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

[MacRumors]

With the launch of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus just three days away on September 25, the first round of reviews for the new smartphones have begun showing up online. Most sites have been able to experience the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus for about a week, and have largely come away with positive impressions of the devices that bring in some notable improvements to the line, in spite of its "S" generation designation.

The Verge was one of the most positive on their review unit of the iPhone 6s, noting that if it's Apple's job to create a reason for customers to upgrade to a new iPhone each year, they've "done it again" with the new iPhone. Although they note the premium pricing and odd storage tiers, the site believes that 3D Touch will become as necessary as pinching and zooming, and adds to an experience that overall feels like "the best version ever of the best smartphone on the market."

This is one of those potentially huge user behaviors -- like swiping, or pinching and zooming -- that seem odd or minor at first, but which Apple historically is able to make deeply important and useful. And it's not just a software tweak. It involved serious re-engineering of the display. It's the kind of thing that's Apple's specialty: the company manages to do new things better, apply them broadly, and make them seem natural, because it has control over both the software and hardware platforms on which its products rest. No other big player does.

The iPhone 6S is the best smartphone out there, period.

Mashable got its hands on an iPhone 6s Plus and noted that its specs and new 7000 series aluminum have crafted a "performance beast" of a smartphone. They also were fans of the improved 12 megapixel camera, saying the 6s Plus easily "wins the battle in full-light images" when compared to last year's iPhone 6 Plus and the Galaxy S6 Edge+. In the end, the site noted that the biggest feature additions include 4K video and 3D Touch, and that just may not be enough of a justification for some users.

Is it a must-have upgrade? No, unless you must have gorgeous 4K video and can't live without the innovative 3D Touch. By sheer volume, iOS 9 probably adds more feature enhancements than the iPhone 6S Plus, and you can get it for free.

This doesn't diminish Apple's accomplishment. Take me, for instance: Now that I've had a taste of 4K and Peek and Pop, I don't know if I can go back.

TechCrunch fell in line with most other opinions as well, calling the camera "truly great" and noting the snappiness of the A9 processor in attempting to zoom in on 4K video footage or generally navigating the device. Another fan of 3D Touch, the site also noted that the comparison of the feature to right-clicking on a desktop computer is perhaps shortsighted, stating that right-clicking is for introducing more actions and complexities and 3D Touch is essentially the opposite. TechCrunch also noted the lightning-fast upgrade that Touch ID has received.

Apple says its new Touch ID sensor is twice the speed of the one in the iPhone 6/6 Plus. I'm sure someone will try to measure it, but I think this one metric is enough: the new fingerprint sensor is so fast that you can no longer tap the home button to wake your screen, because it will unlock instantly.

I pull my iPhone out of my pocket with my finger on the home button to tap it and check my notifications. That behavior is out the window now, because by the time it's out of my pocket, it's unlocked. It's incredibly quick. So quick that I think some people will have issues adjusting. Eventually I had to switch to tapping the power button to wake it so I wouldn't miss my notifications.

Soon everyone will be able to experience the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus for themselves, as we get closer and closer to the September 25 launch date. Recently, in fact, one lucky woman got her iPhone 6s order in ahead of time and began posting benchmark scores and photos of the device online. Those customers with tracking numbers already distributed for their order can also begin to see exactly which flight is carrying their brand-new iPhone thanks to FlightAware.

Other Reviews: The Verge's Nilay Patel, The Wall Street Journal, Pocket-lint, Bloomberg, and The Telegraph.

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

 

[geoff5093]

Come on UPS! We won't tell Apple if you deliver them a few days early

 

[BeSweeet]

Eh, I'll pass. Maybe I'll leave my 6+ for the 7s+ or 8.

 

[apocalyarts]

Thought about upgrading from my 5S for a few days now but I think I'll pass. Thanks to the strong Dollar the 6S is rather expensive in Germany and only 16GB storage for the entry model with all this 4K Video and Live Photo stuff is a dealbreaker.

 

[thekeyring]

"Apple says its new Touch ID sensor is twice the speed of the one in the iPhone 6/6 Plus. I’m sure someone will try to measure it, but I think this one metric is enough: the new fingerprint sensor is so fast that you can no longer tap the home button to wake your screen, because it will unlock instantly."

This is what struck me the most! Come on come on come on I can't wait much longer! ahhhhhh xD

 

[electorate]

Really excited for this. Been too long on the 8mp sensor. Another reason for me to 'justify' my upgrade..

 

[newdeal]

I have a 6 and so won't be buying one but the touchID speed sounds amazing. Especially for Apple Pay although we don't have that in Canada yet for some reason. I don't care at all about 4k. In fact I likely would not ever turn it on just because of the file sizes. 3D touch sounds interesting, I will be curious to see if its as good as these guys make it seem because every other review I have read says it is confusing to use since you don't know where it will work and where it won't

 

[spatlese44]

Anyone remember peek and poke?

 

[chromite]

Who's gonna be the first to complain about iPhone's storage tiers?

 

[peterdevries]

I never upgrade after one year, but I think this time I will donate my 6 to Mrs Peterdevries and will get a space grey 6s when it comes out in The Netherlands.

 

[one more]

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.

 

[2457282]

I just wish that UPS would send me a tracking number. So far the apple website still says processing. I need that to switch to Shipped ASAP. Pretty Please

 

[ninethirty]

It'll be awesome to see how fans on this forum react to Nilay Patel's positive review. Because they called him a hack and all kinds of other names when he didn't love the Apple Watch they way they wanted him too. Is he still a hack?

 

[Abazigal]

Come on UPS! We won't tell Apple if you deliver them a few days early

No, you are just going to start sharing geekbench scores and photos of your dog on the web.

 

[peterdevries]

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.

Well, take a look at the BlackBerry Storm and you will see that not all new models are better than the last. There is a possibility that at some point Apple will release a dud.

 

[naeS1Sean]

I can't wait. I'm so excited.

 

[SMIDG3T]

The performance gains are truly remarkable. Also loving the fact Touch ID is pretty much instant now. Reading all these reviews makes me want it more!!

 

[naeS1Sean]

Eh, I'll pass. Maybe I'll leave my 6+ for the 7s+ or 8.

You're conservative...

 

[Jsameds]

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

 

[WannaGoMac]

Only thing that tempts me from my 6+ is the improved CPU speed and ram. All the other feature aren't a big deal for my use. Live photos are a gimmick I won't use nor actually want, 12mp photos just mean my 64gb now will fill up faster, and the force touch will evolve so next year it will be much better and likely helpful...

 

[markfc]

An

Anyone remember peek and poke?

Ah...another C64 fan?

 

[lsatterfield]

Shoots 4k video.

Doesn't use landscape mode.

 

[Rogifan]

It will be interesting to see which reviews get the most attention. Christina Warren's review at Mashable was mostly positive, including battery life. Joanna Stern at the WSJ called it marginally better and was negative on battery life.

 

[Amplelink]

"Apple says its new Touch ID sensor is twice the speed of the one in the iPhone 6/6 Plus. I’m sure someone will try to measure it, but I think this one metric is enough: the new fingerprint sensor is so fast that you can no longer tap the home button to wake your screen, because it will unlock instantly."

This is what struck me the most! Come on come on come on I can't wait much longer! ahhhhhh xD

I'm not actually sure I'll like that feature. As it is, I sometimes miss notifications because Touch ID works too quickly.

Isn't there an Android phone out there that can wake up its screen by a tap on the screen itself? That would be cool.

 

[penajmz]

Come on Friday!