Darma smart cushion monitors posture through your butt

The Darma smart cushion is embedded with fiber optic sensors to track a person's posture throughout the day

We have seen posture trackers that attach to our backs and waists, but if we were to look to any part of our body to keep tabs on our sitting habits, it would be our backsides that know best, right? The team behind Darma is banking on our buttocks painting a clearer picture, developing a smart cushion that monitors how we sit to provide feedback on posture, stress levels, heart rate and respiration.

The adverse effects of prolonged sitting are well-established, with studies having linked it to health concerns, such as obesity, high blood pressure and increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease. This has led to a rise in solutions, such as sitting on exercise balls and using standing desks, though research has suggested that standing for too long can also be dangerous to our health.

With 1 mm thick fiber optic sensors embedded on top of the multi-layer memory foam padding, the Darma smart cushion is designed to improve posture, while encouraging a balance between sitting and standing. It detects when the user is slouching and provides real-time posture coaching through an iOS, Android or desktop app.

The cushion also monitors how long you've been sitting and will alert you when its time to stand up, while tracking vitals such as heart and breathing rate. The company claims that by keeping tabs on these signs, the cushion can determine a baseline for each user and detect when they become stressed, in which case it offers up breathing exercise to help calm them down. This personalization is taken one step further with Darma observing the user's sitting habits over time and suggesting tailored stretches to ease discomforts such as back and neck pain.

Darma is recharged through a Micro USB port and is said to last one month on each charge. It measures 40 x 40 x 3 cm (15.7 x 15.7 x 1.2 in) and is fitted with a Bluetooth LE module to connect with a mobile device or computer.

With a Kickstarter campaign currently underway, the company has stormed past its US$40,000 goal, having raised almost $85,000 at the time of writing. Pledges of $129 are still available, which will have a Darma shipped your way in June 2015 if everything else goes to plan.

You can check out the company's pitch video below.

Seaweed could provide a safer alternative to antibacterial silver

Red algae is a source of bacteria-killing lanosol (Photo: John Martin Davies)

Silver nanoparticles are very effective at killing bacteria, finding use in everything from water filters to non-smelly clothing. That said, there are some major concerns regarding the effects that those particles may have on human health and on the environment. Among other things, it has been suggested that they cause cell death, and compromise the immune system. Now, however, scientists at Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology have come up with what could be a less harmful alternative – red algae.

More specifically, the KTH team is looking at lanosol, which is an antibacterial compound found in red Rhodophyta seaweed.

Led by Prof. Mikael Hedenqvist, the researchers have used electrospinning techniques to create very fine threads made from a blend of lanosol and bio-compatible plastic. These can then be added to other materials, or woven together to form fabrics. Because the threads are so skinny – about one-hundredth the width of a human hair – the active surface area of these fabrics is maximized.

A close look at a swatch of lanosol-containing antibacterial fabric

Additionally, the lanosol mixes thoroughly with the plastic, ending up being very evenly dispersed throughout each thread. By contrast, silver nanoparticles have a tendency to form into clumps, negatively affecting antibacterial fabrics' mechanical properties.

It is now hoped that lanosol-based materials could find use in wound dressings or air filters in hospitals. Such applications would be particularly appropriate, as lanosol has been shown to kill 99.99 percent of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, which is the leading cause of skin and wound infections in hospital settings.

Firefox OS-based Matchstick takes aim at Google’s Chromecast

Matchstick is a Firefox OS-based Chromecast competitor

Matchstick is a new streaming dongle aiming to compete directly with Google’s low-cost Chromecast product. The new stick plugs into your TV or HD monitor’s HDMI port and lets you stream or mirror content to it, just like Google’s device. Things are a little different behind the scenes, however, with the Matchstick running Mozilla's Firefox OS.

You may well get a little déjà vu with the Matchstick. The device is very similar in both form and function to Google’s low-cost Chromecast streaming dongle. The big difference here is that the Matchstick runs Mozilla’s open source platform. You can throw content up on the big screen from Android or iOS smartphones and tablets, as well as both Chrome and Firefox browsers. If you’re using a laptop, you can mirror any window in the compatible browsers on the Matchstick.

As far as the team behind the new hardware is concerned, the success of the project hinges upon developer support. With Firefox OS being a completely open platform, anyone can make an application for the streaming device and get it out to users without first having it approved for release.

The team is actively encouraging developers to get on board with the project, offering 500 developer kits through the crowdfunding campaign that are scheduled to ship in November (months ahead of the targeted February launch date).

While the team is confident there will be a large number of quality apps ready to go when Matchstick launches, it’s also doing its bit, personally working to ensure that key apps including Netflix, HBO Go, Pandora, ESPN and ABC are ready for day one.

Matchstick will also be binary compatible with many existing Chromecast apps right out of the box, and the company says the apps that won’t initially work with the new hardware can be easily ported by developers, with the process apparently taking no more than an hour.

The Matchstick is powered by a dual core Rockchip 3066 processor, with 2 GB RAM and 4 GB internal storage. In keeping with the open source nature of the platform, the company has made the reference designs and hardware schematics for the Matchstick available to download, meaning you could, at least in theory,make your own if you had the resources and know-how.

If you’re interested in picking up a Matchstick, then you can secure one for as little as US$12 through the team’s Kickstarter page (providing the project reaches its funding goal). The initial run of devices is scheduled to ship in February 2015. The final product will retail for $25.

Check out the video below for more on the Matchstick.

hub by Premier Inn hotel will allow guests control their room with a smartphone

hub by Premier Inn is a new hotel chain that allows guests to search for rooms, book, check-in and control room facilities using a smartphone app

Hotel rooms can be impersonal and transitory places, designed for a high turnover of guests. To make the hotel experience more comfortable, the new hub by Premier Inn chain will put control into the hands of customers, who will book, check-in and control their room facilities via a smartphone app.

Technology is becoming increasingly prevalent in hotels as a means of providing guests with a better service and improving efficiencies. The SaviOne robot butler, for example, recently began a trial period delivering room service at the Aloft Hotel in Cupertino. Whereas the SaviOne robot can benefit the hotel by automating a process that was previously manual, the aim of the hub hotel app is to improve the comfort of the customer.

The app will allow users to search for and book rooms, as well as check-in online. Once in their room, guests can use the app to change the temperature and lighting according to personal preferences, as well as select TV and radio channels and stream content from their smartphone or tablet to the 40-in inch smart screen TV. They will also be able to pre-order the following day's breakfast via the app.

According to Whitbread, the parent-company of hub by Premier Inn, the rooms will be designed to be "compact and clever." At 11.4 sq m (123 sq ft), the size will allow Whitbread to maximize the number of rooms it can fit into a single hotel, helping to keep costs down for guests. Storage space will be built into beds and pull-out desks will slide away when not in use to save space. Each room will feature a Hypnos pocket-sprung bed, a dual-shower ensuite bathroom, and free Wi-Fi.

Whitbread is planning to open 40 hub by Premier Inn hotels across the UK by 2018. The first will open in Covent Garden in November this year with a further three openings planned for 2015.

The video below provides an introduction to hub by Premier Inn hotels.

Cadillac confirms a light, agile CT6 flagship is in the works

2013 Cadillac Elmiraj (Photo: Angus MacKenzie/Gizmag.com)

Reports of an upmarket Cadillac flagship – something to battle imports like the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7 Series – have been surfacing for years, intensifying after last year's Elmiraj concept. GM's luxury brand has finally given the official confirmation, announcing plans to begin production on the CT6 flagship by the end of 2015.

Save perhaps for the C7 Corvette, we can't think of another recent GM vehicle subject to more rumors than the Cadillac flagship. When Cadillac's current flagship car, the XTS, debuted as a concept back in 2010, it was understood that the model would likely be a stopgap, sitting at the top of the post-STS/DTS line, but not eye to eye with the German flagships.

Back in 2011, as Cadillac was clearing out the last of the STS/DTS models in preparation for the XTS launch, global marketing director James R. Vurpillat told WardsAuto: "Our priority is to get the main segments covered. Then we can start thinking of cars in the S-Class and 7 Series range. I’d like to have a car like the concept Cadillac Sixteen."

Cadillac has fueled the idea of a super-XTS flagship ever since, showing stylish, top-shelf concept cars like the Ciel and Elmiraj. When introducing those two concepts at respective Concours d'Elegance Pebble Beach events, it used foreshadowing in language like "product ascent," "range-topping flagship" and "top of Cadillac's range." In the absence of any official flagship confirmation, however, only rumor tied those concepts to upcoming products. That is, until this month, when Cadillac confirmed that a flagship sedan is indeed in the works.

"The objective for this upcoming model is to lift the Cadillac range by entering the elite class of top-level luxury cars," said Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen. "Currently in development, this new rear wheel drive-oriented sedan uses completely new, custom-designed materials on a unique vehicle architecture."

With the new model, Cadillac is also launching a new naming structure, leaving the "TS" convention in the past. The new flagship will go by the CT6 moniker, setting a precedent of familiar letters like "CT" to identify the model and a number to show its level within the greater Cadillac lineup.

"As we expand the portfolio, we can assist consumers in placing the cars within a structure, as they compare cars both within our showroom and across the market generally," explains Cadillac chief marketing officer Uwe Ellinghaus. "However, this will be an evolutionary process – we will only change a product’s name when the product itself is redesigned or an all-new model is created, as in this instance."

Cadillac plans to reveal the CT6 in the first half of 2015, putting it into production in the fourth quarter of that year. That timeframe is a bit off for the launch of Super Cruise automated driving, according to the "2017 model year" quoted earlier this month by GM CEO Mary Barra. However, between Barra's admission that Super Cruise would launch on a model in a new segment and Cadillac's description of the CT6 as a "high-technology" car, it seems very likely the CT6 will be the first Super Cruise-equipped model in Cadillac's line.

Whether that means Cadillac will get the tech to market on the 2016 CT6, sooner than Barra announced, or will wait a model year remains to be seen. Or maybe it has a 2017 Ciel-inspired CT6 Roadster in the works?

The car's "high tech" designation also relates to its construction. The CT6's new architecture will incorporate lightweight materials and new construction techniques. Cadillac anticipates the CT6 being the lightest sedan in its class.

Cadillac's busy media department also announced last week that the luxury brand will become its own business unit, opening global headquarters in New York City next year. That move won't affect manufacturing, however, and the CT6 will join the ELR in being produced at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant. The plant was recently upgraded with CT6-specific tooling as part of a greater US$384 million investment in the facility.

Given Cadillac's first half of 2015 timeline and the car's built-in-Detroit roots, we'll be looking for this one at next year's North American International Auto Show. Then again, with Cadillac moving operations to the Big Apple, there's the chance we may have to wait until the New York Auto Show a few months later.

Seek Thermal launches thermal camera attachment for mobile phones

Seek Thermal for iOS

Ever wonder if there’s something hiding in the bushes at night or if your door seals are leaking heat in the winter? A thermal imaging camera is one way of answering these questions, but they tend to be bulky and very pricey. California-based Seek Thermal is aiming to bring thermal imaging into the consumer realm with its small, relatively affordable thermal camera smartphone accessory.

Compatible with iOS and Android phones, the Seek Thermal is a 0.5 oz (14 gm) camera in a magnesium case, which attaches to the USB dock on a smartphone. Inside is a bespoke 206 x 156 array vanadium oxide microbolometer with a chalcogenide lens providing a 36º field of view. According to the company, Seek Thermal operates in the 7.2 to 13 micron long-wave infrared range and can detect heat in a temperature range from -40º C to 330º C (-40º F to 626º F).

The Seek Thermal works in conjunction with an app that allows the user to switch between normal and thermal imaging mode with a swipe. It offers four different temperature measurement modes, can automatically highlight objects in an image within a predefined temperature range, and has a choice of nine different color palettes.

Unlike night vision systems, the camera operates by turning heat signatures into visible images rather than enhancing low-light conditions. Seek Thermal sees a number of applications for the camera such as improving security by detecting people and animals in the dark; helping around the house by locating leaky doors and windows, poor insulation, wall studs, and pipes; and enhancing recreation by seeing game at night or objects on the water in the dark while boating. It can even help at the bbq by making sure that the charcoal bed is heating evenly or checking the surface temperature of food.

The company plans to release a developer’s kit next year to allow third parties to create apps for the Seek Thermal. The camera is now available for US$199.

The video below introduces the Seek Thermal.

Wacky Portal concept aims to put a flexible smartphone on your wrist

The Portal is an ambitious wearable that acts as a wearable and a smartphone

Currently the subject of a crowdfunding campaign, Portal is a flexible wrist-mounted smartphone that takes wearable technology to new extremes. Rather than taking the under-the-radar approach we’ve seen with recent smartwatch releases, the new device simply slaps a full-sized smartphone on the wrist.

Wearable technology has been a mainstay of science fiction for decades, but the product category still struggles for acceptance in the real world. You might get some strange looks if you walk down the street wearing the latest smartwatch, but those devices are practically covert compared to the Portal.

The Portal doesn’t provide a small, connected window on your wrist like, say, the Moto 360 or Apple Watch, but instead slaps a large-screened smartphone on your forearm. The flexible handset can be used as a conventional, rubbery-looking smartphone, and can also be slotted into a wrist mountable, dual-strap housing. If the look of Samsung’s Gear S smartwatch was a little too out-there for your tastes, then you’re unlikely to love the Portal.

This isn't the first time we've seen a full-fledged smartphone on the wrist concept. The same idea cropped up in the the Rufus Cuff and Neptune Pine. But the sheer size of the Portal makes it just about the wackiest wearable we’ve seen to date.

The founders claim that it's water resistant up to 10 meters, both flexible and shatter-proof, and sports a custom Android UI designed specifically for wearable use. The team behind the product thinks it would be ideal for athletes, with the device acting as a sports tracker – recording heart rate, distance travelled, duration of session and more.

The wearable smartphone is very much a work in progress, with several key components (including the chip that would power the device) still in flux. If and when we see it, the final product will be constructed from flexible kevlar-reinforced polyurethane, packing 2 GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage. The company plans to ship it in variants with 4-in and 6-in screens.

The device is the subject of an Indiegogo crowd funding campaign scheduled to end on October 24. If the over-the-top wearable hits its lofty US$300,000 target (at the time of publication, it's 8 percent of the way there with 26 days to go), then the company aims to send out the first units in September of 2015. Early-bird prices start at $350.

For more on the Portal, you can check out the video below.

Three-dimensional, continuously multidirectional cloaking device developed

University of Rochester researchers have developed a simple four-lens cloaking system that works across viewing angles of several degrees (Photo: University of Rochester)

Two scientists at the University of Rochester have taken invisibility cloaking back to basics. Their novel arrangement of four standard, off-the-shelf lenses keeps an object hidden (and the background undisturbed) as the viewer moves up to several degrees away from the optimal viewing angle.

“This is the first device that we know of that can do three-dimensional, continuously multidirectional cloaking, which works for transmitting rays in the visible spectrum,” said doctoral student Joseph Choi. Other researchers have already developed 3D acoustic cloaks and Stanford research into optical metamaterials may yield more versatile invisibility cloaking, while the light-scattering approach of active invisibility cloaks could be easily defeated in practice.

Choi and professor John Howell's take on cloaking focuses on building an optical system that images the background. Their theory was that the technicalities of bending or reshaping light around an object in the foreground will be sorted as a natural by-product of accomplishing this background-imaging feat.

They created a "perfect" paraxial (small-angle) cloak, which differs from a "perfect cloak" in that there are some visible edge effects at non-optimal viewing angles and that objects are entirely hidden within only a narrow range of angles. (The edge effects are reduced as the lenses get bigger.) They used matrix multiplication to calculate that a perfect paraxial cloak requires at least four lenses, with a theoretical viewing angle of up to 30 degrees, then tested the theory with three and four lens systems.

Their setup provides a cloaked region in the shape of an elongated cylinder between the first and the last lens. Not quite everything in that region is cloaked, however, as the light is bent alternately into narrow and broad corridors through its center. To avoid blur and distortions in the observed image, they used achromatic doublets that combine two lenses as one.

It's certainly not going to enable invisibility cloaks like the one Harry Potter wears or the ones used in Star Trek, but Choi and Howell's device is more than just a variation on the classic magician's trick (which uses carefully-placed mirrors). It can be scaled up or down to fit any cloaking size (on the condition that you can find lenses of appropriate length and curvature), and that opens it up to some novel applications in real life.

It could help drivers see through blind spots on their vehicles, for example, or perhaps, as Howell suggests, allow a surgeon to "look through his hands to [see without obstruction] what he is actually operating on."

Just don't go thinking it'll keep you hidden in a room while people spill secrets about how your parents were betrayed and killed by an evil magician; we'll have to keep waiting for that one.

A paper describing the system was published in the journal Optics Express, and you can see it in action in the video below.

In pictures: 14th Venice International Architecture Exhibition

“With Rem Koolhaas we have created an exceptional, research-centered Architecture Biennale” (Photography: Edoardo Campanale)

Entitled “Fundamentals,” this year's 14th International Architecture Exhibition showcases projects made by architects, photographers, artists, critics and scholars from 65 countries around the world. Hosted by the Venice Biennale and curated by Rem Koolhaas, the exhibition looks back through the past 100 years and explores the role of architecture during different historical periods through themes such as war, depression, fascism, industrialism, growth and expansion.

“With Rem Koolhaas we have created an exceptional, research-centered Architecture Biennale,” says Paolo Baratta, President of the Venice Biennale. “Here, with great courage and ambition, Koolhaas has reviewed the history of modernity in the past hundred years, and offers a new perspective of those 'elements' that should constitute the points of reference for a regenerated and topical relationship between ourselves, our civilization, and architecture.”

Spread across 10,000 square meters (107,639 sq ft) with three main sections located at the Giardini, Central Pavilion and Arsenale, the exhibition takes its visitors on an architectural journey through space and time, investigating the current state of architecture and the potential for our future.

“Absorbing Modernity 1914-2014”/ National Pavilions

Located in the Giardini, 65 nations are united through the common language of architecture and a single modern repertoire. Side by side the exhibition reveals how diverse landscapes and political environments evolved throughout the last century and how architecture was used to influence or even control a society.

Monditalia/ Arsenale

Dedicated to Italy, “Monditalia” takes a look at the “fundamentals” of a country historically riddled with political change and chaos, while currently striving to meet its full potential. Located at the Arsenale, the exhibition offers a unique and complex portrait of Italy, incorporating clips from 82 Italian films and installations from 41 architectural projects.

Elements of Architecture/ Central Pavilions

Situated in the Central Pavilions, “Elements of Architecture” looks at the fundamental building blocks used by all architects: the floor, the wall, the door, the window, the ceiling, the hallway, the toilet, the stair, the tile and so forth. The exhibition is in collaboration with the Harvard Graduate School of Design and features a series of installations that pool together “elements” from antiquities, past, present and future possibilities.

The 14th International Architecture Exhibition is open to the public until November 23 with tickets starting from €22 (US$ 30) per person.

For those who don't have a trip to Venice planned any time soon, you can get a taste of the architectural mastery currently gracing the Venice pavilions by checking out this photo journal skilfully captured for Gizmag by Italian Art Director Edoardo Campanale.

iPhone 6 Plus vs. iPhone 6, 5s and 5c

Gizmag compares the features and specs of the four iPhones you can buy today

For the next year, Apple will be selling four different iPhones. Maybe you're thinking about upgrading and wondering which one is best for you? Let Gizmag lend a hand, as we compare the features and specs of the four iPhones you can buy today.

Before we jump in, here's the list of iPhones that Apple is currently serving up:

• iPhone 6 Plus
• iPhone 6
• iPhone 5s
• iPhone 5c

For each category, you'll see two rows of images. The iPhones will be ordered exactly as they are in this list, so, if you lose track of which is which, you can just scroll back up here.

Size

The iPhone 6 Plus, Apple's first phablet, towers over both its sibling and its predecessors. It's 15 percent taller than the iPhone 6, and 27 percent taller than the 5s and 5c.

If enormous phablets aren't your thing, then the iPhone 6 might provide the middle-ground you're looking for. It's 11 percent taller than last year's 5s and 5c.

The iPhone 6 is also the thinnest iPhone to date. It's just 3 percent thinner than the 6 Plus, but 9 percent thinner than the already svelte iPhone 5s.

Weight

The 5s is by far the lightest in this bunch, but the iPhones 6 and 6 Plus are still relatively light for their respective sizes.

Build

Most modern Apple devices have aluminum unibody designs, and three of these four fit that bill. The iPhones 6 and 6 Plus are especially striking, with their front panels sloping off into rounded edges.

The iPhone 5c was designed to be a slightly cheaper alternative to the iPhone 5s – marrying the guts of the iPhone 5 to a colorful plastic casing. The 5c doesn't have the same top-of-the-line feel of its aluminum cousins, but it is eye-catching and smooth to touch. If nothing else, it's the spunkiest iPhone to date.

Colors

Three of the four iPhones are offered in the same silver, gold and space gray options (though the tones are a little different on the new models).

The space gray versions have black fronts, while the silver and gold variants have white fronts.

The 5c lets you choose from five pastel-colored backsides. They all have black fronts.

Display (size)

Do you need to own both a phone and a tablet? Well, with the iPhone 6 Plus' huge 5.5-in screen, you might not. If you ever wished you could replace your iPhone and iPad with one Apple device, this is it.

The iPhone 6's 4.7-inch display, though, gives you a nice screen size without leaving such a sizable impression in your hand or pocket. It's easier to hold, but still gives you 38 percent more screen than the 5s and 5c do.

Display (resolution)

On paper, the resolutions of the two iPhone 6 models blend in with a crowd of recent Android flagships. But in experience, they do anything but.

Both have terrific contrast, as well as color range and accuracy. They may not have Quad HD resolution, but, based on our hands-on time with them, they don't need to.

And though the 6 Plus packs the pixels in denser than the 6 does, my eyes didn't notice much of a difference in crispness. The bottom line? They both look terrific.

The 5s and 5c have the same pixel density as the iPhone 6, but I wouldn't put their screens in the same class.

Display (contrast)

This is a big reason for the boost in screen quality with the 6 and 6 Plus, with the new models giving you much better contrast.

Note that these are what Apple lists as the "typical" contrasts for each display.

Fingerprint sensor

All but the 5c include Apple's excellent Touch ID fingerprint sensor, which is integrated into the home button.

Until recently, Touch ID only let you unlock your phone and authorize iTunes purchases. But with iOS 8, third-party apps can now use Touch ID. Password manager apps like 1Password, Dashlane and LastPass make for an especially great fit.

 Pay

Starting in October, Apple Pay (sometimes branded as  Pay) will let you pay at participating retailers (including McDonald's, Subway, Toys "R" Us and, of course, the Apple Store) by simply holding your iPhone near an Apple Pay terminal. Apple says that the retailer never sees your credit card number, a unique ID is encrypted and stored on the phone's secure element and the numbers are never sent to Apple's servers.

When Apple Pay launches, only the two new iPhones will be (directly) compatible. That's because they're the only two with NFC chips inside – a necessary component for the tap-and-pay service.

The iPhones 5s and 5c (along with the retired iPhone 5) will be indirectly compatible with Apple Pay – but you'll need a paired Apple Watch to make that happen.

 Watch compatibility

Speaking of the Apple Watch, all four of the currently available iPhones will play nicely with the upcoming smartwatch.

Camera (megapixels)

Here's another example of numbers on paper not reflecting experience (that's often the case with megapixels). The two iPhone 6 models have terrific cameras, shooting quickly and offering good quality even in lower-lit conditions.

Camera (aperture)

One reason for that is that the iPhone 6 Plus, 6 and 5s have slightly wider apertures.

Dual LED flash

Branded "True Tone" by Apple, the 5s, 6 and 6 Plus have dual-LED flashes. They help to give flash shots a more even and colorful (less whitewashed and blasted) appearance.

OIS

Apart from size, this is one of the only differences between the 6 and 6 Plus. The Plus helps to cut down on the effects of shaky hands by throwing in some Optical Image Stabilization (OIS).

HD video recording

The two iPhone 6 models can record 1080p video at 60 frames per second (fps), though they're set to 30 fps by default.

Slow motion video

Three of the four iPhones also let you record slow-motion video. The two iPhone 6 models, however, record at a higher frame rate than the 5s does.

Battery

Battery capacity only tells you so much – especially when you're looking at different processors and pixel counts. But when we reviewed these four phones, the 6 and 6 Plus outlasted their older counterparts in our streaming test.

Cable

This marks the first time that Apple has completely done away with iPhones that use the old 30-pin connector for data transfers and charging. All four of these use Apple's newer, smaller and reversible Lightning cable.

LTE

With the retirement of the iPhone 4s, this is also the first time that all of the available iPhones support speedy LTE data.

Storage

These are the storage options that are available today. The 5s and 5c, though, were originally available in higher storage tiers that Apple has since retired.

Processor

You can't draw any conclusions about the performance of Apple's chips based on cores and clock speed. On paper, they all look rather mid-ranged (apart from their desktop-like 64-bit architecture).

But in terms of experience, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus' A8 chip combines with iOS 8 to deliver one of the smoothest experiences I've seen on any mobile device.

RAM

Ditto for RAM, though this does reveal itself a bit when you return to backgrounded apps and browser tabs. They need to reload a bit more often than on some of their Android rivals.

Motion coprocessor

The 6 Plus, 6 and 5s each include a motion coprocessor (either M8 or M7), which lets third-party apps "passively" track your movement in the background.

When you're using this feature, battery life can take a noticeable hit, but it's minor compared to the drop in uptimes you'd see when tracking all-day steps on other phones.

One-handed mode

Apple threw in a one-handed feature called "Reachability" that makes it easier to use the newer iPhones with one hand. By lightly tapping their Touch ID sensors two times, the top of the screen slides down to the bottom. You can then tap anything that's out of reach, and double-tap the sensor again to slide things back up.

SIM card size

With the iPhone 4s now living in the Shady Pines Retirement Home for iPhones, Apple also did away with the last iPhone to use a micro-SIM. All four current models use the tiny nano-SIM standard.

Power button location

Apple moved the power/sleep button to the side (upper right) of the two iPhone 6 models. On every previous iPhone (including the 5s and 5c), the button had been on the right side of the top edge.

Software

None of the current models got left behind with Apple's latest software. All four run iOS 8, which brings goodies like third-party keyboards, Notification Center widgets, faster Siri and app extensions.

Release date

None of these iPhones are more than a year old, though the iPhone 5c is essentially the two-year-old iPhone 5 dressed in plastic, pastel-colored clothing.

Starting price (full retail)

The 6 Plus has the most expensive starting price we've seen from any iPhone. Considering how much bigger its screen is, that shouldn't be too surprising.

Starting price (on-contract)

If you're buying your iPhone subsidized with a two-year contract, then their starting prices line up in the same descending order. Just remember that the upfront price is small potatoes compared to what you'll fork over during the next two years.

More

For a closer look at each model, you can check out Gizmag's full reviews of the current crop of iPhones:

• iPhone 6 Plus review
• iPhone 6 review
• iPhone 5s review
• iPhone 5c review

Do you have any buying tips based on your experience with these iPhones? Or maybe you've upgraded to one of the new models, and have some thoughts on how it compares to older ones? Why not drop us a line in the comments below.