the phone in 24 equal payments & upgrade after 18 months), BUT you have to pay full retail for the phone.  GULP.  I knew we didn't need to do the 'next 12' because like I said before - we are on the best rotation known to man.  I am admittedly an Apple snob, but I'm not THAT big of a snob.  I don't 'need' a new phone when they make small hardware changes.  Yes, I NEED a new phone when the design changes.

Amen.

I was getting so confused about what we would be paying & thought for SURE there was no way paying $750 for my phone would be cheaper.  I called A&T several times, I chatted w/ them online each time asking if I understood properly what the costs involved were.  (Because ya'll know I researched that shit online over & over & over.) 

And since I'm a number cruncher I did the only thing that made sense - I made a damn spreadsheet.

We are on a monthly share plan where they give us a 'discount' on each line monthly if we're not under contract.  They take that away if you renew your contract & get the phone at a discount.  They also charge you a $40 activation fee per line if you do the discount. 

So I compared Apples to Apples.  (no pun intended.)  I broke it down by what it would be monthly for both options.

Linda is my mom - she's on our account.  No, she's not getting a new phone.  She has a 4S & I am giving her my 5...don't feel bad for her...

And not that you guys reviewed that spreadsheet w/ a fine tooth comb (WHAT?) but you can see the bottom line is we would save $12 a month if we paid full retail for the phones.  Hey - 12 bucks is 12 bucks.

And even though it hurt a little to pay $750 for mine & $950 for B-rad's phones we did it.  AT&T adds the cost of our phones divided by 24 months to our monthly bill, they charge us no interest to do that & we keep our discount on each line per month.  I am ok w/ those terms.

OF COURSE I pre-ordered our phones on the Friday that pre-orders opened.  The 6 pluses have been very popular & poor B-rad's phone hasn't shipped yet...

But my phone arrived to my office last Friday morning.

Oh, happy day.

NOW-the reason for this post other than showing you I'm super cool & have an iPhone 6 is because I get lots of texts asking advice about the new phones (which I really enjoy because I love telling people what to do & all the attention) & the new iOS  (iOS 8 is available now.  If you have a 4S or newer, you can update your phone & it's FREE!)  And because I love the attention I'm a giver - I try to give my best, unbiased opinion on the subject.  

NERDY, TECHNICAL, I LOVE TALKING ABOUT IPHONES ALERT:

If you have a '4' you should absolutely upgrade to at least a 5.  The poor brain on your 4 is maxed out beyond belief & it moves slower than a snail.  If you don't want to invest in a 6 or 6 plus, get a 5.  They will be fairly inexpensive.  If you want to go to a 5S that works too.  It will be a bit more expensive than a 5, but the processor & camera changes in them aren't going to be that noticeable.  If the price difference between a 5S & a 5 isn't that much, splurge on a 5S!  

If you have a 4S, I would recommend not doing the iOS 8 software upgrade if you plan to get a newer phone soon.  The phone can 'handle' it, but it will slow it down a bit & that processor is three technological years old - it won't like it much. 

iOS 8 was more of an update for developers rather than the end user like iOS 7.  Apple allowed developers to write programs for things that had been proprietary before.  (Example:  you can download different colored keyboards - you know I'm ALL over getting a purple keyboard.)  Yes, there are lots of great changes in iOS 8 (like family sharing.  I don't even have a family & I'M excited about what it does!) but really there aren't enough differences to warrant putting it on a 4S if you don't plan to keep that phone very long.

After texting w/ some friends just this morning about phones (HI JLL & T!) I forgot I hadn't talked about storage.  If you are thinking about getting a new phone - don't go w/ a 16gb.  I've always had 16's, but with all the updates Apple does & the apps they load on your phone for you that you can't delete it chews up a lot of room.  This time I went w/ a 64 gb phone.  It's worth the extra $ now to not have to clean off valuable photos or music from your phone.  

Bottom line:  after 2 days, I declared that I L-O-V-E my phone.  (Was there any doubt?)  It's a bit thinner & I really like the larger screen.  My biggest dilemma is that I have room for another row of icons on the bottom of the home screen & I have NO idea what I want to put there.  

First world problems...

I dropped my 5 lots of times & always quit breathing until I picked it up to see if I shattered the screen.   For some reason I'm scared to death I'm gonna drop this phone.  I think it's a combination of the size, the thinness & the fact I'm dropping $750 for it.

(But in the spirit of full disclosure if I did drop it & destroy it - I would totally buy another one.  I would:

A) put it on a credit card.

B) take money out of our savings account.

C) steal the money from someone

D) steal an older persons phone & pray their children didn't show them how to use 'find my iPhone'

I mean - this is my PHOHE, people...I love it almost as much as I love my wedding ring yet still more than B-rad...

 The only thing that's caused me major difficulty is the damn lock button is on the side now rather than the top.  I can't tell you HOW many times I've reached for the top to lock it.  But after a week with the new phone I had to do something on mom's 5 that used to be mine & I went to the side for the lock button rather than the top.  Progress, people...

If I haven't totally bored you & your eyes aren't glazed over & you're drooling you have any questions, PLEASE let me know!  Comment here, text me or FB me.  Oh yea - don't GET me started on FB messenger.  If you have a iPhone, just download it already...sheesh!