Will the iPhone 6S still be a good phone in 2026?

The iPhone 6S is now over 7 years old, which feels ancient in smartphone years. But even in 2024, Apple‘s 2015 flagship remains surprisingly capable for basic tasks. Should you keep using your vintage 6S or is it time to upgrade? Let‘s take an in-depth look.

A Blast from the Past: The iPhone 6S in 2015

Ah, 2015. Back when the iPhone 6S first launched, Samsung‘s Galaxy S6 was its chief rival, and Android Lollipop was the hot new thing.

The 6S was a huge leap forward from the iPhone 6, bringing Apple‘s first 12MP camera, massive CPU gains, and innovative 3D Touch tech.

Let‘s take a quick trip down memory lane and look back at what made the 6S special in 2015:

• Blazing fast A9 processor – The A9 chip was 70% faster at CPU tasks and 90% faster at graphics compared to the A8 in the iPhone 6. At the time, it was the closest Apple had ever been to Android flagships in raw performance.

• Pressure sensitive 3D Touch – This allowed new gesture controls like Peek and Pop for previewing apps, messages, and links without opening them fully. It brought a whole new dimension to iOS interactivity.

• 12MP iSight camera – Coming from the crappy 8MP shooter in the iPhone 6, the 6S‘s 12MP camera with 4K video recording was a massive improvement. Apple finally matched rivals like Samsung for resolution.

• Improved Touch ID sensor – The 2nd gen Touch ID fingerprint reader on the 6S was up to twice as fast at recognizing fingerprints compared to the first version. Unlocking your phone got way quicker.

• 7000 series aluminum build – The 6S boasted a more durable 7000 series aluminum frame instead of the 6000 series used on prior iPhones. This made it less prone to bending.

And of course it came preloaded with iOS 9, which introduced useful features like a battery saving Low Power Mode, Transit directions in Maps, and better multitasking on iPad.

The iPhone 6S and 6S Plus went on to sell over 75 million units in their first year – making the 6S one of Apple‘s most successful smartphones ever.

For iOS fans who wanted flagship power and cameras but in a smaller 4.7" size, the iPhone 6S hit the sweet spot. It marked the peak of Apple‘s "S" era iPhones.

But now 7 years later, how does Apple‘s former flagship hold up in the modern smartphone era? Let‘s analyze its current capabilities and limitations.

Software Support: How Long Will Updates Last?

In terms of software, the iPhone 6S is still fully supported by Apple today on the latest iOS 15. That‘s an impressive 6 years of updates so far, exceeding any Android phone.

The 6S will also get iOS 16 later in 2022. After that though, its time is likely running out.

• Most sources indicate iOS 16 will be the last major version update for the 6S series.
• Apple typically provides about 1-2 more years of security patches for discontinued models.

So while you can currently run iOS 15 on a 6S, apps and services will begin slowly dropping support over the next 2 years.

I‘d expect the 6S to become largely obsolete right around 2024-2025, giving it a solid 8-9 years of life – incredible longevity for a smartphone!

Everyday Usage and Performance

The iPhone 6S is powered by Apple‘s A9 chip and 2GB of RAM. That was cutting edge in 2015, but feels extremely dated by 2022‘s standards. How does is hold up for day-to-day use in its twilight years?

For casual use like messaging, email, and light web browsing the 6S actually still feels snappy, even with iOS 15. But you can feel it struggling at more intensive tasks:

• Web browsing – Simple websites and articles load quickly, but it‘ll stutter on heavy pages with lots of graphics and media. The 6S scored only 48.7 on Speedometer 2.0 compared to 178 for the iPhone 13 Mini.

• Gaming – Light games like Candy Crush are fine, but heavier 3D titles designed for newer iPhones struggle. In GFXBench tests, the 6S scored only 37fps in the high tier Manhattan test versus 60fps on the iPhone 12.

• Photos – The 6S can open and edit photos fine, but struggles with larger files. Exporting 12MP images took nearly 3x longer compared to newer models.

• Battery life – More on this later, but expect to charge frequently. In Tom‘s Guide web surfing battery tests, the 6S lasted just 6 hours and 26 minutes on a charge – terrible by today‘s standards.

So while perfectly usable for simpler apps and tasks, the 6S‘s aging internals really show their limits in more demanding use cases. Let‘s talk more about that…

Battery Life – The 6S‘s Achilles Heel

I won‘t sugarcoat it – battery life on an aging iPhone 6S in 2022 is downright terrible for all but the lightest use.

Some grim facts about the 6S‘s 1,715 mAh battery in 2022:

• Apple rates it for just 10 hours of internet use – most phones now get 15-20 hours.
• After over 500 charge cycles, maximum capacity drops to 60-80%.
• Frequent charging to 100% accelerates degradation.
• Many 6S owners now get only 3-5 hours of use per full charge.

Unless you barely use your phone, you‘ll almost certainly need to top up the 6S sometime during the day. Carrying an external battery pack is a must for heavier use.

Replacing the battery often helps, but capacity still drops steadily after another ~500 cycles. Ultimately batteries are consumable components that wear out.

The 6S‘s mediocre original battery lifespan combined with aging hardware makes charging a constant chore after so many years of service. For many owners, poor battery endurance is their #1 complaint now.

Camera – Surprisingly Decent After 7 Years!

The grainy old 8MP camera on the iPhone 6 was terrible even in 2015. So the 6S‘s sharp new 12MP sensor was a massive upgrade:

• 12MP resolution with Focus Pixels for faster autofocus
• ƒ/2.2 aperture and True Tone dual-LED flash
• 4K video recording at 30 fps
• Slow-mo 120 fps or 240 fps video (720p)
• 5MP FaceTime HD front camera with Retina Flash

While far from cutting edge today, the 6S‘s cameras remain surprisingly competent all these years later:

Daytime: With good lighting, the 6S can take pretty decent pics and video. It supports up-to 1080p/60fps video recording and features Apple‘s 32-bit ISP image processor for accurate colors and white balance like newer iPhones.

Low Light: Noise, blurring, and muddier color become more problematic as lighting gets dimmer, but still impressive for a 2015 phone. The lack of Night Mode does hurt though.

You‘ll miss out on a lot of the processing magic in modern iPhone photography. But overall the 6S‘s cameras hold up remarkably well seven years later for casual shooting. Kudos to Apple for the solid engineering.

Display – Feeling Extremely Small and Dated

Let‘s address the elephant in the room – the iPhone 6S‘s display looks positively ancient by 2022 standards:

• Small, low-res 4.7" IPS LCD panel
• Just 1334 x 750 resolution (326 ppi)
• Huge top/bottom bezels
• No edge-to-edge design
• No HDR or OLED tech

Everything about the 6S‘s screen just looks painfully outdated:

• The sub-HD resolution makes images, videos, and games less sharp
• Only 326 PPI is noticeably pixelated up close
• The color reproduction and brightness (500 nits max) are mediocre at best
• It just feels tiny by today‘s standards – watching videos or playing games on the 6S‘s screen feels incredibly cramped

Unless you have extremely good vision, the 6S‘s crude, toy-like display is passable at best. Expect some serious eye strain using it for any length of time. After using modern OLED iPhone screens, adjusting to the 6S‘s screen is brutal.

Should You Keep Using an iPhone 6S in 2024?

So keeping in mind all its capabilities and limitations, is clinging to an aging 6S still a good idea in 2024? Let‘s quickly recap the key pros and cons:

Pros

• Still supported by latest iOS 15
• Usable for simpler apps and light tasks
• Cameras pretty decent in good lighting
• Super cheap now – just $100-$150 used

Cons

• Dated processor struggles with demanding apps
• Awful battery life necessitates frequent charging
• Tiny, low-res screen looks ancient
• Lacks 5G, wireless charging, water resistance, OLED

With the latest iPhone 14 lineup now available, Apple and carriers are offering some pretty tempting trade-in deals. For example, you can get an iPhone 14 for free or close to it with a 6S trade-in.

Upgrading to a newer iPhone SE for under $400 provides way better performance, battery life, and cameras without breaking the bank.

But if you don‘t use your phone heavily and just want basic calling, texting, music, and web functions, the 6S can certainly still get the job done on a tight budget. Just be sure to upgrade the battery or keep some power banks handy!

My advice is try to squeeze 1-2 more years out of your 6S if you can, but start budgeting for a replacement soon. By 2024-2025 app and service support will quickly drop off.

Apple‘s old workhorse has lived an impressively long life – enjoy your 6S‘s remaining time while embracing its limitations! But the writing is clearly on the wall for this venerable old legend.

Let me know if you have any other questions!