Introduction
” The only thing that has changed is everything”
That seems to be the marketing pitch Apple has decided to hammer for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.
It’s kind of a cliche statement to make because if you picked up one of these phones you’d be hard pressed to tell it apart from last years 6 or 6 Plus.
The focus this time round is what’s on the inside that counts.
Design
After the radical make over the iPhone got in 2014 nothing much changes here.
You still have 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch variance although this time there’s a new rose gold option that you can get if so desired.
The firm claimes that the smartphones are made of a tougher cover glass and strengthened 7000 aluminium the same type used in the Apple Watch sport.
So what’s actually changed?
New camera and live photos
For years the iPhone whilst taking great pictures was stuck with an 8MP rear snapper. That changes with the camera being upgraded to 12MP.
It can now also record 4K video.
A slight annoying hardware issue is that the lenze still sticks out from the casing.
Live photos is where the camera records 1.5 seconds of video before and after the shot. Think of those moving pictures in Harry potter.
Kind of cool but probs not reason enough to get the new phone.
The resulting footage can be shared with other Apple weelding friends.
Be warned that this feature does eat up storage. So if you plan to record lots of video or take live photos it would be best to forget about the 16GB model.
3D touch. Sort of like right click does for Windows and Mac OS X the screen of the iPhone lets you press harder to get options.
With a small press you can glance at your imbox in mail, compose a new Instagram post, update your status on Facebook and generally speed up all the things we do with our phones.
It’s a fantastic way of making the iOS experience that much smoother.
I expect will be seeing lots of app developers introduce this feature into apps soon enough.
Speed
The phone is powered by the new A9 CPU and 2GB of RAM. It’s scorchingly fast keeping up with whatever I did.
Software and hey siri
iOS 9 brings a hand full of advancements such as a smarter Siri,that is always listening in the 6s and 6s Plus being able to run 2 apps side by side ( iPad Air 2 and above ) a much better notes app, and my favorite low power mode.
It’s more of a round off rather than introducing anything new. It runs like butter on the new hardware.
Even if an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus isn’t in your future the upgrade is worth it.
When it’s all said and done should you upgrade? That depends if you have an iPhone 5s or older don’t think just do it!
People that have the 6 it’s not so clear cut. If you can wangle your mobile provider to upgrade you with minimal fus then go for it. If not it won’t hurt to stay put for another year.
Apple did announce an iPhone upgrade program in which one can get the new phone every year for a bace cost of $32. Sadly it’s only valid in the US.
Here’s hoping it makes it to Australia waters.
Conclusion
With a new camera, improved inards, 3D touch, and the best version of iOS this years iPhones are the best smartphones money can buy but it sure will hurt your pocket book.
Pros
Nice design, 3D touch is exciting, silky smooth UI, outstanding camera, the best mobile software.
Cons
Very expensive, design hasn’t changed, 16GB isn’t enough.