The tech giant took the wraps off its brand new flagship handsets at a special event in its US hometown of Cupertino – an event that has been eagerly awaited since Apple confirmed it was taking place - alongside the much-rumoured Apple Watch.
The iPhone 6 Plus has a 5.5in screen, while the iPhone 6 has a 4.7in screen - a noticeable leap from the 4in iPhone 5S and 5C. Both new iPhones will be released on September 19th, with pre-orders available from September 12th.
The iPhone 6 Plus price is £619 for the 16GB, £699 for the 64GB and £789 for the 128GB. The iPhone 6 is £539, 16GB, £619, 64GB, and £699, 128GB.
And now we know just what Apple's answer is to the rival devices that have already been launched so far this year – including the HTC One M8, Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2 and LG G3.
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HANDS ON: Apple iPhone 6 review
HANDS ON: Apple iPhone 6 Plus review
In what Tim Cook described as the "biggest advancement in iPhone", the new handsets come with a "continuous, seamless design" with cover glass that curves around the sides to meet an anodised aluminium body.
It's thinner, and both models will come with a new Retina HD display that have the full sRGB wide colour gamut. Dual-domain pixels on the photo-aligned IPS display are designed to provide a wider angle of view.
The measurements stack up as follows:
iPhone 6 - 138.1 x 67 x 6.9mm, weighing in at 129g
iPhone 6 Plus - 158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1mm, weighing in at 172g
The iPhone 6 sports a 4.7in display and a resolution of 1334x750 with 326 pixels per inch, delivering a more than 720p Retina HD display. By comparison, the 5.5in display of the iPhone 6 Plus has a 1920x1080 resolution with 401 pixels per inch - and Apple says that'll give you full 1080p HD resolution in your hand.
And it's claimed that you'll also be able to see "even more content in a new landscape view" with the Plus variant, with a larger keyboard also promising extra functionality.
Meanwhile, Apple has worked on the battery life too - the 6 will deliver 14 hours of 3G talk time, while the Plus will offer 24 hours. In terms of standby, it's 10 days and 16 days on the 6 and 6 Plus respectively, while video playback will last 11 hours and 14 hours respectively.
Faster power, faster graphics
Under the cover of both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, you'll find the Apple-designed A8 chip. Apple says this has the ability to deliver 25 per cent faster processing power and up to 50 per cent faster graphics, while sustaining "performance-intensive tasks" such as gameplay at higher frame rates.
Using the latest version of the Apple OS - iOS8 - and Metal, Apple says that game developers can put more performance into their creations. A number of developers are committed to delivering iPhone 6 games before the start of 2015, and it's thought that the iPhone 6 Plus will play games in a higher resolution than next-generation consoles!
Other features include the M8 co-processor that measures motion data from an internal accelerometer, gyroscope and compass, while there's also a barometer that senses air pressure to gauge relative elevation. It's also handy for fitness apps, with the handset able to tell you how high that hill is on your run...
You'll also get faster mobile internet, with 150Mbps LTE connectivity and support for more than 200 LTE/4G carriers around the world. And with 802.11ac, wi-fi speeds will be faster than its predecessor and be able to offer wi-fi calling for when you have a stronger home network than mobile signal.
Introducing the concept of Apple Pay, it was revealed that Near Field Communications (NFC) will be on board an iPhone for the first time - something that will no doubt make it even easier to pair up your handset with a compatible speaker when listening to your iTunes (or otherwise, of course) collection.
Camera
The iPhone 6 has an 8MP iSight camera and an all-new sensor. Focus pixels are included, which Apple says had previously been restricted to "professional DSLR cameras" and are designed to let you focus your image faster and better.
While both models will have hugely similar characteristics in their respective cameras, it'll be the 6 Plus that has optical image stabilisation. And an improved FaceTime HD front-facing camera captures the photographic zeitgeist with a burst selfie mode.
Pricing
The iPhone 6 will come in three colours - gold, silver and "space grey" - and will cost £539 (16GB); £619 (64GB); £699 (128GB). The iPhone 6 Plus will cost £619 (16GB); £699 (64GB); and £789 (128GB). Apple says both will start shipping on September 19th - including the UK.
Pre-ordering is open from September 12th. iOS 8 is available to download from September 17th.
