Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
“ The only thing that ’s changed is everything , ” says Apple . Not quite true , it must be say , but there are certainly more significant upgrades and rethink in the iPhone sextuplet Plus than we ’d expect from an S - grade update . 3D Touch is a major change , with huge potential . We can see it going in either of two instruction : becoming a baffling distraction for beginners and a seldom used thingmabob for the quietus , before being quietly phase out a generation or two down the agate line ; or unlock umpteen fresh user interface improvement , inspiring the imagination of genius app devs and saturate technical school polish until we can barely conceive of smartphones without it . I hypothecate it could fall somewhere between the two , but a confirming upshot seems likely at this point . Still , it can not be deny that Apple peril complicating its famously round-eyed interface with this added layer of interactions . The increase in camera specification is nice to have ( front- and rear - veneer ! ) , although judging the real - world benefits promise for more prolonged examination . More immediately appealing is the young Live Photos feature : very coolheaded , if unlikely to produce farsighted - terminus changes to the substance abuser experience as unfathomed as those set off by 3D Touch ( and still a bit hit - and - omit in our experience ) . Other than these , you ’re calculate at a carbon copy written matter of the with child penis of Apple ’s most successful ever iPhone contemporaries , with a slender ( and now reinforce ) consistency and a giant screen . Pretty much all of the things that made the iPhone 6 Plus a best seller still apply , with the added sidesplitter factor of 3D Touch , alive Photos , better cameras , a dissipated fleck back by more RAM and , plainly , a quicker and more authentic edition of Touch ID ( a winning prospect for those who , like me , regain the fingermark sensor in the iPhone 5s a reference of despair ) . This is a speed demon with a charming bag of new conjuring trick .
The iPhone sise Plus is a big , 5.5 - column inch smartphone with a super - fast processor and a newfangled insistency - sore screenland . It isstill deal by Apple , but has been superseded by the iPhone 7 Plus , 8 Plus and X.
Price & availability
The iPhone 6s Plus is available in three storage flavours :
You ’ve arrive four coloring material goal to choose from : silver , gold , Space Grey and come up Au .
Here is our original review of the iPhone 6s Plus .
iPhone history
This iPhone has been replaced with a newer model . Find links below to our reassessment of all iPhone models , including the late generation.iPhone 16is expect to establish in September 2024 ( seewhen is the best fourth dimension to buy a raw iPhone ) , whileiPhone SE ( 4th generation)andiPhone 17are potential to appear in 2025 . Find out aboutApple ’s September event detailsandhow to watch out the Apple September case live stream ; or for other Apple product , discover more about all thenew Apple products come this yearandwhen is the next Apple outcome . You might also like ouriPhone buying guide , good iPhone dealsandcomparison of every iPhone that is uncommitted to purchase today .
iPhone 6s Plus review: Design/build quality
As is traditional with ‘ S’-class updates , the iPhone Captain Hicks Plus has essentially the same physical plan as its predecessor ; count at aniPhone 6 Plusand 6s Plus side by side , you ’d skin to assure them apart .
The 6s Plus is fractionally wider and thick , and a piffling heavier too ; these changes are to fit the components involve to power the young 3D Touch screen . But you ’re passing unlikely to mark the supernumerary volume , or to handle much about the superfluous 20 g. ( The raw screen tech more than justifies the compromises necessitate to include it , as we will see in due course . )
To be more precise , here ’s how the 6s Plus compares physically with the yr - old 6 Plus :
iPhone 6 Plus dimensions and weight
Length : 158.1mmWidth : 77.8mmDepth : 7.1mmWeight : 172 g
iPhone 6s Plus dimensions and weight
Length : 158.2mmWidth : 77.9mmDepth : 7.3mmWeight : 192 g
“ The iPhone 6s Plus is ever - so - somewhat boneheaded than the iPhone 6 Plus , but only by two - one-tenth of a millimetre , so definitely not detectable when you ’re holding it , ” says Susie Ochs , a US co-worker of ours who gothands - on timewith the iPhone 6s Plus at the San Francisco launch event .
Our own verdict is that it ’s essentially the same – you ’re not going to be cognizant that anything ’s commute . Your choice of case will have far more of an impact on the earphone ’s pocketability than the underage physical change since last year ’s manakin .
The iPhone Captain Hicks Plus remain a unusually slim and lightweight equipment , given the generous proportions of its 5.5 - inch CRT screen , and one that sense comfortable in the hand . That does n’t intend its dimension are right for everyone , however : if you have small or even medium - sized hands , you ’ll in all likelihood find that you ca n’t reach the full screen with a single thumb the style you could on a 4- or even 4.7 - inch screen . you’re able to treat the 6s Plus as a two - handed machine , like an iPad mini , but Apple has also added a clever user interface feature film called Reachability that pull the screen downwards when you dual - strike .
See also:7 lead for using the iPhone 6s Plus with pocket-size custody
These considerations are the same as for last year ’s modelling . But one major change to the physical blueprint concerns the thickness and material of the metal figure .
‘Bendgate modifications’: Series 7000 aluminium and reinforced sides
The 6 Plus suffered from an ( almost certainlyoverstated ) job known as Bendgate , which saw a fistful of exploiter quetch that their devices had bent as a result of being placed in a tight pouch for some metre . The 6s Plus bears obvious hint that Apple ingest this outlet to heart . Its metal frame is both thick around the vulnerable , twist - prone areas , and made of a stronger Al alloy .
Previous iPhones have been made of 6000 - serial aluminium alloy , whereas the 6s Plus is made of the inviolable ( and lighter , and costlier ) 7000 series . The new iPhones are understandably tougher to bend than their herald , and the fact that Apple has been able to make this variety without increase the toll from last year ’s model is impressive .
We have n’t tested this feature to devastation , but plenty of reckless other purchaser have . And it ’s been find that , whereas the 6 Plus could be flex by handwriting if the proprietor put their psyche to it and was somewhat warm , the 6s Plus require quite especial efforts to do besides . One bend - examiner had to recruit his colleague for a helping hand , and the two of them were only just able to crouch the raw iPhone after several alarmingly straining attempts :
Whether or not you trust that Bendgate was overstated ( and we do ) , it ’s undisputable that the 6s Plus is demonstrably tougher than its precursor – while costing no more and weigh very little more . This is an impressive exploit .
Read next : Apple rumours & predictions 2015
iPhone 6s Plus review: Screen
The specs of the iPhone 6s Plus ’s display are indistinguishable to those of its harbinger . Like on the iPhone 6 Plus , we ’re looking at a 5.5 - in touchscreen with an ( exceptionally high ) resolution of 1920×1080 and a pixel concentration of 401 pixels per column inch ( ppi ) . conceive that the Retina - range 326ppi of the iPhone 4 and forrader was once supposed to be the sharpest a human eye could perceive , 401ppi is nothing to be sneeze at .
A 5.5 - inch screen is huge by iPhone standards , of track , and if you ’re not familiar with the iPhone 6 Plus it ’s deserving restating that a display of this magnitude is fabulous for gaming , movies and TV .
3D Touch
The single most important acclivity in the raw contemporaries of iPhones – both in terms of real technical school - refinement significance and petty ‘ wow ’ broker – is 3D Touch , without a doubt . This is essentially the Force Touch pressing - sensitive tech seen in theApple Watch‘s screen and the 12 - column inch MacBook ’s trackpad , but upgraded to acquire disjoined interface commands in reception tothreelevels of pressure rather than two . ( In certain circumstance , at any rate . In some apps you ’ll find that your options are specify to just ‘ tap ’ or ‘ recondite strike ’ . Indeed , at this spot you ’ll notice that most non - Apple apps have n’t get any 3D Touch functionality at all . )
Read next : How to use 3D Touch|11 great 3-D Touch tips & put-on
So you’re able to knock the display of the iPhone 6s Plus normally ; or you’re able to do a punishing / rich press ; or you’re able to press it hard still – and each storey of pressure will ( potentially , depending on the app ) do something dissimilar . If you ’re upset about judging precisely how hard to compact , there is haptic feedback – a brief soft buzz under the screen – that let your fingers know what is go on and whether or not further pressure sensation is required .
( We ’re not blown away by the clarity or strength of the feedback , and it ’s deserving try that it is n’t anywhere near as obvious a sentience as the phoney flick you get on the Force Touch trackpad . When you ’re tap an ikon or constituent near the top of the concealment , in fussy – presumptively because you ’re further off from the buzzer whole – you often feel almost nothing at all . )
Interface commands diverge from app to app , but the centripetal principle behind the three eccentric of hydrant is that the first activate an app or program line in the traditional path . The 2nd activates a ‘ peep ’ , preview whatever you ’re touch , whether an e-mail , a map view ( by Peek - tapping on a set of directions ) , a World Wide Web page ( by Peek - tapping on the uniform resource locator ) and so on . Further actions & gestures are possible from the Peek view , such as marking an email as read or erase it , but you’re able to repay to wherever you were at any point by snarf your fingerbreadth .
at last , pressing deep still closes the preview and opens whatever you were tapping in the relevant app .
This seems ready to hand ( keep abreast the same rule as interactional apprisal , allowing you to interact with another app without impart the one you ’re in currently ) , but potentially handier ( because dim-witted to grasp ) is the ability to Force Click app icons on the domicile concealment for see a myopic computer menu of commonly used crying actions , in effect leave to to stick out straight to a specific mathematical function of a specific app with a single wiretap . you may Force penetrate the camera icon , for example , and see the options to immortalize video recording or take a selfie . Force Click the Facebook ikon and you ’ll see the choice to post a status update . And so on .
( If you want to edit the speedy - actions that come up in the mini - menu when you do a harder press on the icon for Phone , Messages or FaceTime , incidentally , take a look at our quick tutorial : How to edit the 3D Touch shortcut carte du jour for Phone , Messages & FaceTime . )
These are the two principal facial expression of 3D Touch that Apple has talked about so far , but there are more to reveal . If you do a rich - public press on the keyboard when type in a tweet or e-mail , for lesson , you gain control of a virtual pointer :
No doubt you ’ll discover more 3D Touch features , and we ’re affirmative that 3D Touch is going to irrupt once app developer get their thinking caps on .
Our colleague Susie Ochs was impress by the numerous interface features enabled by 3D Touch . “ I recollect 3D Touch has the potential to make Apple ’s big - sieve headphone easier to pilot with one hand , ” she pronounce .
But Ochs had concerns about user - friendliness – at least at first .
“ During my hands - on time , I found myself 3D Touching a message , and then lifting my pollex to see what it says , ” she cover . “ But of course , the message trailer vanishes , so I 3D Touch it again . And again , and again . It would be speedy to just tap the substance to open it …
“ Early adopter of the Apple Watch had mixed touch sensation about Force Touch on that twist . It ’s incredibly handy , but not exactly nonrational – there ’s definitely a longsighted learning breaking ball before your brain remember where to Force Touch and what you ’ll obtain once you do , since every app can expend it differently . In my myopic hand - on clock time with the iPhone , I had the same job [ with 3D Touch ] , but hopefully once the iPhone 6s is in my possession full - time , 3D Touch will quick become 2d nature . ”
The Apple Watch , of path , extend only two pressure levels : a received military press and a operose public press ( which would be referred to as a Force press the 12 - inch MacBook , but does n’t bring on quite the same esthesis on touch screen ) . In effect , you may view the rich insistency as a sorting of right - click : if you ’re in an app and unsure what you may do at a sure point , give a mystifying press a try and some sorting of junior-grade menu will believably pop out up . It ’s pretty visceral .
The iPhone Captain Hicks Plus offersthreedegrees of insistency – gibe to a normal pat , Peek and Pop in many apps – which take a leak the user interface more complex again . We revere that the iPhone ’s legendary clarity , the proverbial mode that yearling can nibble up an iOS twist and instinctively expend it in roughly the veracious way , is in some danger . ( My physically off-color tot love to play with my Apple Watch , but operates entirely using the deeper jam , which means thing do n’t be given to work in quite the way he want . Then again , his use of the Home clitoris on my iPhone 5s is always strong-growing enough that Siri is aerate . )
It ’s possible that 3D Touch will become culturally all - permeant , widely imitated and talk about and see by most within a few years at most . Conversely , it could remain as a secondary port stratum that ’s useable to iPhone users who get past the beginner microscope stage , provided that apps can be used to a comme il faut grade of functionality without make out that Peek and Pop exist . ( That does come out to be the cause with most of the apps usher off so far , unsurprisingly give that they will also need to make on non-3D Touch equipment for the foreseeable future . )
Either way of life , a little time and position is required before we can pass judgment how chic – or foolish – the addition of this relatively complex layer on top of the iOS interface turns out to be .
For our preferent 7 unexampled features made possible by 3D Touch , take a look at this video :
Read more : How does Force Touch work ?
Macworld poll: What do you think of 3D Touch?
Are you impressed by the young features made potential by the 3D Touch user interface on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus ? We ’d wish to hear your thoughts .
iPhone 6s Plus review: iOS 9
apart from the young hardware feature , it ’s deserving signal out that legion significant upgrades arrive with raw version of the iPhone ’s iOS software each year.iOS 9 , which is pre - installed on the iPhone 6s Plus but can beinstalled on existing iPhonestoo , offers a plethora of new features , including :
All the iPhones blend in back the iPhone 4s can update . But as the new multiplication , the iPhone half a dozen and 6s Plus can look forward to more iOS updates in future than any of the older models .
learn ouriOS 9 reviewfor more detail of the new features you may look .
study next : iPhone 6s Plus vs Google Nexus 6P|iPhone sextet vs Nexus 5x
iPhone 6s Plus review: Camera
For the first clock time since the iPhone 4s , Apple has increased the megapixel rating of its iPhones ’ principle ( rear - facing ) camera , from 8Mp on both iPhone 6 models to 12Mp here . ( It can also shoot 4 atomic number 19 TV . ) The front - facing camera gets a bigger jut , go from 1.2Mp to 5Mp .
In both cases , however , Apple almost played down the importance of the numbers – or at least insisted that it was n’t interested in specification like these for their own sake . The company insists that it refused to increase the megapixel ratings until it was satisfied it could do so without compromise on quality .
Susie Ochs “ did n’t get to amply test either in the demo elbow room , of row , but the shutter speed is disturbed fast , and zooming in on the demo photos on each equipment revealed piles of detail . ”
While we ’re excited to do some foresighted - term examination of the 12Mp camera in the iPhone 6s Plus ( not to mention that 5Mp selfie camera ) , a more like a shot bewitching gain is a feature call Live Photos .
Live Photos
They ’re not video , Apple take a firm stand , but you surely ca n’t call them still photograph . They ’re something in between .
alive pic are hire normally – assuming you ’ve amaze the Live Photos option enabled , every photograph you take with an iPhone 6s Plus will be a Live Photo – but by automatically record and storing video of the 1.5 seconds before you click the shutter and the 1.5 bit afterwards , iOS 9 package up 3 second base of video with the still shooting . you’re able to opt to enliven the picture at any decimal point , in the main by deep - press out it .
When you ’re swiping through your photos , any Live Photos will push their nature with a very inadequate living ; bass - press them and they will do the full ( but still only three - second ) vitality . You get the individual - trope sharpness of a still photograph but the life and interest of a poor video .
you could set a Live Photo as your ignition lock - silver screen wallpaper , and late - pressing will cause the animation to trigger . We sympathize that they can also be exported as Apple Watch wallpapers , although we ’ve not had a opportunity to try this .
Our experience with Live photo so far has been a bit hit - and - miss . The lead videos have been rather lack in smoothness , and often seem to glitch reasonably ( echo part of the three - secondment lump at the beginning and end ) . And we ’re not taken any particularly memorable cartridge holder . We ’re still getting used to the feature , though , and much of its ingathering lies in the occasional gold that can be discovered beneath the dross of ho-hum or regretful photos . It only needs to work well from fourth dimension to meter to bring in its keep . If you require a proper video recording , of course , you ’d just take one .
Susie Ochs compute unrecorded photograph “ are just apparently nerveless ” , and feels that parent will enjoy the feature more than most .
“ I have a 3 - year - old , ” she says , “ and a flock of my photos of him wind up blurry because at least some part of his body is in apparent motion virtually all of the time – the male child is a walking wiggle . I do n’t recall you get to scrub through a Live Photo frame by frame and piece out the single still image that ’s not muzzy , but getting to see an animation of one of his wiggles would beat any blurry photo , or one where his eyes are fold . ”
Apple was incisive to recreate down fears that Live Photos will be storage killers , and the fact that they are just three minutes should limit the legal injury they can cause in this respect . But those plump out for the 16 GB iPhone 6s Plus would probably be advised to work out caution when taking – or keeping – Live Photos .
Read next : iPhone 6s Plus vs Samsung Galaxy Note 7
iPhone 6s Plus review: Specs
We ’ve covered most of the major upgrades in the iPhone 6s Plus , but permit ’s quickly cover the continue specs . Many are improved from the iPhone 6 Plus .
Processor
A9 potato chip with 64 - mo architecture
plant M9 move coprocessor
Screen
5.5 - in ( diagonal ) LED - backlit widescreen Retina HD display with 3D Touch
1920×1080 - pixel resolution at 401 ppi
1300:1 demarcation ratio ( typical )
500 cd / m2 max light ( typical )
Full sRGB criterion
Dual - domain pixels for wide of the mark viewing angles
Fingerprint - resistant oleophobic coating on front
bread and butter for display of multiple languages and type simultaneously
Display Zoom
Reachability
Camera
Rear - face iSight camera :
New 12 - megapixel iSight camera with 1.22µ pel
Autofocus with Focus Pixels
ocular image stabilisation ( iPhone 6s Plus only )
True Tone scoot
Panorama ( up to 63 megapixels )
Auto HDR for photos
photograph control
Burst mode
Timer mode
ƒ/2.2 aperture
Five - element lens system
Hybrid IR filter
Backside illumination sensing element
Sapphire crystal lens cover
car range stabilisation
Improved local tone mapping
Improved noise step-down
Face sensing
photograph geotagging
4 kB video transcription ( 3840×2160 ) at 30 fps
1080p HD telecasting transcription at 30 Federal Protective Service or 60 Federal Protective Service
720p HD television recording at 30 Federal Protective Service
ocular image stabilisation for video recording
Slo - moment picture accompaniment for 1080p at 120 fps and 720p at 240 fps
meter - lapse video with stabilisation
Cinematic video recording stabilization ( 1080p and 720p )
Continuous autofocus video
Take 8MP still photos while tape 4 K video
Playback zoom
3x zoom
Video geotagging
Front - facing FaceTime HD camera :
5 - megapixel photos
720p HD video transcription
Retina Flash
Auto HDR for photos and TV
RAM
2 gibibyte
Battery life
Built - in rechargeable lithium - ion battery
utter meter : Up to 24 hours on 3 guanine
Internet use : Up to 12 hours on 3 G , up to 12 time of day on 4 G LTE , up to 12 hour on Wi?Fi
HD telecasting playback : Up to 14 time of day
Audio playback : Up to 80 hours
Standby time : Up to 16 days
Dimensions and weight
Length : 158.2 mm
Width : 77.9 mm
profundity : 7.3 millimetre
free weight : 192 thou
Macworld video: Reacting to the iPhone 6s Plus launch
Macworld poll: Will you buy an iPhone 6s Plus?
That ’s pretty much it for our iPhone 6s Plus inspection . Are you confident ?
iPhone comparison reviews
If you ’ve enjoyed this article , perhaps you ’d be interested in more iPhone purchasing advice ? We ’ve written a series of comparison reviews , which fix various combination of iPhone against one another , capitulum to psyche :
These may be useful if you ’re try out to equipment between two specific iPhone models .
register next : require to know what to expect from the next iPhone Plus ? Read ouriPhone 7 Plus release appointment and novel feature rumour roundupfor the latestclues .
iPhone buying guide, autumn/winter 2015
And for a spacious feeling at Apple ’s current iPhone chain , take a look at our iPhone purchasing scout video for fall / winter 2015 :
