iPhone sales are reportedly on the decline, but why?

Apple has had some tough times recently. iPad sales have been down, Apple Watch didn't set the wearable industry on fire, stock prices have been dropping steadily - shares are at the lowest point they've been since August 2014 - and the Wall Street Journal has reported that the company is "scaling back" orders for iPhones, apparently due to lower sales.

According to the WSJ article, the decreased orders from Apple resulted in layoffs at Foxconn, Apple's China-based manufacturing partner, during the typically busy holiday season. Additionally, the article cites Japan's Nikkei newspaper, claiming that Apple is slashing manufacturing of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus by 30 percent compared to previous expectations.

The drop in expected sales is a far cry from the record-setting launch of Apple's latest smartphones back in September 2015, which saw the company sell more than 13 million units of iPhone 6S and 6S Plus in three days. It's possible that Apple's simply a victim of its own success, with most of its sales this time coming up front instead of spreading out over the following months. Or is the reported sales drop due to stiffer competition? Regardless of the cause, there's no indication at present that Apple is cutting forecasts for the expected release of iPhone 7 this fall.

As is typical, Apple declined to discuss its sales forecasts with the WSJ. The company has, however, chosen to issue a press release touting the recent successes of the App Store over the holidays, which generated $1.1 billion from apps and in-app purchases in the two weeks between December 20 and January 3, including a record-setting $144 million spent on Jan. 1.

Apple's iPhone sales picture should become more clear with its next quarterly earnings call, which is scheduled for January 26.

January Sales' best iPhone 6S deal: save £100 on the 64GB model with code TRXMAS64

Update: this deal was scheduled to end after the first week of January but it's been extended - woohoo! We're not sure how much longer this great deal will last though, so our advice is: get it while it's still going because it won't last forever and it's still by far the best iPhone 6S deal out there.

If you're looking for a new iPhone in the January Sales, this deal is for you. It was introduced by O2 and Mobiles.co.uk (owned by Carphone Warehouse) just before Christmas but we're hearing the deal will run for at least another week in the January Sales.

While it lasts we think this is the best iPhone deal in the UK. It allows you to use a voucher code to save £100 on the upfront cost of the superior 64GB version of the latest iPhone 6S. That discount allows you to get the iPhone 6S 64GB cheaper than the 16GB version so it's hot.

After the £100 is discounted, you'll pay just £75 for the phone instead of £175, and then £31 per month for a great 4G contract with O2. For your money you'll get unlimited calls, unlimited text messages and 3GB data - enough for 99% of people.

We've had a look around at Carphone Warehouse, Mobiles.co.uk, Mobile Phones Direct and e2save.com as well as all the network sites (EE. O2, Three, Vodafone and more) and this is simply the best iPhone 6S deal out there right now - it really is staggeringly good value and it's set to run for another week.
The TRXMAS64 iPhone 6S deal in full:

iPhone 6S 64GB | £175 £75 up front | Unlimited calls | Unlimited texts | O2 4G | 3GB data | £31pm | £819 total
Use the voucher code TRXMAS64 at the checkout to save £100 on the superior 64GB version of the iPhone 6S and pay £75 upfront instead of £175. 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 £819.
Get this deal in Space Grey
Get this deal in Silver
Get this deal in Gold
Voucher code: TRXMAS64
A quick comparison...

The next best deal on the iPhone 64GB is at Mobiles Phones Direct - but there you'll be paying £45.75 more in total (not to mention a hefty £384.99 up front), and for just 1GB data instead of 3GB.

The absolute cheapest way to get hold of an iPhone 6S on contract is this deal also at Mobile Phones Direct - going for that deal would save you £34.75 - but you'd be getting the 16GB version of the phone instead of the 64GB version, and 1GB data instead of 3GB. Cheaper yet, but far less value in that deal.

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

apple watch

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.