Apple iPhone 6 Plus Space Gray 16GB Review

The iPhone 6 Plus in 2024 is a niche device, not a daily driver. Its beautiful 5.5-inch screen and shockingly good battery life are highlights, but the ancient A8 chip and tiny 16GB storage make it painfully slow and limited. At around $41, it's only worth considering as an ultra-budget media player or backup phone. For anyone needing a primary device, look at a newer used iPhone or a budget Android instead.

So, you're looking at an iPhone 6 Plus. It's a name that carries a lot of history, but in 2024, it's a very specific kind of buy. This isn't your modern powerhouse. It's a classic, a piece of tech history that still works for a few key things. It's for someone who wants a big, simple iPhone screen without spending more than a nice dinner out. Think of it as a dedicated media player, a backup phone, or a starter device for a kid where you don't want to worry about a $1,000 piece of glass getting dropped. The fact that it runs iPadOS 12 is a bit of a head-scratcher (that's likely a listing error, as it originally ran iOS), but it tells you the software is old. That's the whole story here: old, but functional in a specific way.

Let's be real about the numbers. The Apple A8 chip and 1GB of RAM (the standard for this model) put its performance in the bottom quarter of all phones in our database. That means it's going to feel slow. Opening apps takes a beat, and multitasking is basically a no-go. It's fine for one thing at a time: watching a video, scrolling through a basic webpage, or making a call. But try to do more, and you'll hit a wall. The benchmarks confirm it's not built for today's web or apps. The battery, however, is a pleasant surprise. That 2915mAh cell scores in the 81st percentile, which for a phone this old is impressive. It means you can still get through a day of light use without hunting for a charger, which is more than you can say for some newer budget phones.

Here's the value proposition: you're paying for the screen and the Apple ecosystem entry ticket, not the internals. At $41, it's cheaper than most Bluetooth speakers. You're not getting a performance bargain, you're getting a 'it still works' bargain. Compared to a new $200 budget Android phone, this iPhone will feel much slower but might have a better build and that iOS simplicity. It's value is entirely situational.

Stacked against its listed competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S26 or Google Pixel 10, it's not a fair fight. Those are modern flagships. A more relevant comparison is against other ultra-budget options like the Motorola Moto G. A new Moto G will give you vastly better performance, a modern camera, and current software for about $150-$200. The trade-off is build quality and that iOS feel. The iPhone 6 Plus wins on sheer cheapness and that specific Apple experience. Compared to a slightly newer used iPhone, like an iPhone 8, you'd get much better performance for maybe $50-$100 more, which is almost always the smarter buy unless your budget is locked at $40.

If you need a reliable primary smartphone, skip this immediately. The slow performance and tiny storage will be a daily frustration. Gamers, social media power users, photographers, and anyone who uses their phone for work should look elsewhere. Also, if you rely on the latest apps or banking apps that require current iOS security, this phone is a non-starter. Instead, look at a refurbished iPhone 8, a newer iPhone SE, or even a new budget Android phone from Motorola or Nokia in the $150-$250 range. You'll spend more, but you'll get a device that doesn't feel like it's from a museum.

We can only recommend the iPhone 6 Plus with very heavy caveats. It's a perfect fit for one person: someone who needs a big, simple screen for media consumption (YouTube, Netflix) on Wi-Fi, who doesn't use many apps, and who has a budget under $50. It's a great dedicated podcast player or kitchen video screen. For anyone else, especially if this will be your primary phone, skip it. The performance and storage limits will drive you nuts within a week. If you can stretch your budget to even $100, the world of used phones opens up dramatically with options that are actually usable in 2024.