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Is iPhone 6S still a good buy?

Is iPhone 6S still a good buy?

  • No--get something newer

    Votes: 23 29.9%

  • Yes--it still has a lot of life left in her.

    Votes: 54 70.1%
  • Total voters
    77
If you find a good deal on the 2015 iPhone 6s, then sure. If you look at the Android side, the 6s is faster than current midrange Android smartphones. I believe it's even comparable to high end Android flagships from 2016.

If I find an unlocked 6s 32+GB for $300 or less, I'll likely get one as travel and backup phone.
 
It often takes a few weeks after launch for the old outgoing iPhones to truly drop significantly in price on the used market.
 
Frisco said:
Or will Apple cut off iOS updates soon.

It's the perfect phone for me in terms of size. Plus I like the physical home button that moves. I don't need all the latest tech like great camera. etc.

Thoughts on buying a 6S this late in the game?
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As others have said, the fact that it shares internals with the current model SE, not to mention the new iPad released just this year, is a good indicator that it will be well supported with iOS update for quite a few years yet. It has a decent amount of ram (same as the 7), it has a processor that Apple still consider fast enough for brand new products, I think it will last well into 2020's personally.
 
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OP, its still a great buy. One of the best iPhone's released.

Dented said:
As others have said, the fact that it shares internals with the current model SE, not to mention the new iPad released just this year, is a good indicator that it will be well supported with iOS update for quite a few years yet. It has a decent amount of ram (same as the 7), it has a processor that Apple still consider fast enough for brand new products, I think it will last well into 2020's personally.
Click to expand...

well said
 
I just bought a 6s on Friday. I found a 128gig ATT certified restore (appears brand new) for $300 on Craigs List. I am upgrading from a standard 6. The 6 seemed to be slowing down a bit opening apps etc. I decided to get the 6s now and hold on to it as long as I can for the sole reason that it's the last iphone with a headphone jack. I did some research comparing the 6 and the 6s and it seems like the 6s was a significant improvement to the 6. I'm not a heavy phone app user so I don't NEED the most high tech phone, but the headphone jack utility was sort of a deal breaker on the newest phones. Maybe I'm just a reactionary curmudgeon, but removing the headphone jack really bothers me. I would probably have been interested in upgrading from my 6 to the iphone 8 when it comes out if it had a headphone jack, but it sounds like it wont, so ill just use the 6s until it no longer is supported and then decide what to do. Hopefully I'll have this phone for a few years at least.
 
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It's still a great iPhone. I'm considering replacing my once-top-of-the-line 128Gb unlocked 6s Plus (depending on what's announced this week) and Gazelle said they'd pay me $200 for it, and it regularly sells on ebay for $350-$420. The iPhone 6s is still a speedy, powerful device and I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a standard-size iPhone.

Apple won't cut off OS updates to the 6s for years to come. When iOS 11 hits, for example, it will still run on the 5s, which came out in 2013. The 6s is probably good until at least late 2020.
 
Last edited:
Huginnmuninn said:
It's still a great iPhone. I'm considering replacing my once-top-of-the-line 128Gb unlocked 6s Plus (depending on what's announced this week) and Gazelle said they'd pay me $200 for it, and it regularly sells on ebay for $350-$420. The iPhone 6 is still a speedy, powerful device and I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a standard-size iPhone.
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I assume you mean 6s. I wouldn’t call the 6 speedy.
 
As iOS devices age, the bottleneck always seems to be either: A) Processor speed, or B) RAM. Devices with enough RAM always seem to age more gracefully.

The 6S falls into this category. It will have great shelf life compared to anything with 1GB of RAM regardless of processing power.

As a 6S owner, I will echo that its worst quality is battery life. Since day one it has been less impressive than any other brand new iPhone I've had. iOS seems to have been optimized for the plus models.

Buy in 2017? Yes, for $350 or less and knowing that the battery life will be sub-par.
 
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JoeShades said:
I assume Apple will reduce the price by at least 100 on Tuesday
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They may very well drop the 6S altogether, which just leaves everything down to who still has stock and what they want to charge for it.

iPhone X, "8" (aka 7S), 7, SE, doesn't really seem like they need the 6S in the official lineup too.

That's not to suggest it's not a great buy or won't still be a good capable iPhone for years to come.
 
IJBrekke said:
As iOS devices age, the bottleneck always seems to be either: A) Processor speed, or B) RAM. Devices with enough RAM always seem to age more gracefully.

The 6S falls into this category. It will have great shelf life compared to anything with 1GB of RAM regardless of processing power.

As a 6S owner, I will echo that its worst quality is battery life. Since day one it has been less impressive than any other brand new iPhone I've had. iOS seems to have been optimized for the plus models.

Buy in 2017? Yes, for $350 or less and knowing that the battery life will be sub-par.
Click to expand...

Agreed the battery life is not the greatest on this device.

However I found I would get a days use with regular use - would be about 50-60% by about 4pm, with 10-20% left by the time I am ready to charge it for bed. The saving grace for apple is the way they handle standby mode Those days where youre answering a lot of texts and calls and the like are the tougher days battery life wise.

Low power mode helped a lot too though I didnt typically activate it.

That said I found similar "mediocre" use with the iPhone 7 despite the larger capacity battery and fusion chip layout. Perhaps plus models are more optimised, I just think they have much larger batteries and that's why they last longer though. It's all about relative energy usage too - the iPhone SE has a smaller battery than the 6s and 7, and lacks the fusion chip design of the 7 as well yet it outlasts the 6s and 7 with ease.

I am fine with mediocre use though, I just need the phone to last me through the day and I'm not bothered by needing to charge it unless it falls below 9% or so which it rarely did for me. 100% agree with the 6s being a fantastic phone and that the battery life isn't the greatest, probably the only fault with the phone.

My 2 cents
 
My Answer is NO because of Six Reasons:
1. iPhone 6S is already 2 Years old
2. iPhone 6S is not that fast but slow especially on iOS 11 is just like iPhone 4S in iOS 8 which means that the slow downs, stutters are present.
3. iPhone 6S is not WATER PROOF unlike OTHERS iPhone 7 and 8 are more Durable
4. iPhone 6S is not a wise buy when iPhone 7 is only 100$ more but water proof, and can get iOS 14
5. iPhone 6S Design is similar to iPhone 6 that is almost 4 Years old. and not as Durable unlike iPhone 7 and 8
6. iPhone 6S can ONLY last up to 2019-2020, which means it might get iOS 13 or not.
 
Vivian125 said:
My Answer is NO because of Six Reasons:
1. iPhone 6S is already 2 Years old
2. iPhone 6S is not that fast but slow especially on iOS 11 is just like iPhone 4S in iOS 8 which means that the slow downs, stutters are present.
3. iPhone 6S is not WATER PROOF unlike OTHERS iPhone 7 and 8 are more Durable
4. iPhone 6S is not a wise buy when iPhone 7 is only 100$ more but water proof, and can get iOS 14
5. iPhone 6S Design is similar to iPhone 6 that is almost 4 Years old. and not as Durable unlike iPhone 7 and 8
6. iPhone 6S can ONLY last up to 2019-2020, which means it might get iOS 13 or not.
Click to expand...
1. It’s 2 years old, AND cheaper.
2. I have the 6S, and it is anything but slow on iOS 11. Not much different than iOS 10. Have yet to see anybody complaining how slow the 6S under iOS 11.
3. True, but is IS cheaper
4. True, if one has the budget, the 7 is more future proof
5. It is as durable as 7 (minus IP67). The 6S uses the newer aluminum alloy, unlike the iPhone 6 which is susceptible to bendgate.
6. For some, that’s quite long enough. Plus with 2GB of RAM and the fact is supports ARKit, we might see it getting extended life (considering 2017 iPad has the same chip).

One downfall of the 6S is that it doesn’t support HEVC encoding. OTOH, by the time the format is mainstream, one would be upgrading to a newer phone anyway.
 
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The 6S is still a great device. I have many family members that use them right now. It has many of the important modern smartphone features: HD screen, 4k capable camera, good processor, contactless payments. The iPhone SE is a blessing for the 6S since it could mean longer device support, but I could be wrong about that.
 
no.
i have a 6s and its great. i love it.
i have decided to wait to upgrade until the 2018 iPhone model comes out.

6s is already a full 2 years old now.
if you can get a great price on a 6s and expect it to last maybe 1 year, then i would definitely say yes, the 6s is a great phone.
but by the time iOS 12 comes around, matched with new hardware in 2018, you will not be happy with a 6s post september / october 2018.

additionally, as has been said, it has minimally acceptable battery life. even with a battery replacement.
 
It depends on what iOS that iPhone 6S running
If it runs iOS 10 then probably it's still worth it... i'd rather use an iPhone 5 in iOS 10 last update than iPhone 6S in iOS 11.. iPhone 6S looks PAR or slower than iPhone 5 in iOS 10 when launching apps. But in fact, iPhone 6S in iOS 11 is still 6 times better than a 4s in iOS 9 while iPhone 6 (1gb ram) is only 2 x better on 4s iOS 9 .

So if your gonna buy iPhone 6S make sure it run iOS 10 ONLY but not iOS 11.. For me iOs 11.1 still slower than iOS 10.3.3 on my 6S.. Or just will gonna update to the last version of iOS 11.. so much battery drainage even i already have replaced it a while ago. and also 1-2 seconds delay than iOS 10 to open apps.
 
The iPhone 6S is still a damn fine phone and more than capable. The fact is that save for a few niche things, most people carry out exactly the same daily tasks on their latest flagship phone as they did 3, 4 even 5 years ago. Send texts, use social media, take photos, use maps, and shock of shocks, make the odd call if they can remember how to speak to people after all the faceless contact!
 
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