Apple iPhone 6S Philippines Price and Release Date Guesstimate, Complete Specs, New Features

This post aims to collate all relevant news and official information about the 2015 flagship smartphones from Apple Inc.. Trust that we'll update this entry every time we get new details about the local availability this much-awaited high-end smartphone.

Apple iPhone 6S, Apple iPhone 6S Philippines

Update as of May 10, 2018: Apple iPhone 6S is still available in the Philippines the Cupertino company's official online store as well as all of its authorized retail partners nationwide. The 32GB version currently sells for PHP 28,990 while the 128GB variant goes for PHP 35,490.

Update as of September 10, 2015, 1:30 AM ~ Manila Time: The Cupertino company has just formally announced their 2015 battleship phone, the Apple iPhone 6S, via an exclusive media event held in San Francisco, California USA.

Apple iPhone 6S, Apple iPhone 6S Philippines, Apple iPhone 6S Rose Gold

I don't know if 'serial leakers' have actually gotten better at what they do or if Apple has simply become worse at keeping unreleased products under wraps but - amazingly - almost all of the 'leaked' information and rumors about the iPhone 6S that we shared here in TechPinas - courtesy of various tech websites and 'industry insiders' - over the past few months turned out highly accurate.

Apple iPhone 6S Philippines

That said, here are the previously rumored and now official defining characteristics and key features of the 2015 iteration to Apple's very popular and best-selling smartphone line:

Familiar Design Language

Apple iPhone 6S looks almost identical to the iPhone 6 from 2015 but the newer model will be available in more colors as it also comes in 'Rose Gold', which a new device hue introduced by Apple via the 2015 Macbook.

Apple iPhone 6S Philippines
Apple iPhone 6 and 6S share the exact same design identity -- but the refresh is ever-so-slightly thicker and heavier, due - perhaps - to new components inside the shell like Apple's Taptic Engine for 3D Touch, which I'll talk about in a bit.

Apple iPhone 6S, Apple iPhone 6S Rose Gold

More Durable Build

One of the main criticisms thrown at the Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus just a few days following their launch last year was that you can actually bend them using your bare hands. This led to the Bendgate Scandal of 2014. This year, Apple used 'stronger' materials - specifically 7000-series Aluminum and ion-exchange-processed glass - in crafting the enclosure of both iPhone 6S and 6S Plus to ensure a far more sturdy build.

Apple iPhone 6S Philippines

New Touchscreen with Pressure Sensitivity

Apple's new Force Touch technology that incorporates pressure sensitivity on touchscreens has made its way to the Apple Watch and the TouchPad of the new Macbook. This year, Apple brings this unique innovation to its smartphone line via 3D Touch.

Apple iPhone 6S Philippines

The scratch-resistant touchscreen of the iPhone 6S detects subtle changes in pressure and now allows the user to input "half" or "full" clicks. This enables new gestures like the all-new 'Peek and Pop', letting you perform actions without having to fully open an application or to jump to another page or section in the interface.

Apple iPhone 6S Philippines

Improved Internal Hardware

Whereas the 2014 iPhone 6 runs on the 64-bit Apple A8 processor, this year's model features the faster and more energy-efficient Apple A9 chipset. This powerhouse CPU is complemented by 2 GB of RAM for improved multitasking, which - as I've previously noted - is a welcome boost given that some flagship smartphones from last year already have 3 GB of RAM.

Apple iPhone 6S
Apple A9 is 70% faster in graphics tasks and 90% faster in CPU tasks compared to the Apple A8 from last year. This makes the iPhone 6S far superior in gaming and overall touch performance than its predecessor.

Apple A9

M9, Apple’s next-generation motion coprocessor is also embedded into A9 and it allows certain iOS features and background apps to run all the time without consuming too much power.

12 MegaPixel iSight Camera

The Apple iPhone 6S is equipped with a 12 MegaPixel iSight camera with 1.22µ pixels, enhanced local tone mapping, and noise reduction. This represents a clear upgrade from the 8 MegaPixel shooter on the iPhone 6. As such, you will be able to snap not just bigger but also more brilliant and crisp photos using the 2015 release.

Apple iPhone 6S Philippines
Additionally, iPhone 6S' iSight camera is capable of shooting live photos - ala GIFs - that animate when you 3D Touch them, videos with 4K resolution, and slow-mo Full HD 1080p 120 frames-per-second clips.

Second Generation Fingerprint Sensor

Fingerprint Sensor

The New Touch ID on this year's iPhone reads your fingerprint more accurately and faster than ever before -- so you can unlock your phone and make app purchases seamlessly, without annoying lags.

5MP Selfie Cam with Software-Based Front Flash

Apple iPhone 6S' revamped camera application incorporates virtual flash or illumination for selfies in lieu of an actual LED bulb in front. Apple calls this 'Retina Flash' and it's more or less similar to the software-based 'front flash' of the LG G3 and G4, Huawei Ascend P7 and P8, as well as of Lenovo Vibe Shot.

Apple Retina Flash

How does it work, exactly? Retina Flash momentarily makes the display three times brighter with True Tone lighting as you snap a selfie using the enhanced 5 MegaPixel FaceTime camera, for wonderfully bright and clear self-portraits even in low light.

Hey, Siri!

The iPhone 6S comes with an updated version of Apple's virtual mobile assistant, Siri. One key new feature is 'Hey Siri' that lets the user access the service and make commands from anywhere on the phone's interface. It works a lot like Android's 'OK Google'; In fact, it is - obviously, clearly - Apple's answer to that.

Price and Release Date

Last year, Apple's authorized resellers and network carriers started offering the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus to consumers during the last week of October 2014. And I believe that we're going to get the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus around that same time this year; Though, I'm still hoping that they'd arrive sooner. As for the SRP, based on 'historical data', the TP Guesstimates for the Apple iPhone 6S are Php 35,990 for the 16GB model, Php 41,990 for the 64GB, and Php 47,990 for the 128GB version upon launch.

Apple iPhone 6S

Update: It's official! Apple iPhone 6S will be available in the Philippines starting on November 6, 2015!

To wrap this up, I wanna ask you: Which feature of the handset are you most excited about? Are you inclined to purchase the iPhone 6S upon launch this year? Share your thoughts about this top-of-the-line handset via our comments section below.

TechPinas Smartphone Technical Specs Table (TSTST)
Name Apple iPhone 6S
Type Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen)
Price Category High-end (Flagship Level)
Dimensions138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm
Weight 143 grams
Available Colors Gold, Silver, Space Gray, Rose Gold
Operating System iOS 9
Display Retina display, 4.7 inches (~326 ppi pixel density) widescreen, 750 x 1334 pixels, LED-backlit IPS Display, Multi-Touch display, 1400:1 contrast ratio (typical), 500 cd/m2 max brightness (typical), Full sRGB standard, Dual-domain pixels for wider viewing angles, Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on front, Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously, 3D Touch
Processor Apple A9 Processor, M9 Motion coprocessor
RAM 2GB of RAM
Memory 16GB, 64GB and 128GB storage options, non-expandable
Camera Main iSight: 12 MegaPixels, 4608 x 2592 pixels resolution, Autofocus with Focus Pixels and True Tone Dual LED flash, Features: 1.22µ pixels, ƒ/2.2 aperture, LED flash, Backside illumination sensor, Five-element lens, Burst Mode, Hybrid IR filter, Panorama (up to 63 megapixels), Improved local tone mapping, Improved noise reduction, Sapphire crystal, lens cover

Front FaceTime HD camera: 5 MP photos, Retina Flash, Æ’/2.2 aperture, Auto HDR for photos and videos, Improved Face Detection, Burst mode, Backside illumination sensor
Video Capture Main: 4K video recording (3840 by 2160) @ 30 fps, 1080p Full HD @ 60 frames per second, 720p @ 240fps Features: Cinematic video stabilization, Continuous autofocus video Take still photo while recording video, Improved Face Detection

Slo-mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps and 720p at 240 fps

Front: 720p up to 30 frames per second, Facetime over Wifi or Cellular, Auto HDR for photos and videos
Audio and Video Playback Video: AirPlay Mirroring to Apple TV support at 720p
AirPlay video streaming to Apple TV (3rd generation) at up to 1080p and Apple TV (2nd generation) at up to 720p
Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format

Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
User-configurable maximum volume limit
Ports 3.5 mm audio jack, new 9-pin Lightning dock connector
Connectivity 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz and 5GHz)
Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology, LTE, NFC
Network GSM model A1428*: UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 4 and 17)
CDMA model A1429*: CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (800, 1900, 2100 MHz); UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 1, 3, 5, 13, 25)
GSM model A1429*: UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25)
Sensors Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity, Barometer, 3-axis Gyroscope, Fingerprint identity sensor
SIM Card Type Single NanoSIM
Battery Built-in Rechargeable Non-removable 1,715 mAh Li-Ion
Uptime Talk time: Up to 8 hours on 3G
Standby time: Up to 240 hours
Internet use: Up to 10 hours on 3G, up to 10 hours on LTE, up to 11 hours on Wi-Fi
Video playback: Up to 11 hours
Audio playback: Up to 50 hours
Notable Features 3D Touch, Apple A9 Chipset with M9 Co-Processor, Higher Resolution iSight and FaceTime cameras, Hey Siri, Retina Flash, Second Generation Fingerprint Sensor
Announcement September 10, 2015 (1:30 AM Manila Time)
Availability Apple's Key Markets: September 25, 2015,
TP Guesstimate for the Philippines: October to November 2015 via Smart and Authorized Apple Resellers
Official Release Date in the Philippines: November 6, 2015
Price Official Carrier Prices in the US: $199 for the 16GB, $299 for the 64GB, and $399 for the 128GB variant, all on a 2-year contract in the United States

Official Retail Price in the UK: 539 GBP for the 16GB, 619 GBP for 64GB, $699 for 128GB

TP Retail Price Guesstimate:
Apple iPhone 6S 16GB w/o contract - around Php 38,199
Apple iPhone 6S 64GB w/o contract - around Php 43,999
Apple iPhone 6S 128GB w/o contract - around Php 49,599

Official Prices of Apple iPhone 6S in the Philippines
as of May 10, 2018:
Apple iPhone 6S 32GB w/o contract - Php 28,990
Apple iPhone 6S 128GB w/o contract - Php 35,490