Phones and queues – must be another Apple launch
Fans once again queued up for the next iteration of the iPhone, the 6s and 6s Plus.
While some stores have fans clamouring for the newest phone, the reactions were mixed, and maybe a bit more civilised in other regions.
I attended a launch in northwest Sydney, where the usual fanfare was considerably lower in comparison to the CBD reception.
The cordons went as far as 20m back from the front doors, but only half was utilised. Even some of the security guards questioned whether they needed fifteen guards, but other Apple stores may have varied, with Penrith and the George Street stores reporting big numbers.
The phone was also finally released in China, which helped it break weekend sales records, selling 13 million units over the launch weekend.
The phone was released with iOS 9, which had been rolled out to older devices a few days earlier, but without some of the fancy new parts of the newer 6s.
I had a quick play-around with the 6s Plus, and asked some Apple employees and early adopters about the phone.
The first thing you notice when you touch of the phone is that it has that signature Apple quality feel to it. It looks just about the same as the iPhone 6, but ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ applies here.
Another thing you notice is the crisp and clear screen. While I didn’t get to have a look at the regular 6s, the 6s Plus was clear, which was emphasised by playing a sample video on the Retina display screen.
The camera also got a bit of a specs boost in comparison with its predecessor. While the camera difference between the iPhone 6 and the 6s Plus, the difference was almost negligible in comparison with the Galaxy S6 that I was using on the day. When I asked an Apple employee that had upgraded from the 6 to the 6s Plus, he said, “I’ve used the phone for 24 hours so far, while I thought the use of a large screen was initially silly, it’s a great device that takes superb photos”.
The phone also comes with 3D Touch, which was fun and intuitive to use, but personally, I did not feel it completely revolutionised and enhanced the phone-using experience that the company had advertised. Still, we may see this change when app developers add the feature into their own apps.
Overall, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus is a great phone. While it’s more-or-less the same as the previous iterations, it has a lot of potential with the 3D Touch and 4k video recording features. While it might not yet be enough to turn other phone users to its doorstep (which may be up to next year’s iPhone 7 to achieve), current users will see a quality product that does what their old phones do, and just a little bit more.
Posted in Blog, In the News, Technology
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