Photo: Dinkun Chen / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons · source
iPhone 6s
3D Touch, Live Photos and a 12-megapixel camera.
Overview
The iPhone 6s looked nearly identical to the 6, but a tougher 7000-series aluminum alloy and stronger cover glass were meant to answer the bending complaints. A new Rose Gold finish joined the lineup and quickly became one of the most popular colors.
Its main new feature was 3D Touch, a display that could sense how hard the finger pressed. Peek and Pop previews, home screen quick actions and pressure-sensitive keyboard trackpads came with it. The camera moved up to 12 megapixels, recorded 4K video, and Live Photos captured a short moving clip around each still. The front camera went to 5 megapixels, with the screen acting as a flash.
The A9 chip brought a large jump in CPU and graphics speed, while memory doubled to 2GB and Touch ID became noticeably faster. Battery capacity dipped slightly, though quoted life stayed about the same.
Why it mattered
It introduced 3D Touch and the 12MP camera and ended up with a very long software life, receiving updates through iOS 15.
At a glance
- Announced
- September 9, 2015
- Released
- September 25, 2015
- Discontinued
- September 12, 2018
- Launch price
- $649
- Chip
- Apple A9
- Display
- 4.7"
- Storage
- 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB
- Status
- Vintage
Highlights
- 3D Touch pressure-sensitive display
- 12MP camera, 4K video, Live Photos
- A9 chip and 2GB RAM
- 7000-series aluminum body
- Rose Gold finish debut
Tech specs
Specifications as published at launch. Some values (like battery life) are manufacturer estimates.
Display
- Size
- 4.7-inch
- Type
- Retina HD IPS LCD with 3D Touch
- Resolution
- 1334 x 750 pixels (326 ppi)
- Refresh rate
- 60 Hz
Chip
- Chip
- Apple A9 (64-bit, dual-core 1.85 GHz)
- Coprocessor
- M9 motion coprocessor
Memory
- RAM
- 2GB
- Storage options
- 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB
Camera
- Rear cameras
- 12MP, f/2.2, Focus Pixels, dual-LED flash
- Front camera
- 5MP, f/2.2, Retina Flash
- Video recording
- 4K at 30 fps; 1080p at 60 fps; 720p slo-mo at 240 fps
Battery
- Video playback
- Up to 11 hours
- Charging
- Via Lightning connector
- Capacity
- 1715 mAh
Connectivity
- Cellular
- LTE Advanced (up to 300 Mbps), HSPA+ 42 Mbps
- Wi-Fi
- 802.11ac with MIMO
- Connector
- Lightning
- Bluetooth
- Bluetooth 4.2
- NFC
- Yes (Apple Pay)
Design
- Dimensions
- 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm
- Weight
- 143 g
- Materials
- 7000 series aluminum, ion-strengthened glass front
- Water resistance
- None rated
Security
- Authentication
- Touch ID (second generation)
Software
- Launch OS
- iOS 9
- Final OS
- iOS 15.8.x
