Apple iPhone 6S and Apple iPhone 6S Plus, Official! Six New Features, Explained!
4.7-inch Apple iPhone 6S smartphone and 5.5-inch Apple iPhone 6S Plus phablet have just been officially announced by the Cupertino company at an exclusive media event held just a few hours ago in San Francisco, California.
And amazingly, all of the rumored features of these two handsets c/o 'insiders' and 'serial leakers' that we featured here in TechPinas over the past few months turned out accurate. So really, it's not like we haven't seen these before.
Read: All Essential Information about Apple iPhone 6S in the Philippines. Full TechPinas Feature
These two 2015 models look identical to ones that they've just superseded. Heck, they even have the exact same screen resolutions; 1334 x 750 pixels at 326 ppi for iPhone 6S, and 1920 x 1080 pixels at 401 ppi for 6S Plus.
Just from looking at the two freshly launched devices from afar, you may think that they don't really offer anything new compared to the well-received iPhone 6 and 6 Plus of 2014. However, they actually represent a clear upgrade in at least six ways. Let's do a quick rundown of those.
1. More Durable Construction - One of the main criticisms thrown at the Apple iPhone 6 Plus just a few days following its launch last year was that you can actually bend the phablet using your bare hands. Hence, the Bendgate scandal. This year, Apple used 'stronger' materials - specifically 7000 series aluminum and 'the strongest glass cover' - in crafting the enclosure of both iPhone 6S and 6S Plus to ensure a far more sturdy build.
2. 3D Touch - The scratch-resistant touchscreen on these two phones incorporates pressure sensitivity and haptic feedback, allowing the user to input "half" or "full" clicks, among others.
3. Second Generation Touch ID - It basically reads your fingerprint faster than ever before -- so you can unlock your phone and make app purchases without annoying lags. Not much drama there.
4. Improved Internal Hardware - A9, Apple’s third-generation 64-bit processor powers both the iPhone 6S nd 6S Plus with 70 percent faster CPU and 90 percent faster GPU performance than the A8 inside the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus -- all with enhanced energy-efficiency for great battery life. The A9 chip and iOS 9 work together for optimal performance where it matters most -- like screen transitions, touch response, or graphics performance.
5. More Powerful Main Camera - Whereas both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus had an 8 MegaPixel iSight camera with 1.5µ pixels, this year's releases have a 12 MegaPixel iSight camera with 1.22µ pixels with enhanced local tone mapping and noise reduction. Simply put, 6S and 6S Plus now take larger and more brilliant photos.
Sidenote: iPhone 6S - just like iPhone 6 - still doesn't have Optical Image Stabilization. If you want to enjoy the benefits of OIS when shooting images, choose the Plus phablet version.
6. Better Selfie Cam - iPhone 6S and 6S Plus' front-facing FaceTime camera has a 5 MegaPixel resolution, which is a major upgrade from the 1.2 MP front cam of their predecessors.
And on top of that, Apple has come up with what they call 'Retina Flash' (or virtual flash) that momentarily makes the display three times brighter with True Tone lighting as you snap a selfie, for wonderfully bright self-portraits even in low light.
And finally, S is - again - for Siri! Apple wants you to talk to Siri more. Apple iPhone 6S and 6S Plus come with an updated version of the virtual assistant Siri. One key new feature is 'Hey Siri' that lets the user access the service and make commands from anywhere on the handset's interface. It works a lot like Android's 'OK Google'; In fact, it appears to be Apple's answer to that.
There you go, TP Friends! These are the key or defining features of the Cupertino company's 2015 flagship smartphones. Looking at the list, are you inclined to purchase either the iPhone 6S or 6S Plus when they become available locally? Let me know your thoughts about these handsets in the comments section below.
And amazingly, all of the rumored features of these two handsets c/o 'insiders' and 'serial leakers' that we featured here in TechPinas over the past few months turned out accurate. So really, it's not like we haven't seen these before.
Read: All Essential Information about Apple iPhone 6S in the Philippines. Full TechPinas Feature
These two 2015 models look identical to ones that they've just superseded. Heck, they even have the exact same screen resolutions; 1334 x 750 pixels at 326 ppi for iPhone 6S, and 1920 x 1080 pixels at 401 ppi for 6S Plus.
But they do come with an additional color option, Rose Gold -- apart from Gold, Silver, and Space Gray
Just from looking at the two freshly launched devices from afar, you may think that they don't really offer anything new compared to the well-received iPhone 6 and 6 Plus of 2014. However, they actually represent a clear upgrade in at least six ways. Let's do a quick rundown of those.
1. More Durable Construction - One of the main criticisms thrown at the Apple iPhone 6 Plus just a few days following its launch last year was that you can actually bend the phablet using your bare hands. Hence, the Bendgate scandal. This year, Apple used 'stronger' materials - specifically 7000 series aluminum and 'the strongest glass cover' - in crafting the enclosure of both iPhone 6S and 6S Plus to ensure a far more sturdy build.
2. 3D Touch - The scratch-resistant touchscreen on these two phones incorporates pressure sensitivity and haptic feedback, allowing the user to input "half" or "full" clicks, among others.
3D Touch also enables new gestures like the all-new 'Peek and Pop', letting you perform actions without having to fully open an application or jump from where you are in the interface.
3. Second Generation Touch ID - It basically reads your fingerprint faster than ever before -- so you can unlock your phone and make app purchases without annoying lags. Not much drama there.
4. Improved Internal Hardware - A9, Apple’s third-generation 64-bit processor powers both the iPhone 6S nd 6S Plus with 70 percent faster CPU and 90 percent faster GPU performance than the A8 inside the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus -- all with enhanced energy-efficiency for great battery life. The A9 chip and iOS 9 work together for optimal performance where it matters most -- like screen transitions, touch response, or graphics performance.
M9, Apple’s next-generation motion coprocessor is embedded into A9, allowing more features and background apps to run all the time without consuming too much power.
5. More Powerful Main Camera - Whereas both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus had an 8 MegaPixel iSight camera with 1.5µ pixels, this year's releases have a 12 MegaPixel iSight camera with 1.22µ pixels with enhanced local tone mapping and noise reduction. Simply put, 6S and 6S Plus now take larger and more brilliant photos.
Sidenote: iPhone 6S - just like iPhone 6 - still doesn't have Optical Image Stabilization. If you want to enjoy the benefits of OIS when shooting images, choose the Plus phablet version.
The new iPhones' main camera is now also capable of shooting 4K videos (3840 x 2160 pixels resolution) at 30 fps. Just one of the fringe benefits of having a more powerful chipset.
6. Better Selfie Cam - iPhone 6S and 6S Plus' front-facing FaceTime camera has a 5 MegaPixel resolution, which is a major upgrade from the 1.2 MP front cam of their predecessors.
And on top of that, Apple has come up with what they call 'Retina Flash' (or virtual flash) that momentarily makes the display three times brighter with True Tone lighting as you snap a selfie, for wonderfully bright self-portraits even in low light.
Frankly, I've seen this feature before on Huawei Ascend smartphones. And also, I think LG G3 and G4's virtual selfie flash, which lets you preview your photo before snapping it, is a tad superior.
And finally, S is - again - for Siri! Apple wants you to talk to Siri more. Apple iPhone 6S and 6S Plus come with an updated version of the virtual assistant Siri. One key new feature is 'Hey Siri' that lets the user access the service and make commands from anywhere on the handset's interface. It works a lot like Android's 'OK Google'; In fact, it appears to be Apple's answer to that.
There you go, TP Friends! These are the key or defining features of the Cupertino company's 2015 flagship smartphones. Looking at the list, are you inclined to purchase either the iPhone 6S or 6S Plus when they become available locally? Let me know your thoughts about these handsets in the comments section below.
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