Up for an upgrade, stuck between Note 5 and iPhone 6s, have questions about 6S

[A895]

1. How is battery life? Is it a full day or average? I need all day battery life, as I have classes from the morning until 9pm, and the days I go to work I get home after 10pm some nights.
   
2. How is force touch, useful or not?
   
3. How is durability this go round? Better than the iPhone 6?
   
4. When I was messing with the iPhone 6s in the Verizon store this past weekend, the phones animations seemed to make the phone seem slow, can you speed them up or turn them off?
   
5. Finally, is it worth it to get an iPad or Macbook with the iPhone?

 

[TwitchyPuppy]

1. Battery life is pretty good with proper management (Background App Refresh off and some Location Services on (certain apps offer "Only while using")). So it saves a A LOT of battery. And, of course, the 6s's is improved since it is bigger. My regular 6s battery seems to last forever, even on LTE with heavy use.

2. Very useful (for me).

3. Yep! Improved materials for the phone itself and the screen.

4. Not sure what you are talking about!

5. Not mandatory, but it does smoothes the experience

 

[Shanicenicolle]

The battery on the 6S is actually smaller in capacity than the 6. They did so to make room for force touch. With correct management it could last you all day. I'm constantly on my phone for one reason or another (mostly music) so I just carry an anker power bank around with me.

 

[SnapThrow]

1. My 6s is off the charger at 6am and I am a HEAVY user and I can only make it until the late afternoon/evening at best... I trickle charge throughout the day so I can make it until bedtime at 10 or 11pm. I also have an Anker battery charger in my bag in case I need to charge on the go. Some people who are light users can make it all day but it really depends on how you use the iPhone

2. I wouldn't call 3D Touch "useful" but it is a cool feature that I think will get better over time as developers figure out how to best implement it. Right now I use it mostly for peaking at links and IG pics

3. Yes, but I also use a case (Apple leather during the day and Apple silicone when working out) and a screen protector

4. Kind of in the accessibility area in settings, but the iPhone is not slow

5. iPad.. no, but an OS X device... maybe. It's nice to have an iTunes device to sync with for backups and restores even though that can all be done via iCloud. iTunes is WAY faster and you can encrypt the iTunes backup thus preserving your app passwords

 

[kurpaige]

1. battery is a personal thing, it's all about how you use a phone. I have both phones and I think if you use the phone all day long, the note would last a bit longer, but if you have standby time in there then the iphone will last longer. My note loses more battery off than the iphone does. Basically average day for me and both phones are about 30-40 when I get home from 14-16 hours.

2. I love 3d touch, very useful if you have apps that support it. I'm into photography so peeking at photos in apple photos and now it works in flickr, very useful.

3. I never had a problem with my 6, so for my 6s is fine. Just remember the back of the note 5 is glass. I worry about it more than I do my 6s. on that note I haven't had issues so far with either one.

4. The phone is far from slow, Turn off motion and the transitions are faster. Same with the Note, you have to go into developer options and reduce the transition speed to make the transitions faster. Running the same apps on both phones, the iphone is faster probably due to ios and the apps. Don't let anyone lie to you, the same app, ios and android and the ios app is designed and built better. Blame the developers if you want, but it's just the truth.

5. Not needed at all. I have an ipad and a macbook but all I really do between them is aipdrop photos. Oh there's that itunes to sync anything to your phone thing I HATE!!!

I worry about the note with updates which is way I never completely made the switch and probably will never completely switch. I like the gmail and calendar experience on andriod better than using them on my iphone so I tried to switch but there's too much to like on my iphone so I couldn't do it. Now I'm waiting for a better gmail app and will probably sell the note 5.

 

[A895]

I don't care about updates really, as long as the phone is amazing now, and lasts hardware wise and won't slow down for at least a year, I don't care. Which is why I am still using a Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 8.1 on my laptop. They still are decently fast and have no immediate issues that warrants a replacement, but I have an upgrade and I am considering using it and want to get the best phone possible to use it for.

And when I was talking about animations, the animations to go to the homescreen and etc. It felt like the animations were too much. Something Windows Phone gets on my nerves with sometimes with as well. I always disble animations on Android as they are just a waste of time. I use a smartphone for actual day to day usage not for it look pretty.

Also, so far with you guys repsonses it sounds like the 6S will have possibly worse battery life. Something that is an automatic disqualifier in my book. If a phone can't last at least 12 hours never touching a charger, I can't do it. I can go more than a day on Windows Phone. I often go a day and half.

 

[SnapThrow]

If a phone can't last at least 12 hours never touching a charger, I can't do it. I can go more than a day on Windows Phone. I often go a day and half.

You could get a day out of a 6s Plus but no way on a 6s unless you are a really light user with minimal background tasks turned on and using Low Power Mode towards the end. Sounds like you should stay with a Windows Phone if you cannot trickle charge here and there...

 

[law2010]

I don't care about updates really, as long as the phone is amazing now, and lasts hardware wise and won't slow down for at least a year, I don't care. Which is why I am still using a Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 8.1 on my laptop. They still are decently fast and have no immediate issues that warrants a replacement, but I have an upgrade and I am considering using it and want to get the best phone possible to use it for.

And when I was talking about animations, the animations to go to the homescreen and etc. It felt like the animations were too much. Something Windows Phone gets on my nerves with sometimes with as well. I always disble animations on Android as they are just a waste of time. I use a smartphone for actual day to day usage not for it look pretty.

Also, so far with you guys repsonses it sounds like the 6S will have possibly worse battery life. Something that is an automatic disqualifier in my book. If a phone can't last at least 12 hours never touching a charger, I can't do it. I can go more than a day on Windows Phone. I often go a day and half.

Get an iPhone 6S Plus. You will be able to make it through your whole day and you will be happy. Plus, the idling management is far better on iOS as opposed to Android. I was an HTC One M8 user and it had great battery life for Android, but my 6S Plus destroys it because it loses almost no battery life when in standby. Just go to the 6S Plus forums. The battery life is amazing and there are a ton of posts about it.

Get a 6S Plus, you won't regret it.

 

[A895]

You could get a day out of a 6s Plus but no way on a 6s unless you are a really light user with minimal background tasks turned on and using Low Power Mode towards the end. Sounds like you should stay with a Windows Phone if you cannot trickle charge here and there...

No I can't. Which sucks. I'm not one for trying to charge a phone in the afternoon because my phone is dying.

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[A895]

Get an iPhone 6S Plus. You will be able to make it through your whole day and you will be happy. Plus, the idling management is far better on iOS as opposed to Android. I was an HTC One M8 user and it had great battery life for Android, but my 6S Plus destroys it because it loses almost no battery life when in standby. Just go to the 6S Plus forums. The battery life is amazing and there are a ton of posts about it.

Get a 6S Plus, you won't regret it.

6S Plus is unwieldy in comparison to the Note5. But maybe, since it is the only way I can get all day battery life on ios which sucks.

I just looked at the Pocketnow Michael Fisher comparison of the Note 5 and 6S Plus and he said; "you can get one and half days on the 6S Plus but charge every night on the Note 5.....the iPhone 6S Plus feels slower at times because of animations, not because if lag".

Which explains why when I messed with the Note 5 and S6 felt faster than the iPhone in the VZW store. Animations. Though it sounds like performance size and camera wise they are the same.

Damn, that makes it harder. I used to care about one handed usability a lot. But it is getting harder to find a device that does that and has modern specs. Considering how bad my eyes are (glasses), I should have moved to a bigger screen long ago. Also why I want to get a bigger screen laptop.

One more question then, can you view textbooks through amazon kindle on iOS? Android does this and one of the reasons why if I were to get a Note 5, I wouldn't get a tablet.

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[law2010]

I don't know about looking at textbooks through the kindle because I graduated from law school right as iPads were being introduced. However, you can buy and use textbooks in iBooks on your iPhone. Here is a screenshot I just took of a biology textbook I have from iBooks on my iPhone. I would recommend a full size iPad or tablet if you want a better reading experience, but the 6S Plus could suffice in a pinch.

 

[A895]

I would recommend a full size iPad or tablet if you want a better reading experience, but the 6S Plus could suffice in a pinch. View attachment 98435

Thanks, that is exactly why I want the feature, sometimes you forget your laptop so you have to use your phone to see a textbook. I asked about kindle because I already own textbooks on it. But can you view iBooks textbooks on windows?

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[Trees]

6S+ is slightly taller than the Note 5. If you need a bigger screen for eyesight, then either phone is a solid choice. Think it really depends on which ecosystem you want to use.

 

[law2010]

iBooks only works on Apple devices, so you would need a MacBook.

If your textbooks were ordered through the Kindle Store off Amazon, then you should be able to use them just fine in the Kindle App on your iPhone and PC. I believe you can also open books that you downloaded from other places in the Kindle App as well, but I have never tried it.

 

[eve6er69]

coming from a note 3 the two phone have about the same standby time. under heavy usage i feel that the note did better at battery consumption.
as far as lag i don't see any on my 128GB model.
what i do is i have a android tablet and an iPhone. this way i have the best of both worlds. i feel that the iPhone is easier to use throughout the day and the android tablet i can toy with.

to be honest, the only thing that i use force touch for is calls. i hold it down and i get the pop up for my wife or mom or dad. since they're the people that i talk to the most is saves me some time in opening the app.

 

[A895]

iBooks only works on Apple devices, so you would need a MacBook.

If your textbooks were ordered through the Kindle Store off Amazon, then you should be able to use them just fine in the Kindle App on your iPhone and PC. I believe you can also open books that you downloaded from other places in the Kindle App as well, but I have never tried it.

I was just on the Kindle site they said it would be available on iPhone. That is a relief.

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[law2010]

I was just on the Kindle site they said it would be available on iPhone. That is a relief.

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I don't recall, but did you ever say what phone you would be coming from if you change to a Note 5 or an iPhone 6S?

FYI, you said that you use your phone all day, but you are also reading textbooks, so you are likely a student. I expect that your phone would go through periods on standby while you were in class.

I just wanted to show you what my battery life was today where my phone was used very little-- about 50 text messages, browsing Facebook for a short period of time, half a dozen emails, and a bunch of CNN and BBC notifications popping up. I had too much work to do, so I couldn't use my phone much.

My phone, only used for 1.5 hours, dropped to 88% over the course of 12 hours.

If I hadn't touched my HTC One M8 at all, not even turned the screen on, at this time I would probably have 80% or less battery life.

The battery life is fantastic.

 

[A895]

I don't recall, but did you ever say what phone you would be coming from if you change to a Note 5 or an iPhone 6S?

FYI, you said that you use your phone all day, but you are also reading textbooks, so you are likely a student. I expect that your phone would go through periods on standby while you were in class.

I just wanted to show you what my battery life was today where my phone was used very little-- about 50 text messages, browsing Facebook for a short period of time, half a dozen emails, and a bunch of CNN and BBC notifications popping up. I had too much work to do, so I couldn't use my phone much.

My phone, only used for 1.5 hours, dropped to 88% over the course of 12 hours.

If I hadn't touched my HTC One M8 at all, not even turned the screen on, at this time I would probably have 80% or less battery life.

The battery life is fantastic.

View attachment 98482

I am coming from a windows phone and:



I am using a device that goes all day consistently or more. Which is why I stress battery life. It seems no flagship can really touch this kind of battery life.

 

[law2010]

That looks like good battery life. How many hours before you go into that energy saver mode?

I will tell you that any Android phone you get will have massive battery drain in standby. However, they make up for it with monster sized batteries and energy saver mode toward the end of the phone's battery life.

The iPhone 6S Plus has a battery saver mode, but I have seen reviewers say that it doesn't cut off as many features as Android counterparts, so the battery will still deplete at a faster rate when battery saver is active.

I have never needed battery saver mode because my phone lasts all day and rarely ever drops below 50%.

Just a random side note, but you don't have to worry about the iPhone throttling its chip due to overheating, which you will find in the latest Android phones, including both the 808 and mainly 810 snapdragon processors.

 

[A895]

That looks like good battery life. How many hours before you go into that energy saver mode?

Depends on usage so anywhere from 12 hours-24 hours. Heavy usage I can go at least 14-15 with battery saver. Light usage I go over 24 hours. But ragrdless it lasts a full work day and then some everytime. Battery life you don't even think about a charger most of the time.

I will tell you that any Android phone you get will have massive battery drain in standby. However, they make up for it with monster sized batteries and energy saver mode toward the end of the phone's battery life.

The iPhone 6S Plus has a battery saver mode, but I have seen reviewers say that it doesn't cut off as many features as Android counterparts, so the battery will still deplete at a faster rate when battery saver is active.

I have never needed battery saver mode because my phone lasts all day and rarely ever drops below 50%.

Just a random side note, but you don't have to worry about the iPhone throttling its chip due to overheating, which you will find in the latest Android phones, including both the 808 and mainly 810 snapdragon processors.

Actually the 808 doesn't throttle, that would be the 801 nd 810. Even then you can do things like the liquid cooling Microsoft did with the Lumia 950s with a Snapdragon 810. But overall battery life is a big dea for me, and I bet others as well, some people don't mind having to charge their phone by 3:30 every afternoon, I do.