Apple iPhone 6s (SIM Free / UK)
Now into its ninth generation, the iconic and globally popular iPhone is now available as the sleek and beautifully designed iPhone 6s
Updating the smooth, anodised aluminium body of 2014's iPhone 6, the new 6s brings new technology such as 3D Touch, Live Photos, further enhancements to the best camera in mobile and groundbreaking graphics from the new A9 processor.
Apple has committed to the future of mobile with the iPhone 6s, with 64-bit processing, the fastest cellular speeds anywhere in the world with LTE Advanced support, and advanced security features in an increasingly privacy-conscious world.
Reasons to buy Apple iPhone 6s
- Ships with iOS 9 for 2015 - intelligent & secure with new apps and navigation features
- 1.84 GHz Apple A9 processor - updated technology for faster performance
- PowerVR GT7600 GPU - excellent 3D graphics support
- 4.7" 750 x 1334 Retina Display (326 PPI)
- 12-megapixel iSight camera - Sapphire crystal lens cover & 4K video
- Faster 4G LTE speeds, faster WiFi
- WiFi a/b/g/n/ac (dual-band) / Bluetooth 4.2 / GPS / NFC (Apple Pay only)
- Global GSM, 3G & 4G LTE* support
- 1,715 mAh battery
- 12 month Apple warranty
Box Contents
- Apple iPhone 6s iOS 9
- Apple EarPods with Remote and Mic
- Lightning to USB Cable
- USB Power Adapter
- Documentation
Overview
A significant upgrade to the iPhone range, the new 6s for 2015 is powered by iOS9 and introduces new interactivity features such as 3D Touch and Live Photos, as well as delivering key improvements in security, processing power and camera performance.
3D Touch
Developed as a whole new way to experience and interact with iPhone, 3D Touch opens up possibilities for navigation that haven't previously been possible.
Apple showed the world how to multi-touch - recognising individual simultaneous presses for gestures such as Tap, Swipe and Pinch. Now we have 3D Touch - recognising how much pressure is applied for context-sensitive responses including the new Peek and Pop.
Peek and Pop
These two new features operate just as you'd expect from their names. If someone sends you a link, or you're browsing through your inbox, you can press lightly to 'Peek' at the related information (the email content, map information, web page).
During a Peek, the screen you were previously on can be returned to swiftly by just letting go. If you want to properly open the peeked at information, push slightly harder and it will 'Pop' into view completely as a new screen.
Using Peek avoids having to open up extra screens and take you away from important information when all you might want to do is take a glance at connected information.
You can also combine your Peeks with traditional gestures. For instance, if you're Peeking into a link with Safari, you can swipe up to bring up actions such as copying it to the clipboard, adding the site to your reading list or opening the page in a completely new tab.
Quick Actions
These let you perform regular actions in fewer steps than before, such as opening the front camera for a selfie, messaging a particular contact or searching for directions to a regular location.
These actions require the use of a particular app, such as Maps, Messages or Camera. When you make a Quick Action, it is assigned to the relevant app, so all you need to do is tap lightly on the app icon from the home screen to show the available Quick Actions you've stored.
3D Touch throughout iOS 9
Turn your keyboard into a trackpad! When typing a message or note, press down on the keyboard. It will fade and you can now slide around it to control the cursor you were typing with. Perfect for text manipulation such as selecting words or just moving back a few steps.
Pressing down on the left-hand side of the home screen will bring up the multitasking view of all open apps, so you can just swipe through and tap on the one you want.
3D Touch even helps in drawing and note-taking! Press harder for thicker lines for a bit of artistic flair.
Cameras
Apple has always touted the camera performance on iPhone and reviewers have generally agreed, making it the most successful camera phone ever.
The new main camera on iPhone 6s features an updated 12-megapixel iSight camera, with the same Sapphire crystal lens cover for protection. What does 'new' mean though? What's changed?
Well, Apple has updated the image sensor, the signal processor and pixel technology. The Optical Image Stabilisation and local tone mapping have also been enhanced.
All of this means that every aspect of what it means to take a great picture has been made better. It's not all about megapixel numbers, although of course, those have gone up too for a little extra detail.
Live Photos
A new feature designed to bring your pictures to life. With Live Photos, the moments just before and after an image was taken are recorded as short videos.
This means if you press down on a Live Photo on the 3D Touchscreen, the image will come to life so you can relive the moment. You can even set a Live Photo as a lock screen wallpaper for an interactive background.
4K support
4K video is 4 times the resolution of normal 1080p high definition, and it's quickly becoming the standard for the best quality content around.
TVs, monitors, Blu-ray players and even YouTube now all support 4K, plus all that extra resolution doesn't go to waste on smaller screens so you might as well capture it if you can!
With the new iPhone 6s, you can even edit together two streams of 4K video at the same time to create effects such as picture-in-picture or split screen. This kind of high-quality editing can be a struggle even for many home computers!
Perfect selfies
On the front of the iPhone 6s is the FaceTime camera, ready for selfies and FaceTime calling all at a new higher 5MP resolution.
Also, try out the new Retina Flash function. Rather than use a traditional flash on the front of the camera that might wash out the final results at close range, a pre-flash is used to detect the lighting levels around you.
This is then used to calculate the best ambient light for the Retina Display to shine at you, resulting in a more natural image and skin tones.
Technology
Apple has always utilised their own technology throughout the iPhone. When it comes to the iPhone 6s this remains the case, with it being powered by the custom-designed A9 processor.
It's this processor that allows for some of the newest features in iOS9 to operate smoothly and also provides up to 70% faster system performance and 90% faster graphics performance than the iPhone 6.
Creating 3D Touch
It's not all about the processor though; 3D Touch is built upon a complex array of sensors to understand the effect of force being gradually applied and removed.
The Retina HD display offers recognition of pressure, which builds upon the work done to understand multi-touch gestures.
Capacitive sensors have now been integrated into the backlight of the display which can measure the distance to the glass. Combined with data from the touch sensor and accelerometer, there are continuous calculations happening to help display 3D Touch features.
Apple A9 processor
The A9 is the third 64-bit chip from Apple, with up to 70% performance boost over the earlier A8.
Integrated inside the A9 is the M9 coprocessor. This is connected directly to many of the sensors, such as the accelerometer, compass, gyroscope and barometer.
This helps offload specific data-intensive tasks to the dedicated co-processor, avoiding overworking the main processor and saving battery life.
The M9 coprocessor is also responsible for making sure Siri is always ready to listen to your commands and questions.
Touch ID
With Touch ID, you can unlock your phone screen and make purchases with just your fingerprint for recognition. The system combines top-grade hardware and sophisticated software algorithms to keep your print unique and stored securely.
Integrated into the home button, Touch ID is made possible with a laser-cut circle of sapphire crystal to avoid scratching, a stainless steel detection ring, capacitive single-touch sensor and a tactile switch.
Touch ID also secures the new Apple Pay payments gateway, a secure method to authorise card payments at participating vendors, websites and inside certain apps.
Apple Pay makes for fast and secure purchases that only need your fingerprint to authorise. For more information on Apple Pay, visit the official website.
