The new Rose Gold iPhone 6s
In what Apple CEO Tim Cook said is the most advanced iPhone line-up in Apple’s history, the tech giant revealed the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, which feature new 3D Touch features, a 12MP camera and a new Live Photos technology.
“We have changed everything about these new iPhones,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said at a special Apple event in San Francisco today (9 September) and he did not disappoint.
The new devices set a new standard in the smartphone world with the ability to shoot 4K videos and come with a A9 chip that doubles the processing power of the last iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices.
The new smartphones will go on sale on 25 September in the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Singapore. There has been no mention of when the device will go on sale in Ireland or elsewhere in Europe.
Key technology advances include the new 3D Touch capability that enables new gestures Peek and Pop to dip in and out of content, switch between pages, peek inside apps and automatically take selfies.
The 12MP iSight camera on the new smartphones is a 50pc increase on the previous iPhone 6’s version and on the front of the new devices is a 5MP FaceTime HD camera with Retina Flash.
On stage in San Francisco today, Apple’s Phil Schiller revealed a new Live Photos feature that allows users to create a Harry Potter newspaper effect, including audio, by stitching a number of sequenced photos together effortlessly.
In terms of the design, the smartphones are identical looking to the previous 6 and 6 Plus versions but with one important change – the addition of Rose Gold to accompany Silver, Gold and Space Grey colours.
The devices are also pushing the bar on 4G with the capability of supporting up to 23 different LTE bands, the most it claims in any smartphone.
New pricing structure of Apple iPhones could change entire smartphone industry
Aside from the technology, the most pivotal shift in Apple’s strategy today has had to be pricing.
Apple revealed that the prices of the devices will be exactly the same as the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus when they launched last year, with the iPhone 6s starting from US$649 and the 6s Plus starting from US$749. The starting prices of the corresponding earlier models iPhone 6 and 6 Plus will fall by US$100 respectively.
But the biggest shift has to be Apple’s decision to start a new iPhone Upgrade Program whereby iPhone owners can update their iPhones every year by committing to a monthly fee starting at US$32 per month.
“The only thing that has changed with iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus is everything — 3D Touch lets users interact with iPhone in entirely new and fun ways, and the innovative Live Photos brings your pictures to life,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.
“These are the most advanced iPhones ever, with 7000 series aluminium, ion-strengthened glass, the new 64-bit A9 chip, 12MP iSight and 5MP FaceTime HD cameras, faster Touch ID, LTE and Wi-Fi. Customers are going to love them.”
