iPhone 6 Seems Extra Slippery—Hold With Care

Updated on

The iPhone 6 officially hits store shelves on Friday, and reviews of the smartphone are pouring in. One of the most predominant themes this year is how smooth and slippery the phone is. In fact, it sounds like the iPhone 6 may be even more slippery than previous models.

Don’t drop the iPhone 6!

Business Insider collected a list of reviews from folks who said the iPhone 6 is very slippery. For example, Re/code‘s Walt Mossberg said it feels slippery in your hand “until you get used to it.” The phone is also curved, making it even easier to drop it.

He also found out just how breakable the iPhone 6’s screen is, as he dropped it “from about five feet onto a concrete driveway” while he was trying to take a photo. He said it was “entirely” his fault for dropping it, but the whole screen cracked as a result. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was kind enough to give him another one on which to finish his tests.

Reviewers from The New York Times, TechCrunch, The Verge and CNET all made similar comments about the slipperiness of the iPhone 6 and recommended that buyers use a case for it.

What else reviewers have to say about the iPhone 6

On other topics, Mossberg said the keyboard on the iPhone 6 is much better than the keyboards on previous models. He also said the photos were both sharper and brighter, especially when taken in low light, than they were on the iPhone 5S.

He discovered that the Wi-Fi and LTE appeared to be twice as fast as they were on the iPhone 5S and that the battery on the iPhone 6 appeared to last about 14 to 15 hours. One problem he mentioned—aside from the slipperiness—was trying to get the phone to work “reliably” with his car’s Bluetooth. Apple told him to remove his old unused devices from his iCloud, and it worked fine after that, he said.

CNET’s Scott Stein also commented on the display, better camera and faster LTE and Wi-Fi. He saw the battery life as a bad thing because it isn’t improved over last year. Also he noted that some Android phone makers are able to get an even larger 5-inch screen into the same size frame that Apple used for the iPhone 6.

iPhone 6 feels top-heavy

In terms of the iPhone 6 Plus, The Verge’s Nilay Patel said users should be mindful of holding it in the middle because it feels a little top-heavy due to the larger display. He said he got approximately two days of use from the iPhone 6 Plus’ battery “in regular daily use.”

For the regular iPhone 6, he got about a day and a half of juice, showinging just how widely the amount of battery life can vary, depending on the user. Patel also commented on the “ugly set of plastic lines” on the top and bottom of the phone, which enable the smartphone’s antennas to “speak to the world.”

He recommended a case for the iPhone 6 as well, not only because it’s slippery, but also because it evens out the protruding camera and also hides the “weird” lines on the back of the phone.

Leave a Comment