Courtney Muenchow | Contributing Writer
Apple is at it again with a bigger and better phone than ever before. The release of the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has been a newsworthy success, as are most Apple product releases. With a larger screen, sleeker design, and longer battery life, these new phones were bound to be successful in sales. While they lived up to some expectations, others were not near to being met.
The first person in Perth, Australia to buy this new generation of iPhone did so in front of a news crew on public television. Perhaps it was a sign of things to come when he dropped this expensive piece of plastic right as he opened it in front of anyone who happened to be watching the local news. Although his new phone survived the fall, according to ABC News, the problems with the device had yet to begin.
Excited new owners of the fancy new phone did what most cell phone users do: store the device in their pocket. The original purpose of cell phones was, after all, to be portable, and what’s more portable than something that fits snuggly in a pocket? No one expected the phone to bend once after being stored there. Many people had issues with this, though. After being left in their jeans for a day, some of the iPhones began to warp into a curved one, which was not the intended shape, as trendy as the curve might have looked.
In Apple’s defense, though, they did reportedly send replacement products for these misshapen disasters. Presumably, the replacements were just as thin and fragile as the originals, just a bit straighter, at least for the time being. The iPhone 6 owners were just expected to learn to be a bit more careful about how they treat their product.
Despite the error of the bending screens, the iPhone 6 has been mostly successful. And one would expect it to be for the amount of money needed to buy one. The price listed for the phone starts at $199.99, which isn’t actually a terrible amount of money for a new smartphone. This price, however, is set for the iPhone with the least amount of memory, 4GB. If more memory is desired, the price jacks up about a hundred bucks more. Still, that’s not all that has to be paid for. After all, what’s the use of a cell phone without a contract? It’s impossible to call, text, or access many other benefits of a smartphone without one of those. Depending on the company, the price increases more.
Okay, so the iPhone is expensive and breaks if you’re not careful. Sounds a bit like any other recent Apple product. I mean, even the iPad tablets that are provided by Buena Vista University cost approximately $400 to replace and coming from a clumsy college student, those screens are quite easy to crack. So what’s the big deal about similar issues with the new iPhone?
Not much. Those people that are devoted Apple users have every right to go gaga over the iPhone 6. It does have a nice display that’s clear and shows more on the larger screen than any of its predecessors. The camera quality has been improved, so selfies will show much more clarity and videos will capture every detail. The sleek design is eye-catching, and although it’s large, the iPhone can still fit easily in most hands due to the rounded edges, according to the Apple website. The battery life has been elongated, so Facebook and Twitter can be updated far more often without having to find a charger or plug-in. If the issue of price can be bypassed and the danger of bending overlooked, the iPhone 6 is a great phone to add to any collection of daily use electronics.
The only question that remains in my mind is where in the world can a woman find pants with pockets big enough to hold such an impressively large phone?
Graphic by Krystal Schulte
