Two weeks into using the new iPhone and I believe I have a good feel for the thing. You’ve undoubtedly already read the definitive( read: long) reviewsof the device, so I’m going for a few key points in 500-ish words.
A year ago, after going back-and-forth as to whether to get the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, this time around, with that year of usage under my belt, the decision seemed easy. I went with the iPhone 6s Plus. The rationale is simple: bigger battery. That continues to trump all for me.
I do still prefer the form factor of the smaller iPhone?—?it’s both easier to fit in your pocket and easier to use with one hand?—?but it’s definitely nice to have the larger screen if you do a lot of reading. The slightly better camera( optical image stabilization) continues not really to matter to me in practical usage. But still, another nice-to-have.
Anyway, the absolute key of the new device has feature parity across both sizes: 3D Touch. In my mind, this is easily the best new feature Apple has launched in quite some time in an “s” model of iPhone. And, as more developers implement it, I have a feeling I’m going to upgrade it to best new feature Apple has launched in quite some time, period.( As predicted.)
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It’s one of those things that seems trivial on paper?—?“wow, Apple invented the right-click”?—?but in practice it’s brilliant. It both literally and virtually gives a new layer to apps. While everyone was busy clamoring for Apple to do widgets or the like for iOS, they went out and created something much more useful. It’s two-click access to key parts of apps. And this, in turn, makes a number of apps decidedly more useful because it makes them both more straightforward and faster.
There’s been a lot of talk in the past couple of years about the great “un-bundling” of apps. That is, big, bloated apps that spin off certain features into their own apps. For some massive services, like Facebook, this makes sense. For the vast majority of apps, this makes no sense. It’s hard enough to get people to download one app, let alone two or three. Instead, what these developers should do is utilize 3D Touch to create one-touch access to certain functionality. Brilliant OS-level move by Apple.
The other elements of 3D Touch are great as well. I’ve already written aboutthe brilliance of Live Photos, but something far more subtle, yet equally great is the ability to 3D Touch the keyboard to turn it into a mouse cursor, of sorts. This makes composing longer-form text on the iPhone so much better. It’s very well done.
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Live wallpapers are fun, but the novelty wears off. Plus, now that the fingerprint sensor is so fast, it’s hard to get to the main power-on screen.( Unless, of course, you start using the side power button to turn on the phone?—?as I have.) “Peek” and “pop” functionality is also very well done and great for previewing email and web pages, but I’m still trying to train my brain to remember to use it. I suspect as more apps implement this, it will become second nature, but it’s not there yet.
All of this leads to the downside of 3D Touch: it makes every iOS device without it( so, every device beyond the two new iPhones) feel almost broken as a result. The functionality is so good and so natural that it’s absolutely clear that it will soon find its way to every iOS device. But until we get there, there will be a lot of people hard-pressing their iPads for naught. I’ll admit, I’ve already done this a few times. For shame.
Each year, with each new iPhone upgrade, I’m in pretty much the same boat: given how much I use my iPhone?—?it’s my most-used device for eight years running?—?I never hesitate to upgrade. The time-used-to-money-spent ratio makes it an automatic decision in my brain. These new iPhones, like the “s” models before them, are much faster than last year’s siblings. The time savings across the board, even in split-second increments, add up. In aggregate, that time saved is worth it for me.
But I know I’m an extreme case and not everyone is willing to spend hundreds of dollars on a new phone each year( though the new-style subsidies probably make it even more attractive) . To those folks, I normally wouldn’t recommend an “s” upgrade if you just bought the last version of the iPhone. But this year, thanks solely to 3D Touch, things may be different. This is the future of not only this device, but all devices.