Battery life was one segment of the user experience where iPhones have previously failed to impress. The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s Plus, however, come with exceptional battery life. The iPhone 6s Plus managed to keep the lights on for 9 hours and 11 minutes during our demanding battery life test, a top-shelf score that matches the score of the Samsung Galaxy Note5 by the minute. The iPhone 6s also fared very well, depleting its battery in 8 hours and 15 minutes.

By comparison, the battery life of the previous iPhone generation is significantly worse. The iPhone 6 lasted for only 5 hours and 22 minutes, while the iPhone 6 Plus fared just a tad better, lasting for 6 hours and 32 minutes in our battery benchmark.

Apple A9

Although competition at the high-end segment of the mobile SoC market has stiffened over the past years, the Apple A9 appears to be the fastest chip currently around. In synthetic benchmarks, the chip scores better than any other SoC currently out there, including here the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 and Samsung’s Exynos 7420 — the chip that powers the entire Galaxy S6 lineup as well as the Galaxy Note5. 

Sure, the fact that the iPhone 6s Plus comes with a less-demanding 1080p display resolution helps with making things run smoother, but we do have to note a significant performance improvement.compared to the iPhone 6 Plus and its Apple A8 chip. 

7000 series aluminum

Last year, the iPhone 6 Plus caused quite a stir when it was discovered that the phone would bend when enough force is applied by hand in strategic places. With the iPhone 6s series, Apple moved to using a stronger build material, 7000 series aluminum. The phone will probably still bend if you make a purpose out if it, but as far as accidental bending is concerned, no problems have been reported thus far.

3D Touch

While other updates that we’ve noted here are iterative improvements, the pressure-sensitive displays on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus is shaping up to be a real game changer. By managing to recognize between a tap, a press, and a hard press, the new system opens up the way to a new user input system. Many apps have already been updated to take advantage of 3D Touch, and it looks like users are starting to adapt to the this added dimension for interacting with their phones.

New camera sensors

The new 12MP  primary camera on the iPhone 6s series is a much-needed upgrade in terms of both picture and video quality. While other phones – especially the Samsung Galaxy S6 series and the LG G4 – offer a comparable quality, the new camera marks a solid improvement compared to all previous iPhones.

In the age of selfies, it should be noted that the front facing cameras have also received a coveted update in terms of detail and quality. Selfie fans are going to love the 5MP secondary shooter on iPhone 6s Plus, especially since the extra screen real estate helps with framing the subject(s).

OIS

You might have noticed that the regular iPhone 6s shares many of these characteristics, but we’ve still decided to single out the larger iPhone 6s Plus as the best iPhone yet. The reason for this is that only the iPhone 6s Plus comes with hardware optical image stabilization, while the smaller iPhone 6s relies on software for a steadier video footage. It’s a big difference, one that will make your 4K videos much smoother, and a major improvement in overall video quality.