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07 October 2015
It is that time again for me, once every two years, where I get a new iPhone. I just upgraded from the iPhone 5s to the iPhone 6s on Apple's launch day. I pre-ordered it on September 12th at 3 am EST when it was opened up.
At first I had a problem getting the Apple Store page to come up and for 15 minutes I kept refreshing the page, in Safari and Firefox, and it wouldn't work. Then I opened the Apple Store app on the iPhone 5s and was able to get right to the order page and place my order. The only problem I had with that process was they didn't offer to add Apple Care to the order like you can on the main Apple Store web page.
What I ordered was another AT&T iPhone, the 6s model, with 64 GB of storage, this time in Space Gray.
I am still quite disappointed in Apple in that they still offer a 16 GB option where I feel that 32 GB should be the minimum. I know people with 16 GB iPhones and they fill them up quickly with photos and videos and then ask me why they can't store any more apps or photos.
I had the 32 GB iPhone 5s for the past two years and I never had any issues with storage space, but, I don't take many photos or videos and keep a minimal set of apps on my account. If there was another 32 GB option this year, I would have bought that instead.
The iPhone arrived via UPS in the afternoon on the 25th as promised. Setup was a breeze, as expected. I made sure to do a backup of the iPhone 5s to iTunes just before setting up and restoring the files to the iPhone 6s. After that was complete, there were a few small settings that needed to be adjusted to my preferences, like Location Services and Background App Refresh, among other things. But, for the most part all my settings for iOS and the majority of my apps remained the same which was very nice.
Since the screen is bigger with a higher resolution, they offer a 'zoomed in' mode during setup and you can try it with it on or without to see which way you like better. I choose to use the zoomed in mode so the font and stuff appear larger and easier to see and read.
The screen is also very nice. It seems like it jumps off the display and is real, like physically, a thing, or painted on. It's very sharp and nice and super smooth to the touch.
The Touch ID is insanely fast - I mean really fast. I used to click the Home button quickly on the iPhone 5s just to see the time, notifications, or time left on a timer I have running. That's also using a finger I have associated with Touch ID and I could do that without it logging me into the iPhone. I can't do that anymore because even the quickest click of the Home button I can do, with an associated finger, logs me into the phone. It's that fast. So, I'll have to start clicking the Home button with an unassociated finger when all I want to view is the lock screen.
I'm not liking the Lock on/off button being relocated to the right side when it used to be on top. That will take some getting used to. Depending on how I hold it, instead of locking the screen, the opposing side of my hand accidentally adjusts the volume.
I played with the Force Touch, or whatever they call it, for a minute or so and wasn't all that impressed. I'll see if it becomes useful or not over time when apps (apps that I normally use) find ways to incorporate it.
I do like how Apple finally made Siri usable just by speaking to it, "Hey Siri" without the need to have it plugged in. Previously, the only way to communicate with Siri, without having to hold down the Home button, was to have it plugged into power and saying "Hey Siri." Now, with a new chip in the iPhone 6s, you don't need to have it plugged in any more. Just by saying "Hey Siri" it will activate and be ready for your commands. This is already allowing me to use Siri more than I did before, for things like asking about the weather, the time, setting a timer and other inquisitive things.
I've always been a fan of carrying my iPhone 'naked' meaning without a case because I like the way they look, and I don't like the extra bulk to carry around. I'm always very careful with my stuff and I've never had any accidents where my iPhone's were damaged.
However, with the switch the iPhone 6s, I felt like I needed a case for it because it is larger than the 5s I had before it, and the edges are rounded, rather than squared off, and all sides of it are slippery. I feel like the risk of dropping it is greatly increased this time and I don't want to chance it and have a serious accident with it.
I bought this case for it: iPhone 6s Case, Spigen [Carbon Fiber] Neo Hybrid Carbon Case for Apple iPhone 6 (2014) / iPhone 6s (2015) - Dante Red (SGP11623)
It's nice looking and I like the red plastic bumper around it. The rest of it is rubber/plastic I think and altogether it fits very snugly and the buttons click perfectly through it. The red bumper is very smooth and I would have preferred it had some type of grip to it. But otherwise, it is very good and I don't worry as much about the iPhone getting damaged if I drop it.