As expected, Apple has just announced its brand new iPhones – the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus. If you’ve been following the rumours and leaks about these new iPhones, this announcement confirms most of the rumours we’ve seen so far including a new Rose Gold colour option, 3D Touch display, A9 processor, 12MP iSight camera, 4K video recording capability and more.
First up, the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus looks almost identical to the previous iPhones. The smaller iPhone 6s has a 4.7” display, while the 6s Plus sports a 5.5” display. There is also a new 3D Touch display that can sense how hard you touch the screen, giving a whole new layer of controls, and access shortcuts within apps. Finally, for those who are looking forward to a new colour, the Rose Gold aluminium option is now official.
Some of the things you can do with 3D Touch is switch between apps with 3D Touch and swiping left or right to change app, update status directly on Facebook, jump right into Activity Feed in Instagram, instantly turn on Selfie camera with the default camera app, and 3D Touch on a photo on Instagram to preview the photo or preview video. 3D Touch also brings new controls to games, like press harder to smoothly zoom into a game, or press even harder to switch weapons, all done without lifting your fingers off the screen.
Beneath that, the new iPhones are powered by a new A9 chip that is 70% faster at CPU tasks and 90% faster at GPU tasks compared to the A8 chip found on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. This is paired with the new M9 motion coprocessor that is embedded and always-on. What does this mean? An always-on Siri that can be activated even when the phone is unplugged. There is also a second generation Touch ID that is twice as fast.
As for the camera, say goodbye to the 8MP iSight camera that has been found on iPhones since the iPhone 4s. Apple has finally decided to use an all-new 12MP iSight camera that features 50% more pixels than before. This will allow for a faster and more accurate autofocus.
Not only are there more pixels now, Apple has also enhanced the iSight camera to take better pictures with more accurate colour reproduction and “incredible detail”. Low light performance has also been improved too, allowing the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to take great pictures even in dim conditions. As for video, say hello to a new 4K video capability. For the first time ever, an iPhone can now capture videos in 4K resolution.
Apple also improved the front Face Time camera with a new 5MP sensor. There is no LED flash on the front camera, but instead, Apple is using the display for flash on the front camera. The display can light up to three times as bright, giving you a true tone light to capture the perfect selfies.
3D Touch also works with the camera app, giving you “Live Photos”. Just press on a photo and watch it come to live instantly – see the water ripple effect, cars moving on streets and such. Live Photos is turned on by default, on the camera app. Each time you capture an image, the iPhone 6s will extend the capture moment just before and after you take it. The photo will still remain at a high quality 12MP image so Apple is not compromising anything for Live Photos.
Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for – the price. The new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus maintains the same retail price as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus at launch (in USD at least). These are the prices of the new iPhones with a two year contract:
- 16GB iPhone 6s – US$199 (about RM 864)
- 64GB iPhone 6s – US$299 (about RM 1,298)
- 128GB iPhone 6s – US$399 (about RM 1,732)
- 16GB iPhone 6s Plus – US$299 (about RM 1,298 )
- 64GB iPhone 6s Plus – US$399 (about RM 1,732)
- 128GB iPhone 6s Plus – US$499 (about RM 2,166)
As for pricing without contract, here they are:
- 16GB iPhone 6s – US$649 (about RM 2,817)
- 64GB iPhone 6s – US$749 (about RM 3,251)
- 128GB iPhone 6s – US$849 (about RM 3,685)
- 16GB iPhone 6s Plus – US$749 (about RM 3,251)
- 64GB iPhone 6s Plus – US$849 (about RM 3,685)
- 128GB iPhone 6s Plus – US$949 (about RM 4,119)
Both devices will go on preorder in selected countries (nope, Malaysia is not in the list, but Singapore is!) on 12 September 2015. They will be available starting on 25 September 2015. The new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will go on sale in over 130 countries with over 400 carrier partners. As for iOS 9, the latest iOS version will be available for all to download on 16 September 2015. Meanwhile, Apple has increased the retail prices of its current-gen iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in Malaysia
