Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

In-depth review aims to see just how good the iPhone 6 Plus is for gaming

Published Oct 10th, 2014 3:30PM EDT
iPhone 6 Plus Gaming Review
Image: Jonathan S. Geller, BGR

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

Apple’s recently released iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been thoroughly reviewed so far, with various publications closely looking at their design lines, hardware performance, camera improvements and other software tricks. But Ars Technica decided to put the iPhone 6 Plus through a special gaming-only review.

FROM EARLIER: Pro photographer pens massive in-depth iPhone 6 Plus camera review

The publication found the iPhone 6 Plus to be better than anything else when it comes to mobile gaming, not only because of the large games selection in the App Store, but also because the phone has better battery life than any other iPhone model, which is crucial for graphically intense games.

Obviously, the bigger, Retina HD display is also quite useful, as it “just makes it easier to admire the high-res retina graphics” in certain games, not to mention that it offers more real estate for the various on-screen UI elements the player needs to deal with in certain titles. On the biggest iPhone, fingers are less likely to obscure parts of the display during gameplay, making games even more enjoyable and easier to play than on smaller iPhones.

Finally, the bigger iPhone can offer an even better performance in those games that are controlled with the help of accelerometer. It’s not clear whether this is due to the iPhone 6 models having two such sensors inside, a battery conserving feature, but in-game tilting accuracy is also highlighted as an element that makes gaming better on iPhone 6.

Unsurprisingly though, the iPhone 6 Plus can’t be easily handled with one hand during game play, as the player has to find a way to both balance the device without dropping it and also make sure he or she can tap certain areas of the screen as required.

“It’s a shame that the iPhone 6 Plus is too big to effectively use for one-handed gaming, because for everything else it has quickly become my favorite mobile gaming device,” Ars concludes. “The 6 Plus strikes a good balance for gaming, being large enough to avoid the “fat fingers” problems somewhat inherent to gaming on previous iPhones, but it’s not as unwieldy as an iPad or iPad Mini for gaming on the go.”

“If you’re at all interested in using your iPhone as a gaming device, do consider an upgrade,” the publication adds. The full iPhone 6 Plus gaming review, complete with the names of the games used for testing, is available at the source link.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.