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

Join us from a posh Piccadilly Circus hotel and a tranquil park in Britain's capital as we take a closer look at Apple's newest king-size phone.

Andrew Lanxon
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.
Sarah Mitroff Managing Editor
Sarah Mitroff is a Managing Editor for CNET, overseeing our health, fitness and wellness section. Throughout her career, she's written about mobile tech, consumer tech, business and startups for Wired, MacWorld, PCWorld, and VentureBeat.
Expertise Tech, Health, Lifestyle
Andrew Lanxon
Sarah Mitroff
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The iPhone 6S Plus isn't a ground-breaking update, but it does bring several cool new features to the extra-large iPhone model.

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Metal styling

The 6S Plus follows the same metal style as the 6 Plus before it. Looking at the outside, it's hard to distinguish it from last year's model. They use the same casing design, though the 6S Plus uses new aerospace-grade aluminium, instead of the older aluminium casing.

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Retina screen

The iPhone 6S Plus has the same 5.5-inch Retina display as last year's version. The screen is protected with brand-new glass, however, which Apple claims is the strongest in the industry.

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iPhone 6S Plus and iPhone 6, side by side

Compared with the iPhone 6 (right), the 6S Plus looks hefty, but you do get that extra display real estate.

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12 megapixels

Apple has made the biggest camera update since the iPhone 4S by giving the 6S Plus (and 6S) a 12-megapixel main camera. It can record 4K video, and Apple asserts that it shoots sharp, detailed photos.

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A second shooter

Around the front is a 5-megapixel camera for FaceTime and selfies.

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Colour options

The iPhone 6S Plus comes in silver, gold, space grey and a brand-new rose gold colour.

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Out in the light

The gold looks pretty sharp whether you're inside in a dim hotel bar or out in bright sunlight, like you see here.

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Introducing 3D Touch

One of the main new features on the 6S and 6S Plus is 3D Touch. It makes the touchscreen pressure-sensitive. Push in, and you can actually make things happen: new options pop up on the screen, offering you shortcuts without needing to actually go into an app.

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That tiny S

Compare the iPhone 6S Plus and the iPhone 6 Plus and the only way you might be able to tell them apart is the telltale S insignia on the back.

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Charging and sound

The bottom edge is where you'll find the speaker grille, Lightning charging port, headphone jack and microphone.

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Volume switches and buttons

The volume rocker and mute switch are on the left-side edge.

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The Home Button

You'll recognize the round Home button, the handsets' only physical control.

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Touch ID

Touch ID is still an integral feature in the iPhone. The fingerprint sensor is built into the home button.

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Make it your own

As always, you can arrange the icons on the display just as you want.

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What's inside

The biggest upgrades to the iPhone 6S Plus are on the inside and in the software. The phone is powered by a third-generation 64-bit A9 chip that promise speedier performance. Also new is 3D Touch, a new way to interact with what's on the screen. Press and hold the display to call up a menu with app shortcuts and more.

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Size and shape

The 6S Plus is just slightly thicker (0.29 inch or 7.3mm) than the iPhone 6 Plus (0.28 inch or 7.1mm) from 2014, but both have nearly identical shapes and styles.

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