Open Forum: Are you upgrading to a new iPhone?

5 Big Flaws Wrecking The World's Best Smartphone



Reviewers generally praised the iPhone 6S and the 6S Plus for features like their pressure-sensitive 3D Touch displays and upgraded cameras. One test put the phone's A9 chip as faster than a late-model MacBook. But reviewers hated some things, meaning Apple has its work cut out for the iPhone 7.

Better Battery Life Is A No-Show

The iPhone 6S may have received an upgrade across the board internally. But that somehow didn’t make it into battery, as the Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern discovered:

“The No. 1 thing people want in a smartphone is better battery life. And the iPhone 6s doesn’t deliver that. The 4.7-inch 6S will get you through the day, but you’ll struggle to make it til bedtime with moderate to heavy use. And it seemed to drain even faster than my 6 when I used the new processor-intensive camera features like Live Photos.”

Camera Upgrade Not Readily Noticeable

After years of sticking with an 8-megapixels sensor on various iPhone cameras, Apple upped the count to 12-megapixels with the iPhone 6S. But as Yahoo Tech’s David Pogue pointed out, the difference between the two cameras aren’t easily discernable.

“Now, it’s not a slam to say that photos taken with the 6S don’t look any better than those captured on an iPhone 6; the iPhone 6 camera was already among the best ever put into a phone. But you shouldn’t expect a leap forward in most of your shots.”

Slippery Back

Re/Code’s Walt Mossberg praised the iPhone 6S for a lot of its internal improvements. But he notes that the iPhone 6S still carries some of the problems of its predecessor, especially its rear case that can be difficult to keep a grip on.

“The back of the phone can be a bit slippery, especially because it has rounded edges. That made the iPhone 6 the first model I have ever felt the need to use with a case, and the same applies to the 6S.”

Live Photos Take Up A Ton Of Space

With the iPhone 6S, Apple introduced a new feature called Live Photos, which captures a second or two before a picture is taken and a second after to create a short video clip. But all that extra information takes up even more space, as The Verge’s Nilay Patel noted.

“Live Photos take up double the space of regular photos, so having every single photo you take include a short video seems like major overkill. I would play with it for a while then flip it off and turn it on when you need it.”

Base Model Is Still 16GB

Apple introduced a number of new features that take up more space on the iPhone 6S, such as Live Photos and 4K video recording. But one area it hasn’t addressed is its base model, which still sits at 16GB, Mashable’s Christina Warren pointed out in disappointment.

“That extra size [for Live Photos] makes me even more disappointed that Apple decided to keep the 16GB option available for the iPhone 6S. It just seems silly.
 
I actually went into an Apple store today, here in the UK, being the 6s launch and all, I thought I'd pop in and have a look.

Soo... I have a iPhone 6 Plus already, things I noticed that are quite cool:
1. You can sort of "right click" on things.

Things I thought that were worse:
1. It's actually heavier
2. So it seems the battery life actually got worse a little bit and it's heavier?!

Everything else was identical, the camera doesn't look any better, I don't have a 4k anything so video at 4k is no help what so ever and yeah, my 6 Plus can already do everything this thing could do as well...

What blew my mind was the queue to buy this thing and more people than I care to mention in the queue, were using either an iPhone 6 or 6 plus! what is wrong with people?! It's not really an upgrade unless your at least a 5-5s or something...

I like my iPhone, I've had one since the original iPhone came out, I'm embedded into the Apple Ecosystem a little bit, but this isn't an upgrade for people who already own a 6 or 6 Plus. Who has that sort of money anyway? Apparently, a lot of people...
 
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In all seriousness, why do the Apple app icons look like they're designed for preschoolers? The hardware design looks sleek, but then you see the icons and it's like....
 
I never had an Apple device. I prefere more open companies, Android phones for example, Linux on desktop PC. I am not going to buy anything from Apple.
 
I've never owned an iphone. It just doesn't fit my needs, and I prefer a more open OS that I can customize how I see fit.
I wouldn't buy a new Samsung, HTC, LG etc either. Cell phones, overpriced, over spec for what they do.
I don't play games, so I don't need super duper specs. I do a LOT of photos, mp3, streaming, you tube, web, email and about 2000 minutes per month on the phone. I need something that can get me through the day, without worrying about battery life. Something I don't have to treat like an expensive crystal vase that could break. My phone only cost 300 bucks, battery last 2-3 days, takes awesome photos has a HUGE 6" screen. Probably not for everyone, but just as the iPhone isn't for me, this one isn't for you.
 
Since no one else did..
"not Just no, but..."

premium phones are better at talking About.. as stated So many times, what we need are battery and storage, ANY company not stepping up to that need should be Shunned. Phones that are feature-rich and affordable are appliances, no Fun to talk About, but like affordable cars, that is what (most) people Need.
I (we) don't Need a gazillion GHz processor to take Wonderful photos-the perfect camera is Plenty, thanks
I (we) don't Need 500+ ppi at any time for Any reason.
I (we) will continue to use my outdated 18+ hour SD equipped phone with Crap camera until the Tech marvels are fired or grow a clue. put That in your smart-watch and...
 
My nexus 5 has less than one year of updates left. While I believe android is a better operating system, the iphone 6s is a very real possibility. While I love android's openness, I hate it's upgrade issues. The fact that nothing but a nexus phone will get more than 1-2 updates means that I have only 1 option for a secure android phone, and that line of phones has disappointing battery life. My n5 only got 2-3 hours of screen on time, now it's down to about an hour. Meanwhile, my work-provided iphone can easily get 6-8 hours depending on cell signal. I've found how to run emulators on iOS, so the only reason to use android is unlimited tethering, which I dont need, and the ability to install third party APKs.

Given the N5's battery issues, I'll replace it probably this year, as I need to be able to use my phone. The nexus 5 2015 is a possibility, but that entirely depends on the battery life. A lumina would be nice, but microsoft seems content with not releasing anything above budget range, unless it is a gimped AT&T version.

So, if google doesn't seriously impress with the nexus 5 2015, ill be getting a 6s. I won't consider anything from samsung, HTC, LG, ece, because I want a supported device, which is either a nexus or iphone.
 
At first I was going to detail a bit on my feelings regarding the new iPhone, but I think your comprehensive feedback on the subject has covered all the key points. Cheers!

P.S. I am Groot.
Groot? Why groot? It means 'big' in Dutch, Afrikaans and Flemish.
 
Without wearing a balaclava? I'm impressed with your courage. I wouldn't have the guts to do that. ;)
I'm going to be honest, I honestly didn't realize it was launch day, my friend had dropped my iPhone and smashed the screen, so I was forcing him to pay for Apple to repair mine.

It had nothing to do with guts, just pure stupidity on my part :p
 
Nope. I'm quite happy with my HTC 1 M8.
My next phone upgrade will probably the modular Android device that Google has been working on for some time now.
If that's not available, I'll consider the successor to the M9.
 
Oh I think EVERYONE should own one .... It's a great camera and my stock is doing great! Personally, I have a $100 Samsung that does everything I need, but YOU need to buy the big toy so my retirement stays up there!!!
 
Must be a joke! I would never get anything Apple related...even if pigs started flying; I'd just lure them over my back yard and shoot 'em down - Mmm BBQ ribs!! :D
 
My current Android phone is nearly 4 years old. I doubt if I will upgrade unless it gives up the ghost and an iPhone would be very low on my list. Having said that my wife and daughter both have the iPhone bug and both want the 6s plus. I doubt if I would go for Samsung either as they are expensive. I would probably go for a well built mid range phone with a decent camera. Frankly I would prefer to buy an DSLR camera.
 
I have an iPhone 5 as a personal backup and a 5s as a corporate phone.
My plan is to get one of the next-gen Lumias with Win10 Mobile that will be released next week. Also giving my ipad to a friend or someone in the family and switch to Surface 4.
I had enough of that ultra expensive, buggy and closed ecosystem...
Two main reasons below:

1. I synced my iPhone, my wife's iPhone and my mom's ipad with my desktop. Then it started asking for my apple id on my mom's ipad and wife's iPhone and vica-versa. It got completely messed up and apple told me there is no fix for that, I shouldn't have synced more than 1 device on a desktop.
I think this is totally unacceptable and rubbish.

2.I bought hundreds of dollars worth of music when my apple id was registered to country A. Then I moved to another country and I changed my location and card details to country B. After the 8.3 upgrade I lost $400 worth of music that I bought in country A which means I can't download it until I change my country back to country A. Apple said there is no fix for this, I wont have access to that music as long as I am in country B.
Note: everything worked fine before 8.3......
I think this is also unacceptable.
 
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I got the new iPhone 6s plus super phone well worth the upgrade from my 6 plus :cool:
 
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