iphone 6s

But when it looks identical to the iPhone 6, people will be desperate to know if the iPhone 6S is enough of an upgrade to justify the price. While the upgrades seem great, is it worth going all the way up to the iPhone 6S, or would the 6 do?

In terms of raw price, we're in a weird situation now. Samsung and the rest of the Android crew have been slowly ratcheting up the price of their high-end phones to the point where they're actually eclipsing the iPhone 6S at launch.

While Apple put its phone into a market where the Galaxy S6 was significantly cheaper there are new boys on the block in the for of the Galaxy S7, LG G5 andHTC 10. Either way, the iPhone 6S has a lot to live up to.

In the UK you'll likely have to part with between £50 and £100 upfront to get the phone for £36-£38 per month (if you want a decent slug of data and minutes) with the 6S starting at £539 (US$649, AU$1,079) for the 16GB model, £619 (US$749, AU$1,229) for the 64GB model and £699 (US$849, AU$1,379) for 128GB.

But when it looks identical to the iPhone 6, people will be desperate to know if the iPhone 6S is enough of an upgrade to justify the price. While the upgrades seem great, is it worth going all the way up to the iPhone 6S, or would the 6 do?

In terms of raw price, we're in a weird situation now. Samsung and the rest of the Android crew have been slowly ratcheting up the price of their high-end phones to the point where they're actually eclipsing the iPhone 6S at launch.

While Apple put its phone into a market where the Galaxy S6 was significantly cheaper there are new boys on the block in the for of the Galaxy S7, LG G5 andHTC 10. Either way, the iPhone 6S has a lot to live up to.

In the UK you'll likely have to part with between £50 and £100 upfront to get the phone for £36-£38 per month (if you want a decent slug of data and minutes) with the 6S starting at £539 (US$649, AU$1,079) for the 16GB model, £619 (US$749, AU$1,229) for the 64GB model and £699 (US$849, AU$1,379) for 128GB.

In reality though, the question of who this phone is aimed at isn't that hard to answer: for most people stuck on the iPhone 5S it's clearly the upgrade they're considering, although the recent arrival of the iPhone SE will surely tempt some of those users who want to stick with the smaller form factor.

Beyond that there's the disgruntled Android owner who's tired of looking at the slicker app experience Apple offers and seeing their own handset looking sketchy in comparison.

(Of course, there are a few people that tried Windows Phones as experiments, but they'd probably be happy with just about any other phone if they're still using a Nokia Lumia 930).

The issue Apple is trying to solve with the iPhone 6S (and the 6S Plus) is how it can convince users, especially in a market saturated with really rather brilliant smartphones, that the 'S' variant of the impressive iPhone 6 is a worthy phone to upgrade to in its own right.

When something is so visually similar, the onus is on the brand to show that the upgrades are really worth the extra cash.

Even if Apple keeps users within its own ecosystem there's every chance they'll look at the iPhone 6, which is now much cheaper – so it needs to make sure things like a stronger chassis, animated photos and a new pressable screen are worth the extra outlay when both phones will still work perfectly well in a couple of years' time.

Design

You've probably already heard, but the iPhone 6S is almost identical to the 6 in every way when it comes to the chassis. There are some very subtle differences, such as a slightly thicker frame and a little more heft, but it's so slight that I kept getting the two mixed up when doing side by side comparisons.

All cases fit both phones just fine too so, apart from a small S logo on the back of the phone, nobody is going to notice you've got the latest iPhone.

One of the things that Apple is touting is the fact the iPhone 6S is made of 7000 series aluminum, which is the strongest thing it's ever used in iPhone construction. The obvious connection people will make is with 'Bendgate', when some users claimed their new phone had developed a slight curve in their pocket without much pressure.

The common belief was that these phones began to twist when placed in a rear pocket and sat upon. While it was proven that other metal phones actually were worse when it came to bending Apple didn't come out of the controversy well.

So it's no surprise that, while the company won't admit the real reason, the new iPhone is strong and never going to bend with such pressure. However, I feel like that we shouldn't feel happy our phones no longer bend – this seems like one of the minimum expectations I'd have of a smartphone, not a compelling reason to buy it.

The front of the phone is now covered in a new level of strength, with a glass that's far less prone to shattering when dropped on the floor – now that's something I can get behind. We've not drop tested it - we'll leave that to some other, braver reviewer - if the screen is stronger the responsiveness hasn't dropped.

In the hand, the iPhone 6S still feels like a dream. Even with the extra 14g over the iPhone it feels lightweight, easy to manipulate and really warrants the price. Samsung's new Galaxy S6 Edge invokes the same kind of feeling, and with it you don't mind spending the extra money over a more budget phone.

In terms of design, if you've seen the iPhone 6 then you've seen the 6S. The volume buttons, the power key, the silencer switch and the speaker are all in the same place as its predecessor, with the grille at the bottom very easy to cover when you're watching videos or playing games in landscape.

If you're using the 5S, this is leagues ahead. The construction is good, the materials solid and there's no wiggle in the buttons at all. While you probably never bent your 5S, the idea that the iPhone 6S is stronger will probably please you, however unnecessary the claim is.

Apple's not done anything great with the design of the iPhone 6S, but the iPhone 6 was such a well-created phone that using the same chassis isn't going to harm its chances of success.

However, combined with the higher price and the continued presence of the iPhone 6, I wish we were at least seeing some retooling of the phone to make it seem more attractive.

Screen

The screen on the iPhone 6S seems to be identical to the iPhone 6's: we're talking a 4.7-inch affair with 750p resolution, which keeps it firmly in the 'Retina' range that the firm debuted all the way back with the iPhone 4.

It's hard to rate the display, as while it fails on resolution (quite spectacularly actually - phones a seventh the cost of the iPhone 6S offer 1080p screens, Samsung's cheaper phone has four times the resolution of the 6S and Sony has, inexplicably, launched a 4K phone) it doesn't drop too badly on performance.

One of the things that Apple is touting is the fact the iPhone 6S is made of 7000 series aluminum, which is the strongest thing it's ever used in iPhone construction. The obvious connection people will make is with 'Bendgate', when some users claimed their new phone had developed a slight curve in their pocket without much pressure.

The common belief was that these phones began to twist when placed in a rear pocket and sat upon. While it was proven that other metal phones actually were worse when it came to bending Apple didn't come out of the controversy well.

So it's no surprise that, while the company won't admit the real reason, the new iPhone is strong and never going to bend with such pressure. However, I feel like that we shouldn't feel happy our phones no longer bend – this seems like one of the minimum expectations I'd have of a smartphone, not a compelling reason to buy it.

The front of the phone is now covered in a new level of strength, with a glass that's far less prone to shattering when dropped on the floor – now that's something I can get behind. We've not drop tested it - we'll leave that to some other, braver reviewer - if the screen is stronger the responsiveness hasn't dropped.

In the hand, the iPhone 6S still feels like a dream. Even with the extra 14g over the iPhone it feels lightweight, easy to manipulate and really warrants the price. Samsung's new Galaxy S6 Edge invokes the same kind of feeling, and with it you don't mind spending the extra money over a more budget phone.

In terms of design, if you've seen the iPhone 6 then you've seen the 6S. The volume buttons, the power key, the silencer switch and the speaker are all in the same place as its predecessor, with the grille at the bottom very easy to cover when you're watching videos or playing games in landscape.

If you're using the 5S, this is leagues ahead. The construction is good, the materials solid and there's no wiggle in the buttons at all. While you probably never bent your 5S, the idea that the iPhone 6S is stronger will probably please you, however unnecessary the claim is.

Apple's not done anything great with the design of the iPhone 6S, but the iPhone 6 was such a well-created phone that using the same chassis isn't going to harm its chances of success.

However, combined with the higher price and the continued presence of the iPhone 6, I wish we were at least seeing some retooling of the phone to make it seem more attractive.

Screen

The screen on the iPhone 6S seems to be identical to the iPhone 6's: we're talking a 4.7-inch affair with 750p resolution, which keeps it firmly in the 'Retina' range that the firm debuted all the way back with the iPhone 4.

It's hard to rate the display, as while it fails on resolution (quite spectacularly actually - phones a seventh the cost of the iPhone 6S offer 1080p screens, Samsung's cheaper phone has four times the resolution of the 6S and Sony has, inexplicably, launched a 4K phone) it doesn't drop too badly on performance.