On 9 September, Apple finally took the wraps off the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.
The new Apple phones are said to be visually identical to the 2014 models, but the internal hardware has been overhauled to improve the performance and user-experience.
To provide better perspective between the two iPhone siblings, we have briefly described the key difference seen inside the iPhone 6 (2014) and iPhone 6S (2015) series.
Design and Build quality:
In 2014, Apple made huge changes in the design language in iPhone 6 Series. They came with precision unibody enclosure of anodised aluminium that conformed seamlessly with the shaped glass of the display giving true premium feeling to the device. Many were in awe if its sleek design, but some stray incidents of iPhone 6 Plus devices bending when kept in pants pocket made a little dent to the company's image.
This year, the company has kept the same design language in the new iPhone 6S series, but in its bid to make new devices sturdier, Apple has used airplane grade 7000 series aluminium and ion-strengthened glass. This apparently has increased the weight of iPhone 6S and 6S Plus to 143g and 192g respectively. 2014 models weighed 129g and 172g respectively.
Display:
In this aspect too, the company has kept the display resolution unchanged. The 4.7-inch iPhone 6S sports Retina HD (1334 x 750p) display with a pixel density of 326 ppi (pixels per inch).
On the other hand, the 5.5-inch iPhone 6S Plus flaunts LED-backlit IPS screen with full HD (1920x1080p) resolution with pixel density of 401 ppi .
Processor and Storage:
Both Apple 6S and 6S Plus come with 64-bit class 3rd generation Apple A9. It is said to be 70% and 90% faster in terms of CPU and GPU speeds respectively compared to A8, seen in 2014 based iPhone 6 models. It is backed by M9 co-processor to take some load off the main processor.
Both iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus will come in three storage variants – 16GB, 64GB and 128GB -- similar to the 2014 iPhone 6 series.
Camera:
Apple has made a huge over-haul in the camera department; this is the first time since iPhone 4S in 2011 that Apple has upgraded the camera. The snapper has been upgraded from 8mp to 12mp with 4K video recording ability in the new iPhone 6S series.
In the front too, the company has enhanced Face-time snapper with 5mp resolution sensor. Previous models come with 1.2mp camera. It has to be noted that Apple has incorporated a value-added feature dubbed as Retina Flash, which brightens the display three times the normal screen-brightness, so that the user's face gets more light-shine while taking a selfie.
Battery:
Prior to the launch, rumours were rife that Apple might trim the capacity of the battery to make space for thicker shell. But going by the official spec sheet listed by company, the battery capacity of the new devices has been kept unchanged. The company claims that iPhone 6S can run up to 14 hours of talk-time and close to 10 days under standby mode.
On the other hand, battery inside the iPhone 6S Plus can keep the phone running for up to 24 hours of talk-time and close to 16 days under standby mode. Even the 2014 models had same talk-time and standby time features.
Value-added feature:
3D Touch Display: This is the key differentiator between the 2014 and 2015 models. 3D Touch Display is an advanced version of the Force Touch feature seen in the Apple Watch.
The feature is going to add more value to the iOS interface. The phone's display will now have the capability to intuitively sense difference in finger's pressure to enable new gestures — Peek and Pop. Users can dip in and out of content without losing their place. Users just need to press the screen lightly to get a Peek at a photo, email, web page or other content, and if pressed a little deeper, they can Pop into the content itself.
Another related feature is the Quick Actions, which uses 3D Touch technology to provide shortcuts to the things users do the most, so they can send a message or take a selfie with just a simple press from the Home screen. [check out the 3D Touch demo video, below]
Key specifications of Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus:
| Model | Apple iPhone 6 | Apple iPhone 6 Plus | Apple iPhone 6S | Apple iPhone 6S Plus |
| Display | 4.7-inch LED-backlit IPS screen with Retina HD (aka full HD) with 1334 x 750p resolution
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5.5- inch LED-backlit IPS screen with Retina HD (aka full HD) with 1920x1080p resolution
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4.7-inch LED-backlit IPS screen with Retina HD (aka full HD) with 1334 x 750p resolution
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5.5- inch LED-backlit IPS screen with Retina HD (aka full HD) with 1920x1080p resolution
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| OS | iOS v8.4.1 (wider availability of the new OS 9.0 version to other Apple devices from 16 September) | iOS v8.4.1 (wider availability of the new iOS 9 version to other Apple devices from 16 September) | Apple iOS 9.0 | Apple iOS 9.0 |
| Processor | 20-nanometer class based second generation 64-bit A8 chipset which is 25-percent faster (50-percent faster graphics too) than the A7 in iPhone 5S.
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20-nanometer class based second generation 64-bit A8 chipset which is 25-percent faster (50-percent faster graphics too) than the A7 in iPhone 5S.
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64-bit 3rd generation Apple A9( It is 70% and 90% faster in terms of CPU and GPU speeds compared to A8, seen in 2014 based iPhone 6 models) + M9 motion co-processor | 64-bit 3rd generation Apple A9( It is 70% and 90% faster in terms of CPU and GPU speeds compared to A8, seen in 2014 based iPhone 6 models) + M9 motion co-processor |
| Storage capacity | 16GB/64GB/128GB | 16GB/64GB/128GB | 16GB/64GB/128GB | 16GB/64GB/128GB |
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| Network | 3G & 4G-LTE (with new VoLTE technology for high quality voice-calling) | 3G & 4G-LTE (with new VoLTE technology for high quality voice-calling) | 4G-LTE | 4G-LTE |
| Add-ons | Finger-print sensor (much better Tough-ID security feature), Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac), Wi-Fi calling (in select markets), Bluetooth v4.0, NFC. GPS/GLONASS | Finger-print sensor (much better Tough-ID security feature), Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac), Wi-Fi calling (in select markets), Bluetooth v4.0, NFC. GPS/GLONASS | Finger-print sensor, 3D Touch display, Wi-Fi, Assisted GPS and GLONASS, NFC | Finger-print sensor, 3D Touch display, Wi-Fi, Assisted GPS and GLONASS, NFC |
| Dimensions | 138.1 x 67.0 x 6.9 mm | 158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm | 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm | 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm |
| Weight | 129 g | 172 g | 143 g | 192 g |
| Colours | gold, silver or space gray | gold, silver or space gray | silver, gold, space gray and a new rose gold | silver, gold, space gray and a new rose gold |
