All the Hardware Features of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Explained

There are all sorts of buttons, switches, and ports on the outside of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus series phones. Experienced iPhone users will recognize many of them — though one familiar and crucial button has been moved to a new location on these models. This diagram shows you what the iPhone 6 buttons and ports are used for.

Other than their screen size, physical size, and thickness, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus phones are virtually identical. They have the same buttons and ports.

1. Home Button

Because it's used for so many things, this is probably the button pressed most often by iPhone users. The iPhone 6 Home button has the Touch ID fingerprint scanner built into it for unlocking the phone and making purchases with ApplePay. The button is also used to return to the home screen, access multitasking and favorites, quit apps, take screenshots, and reset the phone.

2. User-Facing Camera

This 1.2-megapixel camera is used for taking selfies and for FaceTime chats. It also records video at 720p HD resolution. While it can take photos and videos, this camera doesn't offer the same image quality as the back camera and lacks features like slow-motion video, time-lapse photos, and taking photos while recording video.

3. Speaker

When you hold the iPhone to your ear for phone calls, this is the speaker through which you hear the person you're speaking to.

4. Back Camera

This is the primary camera on the iPhone 6 series. It takes 8-megapixel photos and records video at 1080p HD. It captures time-lapse and burst photos. It also records slow-motion video at 120 and 240 frames per second (normal video is 30 frames/second). On the iPhone 6 Plus, this camera includes optical image stabilization, a hardware feature that delivers higher-quality pictures by reducing the effect of hand movement. The iPhone 6 uses digital image stabilization, which attempts to replicate hardware stabilization using software.

5. Microphone

When you're recording video, this microphone captures the sound that goes along with the video.

6. Camera Flash

The camera flash provides more light for photos and videos. Both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus use the dual-flash system introduced on the iPhone 5S. Having two flashes instead of one delivers better color accuracy and photo quality. This can also light up when you have notifications.

7. Antenna

The lines across the top and bottom of the back of the phone, as well as on the sides of the phone, are the antenna that connect to cellular phone networks to place calls, send texts, and use wireless internet on 4G LTE networks.

8. Headphone Jack

Headphones of all kinds, including the EarPods that come with the iPhone, are plugged into this 3.5-mm jack on the bottom of the iPhone 6 series. Some accessories, such as car FM transmitters, also connect using the headphone jack.

9. Lightning Port

This next-generation dock connector port (first introduced with the iPhone 5) charges the iPhone, syncs to a computer, and connects to some car stereo systems and speaker docks, as well as other accessories.

10. Bottom Speaker

The speaker on the bottom of the iPhone 6 series is where ringtones play when a call comes in. It's also the speaker that is used for talking on speaker phone, as well as playing audio for games, movies, music, etc. (assuming that audio isn't being sent to headphones or an accessory like a speaker).

11. Mute Switch

Put the iPhone into silent mode using this switch. Push the switch down (toward the back of the phone) and ringtones and alert tones will be silenced until the switch is moved back to the "on" position.

12. Volume Up/Down Buttons

Raise and lower the volume of the ringer, music, or other audio playback with these buttons on the iPhone 6. Volume can also be controlled using in-line remotes on headphones or from within apps (where available).

13. Side (On/Off/Lock) Button

This is a major change from earlier iPhone hardware layouts and was introduced in the iPhone 6 series. This button used to be on the top of the iPhone, but it's been moved to the side thanks to the larger size of the 6 series, which would make it difficult to reach for many users. The Side button is used to put the iPhone to sleep/lock the screen, to wake it up, and to take screenshots. Reset frozen iPhones using this button and the Home button.