TODAY, millions of happy customers are unboxing their brand new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus. Bigger screens, better battery life, and faster internals are all neat advancements, but these new devices have much more to offer than harder, better, faster, stronger. With a combination of improved internals and a shiny new operating system, your iPhone 6 has quite a few impressive tricks up its sleeves.
Sure, you can go to Apple’s site and read the mile-long list of cool new features with the iPhone 6 and iOS 8, but there are a handful of additions that stand out above the crowd. Below are five amazing features that will actually make your life a bit better. None of these are going to flip the mobile market on its head, but taken as a whole, they’re definitely worth the price of the upgrade.
Optical image stabilization
If you’re lucky enough to have snagged an iPhone 6 Plus, you’ll probably notice that your photos are a lot less blurry. Why? Apple is using a combination of the A8 SoC, the M8 motion coprocessor, and the lens of the camera itself to offer optical image stabilization. Your phone is sensing the shaking of your hand, and it’s compensating for that with image processing as well as movements of the camera lens. The result is clearer pictures even in low light situations. The best part? It’s completely automatic, so you don’t have to change a thing.
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1080p 60fps video recording
You’ve been able to record 1080p video on smartphones for a while now, but Apple wants to push the limits with this release. With both models of the new iPhone, you can record all of your videos in full 1080p HD at either 30 fps or 60 fps. Crisp, clear, and virtually no motion blur to speak of. If you’re recording your kid’s soccer game, or shooting from a moving vehicle, this will make all the difference in the world. Even better, the slo-mo mode now supports upwards of 240 fps, so you can capture an insane amount of detail in your home movies.
VoLTE and WiFi calling
Traditional voice calls over cell networks sound awful to everyone involved. Thankfully, that’s not our only option anymore. With the advent of the iPhone 6 and iOS 8, VoLTE (Voice over LTE) support is now available. In addition, iOS 8 adds the ability to make calls over WiFi when cell coverage isn’t available. For people with spotty coverage, that’s a godsend. Unfortunately, both of these features need to be approved by your carrier, so not everyone gets to partake in better, more reliable calls.
More sensors
Over the years, Apple has continually packed more sensors into its devices. For example, the ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, and TouchID sensor were introduced in previous models. This time around, Apple has added a barometer into the mix. Now, apps can more accurately track where you are, and what’s going on around you. This helps keep track of your altitude, and effectively makes every iPhone 6 a potential data point for small changes in the weather. If citizen science is your bag, the addition of this sensor holds a lot of potential.