So, Apple announced its new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus and although there were some things that was welcomed in the iPhone, pretty much everything else was either already done on an Android but deemed “gimmicky”, or Apple did not address it in the new iteration of the iPhone 6. Let’s see what new things Apple announced when they unveiled the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus.
3D Touch
If you have had experience with the new MacBooks, the 3D Touch works the same way as the Force Touch found on the MacBook’s trackpad, just that on the iPhone 6S, it is on the screen. You click an app and press down to get a drop down menu without having to open the app all the way. So you can lightly press and access shortcuts and popups, or you can just push down harder to open it all the way. The iPhone 6S and 6S Plus can detect three levels of pressure, and with the new “Taptic Engine” on the phone, the display almost feels like it is like a button.
OK, so maybe the Force Touch is pretty cool and new since the screen itself can detect pressure. However, the haptic feedback is not exactly new since many Android phones have been using it already especially with onscreen keyboards such as withSamsung phones. And although Samsung phones did not have the pressure detection to open shortcuts and popups, they did have the Air View, which did the same thing except that Samsung did not pursue it further and decided to take it out of its recent models. Apple just took this feature to another level, which is great but not exactly revolutionary.
Live Photos
This new feature feels a little gimmicky. What it does is basically take a photo like a video. The new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus camera will record a short video footage just after the photo has been taken, say, for about 1 second after you click the photo capture button. It doesn’t do anything useful other than just look “cool” when you’re looking at the live photos in your gallery. But who knows, maybe this feature will also be available in social media next.
Anyway, this new feature is also not really a new feature since HTC did introduce something like this before called the Zoe Capture. Zoe Capture takes 20 shots as well as a video footage before and after the shutter button was pressed.
Upgraded Hardware
Before we get into the favorite hardware of smartphone users – the camera, let’s take a look at the new processor embedded in the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. Apple has upgraded its processor to a third-gen A9 64-bit chip and claims that it is 70% faster than the A8 in terms of functional tasks, and 90% faster when it comes to graphic-based tasks such as gaming.
In addition to a new processor, the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus will also feature a second-gen Touch ID sensor that will launch your phone faster. Hopefully the fingerprint recognition will also speed up since right now it is still a little too slow.
The Camera
So finally Apple has made a big jump in the megapixel department, by offering 12MP camera for the rear camera and 5MP at the front. Despite Apple having one of the best phone cameras around, many Android phones have finally step up to the challenge, but it looks like maybe Apple might take that top spot again.
Not only did Apple up the megapixels, both the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus is also fitted with a new image signal processor, improved tone mapping and Focus Pixels, an advanced pixel technology of sorts. For the front camera, there is this new technology called Retina Flash, where you use the phone’s screen to simulate a flash by making it bright white. The new iPhone also shoots in 4K however, it is rather disappointing that Apple did not incorporate OIS in the iPhone 6, which is seen in almost all Android flagship phones these days, and only the iPhone 6S Plus will have OIS incorporated in it.
New Colour, New Chassis
The new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus will come in the usual three colors of white, gold and black, with a new addition – rose gold. To me it looks more like a pink instead of a rose gold color usually seen in jewelries, but this will be the only physical difference to tell people that you are using an iPhone 6S instead of the 6.
If you are worried about the whole bending fiasco, well, Apple has mentioned that the new iPhone will have a sturdier upgraded aluminium for its chassis, apparently also used in the aerospace industry. It is the same aluminium alloy that is used in the AppleWatch Sport called the Series 7,000. The new iPhone will also sport a new type of chemically strengthened glass but Apple did not mention if it was from Corning Gorilla Glass or not.
Other Stuff
There are also small upgrades such as “Hey, Siri”, which will allow you to launch Siri anytime, just like how you use “OK, Google” on Android devices. There is also Motion Wallpapers, moving wallpapers like how Android has its Live Wallpapers.
Pricing
Here is the price of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, and they will both be on sale in the next few weeks in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, UK and the US.
iPhone 6S: $649 (16GB); $749 (64GB); $849 (128GB)
iPhone 6S Plus: $749 (16GB); $849 (64GB); $949 (128GB)