iPhone 6s :
design
The same stick that some use to beat iPhone fans still exists: yes, visually this is almost identical to last year's redesigned iPhone 6, with the same ceramic metal feel and slightly protruding camera that means you can place it side by side with the iPhone 6 and not really notice the difference.
The only marginal change is the additional thickness, very likely included to accommodate the new 3D Touch technology on the screen.
Compared to other phones on the market the iPhone 6S still manages to mix that feeling of premium build with a light and thin phone – it's a joy to hold.
Apple's nod to the improved build with reinforced 7000 series aluminium is clearly a direct result of the iPhone 6's "Bendgate," in which the phone was discovered to be slightly prone to changing shape if pressure was applied.
While Apple doesn't need sympathy, it was still a bit harsh that it got singled out for this issue when many other handsets could also bend if you tried.
3D Touch but old screen
Now onto the biggest change for the iPhone 6S, 3D Touch. This changes everything for Apple users, and while it's not enough of a reason to upgrade from the 6, it's a pretty nifty trick that again promises to make current iPhone 5S owners feel like they're getting a real upgrade with their new phone
The main difference 3D Touch brings is the ability to interact with on-screen instructions in different ways. It's too early to delve into all the ways that the new power will work, but the system (for those who haven't seen an Apple Watch or the new Macbook) is simple: you can tap like before, but press a bit harder on an icon or message and you'll get a new menu popping up.
Imagine it's like right-clicking the mouse to get a secondary menu, and you're pretty much there. It's a cool new feature, although one that app developers will need to work with for a while to really get the best out of.
It's going to be an interesting time to see how well this beds into the users' lives - being able to go 'into' the screen is a good move, as it seems to make sense. 'Peek' is having a look, a preview, of certain things, but Pop is another push deeper that will open the previewed app.
Pop definitely feels odd, like you're going to break the touchscreen by pushing too hard - you feel it's going to turn into a little rainbow puddles under the finger. Most of the time these actions seem to make sense, although the fact that you can switch between apps by using 3D Touch on the left hand side of the screen doesn't work as well as you'd hope, as it's hard to activate.
Camera
The expected upgrade from the iPhone 6's camera has arrived: the iPhone 6S has a 12MP snapper and it looks like it'll deliver in spades. The need to jump in megapixels was rarely warranted for a brand beyond the need to impress consumers with higher numbers, but this year things are starting to jump forward.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 is taking stunning photos with a 16MP option, and Sony's Xperia Z5, packing a 23MP sensor and super fast autofocus, actually uses those additional pixels to good use. Apple needed to keep up.
While I've only tested the new camera briefly, there's no doubt that it's an upgrade. It still retains the speed of snapping I've come to expect from an iPhone, while the clarity is there to see too.
The new Live Photo option, which takes a 1.5 second photo either side of the shot, feels more like a gimmick than a really useful option. You have to remember to activate it, but it's really impressive that it doesn't seem to affect the shutter speed – it should take a while either side, but it buffers while you're taking the picture.
Apple's A9 chipset and upgraded RAM
As per usual, Apple's thrown in an upgraded chipset in the shape of the A9, and as expected it brings with it a number of changes. The phone will run faster and the gaming experience will, once again, be better than anything we've ever seen.
It's a 64-bit architecture, which means some efficiency when opening and closing apps (although their size is larger and therefore take up more space on the phone, which makes Apple's decision to keep the 16GB variant of the phone all the more infuriating).
That 64-bit system still can't be used properly as we don't have the necessary 4GB of RAM needed to make use of it. Word is, it has another 1GB of RAM from last year, with 2GB now powering things nicely under the hood and creating a decent snap under the finger – along with making games and apps run that much more smoothly at the same time.
It might not seem like much of an upgrade, but I bet it blitzes the iPhone 6 (and especially the iPhone 5S) in the speed tests.
iPhone 6s plus :
Design
Well, it's bigger than the iPhone 6S. Shocker, I know. But it's also visually almost identical to last year's model – which is a little bit of a shame, as that device was very bezel heavy.
It's a tiny bit thicker than before, to facilitate the 3D Touch screen (and hopefully larger battery, although no word on that from Apple).
I know the 6S Plus needs to pack the bigger battery than the 6S and have a 1080p screen, but the 5.5-inch display feels so much more swamped by the iPhone's frame compared to the LG G4. That phone has the same size viewing area but a sharper resolution and bigger battery.
The fluid, ceramic-like curves prevail, though, and the iPhone 6S Plus is still a very light and easy to hold device. You can't forget that it's a phablet, though, and will need to manipulate it in the palm to make proper use of the screen – get ready for a lot of two-handed use here.
3D Touch
The screen's been upgraded in another way, though: 3D Touch is now included, meaning that, like the Apple Watch and new MacBook, you can get different interactions with the screen depending on how hard you press.
There are loads of cool things the phone can do now, such as using additional force to preview messages and web pages as links, but some of the actions are a little harder to do. For instance, hitting the side of the screen and giving it a shove (on the left-hand side) will let you slide through your recent apps, in the same way as double tapping the home button.
But the action doesn't feel intuitive, as you need to poke hard on a seemingly-undefined section of the screen - and as it's a larger phone, there's a level of panic that you might actually poke it right out of your hands.
Upgraded camera
What do people like doing with their phone more than idly looking at nothing when they're supposed to be interacting with real life human beings in social situations? Well, if you're anything like my niece, nothing, but in theory, the answer would be taking pictures.
The iPhone 6 Plus has a decent 8MP camera, but Apple realised that it needed to step it up when the likes of Samsung and Sony are unleashing 16MP and 23MP sensors, and actually finding a good reason to have that high a number in there.
Just 12MP might not sound like a lot, but it means that the shutter speed is faster than ever, the clarity looks crystal clear on the larger 5.5-inch screen and the overall photography standard from the iPhone is improved once more.
Loads of power... but a longer battery?
The iPhone 6S Plus has been embedded with a number of useful new elements under the hood that should make using it an improved experience, especially if you're one of the many coming from a phone launched in 2013.
The iPhone 6 Plus had a decent battery life, thanks to the larger frame allowing Apple to pack in more mAh, but it still wasn't market leading. The worry here is that the new battery life won't be any better (and could even be worse, which would explain why Apple didn't mention it in the unveiling) and that will annoy a number of Apple users.
But the A9 chip is at least 70% faster than last year and 90% better than lasyt years graphical prowess. While spouting numbers is a horrible thing to do, the gaming performance seems amazing with the 3D rendering on offer.
Not only does this new chipset allow for much greater graphics and a smarter experience under the finger, but it should be more efficient and, maybe, could allow for a longer battery life (and Apple just forgot to tell us).
