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Video screenshot by Lynn La/CNET
Let’s let the rumor monsters return to their slumber for a few days (until iPhone 7 speculation starts). The iPhone 6 is here and Apple is pumping it up to be the greatest flagship smartphone yet. Apple has been under constant pressure to trump its previous iPhone offerings year after year. The iPhone 6 tries to do this in a major way by making it literally the largest iPhone offering ever. The rumor mill played out accurately this year by predicting a 5.5-inch phone, and that’s exactly what we got, an iPhablet in the form of the iPhone 6 Plus . The regular iPhone 6 also gets a boost to a 4.7-inch display.
One small surprise that wasn’t a big feature in the rumors is the debut of what Apple is calling Retina HD screen technology. This includes thinner backlights, a polarizer in the glass to improve readability in sunlight, and a greatly increased pixel density. All of this comes in a thinner package than any other iPhone.
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The cameras on both new phones have received some upgrades, though the iPhone 6 Plus gets video stabilization along with its 240fps capability, which should inspire a new flock of slo-mo YouTube videos of action sports wipeouts. The FaceTime camera is improved as well, with better face detection and a mode for burst selfies, which sounds more dangerous than it actually is.
Screen size, Retina HD, and camera upgrades aren’t the only notable changes. Apple finally opened its arms to welcome NFC, near-field communication, in service of its new Apple Pay mobile payment system. It uses Touch ID to verify the payer’s identity. Apple’s entry into this space represents a huge goose to the entire mobile-payment world, a market that has been long on promise, but slow in development.
Chances are, one of these features caught your eye above the rest. That bigger screen may be what you’ve been longing for, or perhaps the camera improvements make your heart go pitter-patter. It’s possible you greeted all this with a big yawn and plan to hang onto your iPhone 5S or Android device for another year. Pick your favorite feature, vote in our poll, and tell us about your reaction to the unveiling in the comments.
The Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have arrived (pictures)
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