The best iPhone 6S deal for Christmas: save £150 with code XMAS150

Update: this deal will run up until midnight on 31st December

If you're looking for a great deal on an iPhone 6S before Christmas, this is a bit of a cracker. Mobiles.co.uk and O2 are currently offering a fantastic deal on the best-of-the-best iPhone 6S 128GB.

The deal allows you to save £150 on the up front cost of the phone and then get yourself on a good value contract with O2.

It looks to be by far the cheapest and best-value way of getting hold of the iPhone 6S 128GB and even beats most (if not all) of the deals out there on the 64GB model.

Here's the deal: using the voucher code XMAS150 you can save £150 on the superior 128GB version of the iPhone 6S, leaving you paying £150 up front instead of £300. It comes with a brand new O2 contract which offers great value - unlimited calls and unlimited texts with and 3GB data for £31 per month. That's a really good deal.

It's available in Space Grey, Silver, Rose Gold and Gold, so that's all the colours checked off and it will be available until midnight on December 31 - but note you'll need to order by December 22 to guarantee delivery before Christmas!

The best iPhone 6S deal in the UK

We've had a look around to make sure this deal is really worth recommending and we think it is. The only way to get an iPhone 6S for cheaper than this is to go for the vastly inferior 16GB version.

We did find this other deal which offers the same £31 O2 contract with 3GB data - but that'll cost you an extra £25 up front and it's for the iPhone 6S 64GB not the 128GB version.

The phone-only price of this handset on Amazon is currently around £664, which means you're paying an extra £230 for the O2 plan - less than £10 per month.

The XMAS150 deal in full:

iPhone 6S 128GB | £300 £150 up front | Unlimited calls + texts | O2 4G | 3GB | £31pm | £894 total
Use the code XMAS150 at the checkout to save £150 on the best-of-the-best iPhone 6S 128GB handset and pay just £150 up front instead of £300. Then you'll be on a 4G contract with O2 which offers unlimited calls and texts and 3GB data for £31 per month. Total cost of this deal over two years is £894.

• Get this deal in Space Grey
• Get this deal in Silver
• Get this deal in Rose Gold
• Get this deal in Gold
• Voucher code: XMAS150

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Confirmed! Apple iPhone 6S starts from Rs 62,000 in India

Time to spend big

Apple is looking to make serious moolah in India this year and most of the burden will be handled by the new iPhones in town, iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. Everyone was eagerly waiting for the prices of the new phones which somehow got leaked by sellers and now those speculations have been officially confirmed.

Starting from October 16, eager buyers will be spending close to Rs 62,000 for the entry-level iPhone 6S i.e. 16GB model, while iPhone 6S Plus will cost you Rs 72,000. Apple seems to be playing at a different level in 2015 and these prices have more or less made it evident that Apple fan boys will have to splurge big to own the new iPhone.

The 6S series is just like any other Apple product which manages to break all previous year records and set the tune for more of the same for upcoming years as well. For this year, iPhones get 3D Touch feature, upgraded RAM, bumped up cameras (first time since iPhone 4S) and streamlined design with addition of having Rose Gold colour variant.

iPhone 6S and 6S Plus are of the same stature as before with 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch 1080p display respectively. Apple fanboys were excited to final taste the comforts of 4K video recording, something which has become ever-present with Android these days.

Keeping these prices in mind, you could definitely have a look at options like Samsung Galaxy Note 5 or even the incoming Nexus 6P and make the elusive iOS to Android switch for good.

Our iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus verdicts are in

How did we rate Cupertino's new handsets?

Apple has all but opted out of the mobile specs race in the past, releasing handsets which are impressively speedy despite packing just dual-core processors and 1 or 2GB of RAM, while rivals move to octa-core chips and up to 4GB of RAM.

But that could all be about to change, as according to Weibo tipster I Ice universe Apple is developing an A10 processor with up to six cores.

Apparently the chip will be made using either a 10nm or 14nm manufacturing process, with Samsung, TSMC and Intel competing for orders.

Too much too soon?

While a jump to a hexa-core chip is possible we have our doubts, as it would be a very big jump and Apple's never been one to massively up the specs just for the sake of it.

That said it's probably about time the company moved beyond dual-core processors, so maybe it is just going to skip quad-core ones and move straight to six.

We probably won't know for a long time yet though, as with the iPhone 6S only just hitting stores we likely won't see the iPhone 7 for almost a year.

iPhone 6S Plus vs Samsung Galaxy Note 5

The two biggest phablets of 2015 go head to head

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and iPhone 6S Plus are two of the biggest phones of 2015 in more ways than one, as not only are they phablet sized they were also highly anticipated flagships.

Now they're both here and the battle between them is likely to be fierce, with both handsets featuring a premium design, great cameras and top tier specs.

They're clearly both impressive phones but to see how mind blowing they really are, we've put these two heavyweights head-to-head to see how they compare in all the key areas.

Design

While past Galaxy Note handsets have had fairly disappointing designs it's all change with the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, a phone with a slim 7.6mm thick build, a metal frame and a glass back. The left and right edges curve inwards at the back making it easier to grip and the whole thing looks great.

The iPhone 6S Plus has a more metal-heavy design - in fact it's all metal, with a seamless unibody. It's slim too and looks just as good as the Galaxy Note 5. It's arguably better as the glass back of the Note 5 is a bit of a fingerprint magnet and more easily broken, but they're both enormously stylish.

Display

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 has a huge 5.7-inch 1440 x 2560 Super AMOLED display with a pixel density of 518 pixels per inch. It's big, incredibly sharp and thanks to the use of Super AMOLED it's also bright and vibrant. In all it really is one of the best smartphone screens we've ever come across.

To help you get around that massive expanse the Galaxy Note 5 also has an S Pen stylus and even that has got a few new tricks up its sleeve, such as the ability to make notes on the screen without even turning it on.

The iPhone 6S Plus is going to have its work cut out to compete then, but it has a shot, with a smaller but still large 5.5-inch 1080 x 1920 IPS LCD display and an innovative pressure-sensitive 3D Touch feature. We'll let you know how it fares when we've put it through our full review, but coming from Apple we expect great contrast and colour accuracy.

Power and performance

On paper the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 has an easy win here, with its 2.1GHz octa-core Exynos 7420 processor and 4GB of RAM. Those specs translate into beastly performance, with the Note 5 easily blasting through anything you can throw at it.

The iPhone 6S Plus on the other hand has a likely dual-core A9 processor, but don't let those specs fool you as Apple's phones are usually almost impossibly smooth during operation and we expect no less here.

Camera

Samsung has really delivered with the Galaxy Note 5's camera. It has the same 16MP sensor as the Samsung Galaxy S6 and like that phone it can take photos in stunning quality, even when the lighting isn't ideal.

Optical image stabilisation surely helps with that, and along with a range of shooting modes, settings and options it should suit both point-and-shooters and seasoned snappers. The front-facing camera isn't quite as impressive, but at 5MP it gets the job done.

The iPhone 6S Plus has a 12MP rear camera and a 5MP front-facing one. Like the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 it includes optical image stabilisation and given Apple's camera prowess it should hopefully be able to give the Note 5 a run for its money.

OS

Here lies perhaps the biggest difference between the two phones, as while the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 runs Android 5.1, the iPhone 6S Plus runs iOS 9. By now you probably know whether you're an iOS or an Android person, but while there are differences between them they're both exceedingly polished operating systems by this point, with a massive selection of apps.

Battery

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 has a 3,020 mAh battery, which is a slight downgrade from the 3,220 mAh juice pack found in the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, but its performance isn't too terrible, standing up to a day of fairly heavy use between charges. With fast and wireless charging supported it's easy to get it juiced up again too.

The iPhone 6S Plus is likely to offer a day or more of battery life too. Apple hasn't confirmed exactly how big the juice pack is, but the official stats are identical to the iPhone 6 Plus at up to 24 hours of talk time or 14 hours of HD video.

Price and availability

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 can be grabbed for around $740 SIM free, but sadly only if you're in the US, as that's the only part of the Western world where you can currently buy the phone.

The iPhone 6S Plus is launching for £619 ($749, AU$1,229) and up, so it's similarly priced, but far more widely available.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 can go toe-to-toe with the iPhone 6S Plus in every area, with both phones offering a stylish design, lots of power, impressive cameras, great screens and speedy fingerprint scanners.

They're clearly two of the best phablets on the planet and with similar price tags too the real decision is whether you'd rather run iOS or Android.

iPhone 6S vs Samsung Galaxy S6

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is surely one of the most popular phones of the year and justifiably so, with its QHD screen, powerful processor, premium design and oodles of features.

But if any phone is going to outsell the S6 it will be the iPhone 6S, the latest flagship from the only company in the business that's bigger than Samsung. With a premium design of its own and high-end specs and features it may even be worthy of all the sales it will inevitably enjoy.

Design

The iPhone 6S is a slim slab of metal, coming in at just 7.1mm thick and with very little breaking up the smooth lines of the aluminium build.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is similarly stylish, with a metal frame and a glass back, while at 6.8mm thick it's even slimmer than the iPhone 6S, though its glass back is prone to picking up fingerprints. They're not as visible if you pick the white model, but then you miss out on the gemstone-like finish offered by the other shades.

Display

There's a 4.7-inch 1334 x 750 IPS LCD display on the iPhone 6S coming in at 326 pixels per inch. That's the same resolution and size as the iPhone 6, making this one of the more compact smartphones around.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 on the other hand has a larger 5.1-inch 1440 x 2560 screen with a pixel density of 577 pixels per inch. So it's both bigger and sharper, but the resolution of the iPhone 6S doesn't seem lacking and it's likely to help its battery life, which is something that is a problem on the Samsung Galaxy S6.

Power and performance

There's an Apple A9 processor at the heart of the iPhone 6S, designed to be 70% faster at CPU tasks and 90% faster at graphics than the A8 chip in the iPhone 6.

The Galaxy S6 on the other hand has an octa-core Exynos 7420 processor, with four cores running at 2.1GHz and the remaining four clocked at 1.5GHz. It's a true powerhouse then, but while on paper the iPhone 6S may sound lacking in comparison, Apple's phones almost always offer seriously slick performance and we're not expecting the iPhone 6S to be any exception.

Camera

Apple has long delivered some of the best cameras found on a smartphone and that's likely to continue with the iPhone 6S, as it has a 12MP main camera and a 5MP front-facing one, both of which are upgrades over what was found on the still impressive iPhone 6.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 has a quality snapper too though, with a 16MP sensor on the back, complete with optical image stabilisation to avoid blur and a 5MP camera on the front. The S6's camera is one of the best we've yet tested, but we're hopeful that the iPhone 6S's camera will rival it.

OS

The iPhone 6S ships with iOS 9, which includes improvements to Siri, long awaited Apple Maps features and more, plus all the slick intuitiveness of its predecessor, iOS 8.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 on the other hand runs Android 5.1 overlaid with TouchWiz. Samsung's TouchWiz UI has been divisive over the years, but it's at its best here, while Android Lollipop is the cleanest and best version of Android yet.

Both OS's are seriously polished by this point, but if you favour either Google's services or Apple's then that could swing it.

Apple does have the edge in one way though, as it's equipped the iPhone 6S with 3D Touch, which can act as a pressure sensitive shortcut to certain features or options, as essentially a light tap on certain things will do one thing, while a harder press will do another.

Battery

The Samsung Galaxy S6's biggest weakness is perhaps its battery, which at 2,550mAh is smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S5's and won't typically last more than a day between charges.

It's too early to say how good the iPhone 6S's juice pack will be, but we're hopeful that it should be able to keep the phone powered for at least a little longer than Samsung's, though the official stats are the same as those for the iPhone 6, which doesn't last much more than a day itself.

Price and availability

The Samsung Galaxy S6 can be grabbed from around £410 ($600, AU$800) for the 32GB version, while the iPhone 6S is launching for £539 ($649, AU$1,079) in its smallest size. In other words Apple's latest is quite a bit pricier, but it's also newer and it's an Apple product, so that's no surprise really.

As the Samsung Galaxy S6 has been out for a while there should be stock in most places, but availability of the iPhone 6S might initially be more limited as millions of people head out in search of one.

Verdict

Samsung and Apple have both crafted stunning phones fit for 2015 and you can't really go wrong with either of them.

We'll let you know exactly how good the iPhone 6S is when we've put it through a full review, but based on the specs and features it's sure to at least be the best iPhone yet, while the Samsung Galaxy S6 is one of the very best smartphones of any OS.

The real choice between them is iOS or Android, because in most ways they seem similarly accomplished.

Apple iPhone 6S Plus vs OnePlus 2 vs Xiaomi Mi Note Pro vs Huawei Honor 6 Plus: Specs comparison

Apple launches the new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus that will be shortly available across the globe. The phones, at best, have been given the much-needed camera bump while the rest is mostly based on incremental hardware updates.

So, here is the million dollar question that might be ringing up through everyone's head right now, i.e., how does the new iPhone stack up against most competitor devices running on Android? The following comparison might help you understand things in best possible manner.
Look on!

Brand	Apple iPhone 6S Plus	OnePlus 2	Xiaomi Mi Note Pro	Honor 6 Plus
Display	5.5-inch 1080p	5.5-inch 1080p	5.7-inch 1440p	5.5-inch 1080p
OS	iOS 9	Oxygen OS	MiUi 6	Emotion UI 3.0
CPU	A9X with M9	Snapdragon 810	Snapdragon 810	Kirin 925
RAM	1GB	4GB	4GB	3GB
Storage	16/64/128GB	64GB	64GB	16GB
Cameras	12MP (rear), 5MP (front)	13MP (rear), 5MP (front)	13MP (rear), 4MP (front)	Dual-8MP (rear), 8MP (front)
Weight	192 grams	175 grams	161 grams	165 grams
Connectivity	4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth	4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth	4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth	4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Battery	2915mAh	3300mAh	3000mAh	3600mAh
Dimensions	158x78x7.3	151.8 x 74.9 x 9.9 mm	155.1 x 77.6 x 7 mm	150.5 x 75.7 x 7.5 mm
Price	TBA	Rs 24,999	TBA	25,000 (approx)

As you can see above, Apple looks to be playing catch-up in comparison to its Android rivals that have been offering top-end features at a relatively mid-range price point. It's good to see that Apple has finally managed to scale up its imaging prowess with 12MP sensor, which can record 4K video for the first time ever in iPhone's life cycle.

While Apple is thinner in size than most of the aforementioned devices, the 6S Plus falls short of being a lightweight product by long margin. The iPhone 6S Plus is highly expected to be launched in India somewhere around November, with a pricing that pits the phablet against the might of Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 Edge+ for that matter.

So, will you be waiting for the new iPhone 6S Plus or you'll feel content in owning products from the above mentioned Chinese brands? Share your views in the comment section below. 

iPhone 6S vs LG G4

Can LG play in the big league?

With an unusual design, powerful camera and super-sharp display the LG G4 was really built to stand out, and while in some ways it did so for the wrong reasons it's still one of the more impressive and unique phones of 2015.

The iPhone 6S is sure to outsell it and with a premium build, powerful processor and great camera it's clearly a top phone too, but does it have the LG G4 beat?

Design

The iPhone 6S is unmistakeably an Apple product, with a slim metal build and distinctive Touch ID fingerprint scanner. It's one of Apple's best looking phones too, though it's almost identical to the iPhone 6.

The LG G4 is even more unmistakeable, but not necessarily in a good way. The leather back is an interesting choice, but it's stretched too thin to feel good, while the plastic version is, well, plastic.

Then there's its rear keys, which are easier to defend as some people swear by them, but they're certainly divisive. They're supposedly in a more natural position to hit, but they can take some getting used to if you're coming from any non-LG phone.

Display

The iPhone 6S has a 4.7-inch 1334 x 750 display, so it's both fairly compact and pretty sharp. At 5.5 inches the LG G4 is far from compact yet at 1440 x 2560 it's still far sharper than the iPhone 6S.

In fact it has an impressively high pixel density of 538 pixels per inch. It's deep and rich too, despite being IPS LCD.

Does the LG G4 have a better screen than the iPhone 6S? It's too soon to say, but it's certainly one of the best QHD displays we've yet seen.

Power and performance

The LG G4 isn't quite the most powerful phone around, but with a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor and 3GB of RAM it's not far off. You could say the same about the iPhone 6S though with its beefy Apple A9 processor.

The LG G4 delivers generally slick performance and the iPhone 6S should as well, especially as with Apple creating both the hardware and software there's greater unity between them.

Camera

One thing the LG G4 really gets right is its camera, as with a 16MP sensor, an f/1.8 aperture for great low light shots, optical image stabilisation and a speedy laser autofocus there's a lot of fancy tech here.

It comes together well and it's coupled with deep manual controls, so you can tweak the settings to your heart's content. With an 8MP camera on the front the LG G4 is also adept at selfies if you're into that kind of thing.

The iPhone 6S should have a top of the range smartphone snapper as well though, as its 12MP rear sensor and 5MP front-facing ones are both upgrades over the already great iPhone 6 camera. You can't fine tune shots to quite the same extent as with the LG G4, but if you mostly want to point and shoot the iPhone 6S could be a real winner.

OS

The LG G4 runs Android 5.1 overlaid with its Optimus user interface and for the most part it's pretty good. It's refined, clean and colourful and while it's distinct from stock Android it uses a lot of the Material Design language, so it's not totally alien.

The iPhone 6S meanwhile runs iOS 9, which is the brand new version of Apple's mobile operating system. It's not a radical change from iOS 8 but there are a number of improvements. Siri has become a little more helpful, while new features such as public transport directions have been added to Apple Maps among other things.

It's worth giving a shout-out to 3D Touch here too. Apple's pressure sensitive technology changes the way you interact with the iPhone 6S, presenting you with different options depending on how hard you press the screen and it could make using the phone faster and more intuitive than ever.

Battery

LG flagships often have good battery life, but sadly the LG G4 doesn't. It's not awful, but it is in the camp that just barely lasts a day of moderate use, though it's at least removable so you can always swap it out for a spare.

The iPhone 6S does not have a removable battery, but if Apple is to be believed it should hopefully last for up to 14 hours of talk time or 11 hours of video, which sounds reasonable. Time will tell how true that is.

Price and availability

While LG's flagships usually undercut the competition the LG G4 had a fairly premium price, but it quite quickly dropped and can now be picked up from around £330 ($470, AU$800) SIM free, while the iPhone 6S starts at £539 ($649, AU$1,079), so LG's phone is a lot cheaper.

It's also likely to be easier to get hold of, as demand for the iPhone 6S will be enormously high, so expect stock to shoot off the shelves.

Verdict

With a fantastic camera, a brilliant screen and strong performance the LG G4 is undoubtedly a flagship, but it falters in several significant ways, from its unappealing design to its mediocre battery life.

The iPhone 6S is likely the better phone overall then, but it's also more expensive and the LG G4 will have its fans, especially with unusual features like its rear keys.