Revisited: Ten Things We Wanted From The iPhone 6s
Photo: phonedog.com

In early August, weeks before Apple's event held on Wednesday at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, VAVEL USA Technology section editor Jack Griffin wrote on the 10 things he wanted from the new iPhones.

How much did his wishes come true? Let's find out.

1. Wireless charging: nope.

You'll still be charging your iPhone 6s and 6s Plus via the beloved Lightning connector that has now been around for four generations of the iPhone. Wireless charging is surely on the horizon for Apple, but it doesn't seem to be something they're working incessantly on at the moment, though. Publicly, anyway.

2. Better battery life: maybe?

As un-Apple as it sounds, there was no mention of the battery life of the new iPhones during Wednesday's Keynote. Given that the new iPad Pro, despite having a much larger case than the iPad Air 2, remains at 10 hours of usage, it can be expected that no changes over the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus from last year were made here.

3. A 4-inch size option: nope.

Apple hit the ground running with their larger-screened 6 and 6 Plus phones last year (they even called them "the most popular iPhones ever" during Wednesday's event) and it doesn't seem like they'll be returning to the toy-like-sized iPhone 5/5S/5C. Remember those days?

4. Camera improvements: indeed!

The new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus feature better rear-facing iSight cameras, having been bumped up to 12 megapixels. Samsung fans everywhere will continue to brag about the 16 megapixel shooters in their handsets, but Apple's cameras never do disappoint. Jack wished for upgrades to both the front and rear cameras, and he got them. The front camera even has a flash now: the display flashes to light up your face as you take that perfect selfie; as ridiculous as this may sound, Apple must've put a fair amount of time into it as it was heavily covered and explained during the event.

5. 1080p video recording: how about 4K?

Apple has jumped right to 4K video quality from the rear-facing iSight cameras in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. Super crispy video is now possibly from your iPhone - but it does come at a cost as Apple opted to not kill off the 16GB storage option as the entry level iPhone, and given the huge files that 4K videos are, you might want to avoid the 16GB model at all costs.

6. Tempered glass screen: more durable display.

The new glass that makes up the display of the 6s and 6s Plus is made using a special dual ion-exhange process, making it stronger and much more durable. Sounds like you don't have to be worried about stupid drops and knocks shattering your iPhone anymore.

7. IR blaster: not this time.

Apple didn't include the option to control your TV from your iPhone, but you can just get that new, fourth-gen Apple TV they announced on Wednesday and play with the sweet new remote. Works for me.

8. Waterproof: don't try it.

You'll have to buy that Lifeproof or other waterproof case to keep your new iPhone from being water damaged as Apple did not opt to make the new 6s or 6s Plus waterproof. In other words: don't try it. It won't end well. Just wet.

9. Faster Touch ID: yes!

The second generation of Touch ID has arrived. With the impressive fingerprint scanner on Samsung's Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, and latest Note 5 and S6 Edge Plus, Apple had to step it up in this category. Touch ID should work much quicker and be smoother on these new iPhones.

10. Better speakers: no.

While the iPad Pro has speakers located at all four corners that are built into the actual case of the much larger tablet, a revolutionary new design for audio from a mobile device, nothing of the such has come to the new iPhones. This writer has noticed during his time with the iOS 9 betas that somehow the speakers have improved just via the software upgrade.

So, the camera improvements and Touch ID update came to be for these new iPhones. Not bad.


Aaron Durant is the editor of the VAVEL USA Racing section. Follow him on Twitter at @DoubleA291.

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