Apple iPhone 6s And 6s Plus Review

[MobileEditor]

The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus may look just like last year's iPhones, but hardware updates and Apple's new 3D Touch feature make them feel completely new. While the new cameras and 4K video recording may get the hype, it's the 2GB of RAM that steals the show.

Apple iPhone 6s And 6s Plus Review : Read more

 

[Shankovich]

I know lots of people are going to trash talk Apple here, but most of us know our hardware and thus should know a bit better. 2 gigs of ram seems low, but Apple's software is highly optimized and we know you can have a bunch of stuff open without it being that noticeable.

Secondly, unless your eye ball touches the screen, you're not going to see a difference between a 1080p screen and above at typical viewing distances for a phone. (If you're going to complain about gaming on it, this site isn't for you). "So why don't they just put a higher res screen on it for the marketing aspect?" Well, aside from them being Apple, which is enough for most people, a higher res screen that most will barely be able to tell from FHD also means more work for the GPU, which means less battery life.

LG, Samsung, etc all do the same thing year over year, that being incremental upgrades, like Apple does. They're all the same. We've reached a saturation point in mobile devices now (probably did 2 years ago).

 

[Kwuarter]

The fact that the iPhone 6s comes with a base model of 16gb is upsetting.

 

[10tacle]

What year is this? Why are we still seeing "new" so-called high end phones with 1080p 5.5" displays and 16GB base memory offerings? And for anyone who says that you can't really see the difference between 1080p and 1440p on such a small screen, get your eyes checked. Happy Samsung Note 5 owner here, upgrading from an 1136p, 326ppi iPhone 5S. (The Galaxy 6 and Note 5 are 1440p with 518ppi for anyone who cares).

 

[monsta]

ummmmm don't you think you are just a bit late reviewing this phone that was released months ago ? LOL

 

[iam2thecrowe]

Seems ok if price isn't an object, most plans include the cost of the phone in a monthly payment now anyway. I will be getting one for work later this year, just hopefully battery life is much better than the 5s which is my current work phone. I wouldn't get one if I had to pay for it out of my own pocket though.

 

[razor512]

While I don't like the iphone, more companies need to follow their lead with the SOC. Instead of focusing on 8 slower cores (of which 4-6 of then remain idle most of the time since many tasks are not multithreaded. Focus on improving the IPC of the CPU and run newer but faster cores.

 

[loki1944]

Couldn't be happier with my iPhone 6S Plus; very responsive.

 

[Astone3145]

"QHD is only really necessary for AMOLED panels (due to having fewer red and blue subpixels than RGB stripe LCD panels), virtual reality applications (because the screen is closer to your eyes), and for people who augmented their genetic code with eagle DNA."

I would love to have access to some of that augmented eagle DNA!

 

[MobileEditor]

I would love to have access to some of that augmented eagle DNA!

Do you struggle to see faraway objects? Find yourself squinting to read small text on your smartphone? Thanks to a breakthrough in genetic engineering, you can permanently upgrade your vision by augmenting your own blueprint with eagle DNA!

* See up to five times farther
* Experience more vivid colors
* See UV light

These are just a few of the advantages that await you after only a single, semi-painless treatment.

This treatment is not approved by the FDA. Some people may experience side effects, including upset stomach, loss of bone mass, accelerated growth of toenails, hardening of the lips, and nose bleeds. Please contact your doctor immediately if you feel the urge to jump from tall structures and soar above the trees, as this could indicate a potentially fatal condition.

 

[none12345]

When your hardware is so far behind the competition its easy to make 70% gains lol. On one hand it's nice to see apple finally putting a little more hardware in their pones; on the other hand, flash is very cheap these days, and only 16 gigs is just downright laughable. The fact that put in like $5-15 more of ram and charge you $100-$300 is just a joke.

And ya at minimum i would expect a 1080p screen, but really 1440p woudl be better. I dont know if phones need 4k in 5-6" just yet, at some point, sure. If you look at all the vr phone boxes coming out lately, you will absolutely notice a huge difference in screen res at a few inches from your eyes. Even 8k is not sufficient for that purpose.


In short tho, too little, too late, no thanks.

 

[jacobian]

[quotemsg=17384874,0,340939]I know lots of people are going to trash talk Apple here, but most of us know our hardware and thus should know a bit better. 2 gigs of ram seems low, but Apple's software is highly optimized and we know you can have a bunch of stuff open without it being that noticeable.

Secondly, unless your eye ball touches the screen, you're not going to see a difference between a 1080p screen and above at typical viewing distances for a phone. (If you're going to complain about gaming on it, this site isn't for you). "So why don't they just put a higher res screen on it for the marketing aspect?" Well, aside from them being Apple, which is enough for most people, a higher res screen that most will barely be able to tell from FHD also means more work for the GPU, which means less battery life.

LG, Samsung, etc all do the same thing year over year, that being incremental upgrades, like Apple does. They're all the same. We've reached a saturation point in mobile devices now (probably did 2 years ago). [/quotemsg]

I disagree with the claim that Apple gave us half GB or only 1GB of memory only because that's all we need. That's BS. Every time I used an older iPhone, even years ago, it felt like all it did most of the time was reloading web browser tabs, which was a big pain in the arse. Regardless of the apple optimizations, there is no escaping the fact that the smartphone apps these days can be as heavy and demanding as the desktop apps. Open firefox and load news web sites in 10 tabs and then see how much memory than needs. Anyways, perhaps the 2GB version of iphone will solve these problems. One way or another, Apple simply continues its tradition of pinching pennies and giving you the least amount of internal hardware they can get away with while charging the most cash.

 

[jacobian]

[quotemsg=17386741,0,202972]What year is this? Why are we still seeing "new" so-called high end phones with 1080p 5.5" displays and 16GB base memory offerings? And for anyone who says that you can't really see the difference between 1080p and 1440p on such a small screen, get your eyes checked. Happy Samsung Note 5 owner here, upgrading from an 1136p, 326ppi iPhone 5S. (The Galaxy 6 and Note 5 are 1440p with 518ppi for anyone who cares). [/quotemsg]

I am sorry, but you don't really need more than 1080p on such a small screen, and I am near sighted. I far better question, why only 16GB of storage on such an expensive phone when already budget android smartphones for under $300 already have more. A $210 USD Motorola Moto G comes with 2GB of memory. It's not clear to me what exactly the consumers pay such a hefty premium for.

 

[jacobian]

[quotemsg=17391784,0,1310218]When your hardware is so far behind the competition its easy to make 70% gains lol. On one hand it's nice to see apple finally putting a little more hardware in their pones; on the other hand, flash is very cheap these days, and only 16 gigs is just downright laughable. The fact that put in like $5-15 more of ram and charge you $100-$300 is just a joke.

And ya at minimum i would expect a 1080p screen, but really 1440p woudl be better. I dont know if phones need 4k in 5-6" just yet, at some point, sure. If you look at all the vr phone boxes coming out lately, you will absolutely notice a huge difference in screen res at a few inches from your eyes. Even 8k is not sufficient for that purpose.


In short tho, too little, too late, no thanks.[/quotemsg]

Yo! Apple software is far more efficient than android will ever be. You don't need more than 16GB of storage on your $800 Apple phone, because iOS will magically compress the images, videos, and apps you store so that they take four times less space than on an Adroid phone. Therefore, an Apple iPhone 6S is equivalent to an Android smartphone with 8GB of RAM and 64GB of stage, YO.

 

[Bry___]

So I don't know finally which chip is better, Samsung or TSMC? I got a Samsung in my 6s+ 128 and wanted to exchange for a TSMC until I see this review

 

[Bry___]

Because you are the only one who says Samsung is better

 

[MobileEditor]

So I don't know finally which chip is better, Samsung or TSMC? I got a Samsung in my 6s+ 128 and wanted to exchange for a TSMC until I see this review

Our conclusion is that neither is "better." The practical differences between them are small. Nobody other than Apple knows the exact differences between the two versions (and they say 2-3%), because none of the tests online, including ours, account for manufacturing variance. It's also possible that the power curves cross, meaning the TSMC A9 may show lower power consumption over part of the frequency domain, with the Samsung A9 lower over the remaining segment.

- Matt Humrick, Mobile Editor, Tom's Hardware

 

[Bry___]

Thanks for your answer Matt,

Do you think I have to exchange mine for a TSMC? I know that the only test made by others has shown a significant difference in favor of TSMC, even if this test is not the "real world usage".

Which one do you think is more reliable to stay with? Because I plan to keep this phone for a while, that's why I want the best.

 

[Bry___]

Nowadays as well, I don't trust Samsung anymore because I had some bad experiences with one their phone, the S5, with the battery which was very very hot when I called for a long time.

 

[Ted_4_]

$1000 for a phone, give me a break.Removed by moderator.. Samsung and Apple are both way over priced.

 

[Bry___]

Yes I admit, but if you plan to keep for 3-4 years and sell it after... That's ok for the investment
You use it everyday as well

 

[Xharon]

This smartphone is a rock, everything else is just under !!!