I often dread the odd years for Apple launches - the iPhone 3GS, 4S and 5S have all been rather dull compared to the phones that sat either side of them.
That’s because there’s usually very little difference in the S models from their predecessors, thus making it hard to get excited.
This time around it’s a little different: the iPhone 6S is both a great upgrade from those’stuck’ on a 5S, and a decent phone in its own right. If you’re ready for an upgrade from the old design and are desperate to stick with Apple then this is a great handset to go for.
Design
The same stick that some use to beat iPhone fans still exists: yes, visually this is almost identical to last year’s redesigned iPhone 6, with the same ceramic metal feel and slightly protruding camera that means you can place it side by side with the iPhone 6 and not really notice the difference.
The only marginal change is the additional thickness, very likely to facilitate the new 3D Touch technology on the screen.
Compared to other phones on the market the iPhone 6S still manages to mix that feeling of premium build with a light and thin phone - it’s a joy to hold.
Apple’s nod to the improved build with reinforced 7000 series aluminium is clearly a direct result of the iPhone 6’s’Bendgate’, where the phone was slightly prone to changing shape if pressure was applied. While Apple doesn’t need sympathy, it was still a bit harsh that it got singled out for this issue when many other handsets could also bend if you tried.
Either way it’s now much less prone to changing shape even in the back pocket. Pro tip for all phone owners: don’t apply force to the expensive object in your pocket, mmmkay?
3D Touch but old screen
Now onto the biggest change for the iPhone 6S, 3D Touch. This changes everything for Apple users, and while it’s not enough of a reason to upgrade from the 6, it’s a pretty nifty trick that again promises to make current iPhone 5S owners feel like they’re getting a real upgrade with their new phone.
The main difference 3D Touch brings is the ability to interact with on-screen instructions in different ways. It’s too early to delve into all the ways that the new power will work, but the system( for those that haven’t seen an Apple Watch or the new Macbook) is simple: you can tap like before, but press a bit harder on an icon or message and you’ll get a new menu popping up.
Imagine it’s like right-clicking the mouse to get a secondary menu, and you’re pretty much there. It’s a cool new feature, although one that app developers will need to work with for a while to really get the best out of.
The iPhone 6S screen, new touchy-powers aside, is pretty much identical to the one seen on the iPhone 6. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. while it’s true that Apple has one of the lowest-res screens of all the flagship phones, the way it’s displayed( laminated to the glass, highly colorful) makes it still look beautiful
Camera
The expected upgrade from the iPhone 6’s camera has arrived: the iPhone 6S has a 12MP snapper and it looks like it’ll deliver in spades. The need to jump in megapixels was rarely warranted for a brand beyond the need to impress consumers with higher numbers, but this year things are starting to jump forward.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 is taking stunning photos with a 16MP option, and Sony’s Xperia Z5, packing a 23MP sensor and super fast autofocus, actually uses those additional pixels to good use. Apple needed to keep up.
While I’ve only tested the new camera briefly, there’s no doubt that it’s an upgrade. It still retains the speed of snapping I’ve come to expect from an iPhone while the clarity is there to see too.
The usual feature set - which is actually pretty useful - is also still present, with time lapse and slo-mo both present and correct. Apple still hasn’t fixed the most annoying part of the camera( sliding the finger up and down to change the exposure as the only way of altering the p