Pour one out for the iPhone 6 Plus

I remember getting an iPhone 6 Plus when it launched in 2014.

It was Apple's first big-screen iPhone, and it seemed unreasonably huge compared to its predecessors. It actually hurt my butt when I sat in my office chair. (I usually keep my phone in my back jeans pocket.)

Although not the first big-screen phone by a long shot (Samsung and others pioneered them), it proved crazy-popular with Apple fans and triggered an upgrade "supercycle."

It was referred to as a "phablet" -- a term that didn't stick, luckily.

It also suffered from bending issues -- remember the notorious "bendgate?" My personal 6 Plus bent quite significantly (after sitting on it constantly), but an Apple Genius swapped it out for a new one, no questions asked.

I loved that phone, and the whole big phone experience.

But alas, the 6 Plus has now been added to Apple's vintage list, which limits support and repair options. The next inevitable step is "obsolete."

A change as major as the 6 Plus isn't likely to come along again soon. So let's pour one out for the 6 Plus, a major milestone in the evolution of the iPhone.

-- Leander Kahney, EIC.

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One more thing ...

"Software is the user experience. As the iPod and iTunes prove, it has become the driving technology not just of computers but of consumer electronics." -- Steve Jobs

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