Honestly, it’s hard to believe it’s been over a decade since Tim Cook stood on stage and finally gave us what we’d been begging for. Bigger screens. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus weren't just new phones; they were a massive pivot for a company that had spent years insisting that a 4-inch screen was the "perfect" size for the human hand. Steve Jobs famously scoffed at "phablets," yet here we were in 2014, staring at a 5.5-inch giant.
It worked. Boy, did it work.
The iPhone 6 series remains the best-selling iPhone lineup of all time, moving over 220 million units. People weren't just upgrading; they were switching from Android in droves because the one thing holding Apple back—size—was suddenly gone. But beneath the record-breaking sales numbers, this generation of iPhone was also one of Apple’s most troubled. You probably remember "Bendgate," but that was just the tip of the iceberg for a device that redefined the smartphone landscape while simultaneously struggling with its own physical limits.
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What the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Changed Forever
Before the 6, iPhones felt like jewelry—sharp, glass-heavy, and small. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus introduced the "soap bar" aesthetic. Think rounded edges, 2.5D curved glass that flowed into an anodized aluminum frame, and a body so thin it actually felt a bit precarious. The iPhone 6 was just 6.9 mm thick. The 6 Plus was barely thicker at 7.1 mm.
This was the "Retina HD" era. The smaller 6 had a 1334 x 750 resolution, which sounds quaint now, but the 6 Plus was the first iPhone to hit 1080p (1920 x 1080 at 401 ppi). Apple also introduced "Reachability" here—that double-tap on the Home button that slides the top of the screen down—because they knew our thumbs couldn't reach the top corners anymore.
The Camera Split
For the first time, Apple gave us a reason to buy the bigger phone other than just the screen. The cameras both had 8-megapixel sensors with "Focus Pixels" for faster phase-detection autofocus, but only the iPhone 6 Plus got Optical Image Stabilization (OIS).
If you wanted smoother video and better low-light shots, you had to carry the giant. This started a trend of feature-gating the "Pro" or "Plus" models that continues to this day.
The Controversy: Bendgate and Beyond
We can't talk about the iPhone 6 & 6 Plus without talking about the structural drama. Within days of launch, YouTube was flooded with videos of people—most notably Lewis Hilsenteger from Unbox Therapy—literally bending the 6 Plus with their bare hands.
Apple’s official line was that it was "extremely rare." They claimed only nine customers had complained in the first week. But internal documents that surfaced years later in a 2018 court case showed Apple knew. Their own testing found the iPhone 6 was 3.3 times more likely to bend than the 5s, and the 6 Plus was a staggering 7.2 times more likely.
Then came "Touch Disease." Because the chassis was prone to slight flexing, the solder joints for the Touch IC chips on the logic board would eventually crack. You’d see a flickering gray bar at the top of the screen, and suddenly, your touch input would just stop working. It was a mess. Apple eventually launched a multi-hundred dollar repair program for it, but the reputation hit was real.
A Performance Legacy (and the 1GB RAM Wall)
Powering these devices was the A8 chip. It was 64-bit, fast for its time, and remarkably power-efficient. However, Apple made a choice that would haunt users for years: they kept the RAM at 1GB for both models.
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While the 6 Plus was pushing way more pixels than the 5s, it had the same amount of memory. This meant that as iOS grew more complex, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus started feeling "heavy" much faster than the 6s that followed. If you were a heavy multitasker, Safari tabs would constantly reload. It's why the 6s—which finally jumped to 2GB of RAM—is often remembered as the "true" legend of that era, while the 6 feels like a transitional prototype.
Why It Still Matters in 2026
You might wonder why we're still talking about a phone that Apple officially marked as "obsolete" in 2024 and 2025. It's because the iPhone 6 & 6 Plus set the blueprint for the modern smartphone experience.
- Apple Pay: This was the first iPhone with NFC. It turned your phone into a wallet, a move that fundamentally changed how we handle transactions.
- The "Plus" Philosophy: It proved that there was a massive market for "Max" sized phones, leading directly to the Pro Max models we see today.
- Landscape Mode: The 6 Plus had a special landscape UI for the home screen and apps like Mail and Calendar, almost like a mini iPad. Apple has since backed away from this, but it was a fascinating experiment in productivity.
Moving Forward: Actionable Insights for Users
If you happen to find an old iPhone 6 in a drawer or you're looking at one for a kid's "first phone," here is what you need to know.
Software Limits
These devices are stuck on iOS 12.5.7. Most modern apps (YouTube, Instagram, banking apps) now require at least iOS 15 or 16. Basically, these are "feature phones" now. They can call, text, and take decent photos in bright light, but the App Store is largely a ghost town for them.
Battery Health is Critical
If the battery is original, it's almost certainly degraded. Old lithium-ion batteries can swell, which is especially dangerous in the thin, flexible chassis of the 6 series. If the screen looks like it’s being pushed out from the inside, stop using it immediately.
Security Risks
Since Apple is no longer pushing regular security patches for iOS 12, using these for sensitive tasks—like mobile banking or managing crypto—is a bad idea. They are vulnerable to unpatched exploits that newer versions of iOS have long since fixed.
Repurpose Rather than Reuse
Instead of trying to use an iPhone 6 as a primary phone, think about turning it into a dedicated tool:
- A permanent Dashcam for your car.
- A Digital Photo Frame using the pre-loaded photos app.
- A HomeKit Controller mounted to a wall to handle your lights.
- A dedicated music player (it still has a headphone jack!).
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were the phones that changed Apple’s trajectory. They were flawed, fragile, and arguably underpowered in the RAM department, but they broke every sales record for a reason. They gave the world the "Big iPhone," and we never looked back.