Why I'm Getting Rid of My iPhone 6 and Leaving Apple After Four Years
Editor's Note: This is the first of a two-part hands-on review and opinion series: For and against the iPhone 6. Be sure to check out the second part, "In Defense of the iPhone 6," which responds to this essay.
I purchased my original iPhone 6 back about four days after it came out at a Best Buy. It didn't last very long. So, without further ado, I will tell you what happened to make me leave my iPhone 6 and head over to Android, likely an HTC or Nokia phone.
Dropped Calls: Getting the Basics Right Shouldn't Be This Hard
Soon after I activated the iPhone 6, the Apple Store saw that I was getting tons of dropped calls and gave me a free replacement in late October.
I don't think it was Apple's fault, but they said, "Well, 10 of your dropped calls were AT&T's fault, and 10 of them were ours. So we're just going to give you a new phone." Placing who to blame aside, this wasn't a good start in any case.
Design: Looks Nice, But Still Too Fragile
I purchased the 64 Gigabyte (GB) model in a color I didn't care for (silver). It's not really silver; it's more like white. Nevertheless, the color didn't really matter, as I slapped a $59.99 Otterbox on it, of course, to keep it from cracking and denting.
The slim design looks nice, but if you drop this thing, it is going to break. All the rumors of unbreakable "sapphire" glass amounted to nothing, as far as the iPhone 6 goes. Also, I wish this phone was waterproof. The slightest drop of rainwater or shower water makes the touch screen inoperable until you remove the droplets. Other manufacturers are starting to go waterproof, so what's the holdup with Apple?
Finally, what seems to have been the biggest selling point for Apple this year: The bigger screen. For me, as a long-time small-screened iPhone user, it's annoying, and I sometimes feel like I am talking to a toaster.
Meanwhile, the resolution on the screen is better than the iPhone 5s, but not by much. If Apple wanted to compete with Android devices on screen size and quality, it didn't come up with a winner.
Camera: After Two Years, It's Way Behind Competitors
Apple had two long years to improve the weak 8 megapixel (MP) camera on the iPhone 5. So, what do they do? They put an 8 MP camera on the iPhone 6.
I am a big photography guy. I take hundreds of pictures everyday. But in 2014, Apple is still making its users deal with an 8 MP camera when Android flagship phones come with 13MP or 16MP cameras, standard and Nokia has a whopping 41 MP camera in its camera phone.
Battery Life: A Persistent iPhone Issue
The battery life is worse than ever. Apple promised up to 20 percent more battery life than the previous generation phones (5, 5s, 5c). I disagree and think it's much worse because of the bigger screen and faster processor.
I stream Pandora, take photos, text and Google Hangout all day. I need the capability of doing that without my phone being at 19 percent battery life by 9 a.m. So, I guess I'll just stop at Starbucks every hour to charge my phone.
At the same time, many Android and Windows phones have excellent battery life. Take the HTC One M8: up to 22 hours of talk time. The iPhone 6 can only deliver up to 14 hours of talk time. It's not an improvement, and Apple continues to fall behind its rivals.
Health Kit: What Does It Do, Really?
It still doesn't work as advertised. Apple promised this app would keep track of my steps. It doesn't. You have to link it to a third party fitness app like RunKeeper or BodyBuilding.com.
I do a lot of walking, running and riding bikes, and I want my phone to be able to keep track of it. I don't want to have to open up another app like RunKeeper and waste more battery.
I'm Gone, But Open to Switching Back
In conclusion, I am switching phones. I have already sold my phone through eBay for way more than I paid for it -- that's one advantage of buying an iPhone 6, I guess. As for me, I backed up all my data, and I'm headed over to a Droid.
Thanks, and so long Apple -- I'll see you when you maybe fix these issues with the iPhone 7 in 2 years.
Read Part 2: In Defense of the iPhone 6