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scarrz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 5, 2015
238
162
I'm a 6+ owner and the thing I love most on this phone is the battery life which is tremendous. But....I'm actually wavering on downsizing to the 6 just due to easier handling and pocket carry. I've actually gotten fairly comfortable holding the 6+ (owned for 2 months now) but I always feel it in my front pocket which is starting to bother me.

Two questions:

(1) For the 6 owners what type of battery life are you getting with the 6?

(2) Any others that have downsized from the 6+ to 6, and are you still happy with it or regret, etc?

Thanks.
 

Chatter

macrumors 6502a
Jun 10, 2013
724
479
Uphill from Downtown
I'm a 6+ owner and the thing I love most on this phone is the battery life which is tremendous. But....I'm actually wavering on downsizing to the 6 just due to easier handling and pocket carry. I've actually gotten fairly comfortable holding the 6+ (owned for 2 months now) but I always feel it in my front pocket which is starting to bother me.

Two questions:

(1) For the 6 owners what type of battery life are you getting with the 6?

(2) Any others that have downsized from the 6+ to 6, and are you still happy with it or regret, etc?

Thanks.

1. Atleast a full day for me. But I am a moderate user (dont stream music for ex).

2. I'm probably thinking of going the other way so hope someone else can chime in.
 

noekozz

macrumors 6502a
Jun 29, 2010
620
1,038
212/201
My gf has the 6 and I have the 6 +.

I understand the novelty of the six, as it is easier to carry and feels just right in your hands.

With that being said, there's a noticeable difference in battery life between my phone and hers as we're both moderate users. At the end of the day on average, she would be around 45 - 55% while I would be around the 70's. But again, this is strictly based on how much you use your phone as results can vary.

Also, the 6 is obviously lighter and slightly thinner. For some reason the screen on the white version of the 6 seems to pop out more than on my black 6+, but that could be due to the color.

After being around both models, I could see why many others would have a hard time trying to decide what version they would want. Just remember that it all depends on your needs, portability VS screen size & battery life.
 

scarrz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 5, 2015
238
162
My gf has the 6 and I have the 6 +.

I understand the novelty of the six, as it is easier to carry and feels just right in your hands.

With that being said, there's a noticeable difference in battery life between my phone and hers as we're both moderate users. At the end of the day on average, she would be around 45 - 55% while I would be around the 70's. But again, this is strictly based on how much you use your phone as results can vary.

Also, the 6 is obviously lighter and slightly thinner. For some reason the screen on the white version of the 6 seems to pop out more than on my black 6+, but that could be due to the color.

After being around both models, I could see why many others would have a hard time trying to decide what version they would want. Just remember that it all depends on your needs, portability VS screen size & battery life.


Thanks! Good points. Thats my struggle I always B#% about the my old iphone 5 battery and now I have a great one and I complain about the size.
 

CEmajr

macrumors 601
Dec 18, 2012
4,450
1,230
Charlotte, NC
I'm a 6+ owner and the thing I love most on this phone is the battery life which is tremendous. But....I'm actually wavering on downsizing to the 6 just due to easier handling and pocket carry. I've actually gotten fairly comfortable holding the 6+ (owned for 2 months now) but I always feel it in my front pocket which is starting to bother me.

Two questions:

(1) For the 6 owners what type of battery life are you getting with the 6?

(2) Any others that have downsized from the 6+ to 6, and are you still happy with it or regret, etc?

Thanks.

I have both right now, have had the 6 for about 2 months and recently decided to switch to the Plus. With the 6 I would usually make it to around 7 or 8 pm off of a full charge from 7am in the morning. About 8hrs usage time and the rest standby.

With the Plus it doesn't get near death until around midnight or later.

I'm very likely to keep the Plus and sell the 6. The only advantage it has is portability and feeling better in hand/one-handed use.
 

scarrz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 5, 2015
238
162
Yeh, I would say the majority of forums I've read folks are moving from the 6 to the 6+. Thanks for the insight as an owner of both.
 

jozeppy26

macrumors 6502a
Jul 8, 2008
533
77
St. Louis
Even if screen size ain't your thing, think about the change in PPI between the 6 and 6+. The 6 is 326 I believe; the 6+ is 401. My girlfriend and I both have the same photo of our puppy on our lock screen and she has said on multiple occasions that it looks "better" on mine and keeps asking me why (women don't listen, jk jk). But in all seriousness, even icons within apps optimized for the iPhone 6 shows a difference in crispness IMO. Launch the Facebook app on your iPhone 6 and iPhone 6+ and look at the icons along the bottom. Do you see a difference?
 

t76turbo

macrumors 6502
Sep 20, 2012
299
707
I dont know what you folks do with your phone that you can kill the battery in less than a day.

I am on my phone (iphone 6) a lot. Playing stored music some, streaming pandora some, and a LOT of web surfing and email checking for both work emails via an app and for multiple personal email accounts via the iphones built in email app. And I can almost always go 2 full days before getting in the 10-15% range when I put it on the charger.

I was considering moving to the 6+. Not for battery but for better web viewing etc. But after a good buddy got the 6+ and I had a good bit of time to try his out, put it in pockets, and getting his input, I couldnt justify that large a phone. I am 6'6" and have large hands to say the least. But I didnt want to deal with the size. My wife purposely didnt get a new phone this model cycle so I could experiment with the 6 and if I wanted to to upsize to the 6+ I would give her my phone and get the 6+. But I am not changing. So now I am waiting on the 6S cycle and give her my phone and I get the new one on her upgrade.
 

jozeppy26

macrumors 6502a
Jul 8, 2008
533
77
St. Louis
I dont know what you folks do with your phone that you can kill the battery in less than a day.

I am on my phone (iphone 6) a lot. Playing stored music some, streaming pandora some, and a LOT of web surfing and email checking for both work emails via an app and for multiple personal email accounts via the iphones built in email app. And I can almost always go 2 full days before getting in the 10-15% range when I put it on the charger.

For me, by battery life is consumed by low cellular signal. So, it depends if you work in a basement, on top of the empire state building, on the moon, etc. Also, do you have sprint or verizon? Are you on 3G or LTE? etc.
 

Max(IT)

Suspended
Dec 8, 2009
8,551
1,662
Italy
I'm a 6+ owner and the thing I love most on this phone is the battery life which is tremendous. But....I'm actually wavering on downsizing to the 6 just due to easier handling and pocket carry. I've actually gotten fairly comfortable holding the 6+ (owned for 2 months now) but I always feel it in my front pocket which is starting to bother me.

Two questions:

(1) For the 6 owners what type of battery life are you getting with the 6?

(2) Any others that have downsized from the 6+ to 6, and are you still happy with it or regret, etc?

Thanks.
I think the iPhone 6+ doesn't fit for someone that need to carry out on the pockets.

Expect less battery life from a 6 (I'm getting about 7-8 hrs of usage and One day of standby).
 

scarrz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 5, 2015
238
162
Yeh just looking now I have 8hrs 45 min since unplugged and a little over 5hrs usage on the plus and sitting at 75%. Not shabby. It really does come down to your personal use and what's most important which obviously I still need to figure out.
 

puma1552

Suspended
Nov 20, 2008
5,559
1,947
(1) For the 6 owners what type of battery life are you getting with the 6?

It doesn't really matter, as I plug it in every single night when I go to sleep and I'm usually between 60-80% battery left with full brightness. By the time the battery is worn out, the phone will be long gone.

Note however though that I find there is more to life than spending every waking moment glued to my phone screen - if I'm out, I'm doing something more important than staring at a little phone screen, and if I'm at home, I've got better tools to use to look at stuff than a little phone screen. Therefore I'm not a power user, and could probably last 3-4 days on a charge with no issue whatsoever.

If you are the kind of person glued to your phone all day, I still think it'd be somewhat tough to kill the battery though.
 

xraydoc

Contributor
Oct 9, 2005
10,771
5,228
192.168.1.1
The only downside to the 6 Plus is (as silly and redundant as it sounds) the size in one's pocket. I don't find it too big in the hand, and the screen space is great (I can see so much more of a web page, a list of emails, etc.) than I can on the regular 6's that the rest of my family has. And the virtually unlimited battery is truly amazing. I can go 48 hours of my typical use before it dies.

But for sure the 6 Plus feels big in a pants pocket, especially once any kind of substantial case is put on it. But given that, I'm still a fan of the 6 Plus.

(and the double entendres are not intended)
 

monkey28rb

macrumors 6502
Jun 19, 2010
308
18
I switched from the 6+ after two months to the 6. The battery on the 6 is fine for me. Not as good as the + but I still make it through a full day.
 

skiltrip

macrumors 68030
May 6, 2010
2,894
268
New York
I went 6 Plus to a 6, and I'm very happy with my decision.

Having a somewhat bullet proof battery life on the Plus is definitely appealing, but as someone pointed out above it doesn't matter how much battery you have if you don't need it. If you're ending your day with plenty of life left on your Plus, you'll probably be fine with the 6 as well.

I moved to the 6 for portability. The size of the Plus was a thorn in my side. I loved the Plus while using it, hated it when I wasn't using it, which was the majority of the time. Being a parent of little kids, and being an IT guy who runs around doing ten things at once all day, I absolutely needed good confident solid one hand usage. The Plus also felt ridiculous in my shirt pocket, which is my preferred place to keep my phone for quick access. Also, the Plus vibrated in my dash mount because of its weight and mostly it's height, it won't fit in the cup holder on my kids stroller, etc. Lots of little lifestyle things are what made me switch. I've been so happy with my "stealthy by comparison" 6 since switching.

I do miss the larger screen for some things, I miss the luxury of a big battery, but I don't miss it in my pockets, or the weight and size of it.
 

scarrz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 5, 2015
238
162
I switched from the 6+ after two months to the 6. The battery on the 6 is fine for me. Not as good as the + but I still make it through a full day.

Any regrets?

----------

Awesome. This is exactly what I was looking for thank you


I went 6 Plus to a 6, and I'm very happy with my decision.

Having a somewhat bullet proof battery life on the Plus is definitely appealing, but as someone pointed out above it doesn't matter how much battery you have if you don't need it. If you're ending your day with plenty of life left on your Plus, you'll probably be fine with the 6 as well.

I moved to the 6 for portability. The size of the Plus was a thorn in my side. I loved the Plus while using it, hated it when I wasn't using it, which was the majority of the time. Being a parent of little kids, and being an IT guy who runs around doing ten things at once all day, I absolutely needed good confident solid one hand usage. The Plus also felt ridiculous in my shirt pocket, which is my preferred place to keep my phone for quick access. Also, the Plus vibrated in my dash mount because of its weight and mostly it's height, it won't fit in the cup holder on my kids stroller, etc. Lots of little lifestyle things are what made me switch. I've been so happy with my "stealthy by comparison" 6 since switching.

I do miss the larger screen for some things, I miss the luxury of a big battery, but I don't miss it in my pockets, or the weight and size of it.
 

IrishVixen

macrumors 68020
Jun 20, 2010
2,497
104
On the 6, I get around 10 hours usage on a heavier use day, and I plug in every night. I think in the two months I've had it, I've seen it below 5% once or twice. That said, I still carry a small portable battery pack and 4" lightning cable with me, just as I did with previous phones. The only time I can see needing it at this point though is on a day where the camera is seeing lots of use, or during travel.

I'm not at all sorry I went with the 6. For me, the convenience factor of being able to more comfortably hold, carry, or pocket the thing outweighs the screen size and battery life of the bigger model.
 

sunking101

macrumors 604
Sep 19, 2013
7,416
2,656
On the 6, I get around 10 hours usage on a heavier use day, and I plug in every night. I think in the two months I've had it, I've seen it below 5% once or twice. That said, I still carry a small portable battery pack and 4" lightning cable with me, just as I did with previous phones. The only time I can see needing it at this point though is on a day where the camera is seeing lots of use, or during travel.

I'm not at all sorry I went with the 6. For me, the convenience factor of being able to more comfortably hold, carry, or pocket the thing outweighs the screen size and battery life of the bigger model.

Wow, I'm amazed that you get 10 hours of heavy use with the i6. I get 10-11 hours of heavy use with my 6+. Do you have a very strong signal at all times?
 

IrishVixen

macrumors 68020
Jun 20, 2010
2,497
104
Wow, I'm amazed that you get 10 hours of heavy use with the i6. I get 10-11 hours of heavy use with my 6+. Do you have a very strong signal at all times?

Not really, if I'm at home. Yes if I'm out and about--TMobile's headquarters is local to me, so we probably have their best coverage anywhere in the country.

I do keep brightness on auto, turned off most background refresh, limit location services to those apps that actually need it, etc., all the crap they tell you saves battery, but nothing where I have to really limit the functionality of the device (I don't turn off WiFi or data typically, and this is the first iPhone I've had where Bluetooth wasn't a power drain, so it's always on. I do have TM's WiFi calling, so I can actually turn data off and still get calls if I'm down too much on battery, but I can't remember to keep turning it off and on, so that's an emergency thing only.)

Battery pretty much consistently averages a 10% drop for every hour of screen-on time--faster if I'm gaming with something stupidly resource heavy like the latest incarnation of Candy Crush, a bit slower if it's Safari & Facebook & Alien Blue. I don't tend to use streaming services outside of a bit of iTunes Radio & MLB At Bat audio...I suspect that makes some of the difference. I do airplay music over WiFi and Bluetooth, often with the app backgrounded. Camera use seems to drain the battery more quickly, as it has in all iPhones I've had, but interestingly processing those pics with filters and such actually doesn't seem to use nearly as much as it used to.

I'm fairly pleased with the battery. Obviously, it's nowhere near as good as the 6+, but I'm not having any trouble getting through most of a day on it yet.
 

Akack

macrumors 6502a
Mar 5, 2011
685
44
USA
I get a little over 8 hour of usage on my 6. 99% of the time I can go a full day without worrying about the battery life on the 6.

Spent 2 weeks with the 6+ and just value the portability/pocketability of the 6 more. I wear loose jeans and can easily pocket the 6 (unlike the 6+) and sit down with it.
 

skiltrip

macrumors 68030
May 6, 2010
2,894
268
New York
I think it's also easy to forget that the 6 is not a SMALL phone. It's only small relative to the 6 Plus. There are plenty of 4" loving folk that think the 6 is too big.


Once you stick a significant case on the 6 it's a very substantial feeling phone in your hand.
 

meistervu

macrumors 65816
Jul 24, 2008
1,027
27
I think it's also easy to forget that the 6 is not a SMALL phone. It's only small relative to the 6 Plus. There are plenty of 4" loving folk that think the 6 is too big.

Exactly! We are talking about big and bigger. I spent about a week contemplating the 6 and 6+ without going to the Apple Store and to check them out, then it occurred to me that the 6 is a significant increase in size to me.

In reality it is. Neither the 6 nor the 6+ is big enough to replace my iPad Air, so we are talking about relative sizes. For what I do which is email, texting, web browsing, reading, a few other mobile apps, the 6 is significantly bigger that the 5, but not too big that I have to change my lifestyle to accommodate it, a good choice for me.
 
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lordofthereef

macrumors G5
Nov 29, 2011
13,161
3,720
Boston, MA
I haven't downsized, but my wife has a 6 so I do have some opinions.

When I first compared the 6 and the 6 plus, the plus was the "no brainer" option for me. Part of that was because I didn't feel the 6 was really a large enough size increase.

After having used my wife's phone, the 6 is definitely more usable with one hand; I am not generally a one handed user, but I have tried the 6 since so many people make such a big deal about it and I can do everything one handed on that device, even without reach ability.

Battery life is improved from here 5S. I know this because there were days when she was calling me from work letting me know her phone died (she works late and about a 30-40 minute drive so I will sometimes check in on her if she is later than normal, or to see if she is on her way yet with find my iphone). Her 6 has yet to die and is always above 20% at the end of the day.

I will say that the screen is just "nicer" on the plus. I am not going to go into specs or anything, it just looks nicer on virtually all content. She even commented on that one day playing with my phone, but said the plus would just be too larger for her everyday use, so the sacrifice is worth it.

As far as performance, I find her device to run things smoother. Not everything, but there are some quirks with the 6 plus that I have seen that I can replicate very easily (lag, frame rate drops, whatever) that I haven;t come across on the 6 at all. That said, I have not used the 6 nearly as much as the plus, but she states she hasn't noticed issues; I fully admit that different people are going to have different sensitivities to these sorts of things.

Overall, if I would trade in my plus for a 6 I don't think I would be overly heartbroken, but I would miss it. My usage tend to be very little single handed use (typing). I read a lot of news, stream music, browse the web, watch a movie here and there in bed. I think all of those things are just better on the plus because a bigger screen just makes those activities more enjoyable. As mentioned though, the 6 wins the one handed use argument hands down in virtually every scenario for me.
 
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