It's January of 2012 and I'm in Las Vegas to cover the annual Consumer Electronics Show. I'm stuck in traffic with a colleague of mine when our taxi driver points to an advertisement for a new smartphone and asks if we know anything about it.

Beautiful, bright and color-accurate HD display; A8 SoC performs on par or faster than competing chips; Improvements to the camera hardware and battery life; Finally makes iOS an option for anyone interested in a phablet; Thin body and the tapered edges of the front panel glass look stunning

Protruding camera lens takes away from the overall design; Few iOS apps are optimized for the new form factor (though this will change over time); Price -- Apple added a new 'premium' tier to the iPhone lineup

Apple's 5.5in giant isn't for everyone, but for some it may prove the perfect mid-point between an iPad and iPhone

Apple's 5.5in giant isn't for everyone, but for some the iPhone 6 Plus may be the perfect midpoint between an iPad and iPhone. Read the review.

The iPhone 6 Plus is perhaps the iPhone as a phablet. But the iPhone 6 is better being an iPhone. As with all things Apple, though it may not matter for most people taking a glimpse at the iPhone 6 Plus, because the 6 Plus is simpler.

Excellent camera, especially in low light; Super premium feel, and easy to use OS

It's really big; Phone calling performance is just okay

That Apple makes superlative smartphones is nothing new; the Cupertino-based company has set the gold standard for mobile design ever since it debuted the iPhone in 2007. But in the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple is walking a path it's never trodden before.

This is the most capable iPhone ever made; It blew away the competition in our benchmark tests, its battery lasts forever, and its camera sets a new standard for excellence

Thanks to a thick bezel; the phone is bigger than other devices with comparable; 5.5-inch screens.

But using a smartphone with a huge screen, like the iPhone 6 Plus, forces you to constantly consider the size of your hands.

Beautiful display; Terrific camera; Great battery life

Probably needs a case; iOS can be glitchy; Apps need to be updated to take better advantage of the display; Seriously; what is this paste icon on the landscape keyboard

This year, Apple has launched almost -- but not quite -- identical handsets apart from the screen size. We've already evaluated Apple's new 4.7-inch iPhone 6 , and now it's the turn of the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus.

Elegant slimline chassis with 5.5-inch screen; Solid build quality; Performance boost over iPhone 5s; Good battery life; Optical image stabilisation on iSight camera

Some users will find the large screen hard to navigate; Expensive; No storage expansion; No NFC-enabled Apple Pay support outside the US

If you've avoided previous iPhones because of their diminutive stature, take another look. The iPhone 6 Plus feels smoother than any other phone, sports a top-notch camera, and has the best app selection.

Industry-leading design; build quality; Reachability feature makes size manageable; Fantastic camera; iOS 8 remains a fluid; beautiful OS; Large battery

16GB storage on base model is not enough; Large size is too big for some hands; Specs aren't much better than iPhone 5S; No water resistance

I've owned a lot of Android phones and two iPhone 6s. I am also responsible for my daughters' iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s. ALL iPHONES ARE ALL PIECES OF JUNK. My Android phones had a few minor issues here and there, but nothing like the iPhones running iOS 7 and 8.

sleek; good looks

bug-ridden OS; Apple holier-than-thou service; expensive

Is Apple's first step into the phablet fray a success? Let's find out. We've already covered iOS 8 in its own review here , and having the same A8 and M8 processors as the iPhone 6 means performance from the Plus is pretty much identical.

Premium look and feel; Gorgeous display; Fast and powerful

Very big and sometimes difficult to hold; iOS 8 does little to take advantage of extra space; Expensive; No stylus support