Apple just announced its brand new iPhone 6s and as they said “everything” is new about the device. Apple has added in a new faster processor, 12-megapixel camera, a new feature called 3D Touch, and much more. I have to say after watching the keynote I am pretty excited for the iPhone 6s. I believe that Apple put more into this device because of such competition of other devices. Come along with us and see what the new iPhone 6s is all about!
Looks
In typical Apple fashion with an “s” model, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus look exactly like their predecessors. They are however made of different material. The new 6s and 6s Plus use the same 7000 series aluminum alloy as the Apple Sport Watch. This means that we shouldn’t see another bend-gate. There Ion-X glass that covers the screen is newer and strong, which should mean less scratches and cracked screens. As far as colors go you still have the same silver, black, and gold versions, but Apple has added a new rose gold color.
3D Touch
I think one of the biggest announcements with the iPhone 6s is 3D Touch. This of course has been brought over from the Apple Watch. This enables your iPhone 6s to detect how hard you are pressing on the screen. For example if you are in the mail app you can press down on an e-mail to get a quick preview, but if you continue to press harder it will jump into the message. Also you can press hard on an app like Maps and you get a menu of quick options. I feel like this feature will take time for current iPhone users to get used to, but the possibilities are pretty awesome, especially for 3rd party developers.
Camera
Apple has upgraded the camera on the iPhone 6s to a 12-megapixel iSight camera. Head of marketing for Apple Phil Schiller says this new camera packs in 50 percent more pixels and 50 percent more focus pixels than the camera on the iPhone 6. This more better detail in your photos and larger panorama’s, which Apple showed off a 64-megapixel one shot on the 6s. As far as video goes we now can shoot 4K video on the iPhone 6s! If you plan on shooting in 4K you are going to want to get a larger capacity iPhone 6s, which we will get into in just a little bit. The front-facing camera has also been upgraded to 5MP, and this camera will use the display as a flash (much like Snapchat). Apple has designed this screen flash to light up 3-time brighter than the normal screen brightness. This will allow you to take better and more clear selfies.
Apple has also introduced a new feature with the camera called “Live Photos”, that makes use of the 3D Touch capability. If you press down hard on the screen it will take a short video, or a little animated GIF. Live Photos is actually turned on by default and will capture 1.5-seconds on either end of the shutter. Third party developers will have access to this feature and Apple did announce that Facebook will have a Like Photos capable app later this year.
Under The Hood
Under the hood the iPhone 6s is powered by Apple’s new 64-bit A9 processor. Apple says this chip is 70 percent faster and CPU tasks and 90 percent faster a GPU tasks than the A8 processor. That is quite the upgrade. The chip also has a new M9 motion coprocessor built right in (it was a separate chip before). The wireless chip in the phone is also getting an upgrade. New 300-Mbps LTE and 866-Mbps 802.11 ac WiFi will be twice as fast and there are now up to 32 LTE bands available. The Touch ID hardware has been upgraded and promises to be twice as fast as the last generation. Finally there will be new charging docks and cases available.
Pricing
Surprisingly Apple is sticking with the 16GB model, it will be $199 on contract and the 64GB and 128GB options will be $299 and $399 respectively. iPhone 6s Plus versions will be $100 more per model. Pre-orders for both models will begin this Saturday, September 12th. Availability will be September 25th. Both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be getting discounted by $100.
iPhone Upgrade Program
Apple also announced their own iPhone Upgrade Program. We have seen this from carriers on many different phones, but Apple will be doing this through their retail stores and online. For $32 / $37 per month customers will be able to choose their carrier and get an unlocked iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus with the opportunity to get a new iPhone annually and AppleCare+.
So what do you think of the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus?