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Out shooting with the iPhone 6S Plus' camera

From London we see how the new iPhone 6S Plus shapes up against the Samsung Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6 in outdoor, low-light and selfie camera tests.

Andrew Lanxon Editor At Large, Lead Photographer, Europe
Andrew is CNET's go-to guy for product coverage and lead photographer for Europe. When not testing the latest phones, he can normally be found with his camera in hand, behind his drums or eating his stash of home-cooked food. Sometimes all at once.
Expertise Smartphones, Photography, iOS, Android, gaming, outdoor pursuits Credentials
  • Shortlisted for British Photography Awards 2022, Commended in Landscape Photographer of the Year 2022
Andrew Lanxon
2 min read

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Apple's brand new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus have been given a whole host of new features over their predecessors, but it's the new camera that I've been giving the most attention.

The iPhone 6 was already one of our favourite camera phones, but with an upgraded 12-megapixel sensor, I was keen to see what the new snapper can achieve.

I've put the iPhone 6S Plus through a series of challenging trials, alongside its main rival the Samsung Galaxy S6 , and the previous iPhone 6 to see how it stacks up.

iPhone 6S Plus vs. Galaxy S6 in outdoor camera shootout

In an unusually sunny West London, the iPhone 6S Plus took some superb shots, with very rich colours and great exposure. It had the iPhone 6 beaten in terms of clarity (unsurprising, given the increase in resolution), and had more natural colours than the Galaxy S6, which erred for a warmer colour tone in many shots. See the results of our outdoor camera comparison here.

Our London outing with the bold iPhone 6S Plus (pictures)

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iPhone 6S Plus vs. Galaxy S6 in low-light camera shootout

When the light dropped, all phones suffered a drop in quality, but the iPhone 6S Plus managed to keep image noise to a minimum while still keeping natural colour tones. The Galaxy S6 was brighter and sharper in some shots, but its white balance fell short, resulting again with an orange colour cast to some scenes. See the results of our low-light camera comparison here.

iPhone 6S Plus vs. Galaxy S6 in selfie camera shootout

Let's be honest, selfies are important, so it's great news that Apple has bumped the front-facing camera on the iPhone 6S Plus to 5 megapixels. Selfies from the phone looked rich, with a good balance between bright outdoor skies and darker shadowy areas. I prefer the tones of the iPhone 6S Plus, although the Galaxy S6 will suit many selfie fanatics more due to its wider-angle lens, which captures much more of the scene. See the results of our selfie camera comparison here.

We now have our full reviews up of both the iPhone 6S Plus , as well as the smaller iPhone 6 , so make sure to read up on everything you need to know about both phones, including the beefed up processors and the neat new 3D Touch displays.