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Apple iPhone 6s review

8.9/10 AVG.
RATING
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Apple iPhone 6s
Apple iPhone 6s
Apple iPhone 6s
Apple iPhone 6s
...


8.9/10
Informr score
The Apple iPhone 6s currently has an Informr score of 8.9 out of 10. This score is based on our evaluation of 52 sources including reviews from users and the web's most trusted critics.

What's good

  • 3D Touch adds new layer of information and navigation to touch screen
  • Upgraded rear and front camera for crisp and accurate pictures
  • Incredibly smooth and fast performance
  • Solid build construction
  • Live Photos capture short video moments seamlessly

What's bad

  • Display doesn't offer as high contrast or details as competing Android phones
  • Live Photos take huge amount of space
  • 3D touch easy to confuse with long touch
  • Live Photos often come out choppy and erratic

Even for Apple it can be difficult to get consumers excited about a new smartphone every year. After all, how different can the new one be from the prior year?

Many reviewers considered the iPhone 6 to be a great phone, but barely an upgrade from the iPhone 5S aside from the larger screen and better camera. Apple promises that the iPhone 6S is different as noted by their marketing tagline, "The only thing that's changed is everything."

At first glance, it might seem like not much has changed. The 6S looks almost identical to its predecessor except it is now heavier at 143 grams and slightly thicker at 0.3 inches. The extra padding and weight comes from the use of adoption of the Series 7000 aluminum build. This tougher aluminum frame is meant to prevent bending, an issue some experts discovered in the iPhone 6 Plus. When tested they did not notice any flex with Digital Spy going as far as calling it, "…the most well-constructed handset on the market."

The 6S has the same 4.7-inch, 750 pixel display as the 6, which disappointed reviewers. While it is technically a Retina display (326ppi pixel density) they were not wowed by the sharpness or contrast ratio, especially when compared side-by-side to the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+. Still, they add it the screen is just as bright and colors still vibrant.

What really makes the display special is the new 3D Touch technology. In essence it is a touch sensitive screen that will pull up different options/commands when users do a regular versus a firm press. While it might sound simple in theory, experts warn there is a bit of a learning curve and fine-line between a firm press and the traditional long press. Still, they add once they got used to it, they found it incredibly useful as it accessed dozens of useful shortcuts and gave them the ability to easily preview emails without going into the actual email, check links from messages and view pop-ups in their calendar.

As per tradition, Apple has upgraded the internal specs of the S series. Now equipped with an A9 core processor and 2GB of RAM, reviewers found it to be significantly faster than its predecessor. They experienced no issues when switching between tasks, multi-tasking or even handling graphics-intensive games. An M9 co-processor is also continuously running so Siri can now constantly listen out for commands without the need for button presses.

In a surprise move, Apple has actually reduced the size of its battery to 1,715mAh. Even more surprising, experts were still able to get around a full day of moderate use and they were able to charge it back up to full in just over an hour.

It comes in three different models: 16GB, 64GB and 128GB though critics add that the 16GB version will not be enough storage for most people's long-term needs.

Another impressive upgrade from its predecessor is the camera. Apple has moved up the megapixel count to 12 for the main camera and 5 to the front. As expected, critics were able to take consistently detailed and accurate pictures thanks not only to the higher resolution but improved lens technology and quick shutter speed. Unfortunately, it does not come with optical image stabilization technology leading reviewers to take blurry and noisy low-light images.

The biggest change to the camera is its ability to take Live Photos. This is essentially a short video of the moment you took the picture – about 1.5 seconds before and after you snapped the picture with audio. While a nice feature, they quickly realized many of these videos were too choppy and erratic to really share. Still, they did like the fact it ran so silently in the background. There were no additional buttons they needed to press and they could still take pictures just as quickly. Apple also included the option to turn this feature off, which critics suggest as Live Photos take double the storage as normal pictures.

While an excellent smartphone, reviewers do not suggest upgrading from an iPhone 6 just yet even with the addition of 3D touch.

Cult of Mac states, "…you don't need 3D Touch yet…Having said that, I don’t want to take anything away from the iPhone 6S. It's an outstanding smartphone…If you have an older iPhone, or you can afford to upgrade early, iPhone 6S should be your next smartphone…" Techradar adds, "If you're desperate to get a new iPhone, and can afford it, I'd recommend the new iPhone 6S wholeheartedly, especially if you're jumping from a 5S. However, if you're a little more thrifty then perhaps the iPhone 6 will suit your needs."


iOS
Operating system
Operating system
iOS
1.84 GHz
Processor
Processor
1.84 GHz
4.7"
Screen Size
Screen Size
4.7"
12+ MP
Camera
Camera
12+ MP
1715 mAh
Battery


What the Critics Are Saying...


About
About

Now it’s time for the magic question: will I be using the iPhone 6S as my daily driver? As I mentioned earlier, I don’t really have a daily driver; perks of being a technology writer and reviewer. I’m always testing something new and exciting. However, these days I’m thinking...

- Faryaab Sheikh, About
Softpedia
Softpedia

The iPhone 6s remains the best buy for a sub-5-inch device. It's undoubtedly the best, even though so many people are buying bigger phones looking for better battery life and a larger display. But despite this trend, the iPhone 6s survives and keeps a lot of people on “small” phones. The...

- Bogdan Popa, Softpedia
Know Your Mobile
Know Your Mobile

The iPhone 6s, as expected, doesn’t look like much from the outside. It is exactly the same as the iPhone 6, save for the slight difference in weight, and Apple has largely left the aesthetics alone, meaning if you weren’t a fan of the plastic strip and nubbin-style camera sensor then, w...

- Michael Grothaus, Know Your Mobile
Gearburn
Gearburn

I love the iPhone 6S. There, I said it. If you want a phone that’s always going to be by your side, that will never argue with you and that will look as good as your smug little face while using it, then the iPhone 6S is for you. I can’t find too many faults, but it’s just a pity t...

- Andy Walker, Gearburn
Tech Advisor
Tech Advisor

It doesn't just boast impressive new features, the boosted internals provide us with a much faster iPhone than we're used to, and tasks that would take seconds on our iPhone 6 Plus took a split second on the iPhone 6s. We're excited about the technology the iPhone 6s offers, and what it means for fu...

- Lewis Painter, Tech Advisor


Prices (Where to Buy)




Common Questions


Apple backs up the iPhone 6s with a 1 Year parts & labour warranty.


If your iPhone 6s has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact Apple support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find Apple's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.




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Quick view

Screen Size
4.7"

The Apple iPhone 6s's screen size is 4.7 inches with 750 x 1334 pixels resolution.

Processor
1.84 GHz

There is a Apple A9 1.84 GHz processor (CPU).

OS

The phone runs on the iOS 9 (Update Available: 14) operating system (OS).

Camera
12+ MP

You can take photos with the phone's onboard 12+ MP camera.

There is also a secondary front facing camera with 5+ megapixels resolution.

Storage
16/64/128 GB

Internal memory is 16/64/128 GB. No external card slot is available for expansion.

Battery
1715mAh

The phone is powered by a Lithium Polymer (Li-Pol), 1715 mAh battery. Apple's performance ratings are 840 minutes, 660 minutes Wi-Fi surfing.

iPhone 6s Specs

Overview
Release Date September 25, 2014
Regions Available USA, Canada, United Kingdom
Operating System iOS 9 (Update Available: 14)

Compare iOS Smartphones

Processor Apple A9 1.84 GHz
Internal Storage 16/64/128 GB
RAM 2 GB
Hearing Aid Compatible Yes
TTY/TDD Yes
Noise Cancellation Yes
SAR Head: 0.45 W/kg
Body: 0.38 W/kg
Manufacturer Warranty 1 Year
Accessories Included USB Power Adapter, Manual, Headset, Data Cable
Cellular
Networks
GPRS, EDGE, HSUPA, HSPA+, LTE
Mobile / Cellular Data
4G/LTE
Push-to-talk (PTT) No
Wi-Fi Calling Yes
Voice over LTE (VoLTE) Yes
SIM card size
Nano-SIM
variations
Dual SIM No
Connectivity
USB Lightning
USB OTG Support No
GPS Type A-GPS
Infrared No
Bluetooth 4.2
Bluetooth Profiles A2DP, AVRCP, HID, HFP, PAN
Bluetooth Audio Codecs SBC
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Mobile Hotspot Yes
Memory Expansion Slot No
NFC Yes
Data Tethering Compatibility Yes
Camera
Main Camera
Resolution / Aperture
12+ Megapixels
Zoom
Yes
Flash
Yes (LED)
Additional Rear Camera Info
Auto focus, Effects, Face detection, Geotagging, Multi-shot, Panorama, HDR
Video Recording Formats
3GP / 3GPP, H.264 / AVC, MPEG-4, AVI
Video Recording Parameters
Ultra HD (3840 x 2160 pixels), 30 fps
Front Camera
Resolution / Aperture
5+ Megapixels
Additional Front Camera Info
Face detection, Multi-shot, Self-timer, HDR
Video Recording Parameters
HD (1280 x 720 pixels)
Display / Screen
Type Color
Technology LCD (IPS)
Colors 16.7 million
Resolution 750 x 1334 pixels
Pixel Density 326 pixels
Size 4.7 inches
Secondary Display No
Sensors Ambient Light, Proximity, Motion / Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Digital Compass
Multi-Touch Yes
Fingerprint-Resistant Coating No
Additional Display Features Capacitive touch screen, Retina display, 3D Touch
Power & Battery
Battery Type Lithium Polymer (Li-Pol)
Battery Capacity 1715 mAh
Removable Battery No
Wireless Charging No
Fast Charging No
Video Playback Time Up to 660 minutes
Internet Use (Wi-Fi) Up to 660 minutes
Internet Use (Cellular) Up to 600 minutes
Talk Time Up to 840 minutes
Standby Time Up to 10 days
Mixed Usage
Physical Characteristics
Design Type Bar
Material Aluminium
Colors Silver, Gold, Space Gray
Dimensions [H x W x D] 13.8 x 6.7 x 0.7 cm (5.4 x 2.6 x 0.3 in)
Weight 143 grams
Water Resistant / Waterproof Unknown
Rugged design No
IP Rating No
Headset Jack 3.5mm
External Speakers Yes
Input / Navigation
Sleep / Wake Key Yes
Home Key Yes
Input / Keyboard Type Touchscreen
Navigation Type Touchscreen
External Volume Control Yes
Fingerprint Sensor Yes
More
Additional Information Other Names (AKA):

Apple iPhone 6s Manual (HTML)
Related Links Apple iPhone 6s Reviews
Where to buy Apple iPhone 6s
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