News & Reviews:   Apple iPhone 6 Plus

As the roll-out of Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus pre-order initiatives continues for Malaysia's telcos, a closer look at Apple Store Malaysia has revealed official pricing for the two smartphones. Confirming our previous Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus price listings, the iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s are also available but only in 16GB and 64GB (just up to 32GB for the iPhone 5s) storage versions. Pricing has not decreased since the earlier price hike, in fact, there have been increases across the board for all Apple iPhones. Quite obviously, the main culprit is Malaysia's current currency value and the addition of 6% GST. However, the value of the ringgit seems to be improving, so lets all hope that it recovers enough for Apple to lower the price somewhat. In the meantime, check out the price listing below for an idea of how much you're going to have to save up for the latest Apple iPhones.

• Apple iPhone 6s 16GB storage – RM3199
• Apple iPhone 6s 64GB storage – RM3699
• Apple iPhone 6s 128GB storage – RM4199
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus 16GB storage – RM3699
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus 64GB storage – RM4199
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus 128GB storage – RM4699
• Apple iPhone 6 16GB storage ~ RM2699
• Apple iPhone 6 64GB storage ~ RM3199
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus 16GB storage ~ RM3199
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus 64GB storage ~ RM3699
• Apple iPhone 5s 16GB storage ~ RM2199
• Apple iPhone 5s 32GB storage ~ RM2449

Meizu have officially announced their latest Meizu MX5 smartphone with a number of premium features you don't often see for a device coming in from 1800 CNY (RM1081 for the version with 16GB storage). This includes a fingerprint sensor built into the home button and more. The 32GB storage version will be going from 1999 CNY (RM1214) while the 64GB version will go for 2399 CNY (RM1441). All versions will feature a 5.5-inch FHD AMOLED screen with a rounded full metal casing that makes it look nearly exactly like the Apple iPhone 6 Plus. Even the 20MP rear camera protrudes a little but makes up for it with laser autofocus, 4K h.265 format video recording and dual tone LED flash. Other tech specs include a 2.2GHz MediaTek Helio X10 Turbo processor, 3GB RAM, 5MP front camera and 3150 mAh battery. At just 149g and 7.6mm thin the Meizu MX5 is rather light for a full metal smartphone. No Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet, but with Meizu Malaysia here, it should only be a matter of time before it reaches Malaysia.

The Huawei P8Max was also officially announced alongside the Huawei P8, featuring a 6.8mm thin full metal unibody frame and larger 6.8-inch display. Granted, at 228g, it is quite heavy for a phablet but it features the same fine chamfered edges as the Huawei P8 and most of the tech specs and features as well. However, it bumps up the processor speed to a 64-bit 2.2GHz octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 935 processor and 64GB storage from the get go. It also features the same 13MP rear camera with 4-colour RGBW sensor, OIS and dedicated Image Signal Processing chip. While the 6.8-inch display remains full HD at 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, Huawei say that it is 95.9% more vivid than theApple iPhone 6 Plus. Battery life is expected to last more than 2 days on a single charge and the P8max also features a unique 7-layer heat dispersion technology using DX19 conductive materials. Check out the full tech specs below:

• 64-bit 2.2GHz octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 935 processor
• 3GB RAM
• 64GB storage
• 6.8-inch display (full HD, 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution)
• 13MP rear camera (OIS, RGBW sensor, DSLR-level Image Signal Processor, F2.0, dual color temperature flash) + 5MP front camera
• supports 4G LTE, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi b/g/n/ac
• features Smart PA amplifiers with 0.91CC sound chamber
• 4360 mAh battery
• 182.7 x 93 x 6.8mm | 228g
• Android 5.0 Lollipop + EMUI 3.1

U Mobile recently announced the first of it's kind deal in Malaysia for the Apple iPhone 6 andiPhone 6 Plus. Utilizing a new U Microcredit plan you can now get said smartphone from as low as RM98 a month. This is different from previous Malaysia Telco deals because you are paying more for the phone and not the dual combination of phone and plan. In this case it is more like buying a car than a smartphone with a telco plan. The upside is that there is no deposit and you are no longer tied to the plan and can choose to use a different provider if you choose to do so. There are conditions of course, you have to pay the first monthly installment fee plus a one-time administrative fee and you are tied to the U Microcredit deal for 33 months. There are also data plans as well which are not tied to any contract but you do have to pay the remaining phone price subsidy with no penalty. In addition, using a credit card to pay with auto debit monthly fees will allow you to get no upfront payment benefits. If you sign up on 19 March 2015, you also get unlimited Internet till 31 July 2015 for the i60 and i90 plans and until 30 September 2015 for the i130 plan. Check out the table below for more info:

Just recently, Apple Malaysia raised the local Malaysia pricing for the Apple iPhone 6, Apple iPhone 6 Plus and Apple iPhone 5s. A quick look at the price reveals that the pricing has gone up by about RM150 to RM200 with no difference to tech specs or features. This is probably due to the recent drop in value for the Malaysian Ringgit against the US Dollar which is currently is $1 to RM3.71. The Apple iPhone 5c remains the same though but we don't expect many people to be happy about that either. Hopefully, if the Ringgit goes up within this year, Apple Malaysia will cut the pricing back down but for now, we expect other Malaysia online stores and Malaysian Telcos to follow soon. Check out the complete price increase listing as follows:

• Apple iPhone 6, 16GB storage ~ RM2399 to RM2549
• Apple iPhone 6, 64GB storage ~ RM2749 to RM2949
• Apple iPhone 6, 128GB storage ~ RM3149 to RM3349
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus, 16GB storage ~ RM2749 to RM2949
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus, 64GB storage ~ RM3149 to RM3349
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus, 128GB storage ~ RM3549 to RM3749
• Apple iPhone 5s, 16GB storage ~ RM1999 to RM2149
• Apple iPhone 5s, 32GB storage ~ RM2199 to RM2349
• Apple iPhone 5c, 8GB storage ~ RM1499 (remains the same)

Apple Malaysia just released the local Malaysia pricing for the Apple iPhone 6 and Apple iPhone 6 Plus tonight. A quick look at the price reveals that the pricing is as expected at RM2399 for the 16GB Apple iPhone 6 and RM2749 for the 16GB Apple iPhone 6 Plus. Like everywhere else, the two smartphones will be available in 16GB, 64GB and 128GB storage options. The Apple iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c get price drops and are stuck to just 8GB, 16GB and 32GB storage options with the complete price listing as follows:

• Apple iPhone 6, 16GB storage ~ RM2399
• Apple iPhone 6, 64GB storage ~ RM2749
• Apple iPhone 6, 128GB storage ~ RM3149
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus, 16GB storage ~ RM2749
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus, 64GB storage ~ RM3149
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus, 128GB storage ~ RM3549
• Apple iPhone 5s, 16GB storage ~ RM1999
• Apple iPhone 5s, 32GB storage ~ RM2199
• Apple iPhone 5c, 8GB storage ~ RM1499

While we've already covered the various Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus bundles available for DiGi, they have also revealed where they are going to launch the smartphones as well. Like the other Malaysian Telcos, the DiGi launch will happen at 12.00am tonight at various locations in Malaysia. This includes the DiGi stores at Paradigm Mall in Petaling Jaya, Taman Molek in Johor Bahru, Api-Api in Kota Kinabalu, Jalan Kulas Tengah in Kuching, Pulau Tikus and Jalan Tun Ismail in Kuantan, Pahang. Check out the DiGi site for a full address list and directions complete with map (via Google Maps) for more information.

Celcom has revealed their bundles for the upcoming Apple iPhone 6 and Apple iPhone 6 Plus smartphones from as low as RM418 and RM768. You can sign up for either 12 or 24 month contracts and you can even trade-in your old Apple iPhone 4 and above to get a rebate. Celcom will be launching the Apple iPhone 6 tonight at the Blue Cube in Sunway Pyramid from 6PM (the actual sale will still start at 12am on 6 November 2014). Early birds to the event could win a free gift worth RM1000 while lucky customers could get RM600 worth of discounts off their iPhone 6 Plus purchase. Check out the table and links in this article for more information.

For those not in the know, the whole bendgate issue centered on how easy it was to bend the Apple iPhone 6 Plus smartphone. Apple responded that only 9 users submitted reports on a bent Apple iPhone 6 Plus. In response, a site called OneoftheNine.com popped up where users who have bent iPhone 6 Plus smartphones submit picture evidence. What is even more worrying is that it isn't just the iPhone 6 Plus, those who have bought the iPhone 6 have also reported their smartphones bending for no apparent reason (no sitting, jeans pocket, back pocket or sitting on involved). As such, we are extending our earlier recommendation for the iPhone 6 Plus to the iPhone 6 as well. Before you become someone who posts about their iPhone at OneoftheNine.com, do get a good and tough case for your Apple iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, both of which are set for Malaysia release at midnight tonight. In the meantime, check out the video in this article for more bent iPhones.

Rumours have it that Apple may have fixed their latest batch of Apple iPhone 6 Plus smartphones so that they do not bend as easily as before. According to rumours, this was discovered by a reddit user named doctorkuddles who had initially bought a 16GB iPhone 6 Plus smartphone for his wife and recently bought a new 128GB iPhone 6 Plus smartphone for himself. Upon closer inspection he discovered that his newer 128GB iPhone 6 was both heavier and more solid than the earlier bought 16GB iPhone 6 smartphone. His exact words were that he discovered a "red colored object placed in the volume down button crank". After contacting iFixit, they discovered that the latest batch of iPhone 6 Plus smartphones were 8g heavier than the first batch. While it doesn't confirm anything (at least until someone tries bending the latest batch of iPhone 6 Plus smartphones), it could mean that if you do accidentally bend your iPhone 6 Plus, you will get the fixed version as a replacement. Apple have not confirmed anything and doesn't seem like they are recalling any of their earlier released bendable iPhone 6 Plus smartphones either. While this may be good news for iPhone 6 Plus users do take this rumour with a good pinch of salt and don't go bending your smartphones intentionally.