Thankfully, the iPhone 6S is now more affordable. However, this doesn’t mean you should buy the device. It’s a great phone, but it has its drawbacks as it was released 5 years ago. So, let’s take a look at the device.
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The 6S looks identical to the 6. This isn’t surprising as the 6S is a different version of it. The basic design of the 6 stuck around for years. However, we no longer see it.
If you look at the device, there is a large, tactile home button at the bottom of the screen. It’s bordered by large bezels. After the iPhone 8, the home button was removed and after the X, the bezels disappeared.
The 6S has an iconic look. Its almost bare aluminum back comes with antenna bands. Although iconic, it’s noteworthy for all the wrong reasons as the antennas are hideous.
Other than this, it has a body that’s rounded and fits perfectly in your hand. It has the Apple logo gobsmack in the middle and looks very premium since it was a flagship phone at some point.
The iPhone 6S has an LCD screen. When the phone came out, there was stiff competition from its android rivals as they all had powerful OLED displays. If you aren’t aware, OLED brings out the most vibrant colors.
That being said, the 6S’ screen isn’t the worst. It has 326 pixels per inch which is alright but this doesn’t allow for the sharpest viewing experiences.
The 6S came with something that other iPhones did not. It was the first Apple phone to have 3D touch. 3D touch detects different levels of force exerted on the screen, allowing different actions. It’s mostly used for opening apps.
The 6S doesn’t have the largest screen. It’s 4.7 inches which is small. The fact that its display is just 750p makes watching movies not the best.
What might be even worse is its screen-to-body ratio. It’s 65.6% which is poor compared to more recent phones. As you can imagine, this is because the phone has huge bezels bordering its screen. Of course, when the iPhone 6S was released, a 65.6% screen-to-body ratio wasn’t too bad as the 5s had a ratio of 60%.
If you drop the 6S, you won’t need to worry too much. It comes with ion-strengthened glass that keeps it pretty durable.
We’re disappointed that the iPhone 6S doesn’t come with OIS. This affects the overall quality of shots, especially videos. It’s an amazing camera phone as it comes with superb HDR. HDR makes the colours pop and brings everything to life.
That being said, the rear camera is a single 12 MP lens. Although it captures great pictures, for today’s standards, this is a very low resolution.
It has an f/2.2 aperture lens too. The better the aperture, the more light that can be captured in shots. So, why did Apple place the same aperture as the 6 in the 6S?
The phone comes with a 5 MP selfie camera. Considering that the iPhone 6 had a 2 MP camera, this is an improvement by leaps and bounds. That being said, the newest iPhone has a 12 MP front camera.
When it comes to battery life, you might have a problem. The battery in the 6S is seriously small. It’s 1715 mAh and is smaller than the iPhone 6 as Apple reduced it by almost 100 mAh. Apple said this reduction in battery size was to make way for 3D Touch and the Taptic Engine.
If you’re always on your phone, we have some bad news for you. The battery won’t last very long on the 6S. Reports have flooded the internet saying that running Facebook for around half an hour drained 20% of the phone’s battery. This is insane considering the fact that Facebook isn’t an extensive app.
There is a Low Power mode to help when you’re in dire need of battery power. Once the phone reaches the last 20% of battery life, the mode activates, prolonging battery life. It does this by managing the CPU as well as closing background apps.
There is worse news:
With extensive use, the phone will last around 3-4 hours. This is very disappointing. Thankfully, newer Apple phones have much better battery lives.
What’s worse, the phone takes around 3 hours to go from 0-100% when charging. If you’re not a fan of lingering around your outlet, stay away from the 6S.
You could hook up a lightning cable to the 6S. It would charge it up slightly faster, but at the end of the day, lightning cables don’t come with the box and are expensive.
The iPhone 6s doesn’t come with the most RAM. It has around 2 GB which isn’t the best compared to high-end phones today. That being said, the 2 GB doesn’t make the phone impossible to use. In fact, it works fine. Considering the iPhone 11 only has 4 GB of RAM, we’re not too annoyed.
It’s powered by the A9 SoC. iPhones are now powered by the A13 chip. So, the A9 is a thing of the past. In terms of the A9 SoC, it has two CPU cores clocking in at 1.8 GHz.
Gaming is fine as the Soc comes with a PowerVR GPU. However, keep in mind how poor its battery is.
When the 6S was released, it ran IOS 9. When IOS 11 came out, the 6S was ready to receive it. Unfortunately, the IOS didn’t mesh well with the phone as it was clear the IOS was designed specifically for the newer iPhones. As iPhones changed drastically after the X, newer OS is uncomfortable to use.
Since IOS 13 out, it’s available on the 6S. The same issue seen in IOS 11 is present.
The iPhone 6S is a pretty great phone. That’s why you may want to check out its siblings. In terms of related models, other iPhones are pretty similar to the 6S.
The iPhone 6 has a small screen. It’s 4.7 inches so it’s minuscule compared to the phones we currently have. That being said, it’s identical in size to the 6S.
The fact that it’s LCD makes them more similar. Apple was a huge fan of LCD displays up until the 8S.
Compared to the 6S, the 6 has a weaker processor. It comes with an A8 chip instead of the A9.
With just one look at the phones, you won’t be able to tell the difference between them. They’re pretty much copies of each other.
In terms of battery, the 6 has a better battery. The 6 comes with an 1810 mAh lithium battery. Although bigger, it’s not by much.
Both phones are very similar, especially in terms of appearance. So, the 6 is the best alternative to the 6s.
The iPhone 7 looks similar to the 6s. This doesn’t mean they’re identical. It’s a newer model, so Apple cleaned up the phone’s design and got rid of the awful antenna lines.
Its processor is similar to the 6s’. That being said, it’s new and improved in a number of ways as it carries the A10 chip. Even though it has a better chip, it has 2 GB of RAM like the 6S.
The 7’s screen is identical to the 6s’. They both have 4.7 screens with 365 pixels per inch. And of course, they don’t have OLED tech since they’re LCD.
So, what’s the verdict? The iPhone 6S used to be a great phone, but in 2020, it’s lacking. What will set you back the most is its less-than-great battery. No matter how good its processor is, you just can’t ignore the fact that its battery will drain in a heartbeat.
Also, IOS 9 is a thing of the past. IOS 13 is around and unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the 6S is the most compatible with it. That being said, it’s not impossible to use.
The 6S, 7, 7S, 8 and 8S are around the same price after the newer iPhones entered the market. Because of this, you’re better off purchasing the 7S, 8 or even 8S.
That being said, you won’t find the large, metallic back with antenna stripes in other phones (excluding the 6). So, if you’re really in love with its design, nothing should hold you back from buying it.
