Gadgetory

in mobile technology it's the same thing over and over new device comes out new device gets reviewed new device gets forgotten almost no one follows up no one follows along no one sticks around to see how well it gadget ages over time because there's always something new to drool over so let's do something about it let's take another look at 2015's super-sized iPhone to see if it's still worth its luxury price tag i'm michael fisher with pocket now and this is the iphone 6s plus after the buzz as always coming back to iOS after a long stint on the competition takes some adaptation on the software side I do find the iPhone slightly more consistent that doesn't mean it's always faster or that it's impossible to find any lag but whereas say a galaxy s6 might keep you waiting a few seconds to redraw its homescreen on occasion the iPhone doesn't really ever do that it used to be that kind of consistency came at the expense of features but iOS 9 is really feature dense even down to the little stuff just a small example I love that you can see the charge levels of connected Bluetooth devices right in the Notification Center it's a nice little sort of geeky touch once you're used to iOS 9s added complexity it's also pretty easy to access its shortcuts and utilities even one-handed and I found I forgot about half of them since the last time I used an iPhone things like the proactive panel to the left of the home screen and of course a 3d touch 3d touch was the biggest headlining feature of 2015's iPhones and I still think it's one of the coolest interface enhancements to hit the scene in a long time over the past week I've used it often when browsing in Safari I'm in the middle of a loss tree watch so peeking came in handy when I just wanted to remember who a specific character was without jumping all the way to another page the force touch to animate wallpapers is also a big crowd-pleaser but I only started using that once I remembered that 3d touch was there and despite a bunch of apps having added support in the past few months it's still not a very discoverable feature and it's hindered by some goofy implementations the multitasking shortcut where you force drag a thumb from the bezel is the opposite of intuitive feels more like something Huawei might have dreamed up also despite its reputation the iPhone still has some usability issues Siri still doesn't understand context as well as Google now to give just one example asking her about Union Square while standing in Somerville's Union Square in Massachusetts still produces a search result about New York City also remember how Apple used to pester you all the time about your stupid iCloud password yeah it still does the company's App Store policies also mean buying books in the Kindle Store is needlessly complicated on the iPhone and the phone isn't immune to strange behavior one night my 6s plus just wouldn't wake up from standby no matter what I did I got a black screen until I soft reset it still there's a reason Apple's about to sell its billionth iPhone and it doesn't just come down to savvy marketing the ecosystem edge is still huge if you own a Mac book you can handle messages and notifications from either your phone or your computer and if your friends and family have iDevices you'll love things like FaceTime and iMessage the ecosystem advantage also extends to hardware there are many more accessories available for the iPhone and if you go to a hotel you're more likely to find an alarm clock that can accommodate your iPhone then say your Windows Phone the camera may not be as technically capable as on some other phones but it's still one of the simplest and fastest to use and more often than not it delivers photos to be proud of and in the specific case of the iPhone 6s plus battery life is just terrific in the past week I never once ended a day below 60 percent charge despite never having used power saving mode for most people this will be a 2-day smart phone which in 2016 is pretty fantastic so in 2016 it's still worth buying an iPhone 6s plus and for Apple fans looking to bridge the phone tablet divide I still strongly recommend it but when you take price into account the 6s plus seems like it comes from some alternate dimension it starts at $749 and if you don't want the 16 gig version which you don't you're actually looking at a minimum of $849 that's $300 more expensive than the Nexus 6p over $400 more than the Moto X both excellent Android phones even when you take into account Apple's excellent customer service that's a big pile of dough for years people have been willing to swallow this so-called Apple tax but frankly I just don't think this device is worth that kind of premium again it's still a great smartphone but for those open to other platforms it's never been a better time to look elsewhere for more on the iPhone 6s and 6s plus be sure to check out our full reviews at pocketnow.com and see other installments of after the buzz on YouTube till next time this has been michael fisher with PocketNow captain to phones on twitter thanks for watching we'll see you next time