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If there are some things that Apple never mentions during the announcement of its new devices are RAM and battery capacity (mAh) and thanks to iFixit, we now have more details about the mystery that lies hidden in the latest iPhones.
The first teardowns confirms that, the iPhone 6S has 2GB of RAM up from 1 GB than was in the iPhone 6 last year which marks the first time that Apple has increased the iPhone’s memory since the iPhone 5, which came out in 2012. This so different from Android OEMs that add 1GB of RAM each year. The RAM is also faster than before — it conforms to the improved LPDDR4 standard, compared to LPDDR3 the last time around.
Apple doesn’t want to enter a spec war
For those wondering why an increase in RAM is important is because it makes an appreciable difference during day-to-day use. All early iPhone reviews have in fact pointed out that switching between apps and tabs is now noticeably faster than before. Even better, web pages won’t have to reload nearly every time you switch tabs because the 6S has enough memory to keep tabs ready and waiting for you.
Another reason why Apple can’t even advertise it as a new feature is because 2GB of RAM isn’t hugely impressive compared to the competition that have 4GB of RAM like in the Note 5 and 3 GB of RAM Galaxy s6 as shown in the table below. The Galaxy S4 had 2GB of RAM back in 2013. It is simple, Apple doesn’t want to enter a spec war as they prefer to focus on better user experience and design, which are arguably more important than cold numbers and specifications anyways.
| iPhone 6S | iPhone 6S Plus | Galaxy S6 | Galaxy Note 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Apple A9 | Apple A9 | Exynos 7420 (2.1GHz and 1.5GHz, octa-core) | Exynos 7420 (2.1GHz and 1.5GHz, octa-core) |
| Memory | 16GB, 64GB, 128GB | 16GB, 64GB, 128GB | 32GB, 64GB, 128GB | 32GB, 64GB |
| RAM | 2GB | 2GB | 3GB | 4GB |
| Resolution | 1334 x 750 (HD) | 1920 x 1080 (FHD) | 2560 x 1440 (QHD) | 2560 x 1440 (QHD) |
| Front Camera | 12 megapixel, with LED | 12 megapixel, with LED | 16 megapixel, with LED | 16 megapixel, with LED |
| Front Camera | 5 megapixel | 5 megapixel | 5 megapixel | 5 megapixel |
| Battery Life | 1,715mAh | 10 hours estimated | 2,550mAh | 3,000mAh |
| Weight (gms) | 140.6 | 190.5 | 136 | 167.8 |
| Dimensions (inches) | 5.44 by 2.64 by 0.28 | 6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 | 2.75 x 5.59 x 0.27 | 2.99 x 6.03 x 0.29 |
| Display (in) | 4.7 | 5.5 | 5.7 | 5.7 |
| Other | 3D Touch, 2nd generation Touch ID | 3D Touch, 2nd generation Touch ID | Fingerprint sensor, edge version | Fingerprint sensor, S Pen, edge plus version |
The teardown also confirms that the iPhone 6S indeed has a slightly smaller battery than last year’s iPhone 6. Numerically, the battery capacity is now down to 1,715 mAh, from 1,810 mAh. We believe the change is most certainly due to space restraints. Apple wanted to keep the iPhone 6S about the same size as its predecessor, and since the new 3D Touch display which made the phone heavier than the iPhone 6. Thanks to the more A9 processor the battery life seems to be about the same as before.
