It’s that time of year! Apple have held there big keynote and announced their new range of smartphones, spanning the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6 Plus. There were also a few other bits and pieces announced, so here’s the run down of the main happenings.
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iPhone 6s and 6s Plus
As expected, Apple have opted for standard naming conventions and simply added an s to the existing handsets. A bold claim has been made in the new ad, also revealed at the Apple Launch Event, as Apple claim “the only thing that’s changed is everything”.
While this statement might be a little over dramatic, the iPhone 6s sees the introduction of more substantial changes than some of the past “s” handsets.
3D Touch
While our inner nerd is making this decision, this is the coolest new feature on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. While this is similar to the system employed by HTC, Apple have gone much further in implementing gestures and innovative screen usage. In short, by pressing the screen for a longer duration, you can “peek” further into sections of your iPhone 6s. For example, in the image you can see a long press on the phone button, which allows you to peek at your regularly called contacts. With a bit of practice, 3D Touch will make navigating your way around the phone much easier.
The best implentation sees 3D Touch allow you control running apps by a simple swipe from the right of the screen. So most importantly, this means you’re double tapping on the home button to knock off apps will be greatly reduced. Where there is a reduction in pressing buttons, you are likely to see a reduction in faulty buttons, which is always nice!
Camera
At long last, we thought we would never see the day. Apple have gifted their loyal iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus users with a bigger camera. The new 12MP iSight camera comes now as Apple apparently didn’t want to increase size until they could ensure the maintenance of the image quality.
To be fair, while we’re fairly sure the lads who took these photos were far from amateur photographers, the new camera does take amazing images.
For a brief moment we’re almost certain the crowd flinched in fear as a gigantic parrot invaded the stage.
A cool new feature seems to be bringing a Harry Potter fantasy into reality; moving pictures. When you take an image, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus take a one second clip either side of the photo you’ve taken. These gives you an mini clip that lets you relive a moment. Whether this is useful or not remains to be seen, but it is cool.
The good news doesn’t end there. Apple displayed an impressive video that was recorded using an iPhone 6s and on-board video editing software. Sure enough, it was probably in the hands of Stephen Spielberg or something, but nonetheless, the video is impressive.
https://youtu.be/1gYLOmKKhCk
Design
As expected, there are no big surprises that the iPhone 6s looks just like the iPhone 6. Keeping in touch with the Apple Watch and general fashion demands, Rose Gold enters the colour range. This will be a massively in demand handset to go along with Rose Gold watches from the likes of Mickey Kors and the rest.
Speaking of range…
The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus will continue to come in 16GB models, complimented by 64GB and 128GB. There will be no iPhone 6c, despite strong rumours there would be. While we’re on the topic of hardware, the latest “A” chip, the A9 will see your battery life extended through the annual efficiency improvements.
What else was announced?
So along with the phone that everyone expected, Apple announced a super-powered iPad Pro. With that they have finally embraced the pen. Well, it’s actually a pencil. For $99 iPad Pro users will be able to the the Apple Pencil. The marketing department have really let themselves go.
The US market are surely getting excited about the new Apple TV too. While there is a load of spec and features that will excite the masses, the device is unlikely to really take off in the Irish market for another while as the features will be limited. With that in mind, the new Apple TV will allow you to search by Siri. You know the way everyone has that one friend that can name actors and their films, well Siri just replaced them.
The final verdict
The features of the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are understated but will massively improve the user’s smartphone experience. We’re certain that many will joke that Apple have just tweaked things enough to bleed the money out of the market, but there is enough innovation here to justify the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Launch Date
The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are set to launch on September 25th.
