Apple has now launched the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus with a raft of new technologies and features
It always seems like a very long wait for the Apple iPhone launch. Maybe because it’s in the tail-end of the year, or maybe it’s because these days the rumours for the next model start immediately after the announcement of the latest one. Actually, scratch that, these days it’s even more thorough – the rumours now start even earlier; for example, we’ve been hearing about the iPhone 7 for a few months ahead of the iPhone 6s launch!
After many months of waiting and watching the rumour mill Apple has now finally revealed the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to the world. Once again, however, the rumour mill has proven so thorough and efficient that most of the new features were already known about well in advance – there arent too many surprises here!
If you’re wondering whether or not the iPhone 6s is all it’s cracked up to be you might want to check out our iPhone 6s & iPhone 6s Plus Review Round-Up: What’s The Early Verdict article which pulls together a bunch of early verdicts on the phones from a bunch of national newspapers and trusted Apple news sources. Beyond this, we also have an in depth look at 12 of iOS 9’s Best Hidden Features as well as an update on what you can expect from iOS 9.1, which is due out later this year alongside the iPad Pro.
iPhone 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus vs iPhone 6s vs iPhone 6s Plus
If you’re interested in seeing how the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus compare to last year’s model at a glance, you’re best off having a butchers at the table below, which covers off everything from specs and hardware to price and memory.
As always: the iPhone 6s is a refinement of what came before. Not a complete overhaul. It takes what the iPhone 6s had and tweaks it slightly, refining the experience and core features and attributes. Force Touch is the biggest change you will experience between the two handsets, however, as well as the increased processing grunt thanks to its new A9 chipset and 2GB of memory.
Features
Apple iPhone 6
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
Apple iPhone 6S
Apple iPhone 6S Plus
Connectivity
2G,3G,4G LTE,Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
2G,3G,4G LTE,Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
2G,3G,4G LTE,Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
2G,3G,4G LTE,Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
Special:
Wi-Fi direct, Wi-Fi hotspot
2G,3G,4G LTE,Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
Wi-Fi direct, Wi-Fi hotspot
Wi-Fi direct, Wi-Fi hotspot
Dimension:
138.1 x 67 x 6.9 mm
158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm
138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm
158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm
Weight
129g
172 g
143 g
192 g
CPU:
Dual-core 1.4 GHz Cyclone
Dual-core 1.4 GHz Cyclone
Dual Core Processor 2.2 GHz:
Dual Core Processor 2 GHz:
Chipset : Apple A8 ,64-bit Architecture
Chipset : Apple A8 ,64-bit Architecture
Apple A9 3rd Gen 64-bit
Apple A9, 3rd Gen , 64-bit
RAM
1GB
1GB
2GB
2GB
Memory
Internal: 16/64/128GB Expandable :NO
Internal: 16/64/128GB Expandable :NO
Internal: 16/64GB/128GB Expandable :NO
Internal: 16/64GB/128GB Expandable : NO
Display
4.7 inch, Retina HD Display , with capacitive panel and with around 326 ppi (pixel Density )
5.5 inch, Retina HD Display , with capacitive panel and with around 326 ppi (pixel Density )
4.7 LED Backlit IPS display,Capacitive touch , 326ppi with 3D touch to Zoom
5.5 LED Backlit IPS display,Capacitive touch , 401ppi along with 3D touch to zoom
Camera (primary)
8MP,,auto focus ,LED flash
8MP,auto focus ,LED flash
12MP, autofocus ,LED Flash
12MP, autofocus ,LED Flash
Camera(Secondary)
1.2MP
1.2MP
5MP
5MP
Operating System
Apple iOS 8
Apple iOS 8
Apple iOS 9.0
Apple iOS 9.0
Battery
1810mAh( Non- Removable)
2915mAh( Non- Removable)
1810mAh( Non Removable )
2915mAh( Non Removable )
Launch Date
Sep-14
Sep-14
Launched :9 September 2015
Launched :9 September 2015
Release Date
Sep-14
Sep-14
Launched :25 September 2015, In India it will be launched later
Launched :25 September 2015, In India it will be launched later
Price/Cost
US $199 at contracted price for 2 Years (16GB model)
US $299 at contracted price for 2 Years (16GB model)
Same as that of iPhone 6
Same as that of iPhone 6S Plus
Apple fired out a quick update this morning (Sept. 24) aimed at squashing a few bugs present in its iOS 9 software. The update is now rolling out and is a fairly minor affair which fixes the following issues:
Fixes an issue where some users could not complete setup assistant after updating
Fixes an issue where sometimes alarms and timers could fail to play
Fixes an issue in Safari and Photos where pausing video could cause the paused frame to appear distorted
Fixes an issue where some users with a custom APN setup via a profile would lose cellular data.
This year’s “iPhone Event” was HUGE. Apple held it at a 7,000 seater venue in San Francisco and launched a bunch of stuff, including a brand new Apple TV and the iPad Pro. All in all this was one of the biggest launches I’ve ever seen from Apple; usually the company likes to keep things focussed on one or two things. This time, however, it just went straight for it releasing three new products, as well as some updates to the Apple Watch. All in one evening!
As expected, the overall design of both the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus closely resembles the existing iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus and most of the changes are internal or software based. However, with that said one rumour we weren’t too sure of did prove correct and there is indeed a new rose gold colour variant joining the existing selection of gold, space grey, and silver options. Apple also says the 7000 series aircraft grade aluminium alloy is a new and improved version of what came before – so no more bendgate then?
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Apple revealed the new models in its typically slogan-based fashion.
“The only thing that has changed with iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus is everything,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. That’s more than one “thing”, Phil.
“3D Touch lets users interact with iPhone in entirely new and fun ways, and the innovative Live Photos brings your pictures to life,” he added, “These are the most advanced iPhones ever, with 7000 series aluminium, ion-strengthened glass, the new 64-bit A9 chip, 12-megapixel iSight and 5-megapixel FaceTime HD cameras, faster Touch ID, LTE and Wi-Fi. Customers are going to love them.”
iPhone 6s & iPhone 6s Plus Release Date & Price
“Apple claims demand for its new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus could surpass the record-breaking sales of iPhone 6 last year, as the newest versions of the firm’s smartphones go on sale in the UK,”notes The Guardian. “The launch, which started at 8am in the UK, marks the beginning of a busy autumn for the technology firm, which also announced a new, larger iPad set to be released in November.”
Apple already revealed pre-order pricing which you can see on its web store. The 4.7in iPhone 6s starts at £539 for the 16GB model and goes up to £619 and £699 for the 64GB and 128GB respectively. The larger 5.5in iPhone 6s Plus starts at £619 for the 16GB setup and goes up to £699 and £789 for the two higher storage models. Both handsets are available in space grey, silver, gold, or the new rose gold colour variants.
Analysts expect a record 12 million to 13 million phones to fly off the shelves in the first weekend, up from more than 10 million last year when the hugely successful iPhone 6’s launch was delayed in China, the world’s biggest smartphone market.
Analysts are predicting a HUGE opening weekend for Apple’s iPhone 6s. Early reports suggest Apple could shift anywhere between 11 and 13 million units over the weekend and while we’ve yet to see any solid numbers from the company, analysts are confident sales will exceed last year’s already very impressive iPhone 6 numbers.
“If Apple does end up selling 13 million iPhones this weekend,” says BGR, “it would represent a huge success while also indicating that iPhone demand is stronger than ever before. For some added context, the iPhone 6 sold 10 million units during its opening sales weekend while initial iPhone 5s sales topped 9 million. Put differently, a 13 million sales weekend would represent an incredible 30% increase in sales year over year.”
Apple DID Sell 13+ Million iPhones
Apple today announced it has sold more than 13 million new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models, a new record, just three days after launch. iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will be available in more than 40 additional countries beginning October 9 including Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain and Taiwan. The new iPhones will be available in over 130 countries by the end of the year.
“Sales for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have been phenomenal, blowing past any previous first weekend sales results in Apple’s history,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Customers’ feedback is incredible and they are loving 3D Touch and Live Photos, and we can’t wait to bring iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to customers in even more countries on October 9.”
UK network EE has now announced its contract details, which will also become live from September 25. New and existing customers can get hold of the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s on the EE Extra Plan. The starting price is…wait for it…£50 per month.
That’s for the 16GB iPhone 6s, specifically, with a £50 up-front fee as part of a 24-month contract with 4GB of mobile data per month.
The same deal for the 16GB iPhone 6s Plus starts with a £70 upfront price and a monthly subscription fee of £55, this nets you 10GB of data per month, however.
Apple has begun notifying pre-order customers that devices are now shipping for the September 25 release date. The firm also announced that this date will see the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus sales go live in Apple retail stores.
“Customer response to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus has been incredibly positive, we can’t wait to get our most advanced iPhones ever into customers’ hands starting this Friday,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iOS 9 is also off to an amazing start, on pace to be downloaded by more users than any other software release in Apple’s history.”
In a statement, Apple said:
Both models will be available at 8:00 a.m. local time on Friday, September 25 in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the UK and the US with a range of financing plans and payment options from Apple.com/uk, Apple’s retail stores, through select carriers and Apple Authorised Resellers.
iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will be available in gold, silver, space grey and the new rose gold metallic finishes. iPhone 6s will be available in the UK for a suggested retail price of £539 for the 16GB model, £619 for the 64GB model and £699 for the 128GB model. iPhone 6s Plus will be available for a suggested retail price of £619 for the 16GB model, £699 for the 64GB model and £789 for the 128GB model. All prices include VAT.
Beginning September 26, customers will be able to visit Apple.com/uk to reserve their iPhone for pick-up at their local Apple Store, based on availability. Most Apple stores will also have iPhone available for walk-in customers each day.
Apple-designed accessories including leather and silicone cases in a range of colours and Lightning Docks in colour-matched metallic finishes will also be available.
Every customer who buys an iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus at an Apple Retail Store will be offered free Personal Setup to help them customise their iPhone by setting up email, showing them new apps from the App Store and more, so they’ll be up and running with their new iPhone before they leave the store.
Anyone who wants to learn more about the new iPhones or iOS 9 can register for the free workshops offered at every Apple store.
iPhone 6s & iPhone 6s Specs: Did Apple Do Enough?
I’m a current iPhone user and while it would have been nice to see some changes to the design of the phone itself, I am happy with the changes Apple has made. Imaging. Battery life. Force Touch. Granted, they’re not HUGE shifts in the way things work, but each will have a positive knock on effect on how I interact with my iPhone.
Also, we CANNOT confuse Apple with an Android manufacturer, either. Apple is Apple and it does things its own way; people seem to like the way it does things, sort of like Radiohead — whatever they put out, good or bad, people lap it up. And this is the kind of cult-following you simply cannot buy and it is also why Apple’s new releases are planned to the finest detail and never rock the boat too much.
What is kind of disappointing, though, is that Apple hasn’t upped the display resolution on either handset. The iPhone 6s has the same 720p resolution as the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6s Plus remains at 1080p. Hardcore iPhone users will not mind this so much, but anyone switching over from Android might notice quite a different — QHD has been the norm for topflight Android handsets for the best part of 18 months now.
The BIG changes to display resolution will happen next year with the iPhone 7. This is kind of par for the course with Apple, though, as the iPhone 6 Plus was the first instance Apple embraced Full HD visuals on its handsets, leaving the iPhone 6 with the same resolution as the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5 and iPhone 4/4s before it. But as I said earlier, Apple isn’t too concerned about being on the bleeding-edge of spec and hardware; instead, the company’s philosophy looks to refine and augment existing experiences based on natural changes to how the handset operates, favouring things like Force Torch over arbitrary bumps to display resolution.
One of the BIG features here is the display tech, and not so much when it comes to the size, resolution and image quality either; that remains as an IPS Retina 4.7in and 5.5in panel for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus respectively, and the same 1335x720p and 1920x1080p resolutions. However, the key feature here is the touch-sensitive layering underneath, the Force Touch technology brought across from the Apple Watch and here branded as 3D Touch. Essentially it allows you to perform specific actions in different parts of the UI by altering the pressure of a finger press. Apple has a few specific features explained:
“Peek and Pop — so you can dip in and out of content without losing your place. Press lightly to Peek at a photo, email, web page or other content, and press a little deeper to Pop into the content itself. With Quick Actions, 3D Touch provides shortcuts to the things you do most, so you can send a message or take a selfie with just a simple press from the Home screen.”
The screens also now use Ion-X reinforced glass – tougher than Sapphire Glass.
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The two other big updates are the processor and camera. The iSight camera is now a 12MP sensor with optical image stabilisation and 4K capture, as well as a new image signal processor. There’s also a new capture functionality called Live Photos which essentially allow you to capture a picture and video in one, you can use a 3D Touch press to activate the stored video sequence before and after the still image to watch it come to life.
“Apple has met expectations and kept up the momentum on the iPhone 6, by far the most successful phone in its history,” said Will Jones, Head of Buying Communication Technology, John Lewis, “by launching the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus on iOS 9. At John Lewis we receive many customer requests for the latest mobile technology, so we can imagine demand for the two new handsets in Silver, Gold, Space Grey and Rose Gold will be extremely high. Attractive new features such as 3D Touch, 4K video, Live photos, 5MP FaceTime HD with Retina Flash and the new 12MP iSight Camera with 50% more pixels and Auto Focus will be key draws for customers seeking high quality image capabilities.”
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Meanwhile, the processor is a new Apple A9 chipset, a third-gen 64-bit chip with support for 23 LTE bands. It uses new transistor technology to allow for 90% improvement in graphics processing and a 70% improvement in general performance from the last-gen A8. Apple promises performance that beats desktop computers and games consoles respectively. There’s also a new M9 motion co-processor and a second-gen TouchID scanner.
Word has now emerged the day after Apple’s launch (September 10) that the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus feature 2GB of RAM onboard. Typically Apple doesn’t mention RAM specs at its launch events and people have to discover these details for themselves – but this year an Apple Support employee has reportedly dished the dirt. The word comes via a user posting on Reddit, who contacted Apple support to unearth the details.
One of the primary features of every iPhone upgrade is the CPU inside. Known as the A-series chipset, it is a chipset designed in part by Apple to enable all the parts of the iPhone’s hardware and software to work better together. Because of each A-series chip’s design, Apple can eek out incredible performance and power efficiency at the same time.
Apple has employed Samsung’s expertise once again to manufacture its A9 chipset. Prior to this Apple had been experimenting with different OEMS, TSMC for one. Samsung has spent a bunch of cash (literally BILLIONS) on its chip-manufacturing plants during the past 12 months, pushing it ahead of the competition and forcing Apple to swallow its pride and rekindle its partnership with its arch nemesis.
“Samsung is reportedly producing the chips with its advanced 14-nanometer process, which has outpaced TSMC’s capabilities and results in smaller chips that consume less energy and provide more processing power,” reports Mac Rumors. “The Korean company is also said to be providing memory chips for Apple’s next-generation devices.”
With the iPhone 4 Apple introduced the A4–the first of the A-series chips–and ever since then Apple has been introducing a new A-series chip usually twice a year. Why twice? Because it introduces an A# series chip for each new iPhone and then introduces a stronger version of that A# series chip, designated the A#X (so, for example, the A8X) for the iPad.
The A# series and the A#X series usually differ by their processing power. The A#X chips are more powerful since they need to go into the iPad, which has more processing needs since its screen is much larger. The regular A# series chips are usually more power efficient–and less powerful than their cousins–because they need to fit inside the smaller iPhone with smaller batteries.