 The only thing you really need to know about the iPhone 6 Plus is that it's a big iPhone. A really big iPhone. After years of mocking Samsung and others for putting out giant phones, Apple's finally caved to the clear demand for enormous screens. And it turns out that an iPhone with a huge screen is pretty great. The iPhone 6 Plus is enormous. Although it's a similar size to the Galaxy Note 3, it feels bigger than the Samsung when you hold it. It's taller and thinner and getting your hand all the way around it isn't easy. Between the size and the slippery curved aluminum edges, I prefer using it in Apple's leather case. This might be the first iPhone that's better in a case, actually. I'm not a big fan of the weird antenna lines and protruding camera lens on the back of the phone, and a case hides all those things nicely. Of course, the reason this thing is so big is the 5.5 inch 1920 by 1080 Retina HD display, which looks fantastic. It's the highest pixel density screen Apple's ever shipped on a phone, and it's definitely brighter and sharper than the previous Retina displays. It's not as super saturated as Samsung's screens, but it looks far more accurate, especially when you're taking photos. Until apps are updated to support this bigger screen, you'll definitely see some fuzziness since the phone just makes everything about old apps bigger. Even the menu bar gets bigger, which makes it feel like you're using a phone for old people. Blown up apps look fine for the most part, but some get pretty fuzzy looking. Gmail is particularly bad. But I'd expect most software developers to update their apps relatively soon. But you don't need these updated apps to appreciate the screen right away. It's just so big and gorgeous, and browsing the web and watching videos on it is a joy. Video in particular is terrific. I watched a Packers game for a couple hours on the 6 Plus and never thought about switching to a TV. It's that good. Of course, watching video on any big screen phone is great, so it's up to Apple to figure out how to take better advantage of this new size that's in between an iPhone and iPad. It's starting slowly. Apps that are updated for the bigger screen can take advantage of some new features that make the iPhone 6 Plus almost like a smaller iPad. There's a new two column view in landscape that shows you more information in various apps and a new landscape keyboard that includes arrow keys and dedicated cut, copy, and paste buttons. It's all very useful, even if the icon in this paste button is terrible. Seriously, this is awful. Come on. Once there are apps that take advantage of this new size properly, I can't see ever using my iPad Mini again. The iPhone 6 Plus is almost as big, has an awesome screen, and is also my phone, which is a huge advantage. And the iPhone 6 Plus battery seems to last forever. If you're a frequent traveler, the 6 Plus is a no brainer. The 6 Plus also has a killer new camera, which is now so good I can't imagine ever using a point and shoot camera ever again. It's still 8 megapixels, but Apple's added what it calls focus pixels for faster focusing, and it really works. This thing takes pictures fast. You can also take 240 frames per second slow motion videos, which is awesome, and the 6 Plus has optical image stabilization, which makes it even better in low light than the iPhone 6. It's just an amazing little camera. But apart from the huge screen and terrific camera upgrades, the iPhone 6 Plus is still very much an iPhone. iOS 8 offers a wealth of new improvements to the basic experience of using an iPhone, but there's nothing drastically new here. Apple Pay looks like it will be the first successful mobile payment system ever, but it's not rolling out for another month or so. And new features like Wi-Fi calling and voice over LTE might finally bring voice calling into the modern era, but the carriers have to support them first. So right now the iPhone 6 Plus is really just an iPhone with a huge screen. If that's what you're looking for, you should get one. You won't regret it. But eventually the iPhone 6 Plus has the potential to be much more. After being on the road for a few days, I found myself using it for everything. My laptop and my iPad remain safely tucked away in my bag. This is the future of phones, and it's a future Samsung and others have been chasing for a while. The iPhone 6 Plus might be late to the game, but it's off to a great start.
 The only thing you really need to know about the iPhone 6 Plus is that it's a big iPhone.
 A really big iPhone.
 After years of mocking Samsung and others for putting out giant phones, Apple's finally
 caved to the clear demand for enormous screens.
 And it turns out that an iPhone with a huge screen is pretty great.
 The iPhone 6 Plus is enormous.
 Although it's a similar size to the Galaxy Note 3, it feels bigger than the Samsung when
 you hold it.
 It's taller and thinner and getting your hand all the way around it isn't easy.
 Between the size and the slippery curved aluminum edges, I prefer using it in Apple's leather
 case.
 This might be the first iPhone that's better in a case, actually.
 I'm not a big fan of the weird antenna lines and protruding camera lens on the back of
 the phone, and a case hides all those things nicely.
 Of course, the reason this thing is so big is the 5.5 inch 1920 by 1080 Retina HD display,
 which looks fantastic.
 It's the highest pixel density screen Apple's ever shipped on a phone, and it's definitely
 brighter and sharper than the previous Retina displays.
 It's not as super saturated as Samsung's screens, but it looks far more accurate, especially
 when you're taking photos.
 Until apps are updated to support this bigger screen, you'll definitely see some fuzziness
 since the phone just makes everything about old apps bigger.
 Even the menu bar gets bigger, which makes it feel like you're using a phone for old
 people.
 Blown up apps look fine for the most part, but some get pretty fuzzy looking.
 Gmail is particularly bad.
 But I'd expect most software developers to update their apps relatively soon.
 But you don't need these updated apps to appreciate the screen right away.
 It's just so big and gorgeous, and browsing the web and watching videos on it is a joy.
 Video in particular is terrific.
 I watched a Packers game for a couple hours on the 6 Plus and never thought about switching
 to a TV.
 It's that good.
 Of course, watching video on any big screen phone is great, so it's up to Apple to figure
 out how to take better advantage of this new size that's in between an iPhone and iPad.
 It's starting slowly.
 Apps that are updated for the bigger screen can take advantage of some new features that
 make the iPhone 6 Plus almost like a smaller iPad.
 There's a new two column view in landscape that shows you more information in various
 apps and a new landscape keyboard that includes arrow keys and dedicated cut, copy, and paste
 buttons.
 It's all very useful, even if the icon in this paste button is terrible.
 Seriously, this is awful.
 Come on.
 Once there are apps that take advantage of this new size properly, I can't see ever using
 my iPad Mini again.
 The iPhone 6 Plus is almost as big, has an awesome screen, and is also my phone, which
 is a huge advantage.
 And the iPhone 6 Plus battery seems to last forever.
 If you're a frequent traveler, the 6 Plus is a no brainer.
 The 6 Plus also has a killer new camera, which is now so good I can't imagine ever using
 a point and shoot camera ever again.
 It's still 8 megapixels, but Apple's added what it calls focus pixels for faster focusing,
 and it really works.
 This thing takes pictures fast.
 You can also take 240 frames per second slow motion videos, which is awesome, and the 6
 Plus has optical image stabilization, which makes it even better in low light than the
 iPhone 6.
 It's just an amazing little camera.
 But apart from the huge screen and terrific camera upgrades, the iPhone 6 Plus is still
 very much an iPhone.
 iOS 8 offers a wealth of new improvements to the basic experience of using an iPhone,
 but there's nothing drastically new here.
 Apple Pay looks like it will be the first successful mobile payment system ever, but
 it's not rolling out for another month or so.
 And new features like Wi-Fi calling and voice over LTE might finally bring voice calling
 into the modern era, but the carriers have to support them first.
 So right now the iPhone 6 Plus is really just an iPhone with a huge screen.
 If that's what you're looking for, you should get one.
 You won't regret it.
 But eventually the iPhone 6 Plus has the potential to be much more.
 After being on the road for a few days, I found myself using it for everything.
 My laptop and my iPad remain safely tucked away in my bag.
 This is the future of phones, and it's a future Samsung and others have been chasing
 for a while.
 The iPhone 6 Plus might be late to the game, but it's off to a great start.