Apple's done what we all expected - finely balanced its latest phone.
3D Touch is a genuine innovation, and the phone works fluidly at nearly
every task - but it's very similar to 2014's model.
For
Great design
3D Touch impresses
Stable OS
Against
Battery life low
Live Photos don't always work
Price high for a low-res screen
But when it looks identical to the iPhone
6, people will be desperate to know if the iPhone 6S is enough of an
upgrade to justify the price. While the upgrades seem great, is it worth
going all the way up to the iPhone 6S, or would the 6 do?
In
terms of raw price, we're in a weird situation now. Samsung and the rest
of the Android crew have been slowly ratcheting up the price of their
high-end phones to the point where they're actually eclipsing the iPhone
6S at launch.
However, Apple's once again been the victim of its
off-kilter launch cycle, meaning it's putting its phone into a market
where the Galaxy S6
is now significantly cheaper – and so the iPhone 6S has a higher price
to live up to. That said, this new phone is just that: a new phone. That
means some potential buyers will be enamoured with the notion of
getting the latest tech on the market rather than a six-month-old
handset.
In
the UK, that means between £50 and £100 upfront to get the phone for
£36-£38 per month (if you want a decent slug of data and minutes) with
the phone starting at £539 for the 16GB model, £619 for the 64GB model
and £699 for 128GB.
It's starting at $649 if you're looking to
pick it up off contract in the US, with the new $32.45 monthly cost if
you're thinking of getting locked into Apple's yearly upgrade plan.
In
reality though, the question of who this phone is aimed at isn't that
hard to answer: for most people stuck on the iPhone 5S it's clearly the
upgrade they're considering, and beyond that there's the disgruntled
Android owner who's tired of looking at the slicker app experience Apple
offers and seeing their own handset looking sketchy in comparison.
(Of
course, there are a few people that tried Windows Phones as
experiments, but they'd probably be happy with just about any other
phone if they're still using a Nokia Lumia 930).
The difference between the iPhone 6 (left) and iPhone 6S (right) is nearly impossible to seeThe issue Apple is trying to solve with the iPhone 6S (and the 6S Plus)
is how it can convince users, especially in a market saturated with
really rather brilliant smartphones, that the 'S' variant of the
impressive iPhone 6 is a worthy phone to upgrade to in its own right.
When something is so visually similar, the onus is on the brand to show that the upgrades are really worth the extra cash.
Even
if Apple keeps users within its own ecosystem there's every chance
they'll look at the iPhone 6, which is now much cheaper – so it needs to
make sure things like a stronger chassis, animated photos and a new
pressable screen are worth the extra outlay when both phones will still
work perfectly well in a couple of years' time.
Design
You've
probably already heard, but the iPhone 6S is almost identical to last
year's 6 in every way when it comes to the chassis. There are some very
subtle differences, such as a slightly thicker frame and a little more
heft, but it's so slight that I kept getting the two mixed up when doing
side by side comparisons.
All cases fit both phones just fine
too so, apart from a small S logo on the back of the phone, nobody is
going to notice you've got the latest iPhone.
But there will be
lots of you upgrading from the iPhone 5S, and in that case you'll need
to be ready for a really big design change. The metallic chassis feels
really nice in the hand, with a ceramic-like feeling on the outside
(although if it's anything like the 6 then this can scuff over time if
you keep it in a pocket with keys, so you'll need to think about the
kind of case you'll want to keep it safe).
One
of the things that Apple is touting is the fact the iPhone 6S is made
of 7000 series aluminum, which is the strongest thing it's ever used in
iPhone construction. The obvious connection people will make is with
'Bendgate' last year, when some users claimed their new phone had
developed a slight curve in their pocket without much pressure.
The
common belief was that these phones began to twist when placed in a
rear pocket and sat upon. While it was proven that other metal phones
actually were worse when it came to bending Apple didn't come out of the
controversy well.
So it's no surprise that, while the company
won't admit the real reason, the new iPhone is strong and never going to
bend with such pressure. However, I feel like that we shouldn't feel
happy our phones no longer bend – this seems like one of the minimum
expectations I'd have of a smartphone, not a compelling reason to buy
it.
The front of the phone is now covered in a new level of
strength, with a glass that's far less prone to shattering when dropped
on the floor – now that's something I can get behind. We've not drop
tested it - we'll leave that to some other, braver reviewer - if the
screen is stronger the responsiveness hasn't dropped.
In
the hand, the iPhone 6S still feels like a dream. Even with the extra
14g over the iPhone it feels lightweight, easy to manipulate and really
warrants the price. Samsung's new Galaxy S6 Edge invokes the same kind of feeling, and with it you don't mind spending the extra money over a more budget phone.
In
terms of design, if you've seen the iPhone 6 then you've seen the 6S.
The volume buttons, the power key, the silencer switch and the speaker
are all in the same place as last year, with the grille at the bottom
very easy to cover when you're watching videos or playing games in
landscape.
If you're using the 5S, this is leagues ahead. The
construction is good, the materials solid and there's no wiggle in the
buttons at all. While you probably never bent your 5S, the idea that the
iPhone 6S is stronger will probably please you, however unnecessary the
claim is.
Apple's not done anything great with the design of the
iPhone 6S, but the iPhone 6 was such a well-created phone that using the
same chassis isn't going to harm its chances of success.
However,
combined with the higher price and the continued presence of last
year's model, I wish we were at least seeing some retooling of the phone
to make it seem more attractive.
Screen
The screen on the
iPhone 6S seems to be identical to last year's: we're talking a
4.7-inch affair with 750p resolution, which keeps it firmly in the
'Retina' range that the firm debuted all the way back with the iPhone 4.
It's
hard to rate the display, as while it fails on resolution (quite
spectacularly actually - phones a seventh the cost of the iPhone 6S
offer 1080p screens, Samsung's cheaper phone has four times the
resolution of the 6S and Sony has, inexplicably, just launched a 4K
phone) it doesn't drop too badly on performance.
The
iPhone 6S display is clear, bright, laminated to the glass and insanely
colorful. The first time I saw it on the iPhone 6 I thought it was a
fake picture stuck on top of a dummy unit, such was the clarity on
offer.
So to use the same thing on the iPhone 6S makes sense -
after all, the lower pixel count means it can be thinner and the battery
can last longer, thanks to having fewer pixels to drive.
But
there are some things missing: for instance, the contrast ratio (the
difference between the brightest and darkest parts of the screen) is
still poor, with the black areas looking a little grey. Samsung's Galaxy
range predominantly uses OLED technology, which offers 'true' blacks
and high brightness and packs a much better visual punch, and would have
suited the iPhone down to the ground.
The sharpness in side by
side tests is clearly lower too - the 326 pixels per inch is very low
even compared the 401ppi of the iPhone 6S Plus - and most other models
are over 500ppi to bring really, really clear displays.
Given OLED
technology is used in the Apple Watch - and admittedly it looks
brilliant - it's a shame the same thing couldn't have been done with the
iPhone 6S.
It's important not to get too hung up on screen
resolution in a phone - after all, if it's not serving a purpose (hey,
Sony?) then it's just wasting battery. But the industry has moved on,
and the higher pixel densities on offer are starting to really bring
something to the table, with apps and general use looking pin sharp.
Here's hoping the iPhone 7 makes a massive jump forward to join the rest of the pack.
No comments:
Post a Comment