Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPhone 6s Reviews: 'Performance Beast' with a 'Truly Great' Camera Gives Enough Reasons to Upgrade

macduke said:
That may be the case for you, but for many people it will not.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that I'm not alone.

I seriously doubt in several years that many phones will have many external buttons or controls. And the precedent is already set with the thinner iPads.
Click to expand...

This is a complete other story. iPads don't ring and don't receive text messages.

If they kill the physical mute switch they should introduce a twice force tap with two fingers or something similar but EVEN when the iPhone is on standby. What I'm using often as well is the volume switch as a trigger for the camera.
 
Watching that review makes me feel all the better about skipping this round of iPhone and waiting until the 7 next year. It's just not that much of a change from my current 6 Plus.
 
Jsameds said:
The 'S' iPhones (or the tock cycle) are always the best if you can cope with similar aesthetics to the previous iPhone, and this one is no exception.

Well done Apple :D
Click to expand...
I agree. I have always bought the "S" Model, but not this time. I need/want a phone the size of my 5S. I had a 6 and a 6+ and ended up giving the 6+ to my daughter. As much as I love the bigger phones, I really want the smaller size I can hold in my hand.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jsameds
Habakuk said:
I'm pretty sure that I'm not alone.

This is a complete other story. iPads don't ring and don't receive text messages.

If they kill the physical mute switch they should introduce a twice force tap with two fingers or something similar but EVEN when the iPhone is on standby. What I'm using often as well is the volume switch as a trigger for the camera.
Click to expand...
I think they may keep the volume and lock switch around for a while. Those are narrow buttons that are easier to implement on a smaller device. And with Touch ID being so freaking fast now, they'll need to keep around some kind of method for checking the lock screen (although peek could turn on the display and pop could unlock it). I'm thinking they'll reduce it down to smaller side buttons and mic/speaker ports like on the Apple Watch. In doing so they can make a case that is water resistant and perhaps water proof to a certain depth. I think that would be worth the loss of a mute switch since it's easy to use with control center. There are also other ways that they could make switches. Perhaps a force rub along the side of the phone where the volume buttons are could toggle the mute with taptic feedback so you know it worked. IDK. But I feel like the current switch's days are numbered. Not a matter of if but when. Might be iPhone 7, might be iPhone 9. But the device will continue to get thinner and/or more simplified over time.
 
TallManNY said:
That is the key. The phone is used so much it is worth it.

Let's run some basic numbers

With the cost of upgrading being about $300 bucks ($750 to buy new phone, sell old phone that was kept in case and is in great condition for $450) and the phone being possibly the most important piece of personal tech you own, upgrading really does make a lot of sense if you are U.S. middle class or better off. If you are on a tighter budget, then maybe saving the $300 this year makes sense. But by waiting another year to sell your 6 you also eat the depreciation of that phone's value during that year.

So how much do you save if you only wait one extra year? if you upgrade next year, then you sell your now one year older phone for $300, so cost next year is $450 to upgrade. So if you would have upgraded twice for total of $600 then waiting an extra year has really only saved you $150.
Click to expand...

This is typical american "bad math" - how are you out only $300 a year? Let's say you first bought a phone and it probably is around $500 to $700. Then you sell for at least half that if you are lucky. You buy an iPhone for $750 (16GB) - then each year you upgrade and let's pretend that magically it goes for more than 50% resale value. You are going to be spending more and more money not just $300 a year to obtain a new shiny iPhone.

I don't have a money tree in the backyard so I'd like to keep one phone that costs more than a laptop around for several years (at least 4-5 years if possible). Each year you "trade up" you are losing more and more money over a frickin' cell phone no matter how important it is, it's a phone and ONE iPhone is enough for several years of use.
 
ke-iron said:
I understand that reviews are opinions but they have a duty to be accurate. If I say something like pinch to zoom, reverse pinch to zoom out or double tap to zoom isn't useful, an upgraded camera that has 2 times better low light performance isn't useful though an opinion it would not only be inaccurate it would be a lie. Which brings me back to to my main point. They turn people away and hold them back from purchasing products because of how they personally feel about a product or feature and not the actual truth.
Click to expand...

Accuracy in a review is about perspective. If the reviewer thinks these things are not useful, then it is still an opinion. Nilay Patel considers the live photos feature to be cool but useless. It isn't a lie. There is no way a review can be useful if a reviewer needs to reaffirm the usability or usefulness for every consumer segment possible. It just doesn't work that way.

The best way to get around this is to read lots of reviews from different sources and also test the device yourself in the shop. A 100% objective review does not and will not exist ever.
 
petsounds said:
I don't care if the TouchID is faster; I just want it to work with my fingerprints reliably. Returned three 5S phones that all had the same problem. Hopefully the quality of this new sensor is improved dramatically.
Click to expand...
You are using it wrong. And no, I'm not kidding. Pro tip: register your index finger (or another most used finger) twice to cut the chance of failing in half.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KPandian1 and bchreng
petsounds said:
I don't care if the TouchID is faster; I just want it to work with my fingerprints reliably. Returned three 5S phones that all had the same problem. Hopefully the quality of this new sensor is improved dramatically.
Click to expand...

It is actually already incredibly reliable and it is very unlikely that you have three faulty 5s' in a row. You might have an issue with how you registered your fingers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bchreng
petsounds said:
I don't care if the TouchID is faster; I just want it to work with my fingerprints reliably. Returned three 5S phones that all had the same problem. Hopefully the quality of this new sensor is improved dramatically.
Click to expand...

Interesting. After the first couple of updates, my 5S TouchID had worked flawlessly.
 
ColdShadow said:
Mehh,I'll pass,I'm just already super bored with the chasis design of my iPhone 6..never liked it,and now it's painfully boring,the seeing likes of the gorgeous Gold Galaxy S6 Edge in people's hands..

really don't feel any enjoyment in buying something that looks the same,with just some performance improvements inside.

They should impress me and make a better looking phone with iPhone 7..also please ditch this pale boring metallic colors.they all suck except maybe space gray.
Click to expand...

Cool
 
shanmugam said:
with smaller battery; let us wait for the sites which reviews the battery life quantitatively like anandtech or hear the news from fellow macrumors!
Click to expand...
Will see

Battery life is better on note 5 than note 4 but has a smaller battery
 
Great phone.
My only worry is, which devs are REALLY going to use it to it's max?

I guess mainly Gaming is where you hit the hardware the hardest.
Does, or will anyone make any games that really use all the power we have here?
 
AliMacs said:
This is typical american "bad math" - how are you out only $300 a year? Let's say you first bought a phone and it probably is around $500 to $700. Then you sell for at least half that if you are lucky. You buy an iPhone for $750 (16GB) - then each year you upgrade and let's pretend that magically it goes for more than 50% resale value. You are going to be spending more and more money not just $300 a year to obtain a new shiny iPhone.

I don't have a money tree in the backyard so I'd like to keep one phone that costs more than a laptop around for several years (at least 4-5 years if possible). Each year you "trade up" you are losing more and more money over a frickin' cell phone no matter how important it is, it's a phone and ONE iPhone is enough for several years of use.
Click to expand...

Last year I bought the 64gig 6 full price for $750 and sold my 5s for $300-$400, this year I have an upgrade available so I'm getting the 64 gig 6s plus this time for $400 (64 gig 6s would be $300 but I wanted bigger this year) and then I'm selling my 64gig 6 to my friend for $400.

It works out where upgrading every year is about the same price as paying the upgrade fee to the carrier minus the $40 upgrade fee they charge you when you use the upgrade and the state tax on the phone. You only pay the $40 upgrade fee when you use the upgrade not when you purchase out right. Verizon still does 2 year plans. I've been doing this since the first iPhone, I have owned all the iPhones and it works out well and not being costly.
 
AliMacs said:
This is typical american "bad math" - how are you out only $300 a year? Let's say you first bought a phone and it probably is around $500 to $700. Then you sell for at least half that if you are lucky. You buy an iPhone for $750 (16GB) - then each year you upgrade and let's pretend that magically it goes for more than 50% resale value. You are going to be spending more and more money not just $300 a year to obtain a new shiny iPhone.

I don't have a money tree in the backyard so I'd like to keep one phone that costs more than a laptop around for several years (at least 4-5 years if possible). Each year you "trade up" you are losing more and more money over a frickin' cell phone no matter how important it is, it's a phone and ONE iPhone is enough for several years of use.
Click to expand...

If you want to walk through the math above, go for it. Also I'm not sure if you are trolling but it doesn't take luck or magic to get back half of what you paid for an iPhone one year after you bought it. Go on Craigslist right now and post a iPhone 6 64gb in good condition for $450 and watch the offers come rolling in. Also the 16gb is not $750. That is the 64gb version (which is middle one that I buy). If you want to stick in 16gb range upgrading each year will be even more affordable (6 this year will sell for $400 and 6s will cost you $650).

Basically your phone depreciates over time, so by not choosing to sell it each year you "lose" a little money as the value of the phone decreases. I totally agree that it is still money to replace your iPhone each year. But it works out to far less than one dollar a day, probably less than fifty cents a day. Personally I'd rather budget elsewhere and have the best smartphone possible. If budget is a serious issue though I'd consider buying a Moto G or something like that and get out of the Apple Ecosystem in general.
 
one more said:
New model, same pitch - the best iPhone so far. :) Obviously it is and should be, but 7 will be even better. It's an inevitable rule of evolution.
Click to expand...

And 8 will be even better, as will 9 and on and on. Not sure what you are saying here. It's very unlikely that a newer phone will be worse than the previous one.
 
Amplelink said:
I'm not actually sure I'll like that feature. As it is, I sometimes miss notifications because Touch ID works too quickly.
Click to expand...

Use a different finger - how much mental innovation needs to go into that workaround?
 
Last edited:
Che Castro said:
You could say that about everything
Click to expand...
battery life is the important feature of the smartphone; and 16GB storage, both called out by theverge.

I have iPhones since the first iPhone, battery life is one feature that stands out. All I am asking more R&D on battery life to extend it. We use/do more stuff on the smartphones than four years back.
 
shanmugam said:
with smaller battery; let us wait for the sites which reviews the battery life quantitatively like anandtech or hear the news from fellow macrumors!
Click to expand...

They're using a more efficient CPU/GPU, memory and Comm chips and even integrated the M chip functions... (and even have a more efficient OS, with low power modes). So, battery size means NOTHING. It's how much they've tuned performance of those hw parts VS battery life that actually matters.

Apple usually underplays battery life instead of exaggerating it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shanpdx
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back