Apple released the iPhone 6S and the 6S Plus in the fall of 2015 but it’s still one of the popular iPhones with people who don’t want to shell a lot on a phone. Its 2018, meaning it’s been more than 2 years since the 6S’ release and should you buy it? Let’s take a look.
There’s no point in taking the iPhone X into consideration as its one of the top-tier phones and this article focuses on budget friendly phones. Leaving the iPhone X aside, we’re left with two phones, the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 8 which go head-to-head with the 6S.
The iPhone 7, released in 2016, saw some great internal upgrades, obviously a new chip, a tiny battery bump (so tiny, you can just forget that it did even happen), upgraded 7MP front cam from 6S’ 5MP, and a slightly improved back camera. Also, the iPhone 7 officially added waterproofing to the iPhone lineup, even though the 6S is considered to be water-resistant, Apple doesn’t officially say that as it’s not as good at it as the 7.
Last year, Apple released the iPhone 8 which uses the stale iPhone 6’s design but charges an exorbitant amount. Just like every new iPhone, the 8 also sports new internals – a new A11 Bionic chip, support for wireless charging, however, the battery life hasn’t really improved over the iPhone 6S. There’s one thing, that’s different though, the iPhone 8 uses a glass back to enable wireless charging. On a different note, the newly released RED iPhone 8 looks great in my opinion.
So, should you buy an iPhone 6S or the iPhone 7 or the iPhone 8? Well, iPhone 6S is still a very powerful phone and if you don’t dazzle much with AR (augmented reality) stuff then the 6S is definitely a good deal. However, if you like your iPhone to receive continuous updates, then you should consider the iPhone 7, as its comparatively a newer iPhone but it doesn’t offer anything extraordinary other than raw power except for the 7 Plus which sports a dual camera on the back.
The iPhone 8, on the other hand, scores well with wireless charging; in my opinion though, wireless charging is still new, meaning, it takes a lot of time compared to a standard charger. Buy the iPhone 8 only if you care about a glass back or wireless charging or updates for a longer period.
If you’d like to spend as low as possible, the iPhone 6S is definitely a great choice but then the battery life comes into picture, the iPhone 7 and 8 offer improved battery life (very little). If you think, even little extra life is important to you, then consider the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8. If your eyeing the “Plus” model, then even the iPhone 6S Plus offers a great battery life. At the end I’d say if you are fine with some caveats, then just get the iPhone 6S or the 6S Plus and save some bucks.
P.S. If you are an Indian then you should definitely wait for another 2-3 weeks as various reports suggest that Apple is planning to manufacture the iPhone 6S Plus in India so as to reduce the price further. Currently the iPhone 6S sells for Rs. 34,999 and the price could go down to Rs. 29,999 (a guess)