Would it be a step backwards going from S6 to 6S Plus?

[Sensamic]

Hey guys.

I've been debating for weeks which phone should be my next one after my S6. I'm happy with it, but there are a few minor things that annoy me (bugs since the 6.0 update and random android stuff like an error message I don't even know where it comes from) and a few things I would want, like more storage (only got the 32GB model), better battery life, IPS screen instead of AMOLED, etc.

I don't see anything appealing in the android world. I don't want the same old thing, so no S7 or any other Samsung phone. G5 is getting terrible reviews, Nexus 6P is nice but I want even better battery life and no AMOLED screen again, M10 could be interesting, etc. Nothing really excites me that much, so I've been thinking maybe it's time to go back to iOS and try how different it is now since I last try it (iPhone 4).

It would be nice to have a fluid OS, with less bugs (even thought Apple is doing a terrible job lately with updates, but I like that they fix them quickly), best battery life in the market, nice multitasking, IPS screen super bright (just tried it today at the store and at maximum brightness it completely destroys my S6 at maximum too), guaranteed updates for 3 years and in time, iTunes backup for easy full backup of app data, TouchID, etc.

I'm thinking about buying the 6S Plus. There are a few areas in which the S6 is better (theoretically): more RAM (but with worse multitasking?), QHD screen (but makes for worst battery life?), better camera, IR (I use it a lot with my TV), smaller and more comfortable to hold and use, the back button (man, I really miss it when trying the 6S Plus in store), quick charge (iPhone charges way slowly I guess because it doesn't have this), etc.

Also, the 6S Plus is sooooooo expensive for what it offers.

Do you guys think it can be a good change? I'd also like to buy the Apple watch (probably the second generation) with it. That would be cool. Seems like the Apple watch can do much more than Android Wear.

Thanks guys.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Don't know where you're located or if you get from a carrier or not. But do you have a return window to try the 6S out?

 

[spinedoc77]

Depends on what you like in an OS. Don't be surprised though when you fire up that iPhone and find the OS is almost the same as the one you had years ago, Apple moves quite slowly. That's not a bad thing, as you mention the iphones are rock solid and just do their thing with no complaint. Android needs a bit of massaging and patience, but has much much more freedom. You may find you miss some of that freedom, or you may appreciate the stability.

 

[Sensamic]

Don't know where you're located or if you get from a carrier or not. But do you have a return window to try the 6S out?

I'm in Spain. Here, once you open the box, you can't return it unless it's defective. We have no 14 days trial period. Maybe with Amazon, but I don't want to buy online, but maybe I should think about that. Thanks.

Depends on what you like in an OS. Don't be surprised though when you fire up that iPhone and find the OS is almost the same as the one you had years ago, Apple moves quite slowly. That's not a bad thing, as you mention the iphones are rock solid and just do their thing with no complaint. Android needs a bit of massaging and patience, but has much much more freedom. You may find you miss some of that freedom, or you may appreciate the stability.

Over the last couple of years I've been doing less and less with Android. I mean no more trying custom roms, kernels and stuff like that. It's fun from time to time, mainly with my Nexus 7 2013, but not on my phone. My S6 hasn't been rooted since I got it last November. That's why I'm thinking of trying iOS again. I don't see myself rooting and trying custom roms again just to try and get better battery on my phone. I don't plan on jailbreaking the iPhone either if it's possible still.

I definitely would miss a lot of things from android, like downloading torrents, live wallpapers, better widgets implementation, true multitasking (having a browser link load in the background), downloading youtube videos, having a file browser, easily downloading stuff from the web from Chrome or any other browser, etc.

 

[gotluck]

It all comes down to priorities!

Ios has made some ground with downloading things from the Web, it just doesn't work like it does on Android, Mac, pc and it's contained the the apps sandbox and requires stuff like the 'open in' menu I'm not a big fan of, but it does work

There may be an app that slips into the store that allows youtube downloading. I believe protube does?

There are some faux file browsers like documents by readle you can read up on too

It's all give and take

Jailbreaking takes away all the caveats except bugfree full background multitasking, but hasn't been a public jb since 9.0.2

IPhone 4 was my last iPhone prior to the 6s too

 

[spinedoc77]

I'm in Spain. Here, once you open the box, you can't return it unless it's defective. We have no 14 days trial period. Maybe with Amazon, but I don't want to buy online, but maybe I should think about that. Thanks.



Over the last couple of years I've been doing less and less with Android. I mean no more trying custom roms, kernels and stuff like that. It's fun from time to time, mainly with my Nexus 7 2013, but not on my phone. My S6 hasn't been rooted since I got it last November. That's why I'm thinking of trying iOS again. I don't see myself rooting and trying custom roms again just to try and get better battery on my phone. I don't plan on jailbreaking the iPhone either if it's possible still.

I definitely would miss a lot of things from android, like downloading torrents, live wallpapers, better widgets implementation, true multitasking (having a browser link load in the background), downloading youtube videos, having a file browser, easily downloading stuff from the web from Chrome or any other browser, etc.

It's a tough decision for sure. I went back to a 6s+ and absolutely loved the hardware, the stability, the physical mute button, etc. iOS was very stable, but I got bored of it quickly. I also missed some functionality that I just could not live without. I couldn't deal with having row after row of icons and having to hunt around dozens and dozens of them trying to find an app. I missed widgets, which allow me to have literally every single piece of information in my life right there in front of me in real time. I missed Google Voice integration with the OS, I'm a huge Google Voice user both home and work. These things are very specific to myself, they may have little or no importance to you.

You should try it though, maybe it's what you need. For me it was a wake up call that I really preferred Android. Although sadly I'm just a lemming who has that epiphany once every 2 years when I inevitably buy an iPhone, use it for 3 months then decide it's not for me, only to repeat again in 2 years.
[doublepost=1459821271][/doublepost]

It all comes down to priorities!

Ios has made some ground with downloading things from the Web, it just doesn't work like it does on Android, Mac, pc and it's contained the the apps sandbox and requires stuff like the 'open in' menu I'm not a big fan of, but it does work

There may be an app that slips into the store that allows youtube downloading. I believe protube does?

There are some faux file browsers like documents by readle you can read up on too

It's all give and take

Jailbreaking takes away all the caveats except bugfree full background multitasking, but hasn't been a public jb since 9.0.2

IPhone 4 was my last iPhone prior to the 6s too

Jailbreaking is broken IMO based on using it on my 6s+. Many of the once useful jailbreak apps aren't available, not having been updated to work with iOS9, some haven't even been updated for years. JB Devs don't return emails or really seem to care about their development. Piracy is rampant and free apps are ridiculously easy to find, I don't mean that in a good way as I always pay if I keep an app, but it's just one more thing for a JB dev to worry about. Even the JB apps which are updated for iOS9 are quite buggy. If you want your iPhone to have that Android like bugginess then jailbreak it, my 6s+ became fairly unstable with JB and just a few JB apps.

 

[mountain]

It would be an upgrade IMO.

 

[gotluck]

I've been having a great experience with jb on my phone and pad on 9.0.2. I wouldn't really recommend it to people because it does take away that core carefree apple mentality I agree. Personally though I won't give up my core tweaks (I don't theme) and have no plans to go stock. I wouldn't have it any other way, Been jbing since ios 4. Yes many of the staples of years past are gone, but there are still some gems like Filza, flex2.5, mikoto, youtube++, and the ability to be rid of itunes, small things like getting rid of the giant volume indicator are priceless too

Have some nice tweaks on the ipad air to mitigate the slowdown apple loves to do on older devices with the blur effects without having to resort to the ugliness that comes with the stock reduce transparency setting, also have enabled pip which works without issue too. Jb probably has more usefulness on not current gen devices to enable features apple cockblocks on for arguable reasons

I would want root on Android too, and there are more repercussions/ consequences for having root on Android these days versus jbing

It's not the jb that causes instability, but what was installed after it! (Unless you jbd on day one, yes there were problems the first week or two with the untether)

//off topic

It's a tough decision for sure. I went back to a 6s+ and absolutely loved the hardware, the stability, the physical mute button, etc. iOS was very stable, but I got bored of it quickly. I also missed some functionality that I just could not live without. I couldn't deal with having row after row of icons and having to hunt around dozens and dozens of them trying to find an app. I missed widgets, which allow me to have literally every single piece of information in my life right there in front of me in real time. I missed Google Voice integration with the OS, I'm a huge Google Voice user both home and work. These things are very specific to myself, they may have little or no importance to you.

You should try it though, maybe it's what you need. For me it was a wake up call that I really preferred Android. Although sadly I'm just a lemming who has that epiphany once every 2 years when I inevitably buy an iPhone, use it for 3 months then decide it's not for me, only to repeat again in 2 years.
[doublepost=1459821271][/doublepost]

Jailbreaking is broken IMO based on using it on my 6s+. Many of the once useful jailbreak apps aren't available, not having been updated to work with iOS9, some haven't even been updated for years. JB Devs don't return emails or really seem to care about their development. Piracy is rampant and free apps are ridiculously easy to find, I don't mean that in a good way as I always pay if I keep an app, but it's just one more thing for a JB dev to worry about. Even the JB apps which are updated for iOS9 are quite buggy. If you want your iPhone to have that Android like bugginess then jailbreak it, my 6s+ became fairly unstable with JB and just a few JB apps.

 

[Sensamic]

Too many things to think about, for sure. I'm also not a fan of hardware home buttons, like on iPhone and Galaxy phones. Thankfully, I almost never use it on my Galaxy thanks to the two capacitive buttons. I love that.

My phone uses are getting simpler, but here the 6S Plus 64GB is 870 euros. That's almost 300 euros more than the S7!! Size is also a tad too big, but I want the bigger battery, plus I found out that watching 720P videos on the 6S is terrible, and I do watch a lot of videos in my phone.

I'd like something that works well for 3 years at least. I don't want to be constantly buying a new android phone every year because I don't get updates or I get them a year later.

Anyways, I have to seriously think if I could live with the compromises of iOS (which also bring some benefits, of course). I would probably already had tried the iPhone again if it was cheaper.

 

[TheMacApple]

Wait till September for iPhone 7

 

[gotluck]

Wait for the seven if you can and buy the 6s+ secondhand and I'm sure you can get a helluva deal. I'm still a bit sour over $750 for my 64g 6s, when my xps13 was cheaper, but what can I say

 

[Fernandez21]

Wait till September for iPhone 7

This. If you plan on using your phone for a couple of years, might be best to wait until the new model comes out rather than getting one 7 months old.

If you must get it now, try searching for a good used one. Any used iPhone 6S Plus will still be under warrantee for the next couple of months too.

 

[Sensamic]

Yeah, I thought about that, but I don't see any great upgrades for the 7. No headphone jack? Dual cameras on the Plus? A10 chip? The biggest advantage would be 3GB RAM, but I don't see that happening when the new Pro has just been announced and still has 2GB RAM.

Right now almost all second hand 6S are only 100 euros cheaper than new, and for just 100 euros I prefer to buy it new and sealed, so I don't get any surprises. The new 6S has one of the most important features for me: 4K video recording, so having that is more important than any new feature de 7 could have. Maybe wireless charging and water resistant? Not that important to me. Fast charging would be better. Can't be that hard for Apple to implement it.

If I find a good deal I might buy it second hand. No 4K video recording and 1GB RAM is the reason I don't go for the "old" 6 Plus.

I also find it hard to buy an iPhone that's more expensive than my 2015 MacBook Air 13 was (799 euros), but that's what it is.

 

[MRU]

Yeah, I thought about that, but I don't see any great upgrades for the 7. No headphone jack? Dual cameras on the Plus? A10 chip? The biggest advantage would be 3GB RAM, but I don't see that happening when the new Pro has just been announced and still has 2GB RAM.

Right now almost all second hand 6S are only 100 euros cheaper than new, and for just 100 euros I prefer to buy it new and sealed, so I don't get any surprises. The new 6S has one of the most important features for me: 4K video recording, so having that is more important than any new feature de 7 could have. Maybe wireless charging and water resistant? Not that important to me. Fast charging would be better. Can't be that hard for Apple to implement it.

If I find a good deal I might buy it second hand. No 4K video recording and 1GB RAM is the reason I don't go for the "old" 6 Plus.

I also find it hard to buy an iPhone that's more expensive than my 2015 MacBook Air 13 was (799 euros), but that's what it is.

Have you thought about just keeping your S6 Edge and buying maybe an SE to accompany it. Sure it's a small device but you get iOS, you get 4K video recording and better battery life over standard 6S. Yes you lose force touch (not much of a miss tbh) and weaker front facing camera, but it could be a good trade off if you decide to keep both ...

I ordered an unlocked one from Apple and cancelled it after I found my carrier offering me an SE 64gb for €249 on my existing contract (doesn't extend my contract) ... I plan on keeping my S7 edge and 6S Plus however.

 

[Sensamic]

Have you thought about just keeping your S6 Edge and buying maybe an SE to accompany it. Sure it's a small device but you get iOS, you get 4K video recording and better battery life over standard 6S. Yes you lose force touch (not much of a miss tbh) and weaker front facing camera, but it could be a good trade off if you decide to keep both ...

I ordered an unlocked one from Apple and cancelled it after I found my carrier offering me an SE 64gb for €249 on my existing contract (doesn't extend my contract) ... I plan on keeping my S7 edge and 6S Plus however.

Mine is the normal S6. I've been thinking about that too, mainly because I would like something smaller than the S6 instead of bigger. I tried my father's iPhone 5 to see if I could adapt again to a smaller phone, and it was ok except for the keyboard experience. I couldn't almost type due to the screen being so small. Having so little space made the typing experience a pain. The price for the SE 64GB is 549€. Not too bad. It could be a secondary device, didn't think about that. I was looking to replacing my S6 entirely.

I'm waiting to see and try one in store. They haven't arrive here yet. Having 4K is really important, but maybe if I use it as secondary device I could buy a 6 or 6 Plus second hand also. 4K wouldn't be such a priority for a secondary device, and that way I could have a bigger display and it would be even cheaper.

Thanks for the advice MRU. I will look into it. Still debating what to do and if I could live with the limits of iOS.

 

[Oohara]

I'd wait until the 7 comes out, to at least see what it brings. At the very minimum it'll be a faster phone which will last you longer than a 6s. Get a 6s now and you might end up regretting it come September...

I used Android for about two years and then switched back to iPhone when the 6 Plus came out. I miss some of the functionality and options, but overall I find that using iOS gives me more reliability and better flow. I keep my old Note 2 and Tab S 8.4 around so I can fiddle with Android now and then which is enough to keep me happy with that side of things.

And personally I can recommend the Apple Watch too! It's a cool little sidekick to have and it's still growing on me, despite WatchOS still being quite limited. AW apps are getting better and better, and some of them are quite awesome at this point even though the watch is pretty slow.

The second generation AW will be better for sure, but if it hasn't showed up once the 7 is released (if you end up going for that option) I think you might enjoy the first version as it is, and you'll probably be able to pick it up for very little money by then! Even now you can get great condition used ones very cheap.

In any case good luck with your choice and I hope you find the right options for you!

 

[Sensamic]

Yeah, the Apple watch is another reason for wanting to go back to iOS. I don't see Android Wear as a great option, considering updates are another mess and functionality isn't as big as the Apple Watch (or so I've seen). I bet the second generation will be awesome, and I've seen second hand devices go for 220 euros this week. Awesome price.

For me, unless the 7 ditches the home button I don't see any major desire for it.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Too many things to think about, for sure. I'm also not a fan of hardware home buttons, like on iPhone and Galaxy phones. Thankfully, I almost never use it on my Galaxy thanks to the two capacitive buttons. I love that.

My phone uses are getting simpler, but here the 6S Plus 64GB is 870 euros. That's almost 300 euros more than the S7!! Size is also a tad too big, but I want the bigger battery, plus I found out that watching 720P videos on the 6S is terrible, and I do watch a lot of videos in my phone.

I'd like something that works well for 3 years at least. I don't want to be constantly buying a new android phone every year because I don't get updates or I get them a year later.

Anyways, I have to seriously think if I could live with the compromises of iOS (which also bring some benefits, of course). I would probably already had tried the iPhone again if it was cheaper.

If you buy your 6S plus from the Apple Store you will get a 14 day no questions returns period. You can use the phone and if you don't like it, you can return for a full refund. The U.K. is like Spain but Apple are one of the few retailers that allow you to use a product and return it for a refund. It doesn't have to be faulty.

 

[Sensamic]

If you buy your 6S plus from the Apple Store you will get a 14 day no questions returns period. You can use the phone and if you don't like it, you can return for a full refund. The U.K. is like Spain but Apple are one of the few retailers that allow you to use a product and return it for a refund. It doesn't have to be faulty.

Where I live exactly there are no official Apple stores. We have retailers like BB in the US. They have the phones in store to try, so I can spend all the time I want playing with it. That's the only way here. There are some official Apple stores in Madrid, Barcelona and such, but I live very far away from those cities. All I can think of is Amazon. Maybe they do have a trial period with iPhones too.

 

[billy the fish]

Hey guys.

I've been debating for weeks which phone should be my next one after my S6. I'm happy with it, but there are a few minor things that annoy me (bugs since the 6.0 update and random android stuff like an error message I don't even know where it comes from) and a few things I would want, like more storage (only got the 32GB model), better battery life, IPS screen instead of AMOLED, etc.

I don't see anything appealing in the android world. I don't want the same old thing, so no S7 or any other Samsung phone. G5 is getting terrible reviews, Nexus 6P is nice but I want even better battery life and no AMOLED screen again, M10 could be interesting, etc. Nothing really excites me that much, so I've been thinking maybe it's time to go back to iOS and try how different it is now since I last try it (iPhone 4).

It would be nice to have a fluid OS, with less bugs (even thought Apple is doing a terrible job lately with updates, but I like that they fix them quickly), best battery life in the market, nice multitasking, IPS screen super bright (just tried it today at the store and at maximum brightness it completely destroys my S6 at maximum too), guaranteed updates for 3 years and in time, iTunes backup for easy full backup of app data, TouchID, etc.

I'm thinking about buying the 6S Plus. There are a few areas in which the S6 is better (theoretically): more RAM (but with worse multitasking?), QHD screen (but makes for worst battery life?), better camera, IR (I use it a lot with my TV), smaller and more comfortable to hold and use, the back button (man, I really miss it when trying the 6S Plus in store), quick charge (iPhone charges way slowly I guess because it doesn't have this), etc.

Also, the 6S Plus is sooooooo expensive for what it offers.

Do you guys think it can be a good change? I'd also like to buy the Apple watch (probably the second generation) with it. That would be cool. Seems like the Apple watch can do much more than Android Wear.

Thanks guys.

With what you have just listed as the cons in switching, it seems like you would have to be a loon to even consider it.. end of the day, it's your money, do what makes you happy dude.

 

[Sensamic]

I found a nice deal on a second hand shop: 700€ for the 6S Plus 64GB like new. That's 180€ cheaper than new.

I'm gonna think about it tonight. It's a really good offer, considering the phone was perfect. No scratches or anything.

 

[IFRIT]

For me yes as iOS is too restrictive for my taste, i can handle it on a tablet and just about on my secondary phone (iPhone SE) but not on my primary phone.

 

[aneftp]

I guess for non USA people. The exchange rate apple charges makes Apple products more expensive.

But in the USA Samsung has jacked up the prices and been pretty much equal pricing to the iPhone since the Galaxy s4 days.

I know for fact that the msrp for Galaxy s3 (2012) was $550 (ATT) while the iPhone 5 (2012) msrp was ($650).

But since those times. Galaxy S4/5/7/7 along with the Note series msrp in the USA have been the same or higher than iPhone series (just weird that the major carriers have different msrp pricing for the same exact Galaxy phones) like att charges more than Verizon. I am not gonna to get into the technical LTE band differences why att charges more for a galaxy series phone over Verizon).

Saying all that. The S6 to iPhone 6S is not a downgrade. Those phones were released at different times (5 months apart?). The 6S(plus) is far superior to the S6. Just in terms of fluidity and battery life. We all know the S6 wasn't the greatest in terms of battery life. Apple even with its lower rates battery handles things better on the battery side. Go go on any android form and look at complaints on battery from people. It's cause Google just allows more rogue apps to drain battery.

Now if u like the android eco system. I would suggest u just get an S7. If you hate iOS. Nothing we can tell u can convince u to switch to Apple.

 

[Tig Bitties]

I'm no Apple fan, but isn't the 6S Plus a newer and faster phone than the older Galaxy S6, plus the battery life on the 6S Plus is known to be amazing for it's longevity, whereas the S6 is known the opposite, really crappy battery life ?

I'm not an iPhone guy, but the 6S Plus truly is a whole lot better phone than the Galaxy S6.

 

[billy the fish]

I'm no Apple fan, but isn't the 6S Plus a newer and faster phone than the older Galaxy S6, plus the battery life on the 6S Plus is known to be amazing for it's longevity, whereas the S6 is known the opposite, really crappy battery life ?

I'm not an iPhone guy, but the 6S Plus truly is a whole lot better phone than the Galaxy S6.

Based solely on battery life? What about inferior design, screen, camera and video? Or are they not an issue..