MacRumors

While the official reviews of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were published several days ago, with the devices now making their way into customers' hands we are starting to see broader first impressions of the larger iPhones.

Several posters in our forums have highlighted the high-quality "Retina HD" displays on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, but have observed that apps yet to be optimized for the larger displays appear "quite blurry" or "'big' and disgusting" due to scaling issues.

Another aspect being noticed by users is the much louder vibration on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, something highlighted by John Gruber in his review earlier this week.

The iPhone 6 has a noticeably stronger vibrator to me, and with the iPhone 6 Plus, it’s so powerful it’s actually a bit noisy — the sound made by the 6 Plus vibrator is so strong, I wonder if there are going to be complaints that it’s not “silent” at all.

As someone who runs his iPhone in silent mode much of the time, I definitely appreciate the stronger vibrator.

Customers are also generally praising the overall look of the new iPhones, calling them "sleek and beautifully made" and "glorious". Those opting for the gold model may notice that it is "a bit more yellow golden" than the gold iPhone 5s.

As for size, some customers have been concerned about placing orders for the iPhone 6 Plus without having a good idea of just how big the device really is. Reactions now that users are getting their hands on them seem to be mixed, with some saying they "love every inch" of the 5.5-inch display while others have found it too big for their tastes. Some in-store customers were able to compare the two sizes before purchasing, helping make the decision easier.

For ongoing coverage of photos and first impressions, readers are welcome to follow our consolidated thread stickied in our iPhone forum.

Following launches in a number of other countries around the world earlier today, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have now begun going on sale in the U.S. and Canada, with 8:00 AM Apple launch times in the eastern and central portions of the countries having already occurred.

As expected, supplies of the iPhone 6 Plus have been tight in some cases, although perhaps not as low as originally thought. Apple's own stores appear to have the strongest supplies of the iPhone 6 Plus, with carrier stores in some cases having barely a handful of units to distribute.

Lines at most stores, particularly Apple's own locations, are long in most cases, despite the company having offered pre-orders for delivery this year. As of 6:00 AM, the line at Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan stretched for twelve city blocks, according to Business Insider. Other locations are obviously seeing shorter lines, but many customers are reporting lines numbering in the hundreds at their stores.

Some MacRumors forum members are updating their statuses in our iPhone 6 Launch Meetups forum while others are sharing their thoughts in our general iPhone forum as the launch continues.

For those with pre-orders going out for delivery today, our forums remain busy as users track their orders minute-by-minute. MacRumors forum members in the U.S. are generally organizing in one of a number of threads depending on where they ordered from.

- The "I just bought/ordered/shipped/received my new iPhone 6/6 Plus" thread
- iPhone 6 & 6 Plus Sprint Pre-Order Thread!
- T-Mobile.com preorder thread
- ATT Pre-order status
- VZW Order Status Thread
- Apple.com Pre-order thread

Those who already received their iPhones can post first impressions in our forums of their iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus.

With the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus already underway in several countries, many companies have begun performing tests and benchmarks on the device. PhoneBuff has taken the two devices and put them through a drop test, dropping each on its back, side and front.

The iPhone 6 did well when dropped on the side and back, but unsurprisingly suffered when dropped on its face. The 6 Plus, on the other hand, cracked when it landed on the side. However, it sustained little further damage when falling on its face.

Based on this one test, both phones may have performed worse than the iPhone 5 design which was described as "very durable" and survived similar drops in a previous drop tests. Without standardized testing, it's hard to draw definitive conclusions.

iFixIt is in the process of taking apart the new iPhone 6 Plus, currently on sale in Australia. Surprisingly, the team points out that the internal layout of the device is extremely similar to that of the iPhone 5s, except at a larger scale and with a bigger battery. The teardown's findings reveal the battery capacity of the device and some internal reorganization.

In removing the front panel from the rest of the device, the iFixIt team notes that there are "no noticeable booby traps", referring to the iPhone 5s' cable that ran from the Touch ID sensor to the Lightning port. The battery in the device is listed at 2915mAh at 3.82 volts, in line with the previously leaked battery prototype for the device and giving the 6 Plus double the battery capacity of the iPhone 5s' 1560mAh and much larger than the iPhone 6's 1810mAh battery.

The teardown also revealed that the vibrator is now located under the logic board and to the right of the battery.

iFixIt's teardown is still in progress and this post will be updated if anything significant is revealed.

Update 7:45 PM: iFixit has exposed Apple's new A8 processor in their teardown, which reveals the F8164A3PM inscribed on the chip. The second digit in that sequence, 8, corresponds to 8 Gigabits (1 GB) of RAM in Micron's catalog.

Update 11:38 PM: iFixit has assigned the iPhone 6 Plus a repairability score of 7 out of 10, which is an improvement over the iPhone 5s' score of 6 out of 10. The largest difference being the absence of the cable connecting the Touch ID Home button to the Lightning port, which resulted in the cable being torn if one is not careful opening the phone.

Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus will launch in the United States tomorrow, with Apple retail stores, carrier stores, and several major retailers offering the two devices for sale.

We've gathered up a list of U.S. locations that will be selling the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, listed below, along with general opening times. Customers hoping for an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus are encouraged to call their local stores for specific information on opening times and potential stock.

- Apple retail stores - 8 a.m local time
- Verizon Wireless - 8 a.m. local time (Not all stores are accepting walk-up purchases, and opening times will vary)
- AT&T - 8 a.m. local time
- T-Mobile - 9 a.m. - 10 a.m local time, but opening times vary
- Sprint - 8.a.m local time
- RadioShack - 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. local time, but opening times vary
- Best Buy - 8 a.m. local time
- Sam's Club - 8 a.m. local time
- Target - Availability will vary
- Walmart - Availability will vary
- Staples - Availability will vary

At Apple Store locations, procedure will be slightly different than it has in past years as Apple will also be handing out iPhone 6 and 6 Plus units to customers who opted for Personal Pickup when pre-ordering online last week.

All customers will be directed to wait in one line until approximately 5 a.m, at which point they will be split into two lines: one for Personal Pickup and one for customers hoping to purchase a device on launch day.

Apple will hand out refreshments like coffee and water, as it does every year, and ahead of the store's opening, customers in the walk-in line (who did not pre-order) will be given a digital Reservation Pass (sent via email or SMS) to guarantee them an iPhone. This year's Reservation Passes replace the paper cards that have been handed out in past years.

Walk-in customers planning to wait in line should aim to arrive as early as possible. Many people hoping to get their hands on an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus are already waiting in line across the United States, and will wait through the night. According to multiple sources, supplies of the iPhone are expected to be low, with the iPhone 6 Plus being in extremely short supply.

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are already on sale in Australia, and initial reports have suggested that supplies of the iPhone 6 Plus are indeed constrained. According to one MacRumors reader, many stores in Melbourne, Australia received only one iPhone 6 Plus unit.

As for customers who pre-ordered and plan to do Personal Pickup, arriving early is also generally recommended as the pickup line can get long as well.

Customers who pre-ordered early and selected at home shipping will also begin receiving their devices on Friday, September 19, with most shipments listing guaranteed delivery by the end of the day. MacRumors readers who are expecting shipments can join in on several threads in our forums, where readers are tracking their shipments and order statuses:

- The "I just bought/ordered/shipped/received my new iPhone 6/6 Plus" thread
- iPhone 6 & 6 Plus Sprint Pre-Order Thread!
- T-Mobile.com preorder thread
- ATT Pre-order status
- VZW Order Status Thread
- UK iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Thread
- Apple.com Pre-order thread
- iPhone 6 Launch Meetups

With every iteration of the iPhone, Apple aims to bring significant improvements to the device's camera. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are no exception, packing in several new features like Focus Pixels, Exposure Control, Panorama improvements, Slo-Mo video enhancements, and Optical Image Stabilization for the iPhone 6 Plus.

Professional photographer Austin Mann partnered with The Verge to test the cameras in both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus in Iceland and came away with some impressive results.

One of the major new features in the new devices is Focus Pixels, which is the result of a new image signal processor. As described by Apple, Focus Pixels provides the sensor with more information about an image, which results in faster autofocusing.

In a video, Mann demonstrated Focus Pixels, showing much faster autofocusing on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. As seen in the still below, taken from the video, the iPhone 6 Plus is able to refocus on a scene much more quickly after an object placed in front of the camera causes the lens to refocus.

According to Mann, Focus Pixels keeps objects in focus in photographs, but it really shines when capturing video because it vastly speeds up refocusing. Focus Pixels are also highly useful in low-light situations -- where previous iPhones might have had trouble focusing in low light, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus work well, even better than some DSLRs.

Combined with optical image stabilization in the iPhone 6 Plus, the results are impressive. A comparison of an image shot with Phone 5s (top) and the iPhone 6 Plus (bottom) in low light is below.

Another improvement made to iOS 8 and thus the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus is Exposure Control, which allows for manual control over exposure and thus more control over the way photos turn out. Two shots, one with exposure control (left) and one with no exposure control (right) are shown off below.

Also new to the iPhone 6/6 Plus and iOS 8 is time-lapse video and improved Slo-Mo video. In iOS 7, Slo-Mo allowed users to capture up to 120 frames per second (fps) at 720p, but in iOS 8, that's been improved to 240fps, allowing for much improved slow motion video capabilities. Both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are also capable of shooting 1080p video at up to 60fps.

While Mann doesn't spend too much time focusing on comparisons between the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 6/6 Plus, he does have a few shots that show much improved picture taking capabilities. Mann also doesn't make comparisons between the 6 and the 6 Plus, the latter of which has optical image stabilization, but photos taken with the two devices are equally impressive.

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus pack in new innovations that make the camera experience better and more fun. What I love most about these innovations is they focus on enabling iPhone users to better capture and share life rather than just beefing up tech specs. The Apple team clearly understands their user base very well and incessantly strives to create devices that solve technical challenges and simplify experiences and they've done that yet again with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Photographers are really going to enjoy this upgrade... with way better low light, a massive viewfinder and new tools like timelapse that work flawlessly I really couldn't ask for much more out of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus camera.

Austin Mann's complete overview of the camera in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus is well worth reading, as it contains a multitude of gorgeous images he was able to capture with the devices.

Apple began shipping out early iPhone 6 and 6 Plus pre-orders on Thursday morning, and FlightAware, a site that offers live flight tracking, has created a tool that allows users to track the flights carrying their iPhones after receiving a tracking number.

According to FlightAware, users can check the "departure scan" in their UPS tracking information which may match a departure time and flight listed on the tracking page. Currently, the page is tracking UPS flights from Shenzhen, China to Anchorage, Alaska and Anchorage to Louisville, Kentucky, all of which are standard flight rounds for shipping companies.

Currently, many iPhones that will be shipping out to customers overnight and in the morning are aggregated in Kentucky, a worldwide UPS air hub known as Worldport. Apple appears to have shipped the majority of iPhone units using Next Day Air.

The first iPhone 6 and 6 Plus shipments are expected to arrive on Friday, September 19, but oftentimes, some lucky customers receive their shipments early due to shipping company errors. Apple will also begin selling the devices in stores on Friday, but supplies are expected to be tight, especially for the iPhone 6 Plus.

MacRumors readers who are waiting for an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus may also want to join in on the dedicated Apple pre-order thread on the forums, where users share tracking information and socialize while waiting for their devices to arrive.

Ahead of tomorrow's launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in a number of countries, customers who didn't place pre-orders for delivery have been lining up at Apple's retail stores and those of its carrier and retail partners hoping to obtain one first thing in the morning.

A new report from BGR claims, however, that those looking for an iPhone 6 Plus are likely to be disappointed, as the units are in extremely short supply.

We are told that stores have been receiving shipments all throughout the day, and out of all the new iPhone 6 models received, typically only about 2-3% are iPhone 6 Plus units, and in only one color.

There is "no chance" of finding an iPhone 6 Plus unit to purchase tomorrow, we were told. Sources also said there are no 16GB iPhone 6 Plus devices to be found.

The report notes that stores are seeing decent supplies of iPhone 6 units, with all colors and capacities available, but much like with the gold iPhone 5s last year, it appears that only a handful of customers at the very front of store lines will be able to purchase an iPhone 6 Plus at many locations.

Update: Multiple carriers have confirmed that supplies of the iPhone 6 Plus will be constrained, reports Re/code, with a Sprint representative saying the company's inventory is "extremely limited."

Earlier today, we highlighted how a number of new third-party systemwide keyboard for iOS 8 are topping the App Store charts, with SwiftKey Keyboard [Direct Link] displacing Facebook Messenger from the top spot on the free iPhone app chart in the United States.

Moving beyond the charts to look at raw download numbers, the success of these new keyboards is even more clear, with SwiftKey telling MacRumors that its iOS 8 keyboard has just passed one million downloads in less than 24 hours.

SwiftKey saw a brief launch delay yesterday due to App Store processing, and thus it did not go live until around noon Pacific Time, meaning that it has reached the milestone in roughly 22 hours.

SwiftKey is certainly benefiting from its positioning as a free app compared to competitors such as Swype and Fleksy, but it offers users a good opportunity to try out an alternative to Apple's default keyboard. SwiftKey will continue to upgrade its keyboard over time, no doubt at some point adding in premium features to generate income for the company.

With yesterday's launch of iOS 8, devices running the new operating system are now able to install third-party keyboards that work on a systemwide basis. Most of the major keyboard makers were ready for the launch, introducing iOS 8 versions of their keyboards into the iOS App Store. One day after launch, three of these keyboards, including Fleksy, SwiftKey and Swype, are now at the top of the top iOS paid and free charts in the U.S. and other countries.

Within 24 hours of their debut, paid keyboards Swype and Fleksy climbed to the top two spots in the U.S. paid iOS app chart, displacing popular games such as Minecraft Pocket Edition and Five Nights at Freddy's. On the free app chart, Swiftkey jumped to the number one spot, beating out the now freemium and very popular 1Password password manager and the newly launched Amazing Thief game. Perhaps most impressively, SwiftKey has even displaced longtime number one Facebook Messenger from its spot atop the rankings.

The new keyboards are of course benefiting from launch-day momentum of the iOS 8 debut, and it remains to be seen where they will settle in the charts following the initial surge of interest. Still, it is clear that many users are interested in at least trying out alternatives to Apple's default keyboard, even with its new QuickType suggestions implemented in iOS 8.

These three keyboards and more are available to all iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners running iOS 8. SwiftKey [Direct Link] is available for free from the iOS App Store, while Fleksy [Direct Link] costs $1.99 and Swype [Direct Link] is 99 cents.

Apple yesterday released iOS 8 to the public, opening the doors for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners to download and install Apple's latest version of iOS on their devices. According to The Guardian, this release caused internet traffic to surge in the UK by as much as 60 percent compared to the same time the previous day as millions of iOS users rushed to update their devices.

Data from LONAP shows that web traffic surged just as iOS 8 was released at 6:00 PM UK time. Traffic remained strong for several hours, with a peak at 8:00 PM in the UK as more than 70 gigabits per second were being transferred through LONAP's exchange.

iOS 8 may have caused web traffic to briefly increase, but the first-day adoption rate of the mobile operating system is relatively low when compared to previous iOS rollouts. According to analytics firm Mixpanel, only 14 percent of the iOS devices that it tracks are currently running iOS 8. Data from mobile marketing company Fiksu shows a similar slow uptake in iOS 8 with the adoption of Apple's latest iOS version trailing the last that of the last several iOS launches.

The slower update rate may be due to a record number of iPhone owners purchasing new devices. Apple sold more than four million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units in the first 24 hours that pre-orders were available last week. Customers who are receiving a new phone in the coming weeks may delay upgrading their current device, opting instead to prepare the handset for sale.

Another factor may be the large storage size required for the over-the-air updates. Though the iOS 8 update was just over 1 GB in size, it required 4.6 GB of free storage space on an iPhone and almost 7 GB of free storage on an iPad for installation. That's almost half the free space available on a 16 GB device, forcing many owners to decide whether to delete content from their devices or install the update.

Apple and U2 have a long history of working together, producing a special edition U2 iPod in 2008 and more recently releasing the band's latest album, "Songs of Innocence," for free. According to Time, Apple and U2 reportedly now are collaborating on a new music format that will boost digital music sales.

Details on the music format or the secret project surrounding it were not revealed, but U2's Bono says it will help musicians sell more of their music.

Bono tells TIME he hopes that a new digital music format in the works will prove so irresistibly exciting to music fans that it will tempt them again into buying music—whole albums as well as individual tracks. The point isn’t just to help U2 but less well known artists and others in the industry who can’t make money, as U2 does, from live performance. “Songwriters aren’t touring people,” says Bono. “Cole Porter wouldn’t have sold T-shirts. Cole Porter wasn’t coming to a stadium near you.”

Digital music sales are declining as consumer interest in online streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora grows. According to Nielsen SoundScan data from the first half of 2014, digital album sales fell 15 percent year over year, while digital track sales fell 13 percent. At the same time, streaming music increased 42 percent.

In the U.S., iTunes currently is the market leader for digital music downloads, but Apple is not blind to the steady decline in these digital music sales. The company launched the Pandora-like iTunes Radio along with iOS 7 and recently purchased Beats Music for $3 billion.

With Apple's new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus going on sale in the first group of launch countries beginning on Friday, September 19, long lines have already started to form across the world as many anticipate the release of both devices. Apple retail customers in Australia will have the first opportunity to purchase the new handsets at 8 AM on Friday, as some have already begun lining up outside of the company's various retail locations. Currently, it is 7:10 PM on Thursday, September 18 throughout many parts of Australia.

One photo taken by Guardian Australia writer Bethanie Blanchard shows many customers lining up outside the Apple Store Doncaster, as the line is said to have started at 6 AM and stretches around the entire length of the shopping center.

Meanwhile, a photo shared by Twitter user @rodgerodger shows the line surrounding an Apple Store in Brisbane. The image shows numerous customers setting up chairs and laying down supplies in preparation to stay the night ahead of the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in the morning.

In addition to Australia, Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be available in the US, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK starting Friday, with Apple Retail Stores beginning sales at 8 AM. The company is also implementing a reservation pass system at its retail stores for those who line up, which will keep track of the line position of each customer and ensure that those waiting receive a device.

The first batch of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus pre-orders will also be delivered starting this Friday, as some devices have already begun shipping to customers. Shipping estimates for new iPhone 6 pre-orders remain at 7 to 10 days, while estimates for iPhone 6 Plus pre-orders are at 3 to 4 weeks. Apple announced this past Monday that it processed more than four million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus pre-orders during the first day of its pre-launch sales on September 12.