Should You Buy the iPhone 6s?

David and Sarah Debate Whether It’s Worth the Upgrade
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The following article is from the Nov/Dec 2015 issue of iPhone Life magazine. Learn how to get the most from your iPhone by clicking here to subscribe.

CEO and Publisher David Averbach and Senior Web Editor Sarah Kingsbury enjoy disagreeing with each other every chance they get. So we thought it would be fun to have them debate whether or not it’s worth it to upgrade to the iPhone 6s (for the full debate, listen to episode 2 of the iPhone Life podcast.

The third-generation 64-bit A9 chip is a huge step up. It can handle graphics 90 percent faster and computing tasks 70 percent faster than the A8.

Top New iPhone 6s Features

3D Touch

The screen of the new iPhone can now sense how hard users are pressing on it and give vibrational feedback. With 3D Touch, you can use features such as Peek and Pop (which lets you preview content without opening it) and Quick Actions (which provides shortcuts for things like your Camera and Mail app). If you press the Camera icon, for instance, you can take a selfie, or you can press Mail to quickly check your messages or compose an email).

Updated Camera

Along with boasting a 12 megapixel iSight camera, 4K video, and wider panoramas, the iPhone 6s has introduced Live Photos—a feature that allows you to record brief moments before and after a photo is taken. When you press on your captured image later in the Photos app, it will come to life in a three-second animation complete with motion and sound. The front FaceTime camera has received a big boost too. It has been upgraded from 1.2 to 5 megapixels and the iPhone’s Retina display can now act as a flash for selfies.

Speedier A9 Chip

The third-generation 64-bit A9 chip is a huge step up. It can handle graphics 90 percent faster and computing tasks 70 percent faster than the A8.

The Debate:

With 3D Touch, if you press the Camera icon, for instance, you can take a selfie, or you can press Mail to quickly check your messages or compose an email.

Sarah: I’m going to skip this upgrade. Some of the new features are cool, but they’re not exciting enough to warrant an upgrade from what is already a really awesome phone.

David: I’m definitely going to get a new one. I feel like the new features are going to make the user experience a lot better, starting with 3D Touch. It’s going to save me seconds every time I use my phone.

Sarah: I agree that 3D Touch is awesome. There is a sort of quiet delight that I experience when I figure out a new, faster way to do things, but I can wait a year.

David: 3D Touch is not enough to convince you? Saving seconds off your day isn’t worth the 700–800 bucks?

Sarah: I believe I will really like 3D Touch when I get the iPhone 7, but I can wait.

David: It seems like this time around there are not a lot of features we didn’t get. I think that’s why I want to upgrade. What didn’t we get this time that you were hoping for?

Sarah: There was really nothing surprising, and maybe that’s why I’m not interested in the new phone. It just seems like a pretty basic upgrade.

David: And the camera. You’re not trying to fix your terrible photography?

I don’t think a really good camera will fix my terrible photography, unfortunately.

Sarah: I don’t think a really good camera will fix my terrible photography, unfortunately. If I were a person who was into photography, I might consider upgrading.

David: I’m excited for the camera for photography. But I feel like we do the camera a disservice by talking about it as only for photographers. The camera on the iPhone is for capturing everyday life. It’s for capturing moments with your kids, capturing moments of your vacation. They don’t need to be artistic. So that’s not significant to you. I’m scared to bring this up because I don’t think it helps my side in the debate, but Live Photos doesn’t excite you at all?

Sarah: It could be fun, but it’s gimmicky.

David: Yeah, it’s a little gimmicky. The other thing I think is a really big deal is the processor. And I think it’s a big deal for the same reason as 3D Touch—because it makes everything faster.

Sarah: Well, I’ll have to wait and play with your new phone before I’m totally convinced. First of all, I don’t play graphic-heavy games; I’m not really a gamer. And sure, 70 percent faster for computing is a big improvement, but at some point, do you really even notice the extra speed any more?

David: I don’t know. I’m curious to see that too. So it’s not that they necessarily missed anything in particular, it’s more that you’re just not going to be somebody that buys a new phone every year since your current phone’s already good enough. Are there any features that would have tempted you?

Sarah: I just thought of the one thing I really wanted. I want them to get rid of the 16 GB base model. Why do they still have it? Especially if you can take 4K video on your iPhone? I wouldn’t call myself a power user. I have some music, I’m pretty ruthless about deleting apps I don’t use on a regular basis, and I have a 16 GB phone, which was a mistake. It’s too small.

I’ve never dropped my iPhone in a puddle, but that’s just because I was lucky. I’ve dropped it a lot.

David: Yeah, 4K video with only 16 GB of storage is a disaster.

And 64 GB is too big. They need to add a 32 GB option. The other thing that I was hoping for was waterproofing. They have the technology to make it waterproof.

Sarah: I would have gotten it if it were waterproof.

David: That would have been the factor that did it?

Sarah: Yeah. I’ve never dropped my iPhone in a puddle, but that’s just because I was lucky. I’ve dropped it a lot.

David: One time, I was driving my moped and my phone fell out of my pocket and into a puddle. But it survived, so I guess Apple’s doing something right.

Final Thoughts

David: 3D Touch is the breakthrough feature that makes upgrading to the iPhone 6s well worth the cost. While I would have liked to see waterproofing and the addition of a 32 GB base model, the pressure-sensitive screen, better camera, and faster processor make it an easy choice for me.

Sarah: The one thing you can count on is Apple adding more bells and whistles to its latest iPhone. Unless the updates are out of this world, for me, it's just not worth it to pay to upgrade my iPhone every year.

Listen to Sarah and David's full debate in episode 2 of the iPhone Life podcast.