iPhone 6s Impressions: 5 Things I Learned on the First Day

As I start taking notes for the iPhone 6s review, where we will tell you if the iPhone 6s is worth buying, I discovered five important details about the iPhone 6s after using it for a day.

There are simply too many changes to the new iPhone to pull together a iPhone 6s review in a day, but it is easy to share what I’ve learned after upgrading from the iPhone 6 to the iPhone 6s.

Starting at 8:08 AM on the iPhone 6s release date, when I walked out of the Apple Store until now, this is what I’ve learned from using the new iPhone 6s for 24 hours.

For comparison I use the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus almost every day, and I am also using the iPhone 6s Plus right now to figure out which device fits me best after Apple had time to refine both of the new iPhones and add new features.

Not everyone has the luxury of trying out both of the new iPhones, so as part of these first impressions there is some crossover between the two sizes. I’ve heard from many users who bought the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus who are re-evaluating their screen size choice after a year and thinking about switching. We’ll be doing a more detailed comparison after trying all the features on both of these new models.

Here are five things I learned after using the iPhone 6s after one day.

3D Touch is a Game Changer

The biggest new iPhone 6s feature that you will see on ads is that the screen can now tell the difference between a tap, a press and a deep press.

With 3D Touch I can get to my favorite contacts faster, quickly look at a message or webpage and pop right into an app if I need to do more. This also adds a great new way to multitask and easier text selection on the keyboard that you can only find on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

In just the first day numerous apps including Instagram and Twitter added support for 3D Touch in the apps and on the home screens. I’m looking forward to seeing more apps use this new feature.

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The New Camera Features Are Useful

Apple upgraded the iPhone 6s cameras with a 12MP sensor on the back and a 5MP sensor on the front. The upgraded quality is great, but so far the most fun comes from three new features that come with the upgraded sensors.

Live Photos are a ton of fun and already a highlight of using the new camera.This records 1.5 seconds before and after a photo that offers up a moving photo in addition to a full resolution photo. Now you can capture the perfect moment and the fun that happens before and after. The downside is that when you move the camera after a shot you lose out on this effect, but Apple is working on a fix.

The new Selfie Flash, which Apple calls Retina Flash, is a great way to take a better looking selfie in low light. The screen flashes at the right tone and brightness so you end up with a better looking photo. Check out the iPhone 6s camera samples below.

It’s cool to have 4K video recording on the iPhone 6s, but it is not something I will likely use for all my video because it takes up a lot of space and many friends still don’t have a way to see it at full resolution.

Taptic Vibration is Awesome

One of my biggest annoyances with the iPhone 6 and especially the iPhone 6 Plus is the loud and intrusive vibration.

Apple includes the Taptic Engine for vibration feedback on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. This is essentially a smarter vibration that Apple uses to give you feedback when you use 3D Touch and it also powers a better vibration alert for the iPhone 6s that is subtle to people nearby, but grabs my attention.

 

Touch ID is Super Fast

Touch ID is insanely fast on the iPhone 6s. There are times when the iPhone is unlocked before I can even catch that i placed my finger on the home button.

Even when it isn’t that fast, it is still much faster than the iPhone 5s and iPhone 6 thanks to new internals. Hopefully this performance stays after extended use.

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iPhone 6s Performance is Promising

It’s way too early to make any judgements about the iPhone 6s battery life, after restoring from iCloud, downloading app updates and testing new features it was not a typical day for screen time and app use.

Still, the iPhone 6s performance is promising in many areas. The 3D Touch performance is solid, which is why the feature earned top billing in this quick look at the new iPhone, but it’s not the only area that the iPhone 6s performance shines.

The iPhone 6s is faster than the iPhone 6, and not just on paper. Switching apps is faster and Angry Birds 2 loaded so much faster on the iPhone 6s that I was able to watch an ad to double gems in the time it took the iPhone 6 to load the game. In short, the iPhone 6s will get you to what you want to do faster.

Speck CandyShell Clear iPhone 6s Case

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The Speck CandyShell Clear is the first clear iPhone 6s case from Speck, and the first clear case from the company overall. This form-fitting, minimalist iPhone 6s case delivers a decent amount of protection with a military drop test 810G rating. Speck assures us that the clear case will not yellow with use like many cheap clear case options. The clear finish is perfect for showing off your iPhone 6s color choice while protecting it. Buttons move perfectly and are easy to find by touch and there is a raised front bezel to keep the iPhone 6s display off hard surfaces. $34.95 at Speck

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