September 2014 when Apple decided to finally level up the competition and decided to go blow by blow against its Android rivals in terms of screen size. Apple created iPhone 6 with a screen size of 4.7 inches and introduced its first ever phablet with a 5.5-inch screen, the iPhone 6 Plus. Now, a year after, Apple released iPhone 6S, the upgraded version of their well celebrated device. But what has improved on the iPhone 6S? Let’s find out.
Body, Display and Design
You can’t really tell the difference in terms of design between the two, Apple decided to use the same design language of the iPhone 6 to the iPhone 6S. The 6S also has the same 4.7-inch display with 750 x 1334 pixels (~326 ppi pixel density). The Aluminum unibody design is still use in iPhone 6S although Apple used “7000 series aluminum” which they claim is made from same grade materials used in the aerospace industry. The aluminum is created from a unique composition of elements that makes it the strongest alloy ever used in an iPhone. iPhone 6 was released with Space Gray, Silver and Gold variants. All previous colors are still available but Apple has added a Rose Gold variant of the iPhone 6S.
3D Touch
A new feature of the iPhone 6S and the evolution of Force Touch which was first introduced in Apple watch, 3D Touch senses the pressure applied to the iPhone 6S’ display. In practical application, 3D touch technology has two gestures called “Peek and “Pop”. Peek gives you a preview of the information you are touching, while Pop opens the content. As Apple describes it, Peek and Pop lets you preview all kinds of content and even act on it — without having to actually open it. For example, with a light press you can Peek at each email in your inbox. Then when you want to open one, press a little deeper to Pop into it.
Processor
The new iPhone uses an A9 chip. The new SoC is said to be 70% faster than the A8 chip which is used in iPhone 6 and provides the same or better performance than desktop PCs and gaming consoles. GPU is also 90% faster. Additionally, the new M9 motion co-processor tracks your activity constantly and supports always-on voice command, activating Siri immediately when needed. A very decent upgrade, Apple promises A9 chip to bring a new level of performance and efficiency to iPhone 6S.
Camera
Apple finally upgraded the iSight camera to 12MP for the iPhone 6S. The new camera has a larger state-of-the-art sensor, a new signal processor, dual-LED dual-tone flash, and advanced pixel technology. Moreover, the camera is now capable of recording 4k videos (2160p videos at 30 fps) which was not available in iPhone 6. Slow-mo recording at 720p @ 240fps is onboard as well. Panorama (up to 63 megapixels) is also supported. The front camera has also been upgraded to 5MP from 1.2MP. The front camera supports face detection and can capture 1080 videos as well. Sadly, both iPhone 6S and iPhone 6 does not have Optical Image stabilization as it is only available on iPhone 6S Plus model.
Apple may not have changed the looks of the iPhone 6S but it did a pretty good job on upgrading its internals, loading a powerful A9 chip, upgrading the iSight Camera and adding new features for a better user experience. Question is, are these enough to consider an upgrade? Tell us your thoughts and leave your comments below.
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S quick specs comparison :
iPhone 6S | iPhone 6 | |
OS | iOS 9 | iOS 8 (Upgradable to iOS 9) |
Processor | A9 chip with 64-bit architecture | A8 chip with 64?bit architecture |
Embedded M9 motion coprocessor | M8 motion coprocessor | |
Memory | 2 GB RAM | 1 GB RAM DDR3 |
Display | 4.7 inches (~65.6% screen-to-body ratio)1334-by-750-pixel resolution at 326 ppi | 4.7 inches (~65.6% screen-to-body ratio)1334-by-750-pixel resolution at 326 ppi , Retina HD |
Retina HD display with 3D Touch | ||
Storage | 16gb / 64gb / 128gb | 16gb / 64gb / 128gb |
Camera | 12-megapixel iSight camera with 1.22µ pixels | 8-megapixel iSight camera with 1.5µ pixels |
5-megapixel front camera with | 1.2-megapixel front camera with | |
720p HD video recording | 720p HD video recording | |
SIM | Nano sim | Nano sim |
Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 1715 mAh battery | Non-removable Li-Po 1810 mAh battery |
Weight | 5.04 ounces (143 grams) | 5.04 ounces (143 grams) |
Dimensions | Height 5.44 inches (138.3 mm) , | Height 5.44 inches (138.3 mm) , |
Width 2.64 inches (67.1 mm) | Width 2.64 inches (67.1 mm) | |
Color | Space Gray, Silver, Gold and Rose Gold | Space Gray, Silver and Gold |
Related: Apple intros iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus