With the launch of Apple’s iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, users now have the option to shoot up 12-megapixel photos and 4K video at 30 fps. This is four times the video resolution found on the iPhone 6, but how does it perform? We’ve put together a new video test to find out exactly what it looks like…
In the video below, you’ll find 4K/UHD footage directly from the iPhone 6s. The footage was cut together using Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015, but no color correction was applied. This is exactly what you can get from the iPhone 6s using 4K video. Most of this video was shot on a tripod and slider, but handheld video is also great as the iPhone 6s uses digital stabilization and 6s Plus uses optical image stabilization.
Check out our iPhone 6s and 6s Plus 4K video test below:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRqiaCKr5Kw]
So what do you think about the iPhone 6s’ camera? Obviously, the 12-megapixel photos is a nice step up above the 8-megapixels found in the iPhone 6. If you’re curious to see how the photo quality of the 6s stacks up against its predecessor, we’ve put together a details comparison with photo samples. In addition to that, if you’ve missed initial coverage, you can check out our dual unboxing and impressions of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.
At the moment support for 4K isn’t widespread, but places like YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Instant Video all have 4K streaming abilities. Unfortunately, Apple’s latest gen Apple TV does not include the ability to stream 4K video, so users may be left without the means to watch this high-resolution content natively. Prices for 4K/UHD TVs are constantly dropping, but at the moment a very low percentage of people actually use one.
If you’d like to enable 4K video recording on your iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, you can do so within the Settings app under Photos & Camera. What do you think about the 4K video quality on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus? Is this a feature you’ll actually use, or just a gimmick?
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That’s wonderful!
pretty
Why have i a feeling , the next iPhone will have 4k resolution screens! I really do hope apple keep on updating its screen resolution. iPhone 6s camera quality is amazing!
You know that our eye can’t process anything sharper than it is right now?
But unfortunately it’s bound to happen as technology moves on because these screens will be a mainstream product and hence probably cheaper or the same price to make than the lower resolution ones. The reason? Simply because they can make them.
Les hope Apple can beef up the GPU to match. As I posted just now I think the 7s or 7s plus will have the real GPU that can run a 4K screen if history is any indictator!
I wonder if Apple will give the 7 a 1440p or 1500p screen and the 7 plus a full 4K (2160p screen).
And history shows we’ll probably have to wait for an iPhone 7s plus with a hypothetical A11 processor to run that screen properly. A 4K screen will have 3 times the number of pixels than the iPhone 6/6s Plus, which runs at 2208×1242 then down samples to 1080p, and it took till the A9 to run the plus screen really well. The same with the iPad 2 to 3 to 4 and the iPhone 3GS to 4 to 4s.
There is absolutely no point… it will be a waste of money… 4K is intended for large displays only
For me i hope not, because the more “resolution” on screen makes the iPhone eat more Energy of the battery. But to Air stream to “Apple-TV” or so then it shall have full 4K output, but not on a smal screen.
I wished that apple would have video recorded in better compression. I know processor and battery trump all, but I would love a prores compression option.
Good grief that’s a 720p upload. Talk about the Emperor’s clothes with everyone saying how wonderful it is…!
Lol no it’s not. Definitely 4K.
Well Dom when I (CTR + Click) and choose Download video I get a 720p file. Maybe it’s a HTML5 setting.
OK, so my apologies Dom. I’ve just viewed it on YouTube in 4K with my 4K TV. And yes, it mostly looks pretty decent. Sorry about that squire.
No biggie! :)
Sadly most people, including myself, do not own a 4k TV or monitor – so having 4K video is just a waste of my bandwidth and time…
I find it very odd that Apple have kept the free icloud storage as 5gb considering they now have 12mp photos and 4k videos (both of which take up more space) they have also pushed for more apps to use icloud storage…
whats more laughable is the fact they still offer a 16gb phone that does 4K video…
I love my iphone 6plus – the extra battery life helps, but is still far from perfect… i opted for the 64gb because my 32gb iphone 5 was always full (i hardly had any music, but i enjoy taking photos and videos)…i have now upgrades to 20gb online storage BUT i feel cheated considering other companies offer this for free…
4k is a gimmick from the industry – it is not suitable for small screens – it was created for the larger screens from 40″ upwards… so unless you are planning to view youtube, home videos etc all on the big screen then 4K is really not for you and probably wont be for the average person…
A similar argument is put forth in movies from hollywood – they have had the tech for years to move over to digital shooting in HD – but when audience view it they say it doesnt look ‘real’ or ‘natural’ and in fact in the editing room some movie companies add filters to their digital shots to make them a lower resolution…
So – 4K is ‘awesome’ – but its not ready for the masses and majority of people wont even know the difference (imagine watching a bluray movie on a 14″ portable TV)
As you say you do not own a 4K TV or monitor. So I’ll take your opinion with that in mind. I on the other hand do own a 4K TV (Sony Bravia) plus two there 1080p *full HD units and the difference is huge. You can make as many excuses as you like to not buy the new tech. I heard the same arguments for colour TV back in 1969. But the fact is once someone uses the higher resolution for any period of time they don’t want to drop down to low res again. Even if it was cheaper. The only reason for that can be that the higher res is better. Otherwise they would chose to save money.
There are other reasons to shoot 4K. For example, you can shoot 4K on the phone and then zoom quite a bit into the image and still have a usable HD stream. This allows you to easily recompose, etc., in post without any loss of quality.
likewise shooting in 4K then exporting at 1080p yields much sharper 1080p quality than shooting natively. less artifacting and whatnot. I wont claim to know for sure why this is the case, but it is quite noticeable.
The real unfortunate thing is that there is no way to view the native 4K video from the iPhone 6S series. When you upload the video to YouTube it is compressed, when you airplay to your Apple TV it is compressed, when you play it back on your own iPhone that took the video it is compressed, even after I talked to a second level Apple support they had no suggestion as to how to play the native 4K content on the TV or any other display….. that surprised me that they had no answer!
I took a few samples a video in 720p 1080p and 4K, save them on my NAS Device by air dropping them to my MacBook Pro first and then moving them into a folder on the NAS. I then play them back via a HTPC on a 55 inch TV and then on a massive 140 inch Panamorph front projection screen with a Runco LED 4K projector. On the TV the results were muted and very difficult to see any difference. On my front projection system the results were more obvious but that said the 4K sample from the phone was nowhere as nice as from a full production movie camera, of course. The blacks were crushed and there was a ton of artifacting. So, the question still remains what is the point of 4K on a Phone? if the lens and CMOS are so tiny they can’t get much light to reproduce the black levels needed for a very large screen and considering most of us view pictures and video on the phone in which it was taken or 15 inch computer monitors and sometimes airplay into our TVs…. whats the point! Oh Yeh, the numbers game, give them bigger better numbers and the consumer will eat it up.
The idea of having a Phone with the 4K screen is absolutely bloody ridiculous. It’s not possible to tell the difference between 720P or 1080P never mind 4K on a 5″ screen.