The Apple iPhone 6s Plus has a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with 1,080x1,920 pixels resolution for a 401ppi density - well above Retina.
Our microscope shot brings no surprises and reveals a standard RGB matrix with an equal number of red, green and blue pixels.
The iPhone 6s Plus has an even brighter display than the iPhone 6s but due to the slightly brighter blacks, the contrast ratio on both devices is quite similar 1382:1 for the iPhone 6s Plus vs. 1481:1 for the iPhone 6s. The screen is not as bright at its maximum setting as the iPhone 6 Plus but the contrast ratio is about the same as the blacks are deeper in comparison.
Display test
50% brightness
100% brightness
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Apple iPhone 6s
0.10
148
1542
0.36
536
1481
Apple iPhone 6s Plus
0.10
150
1563
0.43
590
1382
Apple iPhone 6
0.17
207
1230
0.61
740
1213
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
0.17
208
1197
0.52
705
1361
Samsung Galaxy Note5
0.00
183
∞
-
439
∞
Samsung Galaxy Note5 max auto
-
-
-
-
620
-
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
0.00
172
∞
-
410
∞
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ max auto
-
-
-
-
540
-
LG G4
0.09
108
1240
0.43
532
1238
Sony Xperia Z3+
-
-
-
0.68
789
1158
Samsung Galaxy A8
0.00
169
∞
0.00
367
∞
Samsung Galaxy A8 max auto
0.00
-
-
0.00
560
∞
Motorola Nexus 6
0.00
149
∞
0.00
372
∞
HTC One E9+
0.14
205
1435
0.29
487
1657
OnePlus Two
0.16
180
1139
0.30
399
1334
Much like with the Apple iPhone 6s, the color rendition of the screen is generally accurate with a pretty low average deltaE of 4.1 (for the primary colors plus black and white), and it's the reds and magentas that show a higher than average deviation. The white is slightly on the cooler bluish side, but nothing major and certainly not noticeable without a reference.
As usual, display colors are a matter of personal taste and perception so if you don't need calibrated color output, you will probably be quite happy with the Apple iPhone 6s Plus screen as it is out-of-the-box.
There's a significant improvement in terms of sunlight legibility compared to the old model. The smaller models, both new and old, are still comfortably ahead. Even so, the iPhone 6s Plus has one of the highest ranking LCD panels in this test.
Sunlight contrast ratio
Nokia 808 PureView 4.698
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ 4.615
Samsung Galaxy E7 4.485
Samsung Galaxy A3 4.241
Samsung Galaxy S6 4.124
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge 4.124
Samsung Galaxy Note5 4.09
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 4.033
Apple iPhone 5 3.997
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 3.997
Samsung Galaxy A5 3.895
Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor 3.879
Samsung Galaxy A8 3.859
Apple iPhone 6 3.838
Motorola Moto X (2014) 3.816
Samsung Galaxy Note Edge 3.799
Apple iPhone 6s 3.783
Vivo X5Pro 3.706
Samsung Galaxy A7 3.679
Oppo R5 3.678
Samsung Galaxy K zoom 3.675
Nokia Lumia 930 3.567
Apple iPhone 5s 3.565
Samsung Galaxy S5 3.549
Nokia Lumia 735 3.547
Motorola Nexus 6 3.543
Apple iPhone 6s Plus 3.53
Alcatel Idol X+ 3.527
Apple iPhone 5c 3.512
Samsung Galaxy Alpha 3.509
Oppo R7 Plus 3.499
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 3.487
vivo X5Max 3.472
LG G Flex2 3.465
YotaPhone 2 3.453
Samsung Galaxy J7 3.422
Motorola RAZR MAXX 3.42
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 3.419
Meizu MX5 3.416
Samsung Galaxy S5 Active 3.406
Nokia Lumia 925 3.402
Gionee Elife S5.5 3.386
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 3.352
Oppo R7 3.32
Samsung Omnia W 3.301
Samsung Galaxy S5 mini 3.174
Samsung I9000 Galaxy S 3.155
Samsung Ativ S 3.129
Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini 3.127
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 3.118
Nokia N9 3.069
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL 3.065
Apple iPhone 6 Plus 3.023
Samsung Galaxy Note 2.97
Samsung Galaxy Premier 2.958
Sony Xperia Z1 2.95
HTC One S 2.901
Lenovo S90 Sisley 2.892
Samsung I8730 Galaxy Express 2.861
BlackBerry Q10 2.856
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II 2.832
Sony Xperia Z3+ 2.824
HTC Desire Eye 2.815
Gionee Elife S5.1 2.812
Samsung Galaxy S II Plus 2.801
BlackBerry Z30 2.79
Meizu MX4 Pro 2.765
Sony Xperia M5 2.69
Sony Xperia ZR 2.672
Huawei Ascend P1 2.655
Xiaomi Mi 4i 2.641
Sony Xperia Z3 2.618
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact 2.616
Sony Xperia T3 2.609
BlackBerry Passport 2.595
Microsoft Lumia 640 2.563
Nokia Lumia 900 2.562
Motorola Moto G 4G 2.546
HTC One Max 2.537
Nokia Lumia 720 2.512
HTC One 2.504
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua 2.503
Motorola Moto G 2.477
vivo Xshot 2.465
Sony Xperia Z 2.462
Xiaomi Mi 4 2.424
Samsung Galaxy S III mini 2.422
Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro 2.416
LG G Flex 2.407
Huawei Honor 7 2.406
HTC Desire 820 2.372
HTC One (M8) 2.371
Motorola RAZR i 2.366
Meizu MX4 2.366
Meizu m1 note 2.362
Sony Xperia ZL 2.352
HTC One M9 2.334
LG G4 2.317
Samsung Galaxy Note II 2.307
HTC One E9+ 2.305
HTC One (M8) for Windows 2.291
Oppo R1x 2.281
Oppo Find 7a 2.279
Alcatel One Touch Hero 2.272
Apple iPhone 4S 2.269
HTC Desire 600 dual sim 2.262
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra 2.253
Nokia Asha 311 2.25
Sony Xperia C4 Dual 2.235
Xiaomi Mi Note 2.234
Motorola Moto G (2014) 2.233
LG Nexus 5 2.228
Huawei P8 2.196
Nokia Lumia 820 2.193
HTC One (E8) 2.185
Oppo N3 2.181
Nokia Lumia 920 2.17
Huawei Honor 6 2.169
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 2.166
OnePlus Two 2.165
HTC One X 2.158
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML 2.149
LG Aka 2.145
Nokia N8 2.144
Nokia Lumia 620 2.142
Archos 50 Diamond 2.134
Nokia 515 2.134
HTC Desire 500 2.129
Sony Xperia C3 Dual 2.12
Sony Xperia acro S 2.119
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2.119
Nokia Lumia 1020 2.103
Oppo Find 5 2.088
Huawei P8lite 2.078
Sony Xperia SL 2.078
Nokia Lumia 630 2.056
BlackBerry Z10 2.051
Moto G 3rd gen max manual 2.026
Huawei Ascend Mate7 2.024
Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active 2.022
Apple iPhone 4 2.016
HTC One mini 2.003
Xiaomi Mi 3 2.001
Huawei Ascend P7 1.992
LG G2 1.976
Sony Xperia E4g 1.972
OnePlus One 1.961
Oppo R819 1.957
Sony Ericsson Xperia ray 1.955
Lenovo Vibe X2 1.952
Sony Xperia Z2 1.944
Sony Xperia E3 1.943
Nokia Lumia 1320 1.941
HTC One mini 2 1.94
Samsung Galaxy Camera 1.938
Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime 1.935
Sony Xperia J 1.932
Acer CloudMobile S500 1.931
ZTE Blade S6 1.927
LG Nexus 4 1.926
LG G Pro 2 1.922
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 1.913
Nokia Asha 308 1.911
HTC Butterfly 2 1.905
Sony Xperia T 1.894
Meizu m2 note 1.892
BlackBerry Leap 1.892
Nokia Lumia 830 1.887
HTC Desire X 1.878
HTC Windows Phone 8X 1.873
HTC Butterfly 1.873
HTC Butterfly S 1.867
Huawei Ascend P6 1.865
Huawei Ascend Mate 1.845
LG G2 mini 1.838
LG G3 1.82
Nokia Lumia 1520 1.813
HTC Desire 616 dual sim 1.797
Sony Xperia V 1.792
HTC Desire 816 1.783
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 1.772
HTC Desire 700 dual sim 1.769
ZTE Nubia Z9 mini 1.759
Sony Xperia U 1.758
Meizu MX3 1.754
LG Optimus G 1.753
Sony Xperia T2 Ultra 1.74
Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact 1.735
Acer Liquid Jade S 1.734
Sony Xperia SP 1.733
Oppo Find 7 1.691
LG Optimus 4X HD 1.691
HTC One V 1.685
BlackBerry Q5 1.682
LG Optimus Vu 1.68
Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen) 1.675
Xiaomi Mi Pad 7.9 1.672
LG Optimus GJ 1.666
ZTE Nubia Z9 1.659
LG Optimus 3D Max 1.658
HTC Desire V 1.646
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 1.632
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 1.622
Microsoft Lumia 532 1.615
Jolla Jolla 1.605
Microsoft Lumia 435 1.598
Sony Xperia Z Ultra 1.578
Sony Xperia go 1.577
Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 I8160 1.566
Samsung Galaxy Core 1.563
LG Optimus G Pro 1.552
Motorola Moto E 1.545
LG Optimus 3D 1.542
Nokia Asha 302 1.537
Samsung Galaxy Core Prime 1.507
BlackBerry Curve 9320 1.488
Sony Xperia M 1.473
Oppo N1 1.47
Sony Xperia E4 1.467
Meizu MX 4-core 1.462
Nokia Lumia 610 1.432
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 1.4
Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo 1.393
Microsoft Lumia 535 1.393
Sony Xperia M2 1.393
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 1.38
Sony Xperia E1 1.372
Nokia Lumia 625 1.371
Gigabyte GSmart G1355 1.361
Sony Xperia L 1.351
Xiaomi Redmi 1S 1.35
Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 1.35
HTC Desire 510 1.34
Sony Xperia M2 Aqua 1.331
Sony Xperia miro 1.324
Samsung I9082 Galaxy Grand 1.321
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 1.315
Xiaomi Redmi 2 1.311
HTC Desire C 1.3
Nokia X 1.291
Sony Xperia C 1.283
Nokia Asha 503 1.281
Nokia Asha 501 1.27
LG Optimus L7 1.269
Nokia Lumia 510 1.268
Samsung Galaxy Fame 1.245
LG Optimus L9 1.227
Meizu MX 1.221
Samsung Galaxy Young 1.22
Sony Xperia E 1.215
Nokia XL 1.204
Sony Xperia E dual 1.203
Asus Memo Pad 7 ME176C 1.198
Samsung Galaxy Pocket 1.18
Nokia Asha 305 1.178
Nokia Asha 306 1.175
Sony Xperia neo L 1.169
Sony Xperia tipo 1.166
Nokia Lumia 520 1.161
Samsung S6802 Galaxy Ace Duos 1.148
Samsung Galaxy mini 2 1.114
Apple iPhone 6s Plus battery life
The battery inside the iPhone 6s Plus has a 2,750mAh capacity, a modest decrease from the 2,915mAh of last year's model. Apple's claim is that the new model will last as long as the old one, and that's as specific as it gets.
We're a lot more into precise numbers and subjected the 6s Plus to the usual battery of tests and it actually performed better than the old Plus, though with the notable exception of 3G call times. The smartphone would die on us after 16 hours, two thirds of the iPhone 6 Plus' time.
Use the phone with the display on and it scores substantially better. A full 14 hours of video playback is nothing short of exemplary, and means that when the 6 Plus calls it quits, the 6s Plus can go on for another 2 and half hours. The Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ lasts 4 minutes shorter in this test, well within the margin of error.
Moving on to web browsing, we witness a 2 hours and forty-some minutes better longevity for this year's model, but more importantly an hour and a half of an advantage over the Galaxy S6 edge+.
Overall, the iPhone 6s Plus scores a combined endurance rating of 85 hours. Compare that to the 79 hours of the iPhone 6 Plus and you'll see that, indeed, the decrease in capacity hasn't adversely affected the battery life.
If anything, you'll actually get a better longevity with the new model if your usage is geared more towards surfing the web and watching videos rather than voice calls. Compared to the Galaxy S6 edge+, the differences in screen-on usage are smaller, though noticeable especially in web browsing. However, the Samsung phablet can last twice as long on voice calls, which obviously you should consider if that's your predominant use case.
If you've been paying attention, you'd have noticed that at half brightness (which is the setting we carry our battery tests on) the 6s Plus puts out less nits than the 6 Plus. That certainly helps its case, though it can't make all the difference, and improved efficiency has to account for a large part of the improvement. The phone is also perfectly usable at this setting thanks to its excellent contrast, and there's really no need to crank it up any higher unless you're outdoors in bright daylight.
Our proprietary score also includes a standby battery draw test, which is not featured in our test scorecard but is calculated in the total endurance rating.
The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
Connectivity
The Apple iPhone 6s Plus comes with a host of wireless connectivity features. It supports faster LTE Cat. 6 (up to 300Mpbs down, 50Mbps up) and has even wider LTE coverage. Regular 2G and 3G connectivity is all safely covered as well with a multitude of supported network bands.
The iPhone 6s Plus also supports the latest Voice over LTE (VoLTE), HD Voice and Wi-Fi calling protocols, but those are carrier dependent features so not everyone will enjoy them.
Compared to the iPhone 6, the 6s now upgraded Wi-Fi functionality too - it supports all the current Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac standards but doubles the theoretical speeds thanks to the use of a 2x2 MIMO antenna. AirPlay is the only way to wirelessly cast your screen's contents to an HDTV, but you'd need to have an Apple TV for that.
Additional local connectivity includes Bluetooth 4.2 LE. There is also support for NFC, but its functionality is only limited to Apple's region-restricted Apple Pay.
The iPhone 6s Plus uses a proprietary Lightning connector for wired data transfers and charging. There is no support for USB On-the-go or USB host but you can pair a Bluetooth keyboard to the phone should you need this sort of peripheral. At least the 3.5mm jack is standard.
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