Apple Improves iPhone 6s and 6s Plus with 3D Touch
Sep 9, 2015, 1:39 PM by Eric M. Zeman
updated Sep 14, 2015, 9:51 AM
Updated: edited headline; adding details as they develop; added link; cleaned up text
Apple today announced the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, which are enhanced versions last year's iPhones. Like the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the 6s and 6s Plus have 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screens, respectively, slim metal designs, and fingerprint readers built into the home button. The signature feature of the new iPhones is 3D Touch, or the screen's ability to differentiate between light and firm presses. Together with APIs given to developers, 3D Touch will open up new possibilities for interacting with the iPhone and applications. During Apple's live event, the company showed how light and firm presses can bring up email previews or secondary actions for replying to or deleting messages. 3D Touch adds myriad functions to Maps, such as dropping pins, or to the camera, such as selfies. Apple installed a large Taptic Engine module in the new iPhones to provide more fine-tuned feedback when using 3D touch. Apple said it improved the strength and rigidity of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus by switching to 7000 series aluminum. The phones have an A9 processor, which is 70% faster at calculations than the A8, and 90% faster at pushing graphics. It is joined by an improved M9 motion co-processor, which is embedded into the A9 and always on for tracking heath and fitness data. The Apple ID fingerprint sensor has been improved and is now twice as fast. The camera has been bumped up to 12 megapixels, and has 50% more auto-focus sensors to aid clarity. Apple worked hard to reduce cross-talk and image degradation so the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus capture accurate color. The iPhones can now capture 4K video, as well. On front, the display can be used as a two-tone flash to aid in 5-megapixel selfie shots. Further, the camera can capture video and photo information simultaneously, resulting in moving "Live Photos" that resembles the HTC Zoe. Apple says the Live Photo captures 1.5 seconds before and after the shutter button is pressed, and the files are kept small for easy sharing. The iPhone 6s supports 23 LTE bands and LTE-Advanced for 300Mbps cellular data speeds. The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus run iOS 9, which features transit maps, News reader, better battery life, wireless CarPlay, and support for loyalty cards in Apple Pay. The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus will be available in silver, space gray, gold, and rose gold. The phones come in 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB variants, with prices ranging from $649 to $949 at full retail. Pre-orders start Sept. 12 and the handsets reach stores Sept. 25.
Comments
16 GB??? why bother?!
OH no!!!
Don't get me wrong, I love my iPhone 6 plus (128 GB) and ...
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16GB is for people whom do not desire what you do. Should it have been 32GB? Yes. But 16 is perfectly fine for those whom don't use their phones in t...
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