Apple iPhone 6s Plus 128GB

If you look at the iPhone 6 Plus and 6s Plus side by side, you'd be hard pressed to notice the difference. The rounded edges, curved corners and slim all-metal body have been retained in their entirety. The only new adornment on the 6s Plus is the little 's' lasered into the back panel. If you pick up both devices though, you'll instantly notice that the iPhone 6s Plus feels thicker around the waist, and a few grams heavier. But we don't mind, because it feels sturdier to hold. Speaking of sturdiness, Apple has used a new series 7000 aluminium alloy to construct the new iPhones, which it says it the toughest material used on an iPhone so far. Even so, it's unfortunate that the iPhone's gorgeous design is one that begs to be put in a case. It's very slippery, the aluminium gets scratched easily, and fixing any damage costs a bomb.

Unlike most Android flagships these days that flaunt 2K (and now, even 4K) displays, Apple has stuck to a respectable full HD resolution for the 6s Plus. We don't mind though, because the battery life compromises that come with a higher-res screen just aren't worth the extra pixels. The 5.5-inch screen means you get a pixel density of 401ppi, which is plenty sharp. Compared to last year’s model, the 6s Plus’ screen appears brighter, with more natural colours. Apple has also used a much stronger glass to protect the display, made using a dual ion-exchange process. The display offers excellent viewing angles, and the sunlight legibility is among the best in class.  

While the iPhone 6s Plus’ display might not look different, in reality, it’s capable of so much more. Underneath the screen lies a network of 96 3D Touch sensors, which can detect not just pressure, but varying levels of pressure. For instance, the sensors know the difference between a light press and a deep press, letting you interact with content on your screen in different ways. Working with the sensors is a new Taptic engine, which provides haptic feedback based on how hard you press.

The iPhone 6s Plus ships with iOS 9, although you’ll be able to upgrade to iOS 9.1 immediately. Our favourite new feature in iOS 9 (and this is restricted just to the 6s and 6s Plus thanks to the upgraded M9 co-processor) is the ability to put ‘Hey Siri’ into an always-listening mode. Earlier, you could only use the voice command when the iPhone was plugged into a power source. Now, the two magic words make Siri jump to life at any time, a feature Android’s ‘Ok Google’ has boasted of for a couple of years now. 

The iPhone 6s Plus gets some long overdue updates in the optics department. The 8MP iSight shooter has been bumped up to 12MP, and features an f/2.2 aperture, Focus Pixels (Apple speak for Phase Detection Autofocus), a five-element lens, a hybrid IR filter, a BSI sensor and Optical Image Stabilisation. The front 1.2MP FaceTime camera has received an even more significant boost, and is now a 5MP unit with f/2.2 aperture and a BSI sensor.

The iPhone 6s Plus is fast, really fast. Chugging at its heart is the new and improved 64-bit A9 chipset, which according to benchmarks consists of dual cores clocked at 1.84GHz. It’s paired with an updated M9 co-processor, and finally gets a RAM boost of 2GB. Compared to the iPhone 6 Plus, the 6s Plus just feels so much faster. We put the two phones side by side, and noticed a visible improvement in speed, whether it was launching apps, swiping through screens, or even pulling down the drop-down notification pane. Gaming is a real pleasure on the 6s Plus, with heavier titles like Dead Trigger 2 displaying no visible frame drops or lags. The smartphone continues to run smoothly, without overheating, even after 30-40 minute gaming sessions.