A new iPhone 6 variant with 32GB storage has hit the Indian market, giving a new option for those looking for a relatively affordable Apple smartphone. This smartphone, now available via Amazon India at Rs. 29,999 after an introductory price that was Rs. 1,000 less, will be especially attractive for those who balk at the 16GB iPhone 6 for having too little storage, but don’t have the budget for the 64GB model of the smartphone. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of buying the two and a half year old iPhone 6 32GB, and how it compares with the other iPhone models as well as popular Android phones available at this price point.
iPhone 6 launched in 2014 with iOS 8 on board, but the 32GB iPhone 6 comes with iOS 10 software (as does any new iPhone you purchase). The latest version of Apple’s mobile OS brings with it a host of new features, but you will not be able to use them all as the iPhone 6 hardware does not support some of them, such as 3D Touch-based actionable notifications, home screen widgets, quick previews, Live Photos, etc. Nevertheless, the phone performs well, with no lag or stuttering during day-to-day usage, according to iPhone 6 users who have upgraded to iOS 10.
On the hardware front, the Apple smartphone delivers strong performance, with the camera taking good lowlight shots and maintaining the colour accuracy. The iPhone 6 battery life is said to have been improved slightly with iOS 10, and you can last a day with a single charge. Moreover, the A8 chipset continues to chug along at a fast clip, so you won’t have too much trouble in gaming.
Another point to note is that although the new iPhone model is sold on Amazon India via a third-party seller, it comes with official Apple warranty.
While buying the iPhone 6 16GB (priced over Rs. 30,000 on Amazon) makes no sense with the launch of the 32GB model, there’s still another iPhone that competes in this price range. Launched last year, the 16GB iPhone SE is available in India at around Rs. 27,000 right now. While the storage capacity of the new variant is certainly double that of the iPhone SE’s, the latter has a few points in its favour as well.
The iPhone 6 has a bigger screen at 4.7-inch compared to iPhone SE’s 4-inch display, with both handsets offering pixel density of 326ppi (what Apple calls Retina Display). However, iPhone SE packs the A9 chipset with 2GB RAM (the same setup as that of iPhone 6s), an upgrade over the A8 processor and 1GB RAM the iPhone 6 has; this invariably means that iPhone SE will be faster than the iPhone 6. Moreover, the camera performance of iPhone SE is also at par with that of iPhone 6s, and ahead of the iPhone 6. Another point to note is that the smaller iPhone is likely to support iOS updates for longer than the 2014 model simply by the virtue of being relatively new, and thanks to its chipset.
In other words, while the iPhone 6 would be a better bet for those looking to buy a handset with a bigger screen and more storage (which is a big selling point here), the iPhone SE would deliver slightly better camera and battery performance, and is likely to be supported longer by Apple in terms of software updates.
In the sub-Rs. 30,000 segment, OnePlus 3T is the dominant force, and offers a lot more than iPhone 6 32GB, if you are okay with Android of course. The OnePlus 3T has a bigger screen (5.5-inch), higher display resolution, double the storage capacity, longer battery life, as well as great camera and overall performance. Overall, the OnePlus 3T is an easy choice compared to iPhone 6 32GB, which does promise timely software updates, and will likely age better than most Android phones. But if you are willing to look beyond iOS and Apple, then the Android stalwart is the more reasonable choice for most people.
iPhone 6 32GB is not the best smartphone you can buy under Rs. 30,000, period. That title, for now at least, belongs to OnePlus 3T. But the iPhone 6 32GB seems to be a pretty good option if you want to enter the Apple ecosystem without spending Rs. 60,000 for the base model of the iPhone 7. It look pretty similar to the current flagships, and delivers stellar performance for a device that was launched in 2014, with the only caveat being that some latest iOS features tied to newer hardware will be missing in your ‘new’ iPhone.
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