Who’s copying whom now: iPhone 6 features ‘inspired’ by Samsung, HTC, Google?

Apple yesterday announced two new smartphones – iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus – to replace the year-old iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s as its spearheads. The Cupertino-based giant termed the new phones as “the biggest advancements in iPhone history”. The new models come with 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch Retina HD displays, respectively, and are the thinnest iPhones to date. In a marked turnaround of the trend where others were being ‘inspired’ by the ‘leader’ earlier, the tech titan seems to have been inspired by its rivals, including HTC, Samsung, Sony, LG and even Google in some of the new features that it unveiled in the new spearheads. The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are the thinnest ever iPhones – and thin is something that Apple’s arch-rival Samsung has been gunning for in a while. “iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are the biggest advancements in iPhone history,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. Additionally, all smartphones manufacturers are trying to establish their phones as ones with ‘sharpest’ display, and Apple seems to have taken a lead with its new devices that cram many more pixels in the display. Pic: AFP “The iPhone is the most loved smartphone in the world with the highest customer satisfaction in the industry and we are making it much better in every way. Only Apple can combine the best hardware, software and services at this unprecedented level and we think customers are going to love it,” said Cook. Listed below, in no particular order, are what we believe are the 5 killer features of the new iPhones. Let us know in comments below if you agree/disagree with our choice. Pic: AP Feature: Better Retina HD Inspiration: Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Lumia 730 Dual SIM/Lumia 735, LG G3 As mentioned earlier, Apple has outshone its rivals with the new Retina HD display, which is actually an ultra-thin IPS display with 326ppi pixel density for iPhone 6, capable of wider viewing angles. The iPhone 6 features a 4.7-inch Retina HD display with 1334 x 750 resolution, providing 38 per cent more viewing area than iPhone 5s, Apple says. The iPhone 6 Plus, on the other hand, features an even bigger 5.5-inch Retina HD display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, providing 88 per cent more viewing area and nearly three times the pixels than iPhone 5s. Apple maintains its Retina HD displays offer advanced technologies including higher contrast for deeper blacks and dual-domain pixels for more accurate colours at wider viewing angles. In this domain, Apple is obviously competing with the Lumia 730 Dual SIM/Lumia 735, which has a 4.7" AMOLED screen with 720p resolution. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and the LG G3 have upped the screen resolution to Quad HD at 515ppi and 538ppi, respectively. Feature: Unibody enclosure of anodised aluminium Inspiration: HTC One and M8 The new iPhones feature a “precision unibody enclosure of anodized aluminium,” which in some ways is an extension of what Apple has been doing all along, but is also at the same time acknowledgement of HTC’s design prowess and the finesse of the HTC One and the HTC One M8. The new iPhone have (more) curved edges, and Apple maintains the aluminium design conforms seamlessly with the shaped glass of the display, resulting in a completely smooth and continuous surface. Feature: Ion strengthened screen Inspiration: Samsung Galaxy S5 It isn’t Gorilla Glass anymore, or even the rumoured Sapphire screen. Apple has once again changed the goal post and introduced a completely new ion-strengthened screen. Based on iPod touch looks, the Apple iPhone 6’s screen is protected by ‘Ion-strengthened glass’, which is curved around the edges and is supposed to offer a much more gratifying swiping experience than in the past – or compared with rivals. Apple will have to beat Samsung Galaxy S5 in this arena, whose screen has been dubbed ‘the best performing smartphone display’ by DisplayMate, which carried out in-depth screen tests on the smartphone. It packs a 1080 x 1920 resolution and boasts Super AMOLED technology to ensure a bright, colourful display. Feature: Metal, 3D app and game engine Inspiration: Sony Xperia Z3 Apple also unveiled the “second generation 64-bit” A8 chip with desktop-class architecture, and maintains that the all-new chip offers faster performance and is more energy efficient, delivering higher sustained performance with great battery life. In fact, the chip’s performance is high enough for serious gameplay, says Apple. “With Metal, a new graphics technology in iOS 8, developers can take performance of the A8 chip even further to bring console-class 3D games to iPhone,” it says. This was a surprise move by Apple to perhaps steal a march on the newly announced Xperia Z3, which is the first Sony phone to use Sony’s PS4 Remote Play app. Sony’s Remote Play app lets you use your phone as a remote screen to connect and control your games on your PS4 – for the times when the TV is being hogged by other family members not interested in game play. Apple’s new A8 chip al