Following Apple’s big event on Wednesday, a select few of the media was given the opportunity to get some hands-on time with the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus handsets. Here’s a sampling of first impressions from around the web.
TechnoBuffalo was particularly impressed by the new device’s 3D Touch feature, that allows quick “Peeks” at information, “Pops” directly into apps, and other features such as quickly being able to take selfies.
What most people will pay attention to is the new 3D Touch technology, which is capable of discerning between a light tap and a hard press. This new feature will allows users to Peek and Pop into apps and other functions; Peek at an address in Maps, or quickly look at a photo on Instagram. Or you Pop into an app and quickly take care of business.
Apple also introduced a feature known as quick actions, which allows users to tap on an app icon and perform a task. You can tap on the Message icon, for example, and a menu will pop up so you can easily text your favorite contacts. Same goes for the Phoneapp. These kind of features are integrated all throughout iOS 9, and Apple says developers will have full control over how they integrate the new tech.
Wired liked the new 3D Touch feature of the handsets, saying it made the iPhone feel “less like a collection of apps and more like a single, cohesive thing.” Although the site expressed fear that users might get frustrated hunting for 3D Touch features in their apps.
The problem with 3D Touch is that you never know where the hidden menus are—some apps don’t support it, neither do some menus, and you never get a hint. So you’re forced to hunt around looking for this buried treasure, which I’m worried I’d just stop doing after a while. 3D Touch lets you “see” what’s inside whatever you’re looking at; but how far it will let you look is difficult to say so far.
SlashGear offered up the observation that the iPhone 6s is “familiar and yet different,” saying while the handsets look basically the same as last years models, the improvements should keep things “more than interesting.”
The publication wasn’t all that enamored with the new “Live Photos” feature, saying:
Live Photos I’m not so sure about. They’re reminiscent of HTC’s Zoe idea, which though interesting at launch weren’t all that enduring over time. Capturing 1.5-seconds either side of a still feels a little on the short side to me, though maybe I’ll be proved wrong when third-party apps wade in and take advantage too.
SlashGear felt that there was plenty to like about the “S” year upgrade, and that iPhone fans should love the tweaked hardware, boosted performance, and new 3D Touch feature.
Being able to 3D Touch on the Mail app and summon a specific mailbox or start a new message will shape up to be a true time-saver. Similarly, getting previews of flight details, webpages, and more from within conversations will be useful yet data-sensitive.
Rather than something like Slack, which loads a preview of every link shared into the conversation – and thus can be quite data intensive – 3D Touch means you’ll only spend bandwidth on what you actively want to see.
Ars Technica actually liked the new rose gold color, saying:
The new rose gold color is a nice addition to the lineup. It’s a gentle, pleasant shade of pink, nowhere near as intense as the pink version of the iPhone 5C, and it will pair well with the rose gold Apple Watch Sport if you’re into matching your iDevices to one another.
Their reporter shared the feelings of most users when discussing the base model handset’s 16GB storage capacity:
… the iPhone 6S-series cameras are going to make those entry-level phones feel more restrictive than they did before. You can’t upgrade to 12MP photos (with extra frames for the Live Photos feature, no less, which by some accounts doubles the size of a standard picture) and 4K video without eating up more storage, but the iPhone 6S’ local storage didn’t grow to accommodate the new capabilities.
And last but not least, TechRadar gave the “S” year model iPhone a begrudging compliment:
This is actually the most impressive ‘S’ variant of an iPhone I’ve seen yet, and one iPhone 5S users are going to flock towards. While there’s still a part of me that rages about Apple ‘getting away’ with releasing the same phone visually – no other brand could get away with such a thing – it’s the fourth time its done it and people really like buying it.
We’ll keep our eyes open for more hands-on reviews around the net, and will update this article as we find them.
