IPhone 6s: Subtle but significant changes
‘S’ EFFECT The new phones look no different, but Apple has spared no effort to make them appear so, writes Gagandeep Singh Sapra
YES THE new iPhones are here, and the whole discussion has started again — why are they so expensive, is it worth the upgrade, is there really any innovation? Well to answer these questions, we spent an incredible amount of time using both the iPhone 6s and the 6s Plus. We check out how the upgrades announced by Apple make the new phones different than their predecessors.
TOUCH ID
A phone is more than just the body and the colour, it’s about performance and how it works. The iPhone 6s and the 6s
Plus use a finger print sensor just like the previous generation, that Apple calls Touch ID, but works twice as fast.
ON THE WIRELESS FRONT Apple has improved the wireless performance on the phone by including support for nearly 23 LTE (long-term evolution or jargon for 4G) bands that give you better worldwide roaming, the iPhone 6s now also supports 802.11ac WiFi for faster downloads (speeds can go up to 866 Mbps if you have that kind of capacity). The Bluetooth 4.2 technology allows faster connectivity with more security opening up the phone for Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
UPDATED CAMERA
Apple has improved both their rear and the front cameras in the 6s versions. Along with 12 megapixels the rear camera has great noise isolation and colour saturation making for sharper, more life-like, colour accurate images. The rear camera also allows for 4K video shooting, and the detail and accuracy are excellent. However, the 16-GB variant may be very low on memory to shoot 4K videos. Slow motion video capture, optical image stabilisation and the capability of shooting an 8-megapixel still while shooting a video add to the camera’s capabilities. The largest upgrade is in an image processing engine that now uses the screen of the phone as a fill flash for the front camera. It measures light conditions and does a pre- and post-flash for better selfies.
NEW PHOTO MODE When Apple announced the new iPhones, they also announced Live Pictures. Though most of the people felt that this was just another GIF technology, or a short video feature similar to Vine, Live Photos is something we then pick it up and deliver it. Around 30,000 sellers use this service. We have also launched Seller Flex —transferring our technology to the seelers. This way, if there is a demand spike for the product, it can be replenished faster. This also India-specific.
What’s the growth you have seen in the recent festive sale?
In the last round of sale, our sellers have seen 8-10 times more sales growth. The sales this time are up four times compared to last Diwali. We now have one lakh sellers, a 260% year-on-year growth.
How are you reaching out to the sellers in these small towns?
We have introduced service providers to help sellers in posting their products online. Now, 100 service providers touch 8,000 different. When you choose to take a live photo, the phone records a second-and-a-half before and after you press the shutter button. Whether that was a butterfly approaching a flower or a picture of your loved one, these images are something worth experiencing. You can share them with other iOS users, and soon social media companies such as Facebook may allow you to share them with your other friends.
3D TOUCH
Back in 2008 when Apple announced their first iPhone, it introduced a series of multitouch gestures including the pinch and double-tap zoom. These were features that eventually entered every smartphone.
With the new iPhones, Apple brings 3D Touch. It requires a bit getting used to, but once you get the hang of it you find various possibilities whether it is peeking to preview a message or a photo without opening it, checking sellers. We have also launched Amazon Trained E-commerce Specialists, who can then be hired by sellers to help them succeed on our platform. There are 1,500 ATES reaching out to 9,000 sellers. Just before the festive sale, we launched rewards for high-performing sellers. Three lucky winners will go to Seattle in an all-expenses paid trip to meet with the senior leadership.
The government may come out with FDI guidelines for e-commerce. How is Amazon viewing this?
If it (e-commerce) opens up, the services and infrastructure that we provide to sellers can be opened up to manufacturers. This is in line with the Make in India and digital India missions. someone’s Instagram profile or adding a phone number.
It works by using a capacitive pressure sensor and a taptic engine on the screen, when you press the screen a little longer, you get a feedback and a new menu pops up. 3D Touch also offers quick actions such as bringing up the camera to take a selfie, composing a message to your favourite contacts and tracking orders on PayTM.
NEW POWERTRAIN
Inside the phone is the brand new Apple A9 chip, which is in its 3rd Generation and uses a 64-bit architecture just like desktop processors do. This not only adds more performance, but also efficiency. It is up to 70% faster than the previous A8 chip. Add to this the Motion Coprocessor M9 chip that takes over all the tasks related to fitness tracking and also integrates with Siri to enable it to work seamlessly.
VERDICT
The brand new iPhones do cost a bunch, with the 6s starting at `62,000 for the 16GB and going upto `82,000 for the 128 GB, and the 6s Plus starting at `72,000 for the 16GB and topping off at `92,000 for the 128 GB, but they manage to deliver.
Something that has innovative technologies and innovative materials – the body is made of 7000 series aluminium alloy – Apple has proven again that they have what it takes to build the best experience possible on a mobile device. Yes 4K video has already been done, yes faster processors maybe available, but the whole experience of using the iPhone 6s and the 6s Plus is different, probably because of their technology integration architecture.