With all the chaos of Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus going on sale a couple of days ago still very much ringing in our ears, and now we're today hearing that some of those lucky enough to have managed to place a pre-order are now seeing their new smartphones ship ahead of the official September 19th release date.
When Apple ships iOS 8 to the public next week, one of the features that it adds may not automatically get all the attention it deserves. Being able to use third-party keyboards can truly change the way many of us use our iPhones and iPads, but it's destined to be one of those features that never really makes its way into the mainstream.
Apple took the wraps off a number of great software features at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference, and among them, Continuity seeks to allow users to work between devices with as few seams as possible. Incorporating OS X Yosemite as well as iOS 8, Continuity has promised to strengthen ties between Apple's two major platforms, and SMS Continuity, which allows SMS and MMS messages to be managed through the Messages app on iPad and Mac, is one of the most useful of them all. Unfortunately, though, this feature will not roll out until next month, meaning that while iOS 8 is just days away, SMS Continuity won't make the initial cut.
It’s almost certain beyond doubt that any iPhone launch will see a massive success for the device, but could things go even better? With the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, it seems they have.
It was suggested that the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus would be delayed in the run-up to Apple's announcement earlier this week, with sources suggesting that manufacturing issues would push the handset back until October. As we learned at the keynote address, though, this isn't the case, but while we suspected that the larger handset would be in short supply, shipping patterns following yesterday's pre-orders have confirmed this to the the case. Anybody trying to pre-order an iPhone 6 Plus in the US is met with an availability estimate of 3-4 weeks, and so if you haven't yet taken action, you're going to have to queue if you wish to buy the iPhone 6 Plus before October.
Samsung may have taken the earliest possible opportunity to mock Apple's latest iPhone - and let's be honest here, we wouldn't expect anything less from the maker of the Galaxy Series of devices - but it seems that the unveiling of the iPhone 6 may be adversely affecting the Korean company in a way they'd never care to admit. In the aftermath of Tuesday's media event at the Flint Center, buyback service Gazelle are reporting that requests for Samsung hardware trade-ins were up over 200% as consumers look to free up some financial capacity to purchase the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus when it hits the shelves.
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been finally unveiled, and it's pretty close to all the hype that built up around the device prior to its announcement thanks to a number of leaks that only increased as we approached the highly-anticipated date of September 9th. This was also the first time that an Apple device has leaked this extensively prior to its actual announcement. That also put a question mark on the actual unveiling itself; we weren't sure if the Cupertino company will reveal both the normal iPhone 6 and the phablet version of the device, or just one, since earlier reports suggested that there were some problems with the production line. Turned out, the Cupertino tech giant revealed both, and now users have a duo to choose from.
Many of Apple's mobile adversaries, including HTC and Samsung, took to Twitter on Tuesday to offer their verdicts on the iPhone 6 / 6 Plus launch, and rather unsurprisingly, the new smartphone double-act didn't garner favorable reviews. While you'd expect rivals to take a pop at one another at times like this, though, there's a special animosity between Samsung and its Californian rival, and as such, the Korean outfit has upped the ante with a series of half a dozen clips picking faults in Apple's newly-unleashed devices. In addition, there's even a little dig at the hit-and-miss live stream that Apple put out, below, you can enjoy the playlist in its entirety.
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are nearing pre-order stage now, but given that neither will go on general sale until Friday, September 19th, the wait for the release is tantalizing. As well as tuning in to the swathes of media coverage and soaking up the information that trickles out on an hourly basis, you can now get up close and personal with both handsets in a virtual sense thanks to a new site dedicated to showcasing the two new models in three dimensions.
Now that Apple has finally lifted the lid on what was possibly the worst kept secret in smartphone history, we can start looking into the things that actually matter to potential purchasers of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
















