It’s that time of the year when Filipinos await for the latest iPhone to be sold officially in the Philippines. While we all wait for the official announcement, why don’t we take a quick look of the iPhone 6s from SMART? Yup, I’m using one right now for the past few days and even though I wasn’t quite sold on upgrading to the latest model, I might change my mind.
THE UNBOXING
The package includes the iPhone 6s, Lightning cable, USB Charger Head, Earpods, Pin for ejecting SIM Card and manuals. Notice that the charger head that came with the package is a Singaporean 3 prong plug instead of the usual 2 prong.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: HARDWARE
The appearance of the iPhone 6s is very similar to the iPhone 6. Nothing has changed with the design and you can easily mistake it for the older iPhone. That also means nobody will know that you’ve made an upgrade, that is if you’re conscious about it. However, Apple added another color variant to this series and called it Rose Gold. Sounds premium but in reality that’s just Pink for us middle-class lads. If you want to impress your friends that you’ve upgraded to the latest iPhone, get the Rose Gold variant.
I noticed that the iPhone 6s is a bit heavier than my iPhone 6. From what I’ve read at The Verge, the additional weight was from the 3D Touch which is the newest feature of the latest iPhone. I’ll discuss in the next section of this blog post.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: SOFTWARE
iOS9 was already available for download weeks ago but I didn’t have time to upgrade my Smart iPhone 6. The software version was already pre-installed on the iPhone 6s and noticed some of the changes that were announced last month. I will explore more of this in the near future.
As mentioned, one of the new features introduced in the iPhone 6s was the 3D Touch. What it does is it opens a quick menu of options when pressed harder than usual. I find it nice to use but it may get some time to used to since it requires more pressure from your thumb. Here’s what it looks like in the .gif image below.
Click on the .gif image to view how Force Touch works on the Smart iPhone 6s
Another cool feature is the live photos which is found in your iPhone’s photo album. It’s like one of those pictures you see in the Harry Potter movies where portraits move for a few seconds. Press your thumb on the image and the image will play by itself. To make this work, you’ll need to enable Live Photos on the iPhone 6s and it will take a couple of seconds of moving images.
Click on the .gif image to see how Live Photo works on the Smart iPhone 6s
And what about the battery? the iPhone 6s has a battery power saver after it detects a low percentage of juice left. It was helpful after using it a couple of times as I was able to survive those instances until I am able to use a powerbank.
WILL IT WORK WITH SMART’S POSTPAID PLANS?
I got my #SmartiPhone4s last December 2011
Since 2011 when I got my first #SmartiPhone4s, I have used every iPhone that was released and they are ALWAYS perfect with my preferred network. I know it’s a bummer not to have an Unlimited Data Plan anymore, but there are some good news. Basing it on the current iPhone 6 plans of Smart, we might have a chance that the plans will still be the same or might have a greater value. Maybe we can get more than 10GB of allocated data? Maybe there will be more apps that will be excluded from the monthly allocated data. Maybe we can get it for FREE under Plan 2000, who knows? But we’ll have to wait for the official announcement which should happen very soon!
And since I mentioned that I’ve been using iPhones with Smart since 2011 (I’ve been a SMART Postpaid subscriber since 2003), I can attest that getting an iPhone with Smart is the best decision to make. Here’s why?
Fast uploading of status updates on Facebook and images on Instagram – Check
Voice calls over Viber, Whatsapp, FB Messenger and Line over Smart’s LTE network is reliable, if not near perfect. – Check
I love listening to Apple Music!
Music streaming from Apple Music, Spinnr or Deezer – Check
Watched Mr. Robot via iflix on the #SmartiPhone6s
YouTube or iFlix video streaming without buffering! – Check
Reliable data connection on Waze whenever I travel – Check
And, using the iPhone’s Personal Hotspot for my work and blogging activities which DOES NOT let me down for how many years – Check
These are based on my personal experience since 2011, and I have convinced several people from friends to blog readers to get their iPhones from SMART because I want them to experience it too!
And when they finally announce the Smart iPhone 6s plans, I hope all my dear readers to make the right decision and get their iPhones from the Leader in Mobile!
UPDATE: Smart has just released their plans for the Smart iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. Check them out here: http://digitalreg.net/smart-iphone-6s-free-at-plan-2000-smart-iphone-6s-plus-free-at-plan-2499/
