The new Apple iPhone: Display Zoom on Larger Model Attractive

Friends have asked my whether I’d be getting the new iPhone 6, having the same doubts as I have: every new iPhone comes with new hype and new sleekness and new this and that, but nothing really better for my particular needs (which do not involve music or videos or apps).

But in taking a look at the new 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus size model (the first large screen model Apple has offered), I am now inclined to consider it for one ergonomic reason: the tiny type on the iPhone 5s is trouble for my presbyopic eyes.

Presbyopia starts to become a troublesome issue by age 50, and earlier for some and/or for those with vision correction that moves out close-focus ability.

The iPhone 6 Plus screen is not only larger, but higher density. So the iPhone 6 Plus “Display Zoom” feature means I can get the iPhone 5s content magnified up to the iPhone 6 Plus screen with similar clarity but at a larger size—easier to see. The too-small everything on the iPhone 5s has denied me useful operation of an iPhone for basic operations like web browsing—can be done, but it’s never comfortable.

Along with Display Zoom, the wider landscape view affords more area which itself can help by allowing some displayed material to be larger, since other stuff can now reside to the side. Together, the iPhone 6 Plus looks like it might be a practical upgrade for a nagging issue for me.

On the downside, 172 grams vs 129 grams will make the Plus model noticeably heavier, and it won’t fit as well into a pocket. Always a tradeoff.

Battery life

The iPhone 6 Plus battery is larger, and it nets out at 20% to 80% longer battery life than the iPhone 6 and that alone could be reason to go with the larger model for some users.

But I’m not buying one.