The big iPhone is here, with a stunning design and sizeable body
A 5.5-inch iPhone. It's something which will send a shudder down the spines of a collective of die-hard Apple fans, a handset some thought we'd never see from the Cupertino-based outfit.Yet here I am, staring down the barrel of the biggest iPhone in history - the iPhone 6 Plus.
It arrived alongside the iPhone 6 - Apple's new flagship smartphone - which measures 4.7 inches, making it more welcoming to a wider array of palms than the supersized iPhone 6 Plus.
Many of you, especially those of an Android persuasion, may be wondering what all the fuss is about. After all the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 turned up with a 5.5-inch display over two years ago.
Take a moment to glance at the history of the iPhone though, and you'll see why the iPhone 6 Plus is such a big deal.
Previously Apple has only dealt in two screen sizes - a 3.5-inch display graced the first five generations of iPhone, and just three have had the pleasure of a larger 4-inch display.
5.5 inches then is a huge leap forward for Apple, moving its iPhone range into the uncharted waters of the phablet market currently dominated by Samsung and other Android devices.
Apple is looking to reach a previously untapped audience of smartphone users - those who demand a large screen, with 'productivity' the main buzzword being thrown around. A key market for the iPhone 6 Plus is Asia, where general consensus seems to be bigger = better when it comes to smartphone screens.
In terms of specs and design there isn't a huge amount of difference between the iPhone 6 Plus and the iPhone 6 - apart from the obvious size.
The iPhone 6 Plus does boast a couple of unique features however. It's the first iPhone to pack a full HD display, plus its bigger body means it houses a larger battery than its 4.7-inch brother.
Both sport A8 64-bit processors, 1GB of RAM, M8 motion coprocessors and 8MP rear facing cameras - but the snapper on the iPhone 6 Plus benefits from OIS (optical image stabilisation) while the iPhone 6 makes do with EIS (electronic image stabilisation).
As with all Apple products the iPhone 6 Plus doesn't come cheap, and you may want to brace yourself because it's one of the most expensive handsets around.
SIM-free the 16GB iPhone 6 Plus carries a lofty price tag of $749, £619, AU$999 - and that's just the start.
Apple has ditched the 32GB variant for both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, with the next storage level coming in at 64GB, and for the 5.5-inch iPhone that equals $849, £699, AU$1129.
The good news for storage fans is that Apple has finally introduced a 128GB model - which may quieten those whining about the lack of a microSD slot - but it will cost you a small fortune. $949, £789, AU$1249 to be exact.
That makes the iPhone 6 Plus comfortably more expensive than rival phablets including the LG G3, OnePlus One, Nokia Lumia 1520 and I suspect the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 when it goes on sale too, if not on a par.
It's big, it's expensive and it's likely to play second fiddle to the iPhone 6 - so is the iPhone 6 Plus worth considering? Read on to find out.
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