iPhone 6S Review - Phones of 2015 Year in Review

Hotline Bling

First off, a very Happy New Year to everyone! Let's make something of this brand-new wonderful fresh start! 

Sappy motivational cliches aside, on Boxing Day - which is something of a Canadian Black Friday - having been sick of my painfully-slow Galaxy Note 3, I've had for the past two years (not my choice, it was a gift from my dad so I had to take it!), I picked up the new 6s; the last one at Best Buy! 16 GB, black and here's what I think of it.

Having owned only iPhones all throughout my cellular life - until my last Android phone - I decided iOS is the only platform for me. As I wrote in an earlier article, with the android, you can really make the device your own. No two are alike. There are several brands offering phones running Google Android's 5.1 Popsicle or Krispy Kreme or whatever version is out now. 

With Apple - there's only the iPhone. So every phone essentially looks the same. Yeah the iPhone has some insane cases available, but have you noticed that every user has the exact same ringtone? That's cult-mentality. You don't have to prove it's an iPhone. I can tell (it's the best-looking phone out; okay IMHO)

Being a Mac user, maybe I'm a little biased. It all depends on what you love and what you're using the device for primarily. iPhone quite easily has fantastic continuity features - being able to pick up on another device exactly where you left off - which is great for students or business users, which I'm both; and this is the most user-friendly phone I've ever used.

With the Android, I find it to be a phone with better multi-tasking features, with far more customization available. Mind you, most users never take advantage of this. I find this phone to be better with those that are big into technology. 

Dont get me wrong the Galaxy S6 is a great phone for anyone. It just has A LOT of features most never touch or find out what they actually do. With the iPhone, a lot of the apps go together seamlessly. You set a date on a calendar, it integrates with your reminders and your notes or your email, contacts, etc. It's really great. The only app that hardly gets touched on an iPhone is "Stocks". 

The S6 has a much-improved design, camera and speed over the S5. 


The 6S has hardly changed in terms of design over the 6 (with the incredible addition of an "S" at the back of the phone), but it terms of speed and camera - it knocks it out of the park. 

Is it an unmissable upgrade? Probably not. Most users really wouldn't notice how fast it is, on day-to-day use without a side-by-side comparison. What about going from the 5 or 5S? Yes. Absolutely.

Some users find it hard to adjust to a larger phone. Here I say, deal with it. Phones are getting larger. The iPhone 6S and Galaxy S6 are actually one of the smaller phablets. It's more in between, like a phonablet - coming in with it's 4.7" for the 6S and the S6's 5.1" display, respectively.

Here's the problem. To answer the unnerving question of "which is the better phone?", I have to answer it with another question - which phone is worth it to you? 

The iPhone 6S is straight-up overpriced. $650 dollars for the same design, a slightly better camera (better pictures in low-light ambience, higher megapixel count, the addition of 4K video, an upgraded 1080p front-facing camera) and better speed.

It is a better S. But it is still an S. You know, those obligatory lazy half-upgrades. 

The S6 is a better value. With a near equally-competitve camera and speed - plus a WAY better display. And I've been a big proponent of the Apple display since the Retina iteration in 2010 with the 4. The 6S display isn't even 1080p. But you know what, it is still very sharp on a display of this size and the colors are truer to life than most Android displays, even if it's technically less sharp - coming from both platforms and a visual nitpicker, I hardly notice.

So flip a coin at this point - as the line between smartphones blur every couple months. It all comes down to which phone you want to pull out of your pocket, before you trash it in two years anyway.