The Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review • Hacker News Board

Re: The Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review

#131

Post by alextgordon » Wed, Nov 04, 2015, 3:55 AM UTC

NamTaf wrote: post #116

nicholas73 wrote: post #11

The iPhone 6s Plus I have is a wonderful phone, but I can't help but feel that Apple is losing some of it's perfection. There are some obvious UI annoyances that are present. Such as, the Plus is a large phone so you most often open it with the phone tilted somehow, giving you landscape mode. It does not easily revert to the upright state without juggling it around, nor is there an option to not go landscape on the h…

I've noticed more software bugs in the last couple of iOS releases than previously. Sometimes the top status bar (time, battery, rotation lock/silence symbols, etc.) will disappear, fail to change colour, etc. Sometimes apps think they're in landscape when the phone itself thinks it's in portrait, making the app half the height and twice the width of the screen. On iOS9 specifically, sometimes the touch digitiser jus…

> the size of the status bar at the top changes between the lock screen and the homescreen

Presumably this is so it's easier to read. It's a nice touch.

Re: The Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review

#132

Post by sunnyps » Wed, Nov 04, 2015, 3:58 AM UTC

scott_karana wrote: post #85

andy_ppp wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Built in obsolescence?

> Built in obsolescence? Compared to its competitors, decidedly no. The state of affairs on Android is even worse. Samsung Galaxy S2 release: May 2, 2011 Apple iPhone 4S release: October 14, 2011 Google Galaxy Nexus: November 17, 2011 Galaxy S2 last OS release: October 9, 2012 4S's latest OS release: October 21, *2015* Galaxy Nexus' last OS release: October 3, 2013 And that's just from the same generation... I suspec…

To be fair though the iPhone 4S was discontinued in September 2014 whereas the other phones were discontinued much earlier. And from what I've heard the newer iOS versions don't run well on the 4S. Also take into account the fact that most app developers won't bother optimizing for the 4S.

Re: The Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review

#133

Post by applecore » Wed, Nov 04, 2015, 4:01 AM UTC

chillacy wrote: post #125

marvin wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It makes a big difference that Apple won't let you downgrade to a previous OS. Only sheer stubbornness kept me from upgrading my iPhone 4 (iOS 7) to an iPhone 6 when all I really wanted was a phone that didn't take half a second to respond to input. Downgrading to iOS 6 would have accomplished the same thing. It's hard not to believe that planned obsolesence isn't at least part of that strategy. It's certainly incide…

Think about it from the company/engineer's point of view: would you want to maintain the old version of the code (adding security fixes and the like) for years after it's current, for probably less than 1000 people per version? Remember that the old versions of code probably build with old versions of the compiler, old trains, etc. And you can't not maintain this code, since there will be bugs found, jailbreaks, etc.…

It's a near-universal practice for several versions of important system software (like operating systems and databases) to be maintained and supported simultaneously. It's unusual for updates to stop entirely as soon as the next major version is released.

Re: The Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review

#134

Post by chenster » Wed, Nov 04, 2015, 4:16 AM UTC

I love my iphone 6+, it's just too big for my hands. The double-swipedown on home button couldn't fully eliminate the need to use both hands in order to get to a screen spot. The regular 4.7" should be perfect.

Re: The Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review

#135

Post by chambo622 » Wed, Nov 04, 2015, 4:26 AM UTC

jaimex2 wrote: post #84

Why is this on HN?

HN is for "anything that good hackers would find interesting" [1]. Out of all possible articles to ask "why," I'm puzzled why this one - a deep technical review about a device that many HN users use and/or develop software for - strikes you as not fitting this criteria.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: The Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review

#136

Post by alttab » Wed, Nov 04, 2015, 4:28 AM UTC

MichaelGG wrote: post #98

willtim wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung TouchWiz with KitKat 4.4.4 had awesome performance and battery life on my Note4, then they destroyed it with a Lollipop update (after constant update nags) and forced me to downgrade probably voiding my warranty in the process, anyone sane would have returned the phone. I don't know if Samsung or Google is to blame for the serious battery and performance regressions, but I do blame Samsung for pushing it out…

How about the silly OEMs that ship tiny batteries? The Huawei Mate 2 lasts 30-40 hours easily. The Blu Energy Studio lasts around 3 days.

I want to believe you. Can you produce a link to a place I can buy a battery that will fit into a Note 4 that won't need consistent charging all day?

Re: The Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review

#137

Post by oxide » Wed, Nov 04, 2015, 4:33 AM UTC

Am I naive for thinking the iPhone cost less than $600? I don't know what I thought it might have cost, I've never been interested enough to go looking. I...just might have expected it to be less than the PC upgrades I occasionally fantasize about.

I'm a bit happier with the price/performance ratio of my much, much too old smartphone after seeing that price tag.

Re: The Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review

#138

Post by foolrush » Wed, Nov 04, 2015, 4:36 AM UTC

467568985476 wrote: post #107

nothrabannosir wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It turned out to be quite a close-run race between the iPhone 6S and the Galaxy Note 5 for the title but Apple’s latest just beat Samsung’s latest with 38.2 and 34.1 percent of the 7810 votes respectively. On an internet poll. When the results are this close, details matter. Not to mention there are no Android photos, only Samsung, Nokia, &c. And even then, different models. Not saying you're wrong (I think you're ri…

Both of these phones have great cameras, but they don't hold a candle to the performance of even crop sensor entry level DSLRs and mirrorless bodies. It seems pointless to me to split hairs over picture quality between two strong options when anyone who _seriously_ cares about pixel peeping wouldn't use a smartphone for photography in the first place

Amen.

It would even be valid suggesting that a point and shoot outclasses mobile phone cameras.

Also, please before someone does, do not use the “The best watercolors are the watercolors you have on you” trope.

Re: The Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review

#139

Post by pcurve » Wed, Nov 04, 2015, 4:37 AM UTC

cloudwalking wrote: post #69

tw04 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've got an iphone 6 for work, and an S6 edge for personal use. I can say with confidence that the Samsung camera is better. However I will say they're close enough, and they're both so far ahead of the pack, that you could flip a coin.

Blind testing swings the other way: http://www.androidauthority.com/blind-camera-shootout-winner... Taste is subjective, I have no doubt you like the Samsung more. But subjectively, on average, people like iPhone photos more often than they like Android photos.

As a big photo person with art background, I thought B and D were consistently better. I never would've guessed C was iPhone as some shots were downright poor.

Re: The Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review

#140

Post by 467568985476 » Wed, Nov 04, 2015, 4:49 AM UTC

Bud wrote: post #117

467568985476 wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both of these phones have great cameras, but they don't hold a candle to the performance of even crop sensor entry level DSLRs and mirrorless bodies. It seems pointless to me to split hairs over picture quality between two strong options when anyone who _seriously_ cares about pixel peeping wouldn't use a smartphone for photography in the first place

This is just plainly false. There are now serious photographers and movie-makers using the iPhone for serious photography. A lot of them.

I think you misunderstand me... I'm not making a judgement about the art produced with any device. The art of photography is only tangentially related to camera gear quality. I'm saying that comparing smartphone camera quality at the high end is an exercise in futility since these cameras are designed to be pretty good general purpose point and shoots, and they both clearly accomplish that.

Ultimately, smartphone cameras have very small sensors, so their "technical" performance (the pixel peeping I mentioned) is inherently inferior to that of larger format cameras.