Apple iPhone 6 vs Apple iPhone 5s: What's changed?

iPhone 6 vs iPhone 5s: Display

First we had 3.5-inches, then the iPhone 5 gave us 4-inches, but now, finally, we have an iPhone with a 4.7-inch display. As with all iPhones since the 4, Apple has attached the Retina Display moniker to the iPhone 6 meaning pixels will, hopefully, be a complete pain to spot.

Speaking of the resolution, it is now 1334x750 (the iPhone 6 Plus is 1920x1080) which is a nice increase from the 1136x540 of the iPhone 5 and 5s. Apple says the 6 has 38% more pixels than the 5s, along with a broader angle of view.

iPhone 6 vs iPhone 5s: Size and Build

Increasing the screen size from 4-inches to 4.7-inches clearly means the device itself is going to be quite a bit larger, but how bigger actually is it?

Well, the iPhone 5s came in at 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm, with a weight of 112g, the iPhone 6 on the other hand tips the scales at just 6.9mm thick - making it one truly thin phone.

Instead of the straight lines that made up the iPhone 5s, Apple has gone much more curvy with the 6, rounding off the sides and giving the phone a look that resembles the iPad Air and iPad Mini.

All the side mounted buttons have been given a refresh, while the on/off switch has thankfully been moved from the top to the side. The Lightning connector and headphone jack still cover the bottom.

iPhone 6 vs iPhone 5s: Features and Performance

While almost every high-end Windows 8 and Android smartphone has packed NFC for countless years now, Apple has finally decided to stick a Near Field Communications chip inside its flagship smartphone. Having NFC means the iPhone can now make use the new Apple Pay feature, which lets you add cards into the Passbook by just taking a picture of it.

iOS8 obviously will come preinstalled, with its array of features like improved notifications, extensions, the Health app and more.

Apple showed off a few game demos during the presentation and we have to say the graphical detail, which is provided by the new Metal engine Apple announced at WWDC, looked pretty fantastic.

Last year’s iPhone 5s was the first Apple phone to pack a 64-bit processor, an A7, so the jump to A8 should give improved performance along with better battery management. You'll also have access to the brand new M8 coprocessor, which tracks motion and works in tandem with HealthKit in iOS8, great for keeping an eye on your daily step count.

One of the new features of the M8 is that it can tell the diffference between cycling and running, plus there's also a barometer.

The WiFi has thankfully been upgraded to 802.11ac, a feature that previously wasn't supported.

16GB, 64GB options for internal storage are available, though for the first time a 128GB choice is available for the phone. Notice no 32GB option?

iPhone 6 vs iPhone 5s: Battery

Keeping that 4.7-inch display toting iPhone juiced up is a battery that Apple claims will easily see you through the day, offering 10 hours of LTE browsing, the same as the 5s.

iPhone 6 vs iPhone 5s: Camera

One of our favourite aspects of the iPhone 5s was its 8-megapixel, sapphire covered snapper that boasted an f/2.2 aperture, backside illuminated sensor and a nifty true tone flash.

It was fast, took some of the best pictures we’ve ever taken with a smartphone and had a flash that we didn’t instantly turn off and never even think about putting it back on again.

So, what improvements can we look forward with the iPhone 6? Well for one the 8-meg sensor is still here, as is the same aperture, though there is a new feature called 'focus pixels' and an improved image engine which offers advanced noise reduction and faster autofocus. Image stabilisation is also offered, though on the iPhone 6 it's only digital, but on the 6 Plus it's optical.

1080p video is supported for both 30fps and 60fps and there's an improved hyper slow-mo mode.

Up top there's a new FaceTime HD camera, with better face detection and an all new sensor that lets in 81% more light, plus the ever popular 'burst selfie' mode.

iPhone 6 vs iPhone 5s: The Verdict

While we were pretty sure we were going to see a new iPhone today, it's still good to finally be able to say it's official. it seems that Apple has finally moved the iPhone forwards for possibly the first time since the iPhone 4 gave us that first Retina Display, thanks to that bigger screen and features like NFC.

Wrist-worn selfie drone wins $500,000 in Intel competition to build future wearable technology

A wearable camera drone that snaps pictures of the user from afar has won top prize and $500,000 in an international competition organized by Intel.

The Nixie looks like a bulky wristwatch and is aimed primarily at extreme sports enthusiast. Its four flexible bands (each with a propeller at the end) curl around the wrist and release with a sweeping gesture – as if the wearer launched a hawk from their wrist. The drone can then snap pictures or capture video before returning automatically – perfect for activities like mountain biking or climbing where the user’s hands are busy.

The device is powered by Intel’s newly-launched Edison chip – essentially a tiny working computer the size of an SD card that the company hopes will be used by inventors and companies of all sizes to power a range of gadgets and wearables.

Facebook's Ebola button encourages users to donate - while Zuckerberg himself responds to critics saying that it's only 'marketing'

Facebook has launched a new initiative encouraging users to donate money to fight the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, placing a banner at the top of News Feeds around the world.

If users click to donate then they can choose between one of three charities including the International Medical Corps, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and Save the Children.

Facebook has attempted to rally its 1.23 billion users with similar banners in the past, raising $486 million following the 2010 Haiti earthquake and $88 million for Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. Alongside the ‘donate’ banner the social network will also be spreading awareness-raising messages from Unicef (the United Nations Children’s Fund) in the countries most affected by Ebola, giving Facebook users advice about symptoms and what to do if they suspect someone has the disease.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has also got involved, not only in personally donating $25 million to the CDC (the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) but in responding to a Facebook user who accused him of only introducing the ‘donate’ banner as good PR.

A third of UK jobs to be replaced by robots and computers in next 20 years...

Advances in robotics and computing could wipe out as much as a third of all UK jobs over the next 20 years, a new report has claimed. More than 10 million roles are likely to be replaced by automated systems, with repetitive, lower-paid jobs (those earning less than £30,000 a year) five times more likely to be made obsolete than higher-paid jobs.

Experts said the trends identified in the report were already well under way, with “high risk” jobs identified in “office and administrative support; sales and services; transportation; construction and extraction; and production.”

Many of these professions have already been heavily affected by automated systems, with the report’s authors noting that in London 65 per cent of librarians have lost their jobs since 2001 and almost half of personal assistants and secretaries.

However, researchers also said that 40 per cent of UK jobs were at “low or no risk” – a percentage rising to 51 per cent in London – with ‘safe’ sectors demanding interpersonal skills such as healthcare and education; creative talent; or science and engineering know-how (after all, someone has to build those robots).

iMessage: Apple faces US lawsuit over 'countless' undelivered texts to Android devices

Apple will face a class-action lawsuit in the US after failing to tell iPhone owners that its iMessage system might block them from receiving text messages if they switched to an Android handset. US District Judge Lucy Koh ruled that a lawsuit filed in May this year will move forward, reports Reuters, as Apple themselves release a ‘one-click’ tool to help ex-iPhone owners de-register their number from iMessage.

iMessage is set up as the iPhone’s default messaging system and routes texts sent from iOS device to iOS device through Apple’s servers to save money on network costs.

However, if users that switch to Android phones forget to disconnect their number from iMessage properly then texts sent to their new phone can be trapped in Apple’s servers. Ex-iPhone owners have reported problems with this system for years, with some even alleging that they lost jobs or damaged relationships because of un-read text messages.

Judge Koh has now ruled that US plaintiff Adrienne Moore has the right to try and show if Apple violated unfair competition law in California. Moore claims that iOS 5 software blocked the delivery of "countless" messages after she switched mobiles.

WhatsApp introduces end-to-end encryption for Android for uncrackable messaging

WhatsApp has announced that it is implementing end-to-end encryption for the Android version of its app – an unprecedented move that makes it the most secure large-scale messaging service available.

The announcement is true to form for the company’s CEO and founder Jan Koum who has consistently assured users of his commitment to privacy after growing up under the surveillance-orientated regime of 1980s Soviet-era Ukraine.

End-to-end encryption is more secure than the protocols used by the likes of Facebook Messenger and Google’s Gchat as it means that even WhatsApp itself can’t decrypt users’ messages if law enforcement demands the data.

Apple’s iMessage and numerous third-party messaging apps (including Telegram, Cryptocat and Silent Text) also offer end-to-end-encryption, but WhatsApp’s implementation is the largest yet, affecting hundreds of millions of its 600 hundred million iOS and Android users.