iPhone 6s Review: First Impressions

No phone this year has matched the iPhone 6s for hype and expectation. As Apple’s main flagship of 2015 it was guaranteed to sell and expected to impress.

Now finally it’s been announced, but did it really justify all the hype? Read on for our first impressions to see what we’ve made of the iPhone 6s so far.

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Screen

The iPhone 6s has a 4.7-inch screen, just like the iPhone 6 and it’s the same resolution at 1334 x 750, for a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch.

That’s a lot lower than some rivals, such as the Samsung Galaxy S6 and LG G4, let alone the ridiculous 4K Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, but it’s still pretty sharp and coupled with great contrast and accurate colour reproduction it really does impress.

Design

There’s little change here. The iPhone 6s has a slim metal unibody and slightly curved edges like last year’s model, though it’s ever so slightly fatter at 7.1mm thick and it uses 7000 Series aluminium for a stronger build.

The lack of significant change might be a disappointment but Apple refreshed the design with the iPhone 6, so it’s hardly been overdone and it undeniably looks good. Really only the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9 can compete with it in the looks department, making it one of the most stylish handsets around.

Power

Apple has upgraded the processor in the iPhone 6S to an A9 one, which is supposedly 70% faster at CPU tasks and 90% faster at handling graphics than the A8 chip found in the iPhone 6.

That should make this far and away the most powerful iPhone yet and given that even the iPhone 6 is still a slick performer we’re hopeful that performance from the iPhone 6S will be almost flawless.

Camera

Apple seems to have pushed to deliver its best camera yet with the iPhone 6S. Gone is the 8 megapixel sensor of old and in its place there’s a new 12 megapixel one, while the front-facing snapper has been upgraded to 5 megapixels.

Apple has worked hard to ensure images remain just as high quality despite the extra megapixels and it’s added some extra features too, such as Live Photos, which allows you to animate your shots. The iPhone 6S can also shoot 4K video, so film fans are in for a real treat.

We were already impressed by the quality of the camera in the iPhone 6 but the iPhone 6S snapper promises to be even better, so we’re hopeful that it will rival the Samsung Galaxy S6 as one of the best camera phones around.

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Features

3D Touch is the most significant new feature of the iPhone 6S. It allows the screen to tell between different levels of pressure and respond accordingly. So for example while a light press on a song in a music player might play it a harder press could add it to the current playlist.

It’s essentially a faster and more intuitive alternative to the short and long presses that smartphones often respond differently to now.

The iPhone 6S also has Touch ID of course, just like other recent models, but it’s twice as fast here and coupled with Apple Pay allows you to make contactless payments.

It’s worth noting that the phone also launches with iOS 9. Older Apple handsets will be able to update to this new version, but it brings improvements to Apple Maps, Siri and more so it’s certainly beneficial.

Battery life, memory and connectivity

Apple hasn’t revealed how big the battery in the iPhone 6S is, so we’ll have to wait for someone brave enough to take it apart before we find that out, but the company has suggested that it should last around the same as the day of life afforded by the iPhone 6, so it’s likely to be reasonable but not great.

The iPhone 6S is available in 16, 64 and 128GB sizes and of course being an Apple handset there’s no microSD card slot, so what you buy it with is what you’re stuck with.

Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G, Bluetooth and NFC, though the NFC only works with Apple Pay. Aside from that limitation it’s a good selection of connectivity options and can rival most other flagship phones.

Early verdict

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The iPhone 6S is in many ways just a tweaked and refined version of the iPhone 6, but with more power, a better camera, and even a few innovative new features it does more than enough to stand out.

We’ll reserve a final verdict for when we’ve tried it out properly in our full review, but on the strength of its specs and features the iPhone 6S looks like it won’t just be the best iPhone yet but one of the very best phones full stop.