IPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones

I’ve not had the phones long enough to test all their features or Apple’s claims about them, but I’ve used them long enough to get some strong first impressions.

The most obvious difference between the new iPhones and their predecessors is, of course, the size of their screens. The iPhone 6 has a 4.7-inch display, which is about 38 percent larger than that in the iPhone 5. The iPhone 6 Plus, meanwhile, has a 5.5-inch display, which is about 88 percent bigger than last year’s model.

The new displays put the iPhones more or less in line with their Android rivals, such as Samsung’s Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 4, and allow them to much more easily display text, photos and videos. Reading documents and emails on the new models was a joy compared to reading them on my iPhone 5s.

Apple has tweaked iOS 8 to take advantage of the extralarge screen on the 6 Plus. When users rotate the device so it’s positioned horizontally, iOS will rotate the home screen, too. Inside particular apps, iOS will split the screen to show more information. In the Mail app, for example, users can see both the list of messages in their inbox and the full text of a particular message.

These are tricks Apple borrowed from the iPad, and they work well on the new phone.

In addition to their bigger screens, the new phones offer a revamped design, with edges that curve right into the glass of their displays. And the new devices are actually

Big new screens; thin, lightweight designs; longer battery life, particularly on the 6 Plus; splitscreen viewing in iPhone 6 Plus; much faster autofocus in camera; faster processors and wireless radios.

iPhone 6 Plus is too big to hold easily and comfortably in one average-size hand; one key new feature — Apple Pay — won’t work until next month; entry-level thinner than their predecessors, helping keep their overall size down.

I’m not a big fan of jumbo devices, so the iPhone 6 Plus still feels too big in my hands. But thanks in part to its svelte shape, the regular iPhone 6 feels like it is just about the right size.

The other significant advantage of a larger phone is that it provides room for a higher-capacity battery. Apple says that the iPhone 6 will provide up to 14 hours of talk time and the iPhone 6 Plus up to 24 hours, compared to 10 hours on the iPhone 5s. I didn’t get a chance to verify that, but the iPhone 6 Plus did last through all my tests without needing to recharge, despite not starting with a full battery.

The other big feature that sets the new models apart from their predecessors is the ability to make wireless payments models have too little storage space.

64-bit dual-core processors; 4.7-inch, 1334 x 750 pixel screen (on the iPhone 6); 5.5-inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel screen on (on the 6 Plus); 1.2-megapixel front and 8-megapixel rear cameras.

For iPhone 6 with a two-year contract: $200 for 16-gigabyte, $300 for 64-gigabyte and $400 for 128-gigabyte models. For iPhone 6 Plus, $300 for 16-gigabyte, $400 for 64-gigabyte and $500 for 128gigabyte models. with the new Apple Pay service. Borrowing yet another page from its Android rivals, Apple has included in the new devices a near-field communications antenna, which is the standard method for such payments. At special registers, users will be able to pay for items with their credit or debit accounts by merely pointing their phones at them and touching the phone’s fingerprint sensors.

Unfortunately, early adopters won’t be able to use the new feature because Apple isn’t slated to turn on Apple Pay until sometime next month.

Apple also has upgraded the camera system on the new phones. One of their most impressive features is a superfast new autofocus system. The camera appears to take about half as much time to focus on subjects as that in the iPhone 5s and can switch nearly instantaneously from macro to distance shots and back again. The feature is particularly noticeable when shooting video, as it continuously and quickly adjusts the focus without the need for users to tap on the screen.

The new phones also will shoot regular video at up to 60 frames per second and slow-motion video at up to 240 frames per second — up from 30 and 120 per second, respectively, in the iPhone 5s — offering amazing new views of fast action. Both also offer enhanced image stabilization, which is supposed to help reduce jerkiness in videos and compensate for fastmoving subjects in pictures. However, I wasn’t able to tell much of a difference over last year’s phone.

Many of the new phones’ other features are less noticeable but likely will improve your experience with them. They have significantly faster processors and support faster data rates over both Wi-Fi and cellular networks. They also support Voice over LTE, a new standard for making voice calls that will finally allow users of Verizon and Sprint iPhones to surf the Internet while talking on the phone.

I liked what I saw of the new iPhones — particularly the regular iPhone 6. Big screens may be old hat for Android users, but I think they’re going to be a welcome change for iPhone fans.

Troy Wolverton is a technology columnist for the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News.