Apple is still selling the iPhone 6s for a lower price, and it's a steal (AAPL)

Apple recently announced its shiny new iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X on Tuesday, and they bring new features and faster performance than any previous iPhone.

However, I'm here to tell you that you that Apple is still selling the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus for $450 and $550 repectively, and they're an absolute steal if you're not a heavy smartphone user. Better yet, you can get the 32GB iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus refurbished by Apple itself from Apple's Refurbished Mac Store.

iphone 6s plus

I can understand if the word "refurbished" puts you off, but my experience with refurbished Apple products from Apple's Refurbished Mac Store has been overwhelmingly positive. I bought two refurbished 2016 MacBook Pro laptops, saving a total of $900 in the process, and I couldn't be happier with them. They look, feel, and work like new.

From Apple's refurbished store, you can get the 16GB iPhone 6s for $370, the 64GB model for $430, and the 128 GB model for $470. There doesn't appear to be any refurbished 32GB iPhone 6s' available at the moment, but even if you get the refurbished 64GB model, you'd be paying $20 less than a brand new 32GB model. It's not much savings, but it's something, and you don't have to worry about storage.

Refurbished iPhone 6s Plus models go for $450 for the 16GB model, $509 for the 64GB model, and $550 for the 128GB model.

iphone 6s plus back

I am a somewhat heavy smartphone user and I can safely say I'm still perfectly happy with my iPhone 6s Plus. I use my iPhone 6s Plus to stream radio and music, play YouTube videos, control my smart home, browse the web, email, message, take photos and videos, and call people on occasion. It feels just as snappy as the day I took it out of its box.

Apple improved the screen on the latest iPhones, but my iPhone 6s Plus' screen is just fine for my needs. Touch ID on the iPhone 6s is also still fast. The only thing I wish I had is the new fast-charging feature that Apple introduced to the new iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X. With that said, I'd still have to buy extra accessories to use fast charging on the new iPhones, a move by Apple that I'm not fond of.

I understand the cameras on the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X are better, but the camera on the iPhone 6s Plus, which is only two years old, is still excellent. Here's a photo I took of the Na Pali Coast in Kauai, one of the Hawaiian islands, with my iPhone 6s Plus:

iphone 6s plus photo nepali coast hawaii

I rarely play games on my iPhone 6s Plus, and that's when the iPhone 6s could begin to show its age. If you play graphics-heavy games on your smartphone, you may want to look at the iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus, or even the latest iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, or iPhone X.

Buying any older device comes with the risk that it won't last as long as buying the newer model. The iPhone 6s' performance will surely slow down to the point where you'll want to buy a new iPhone sooner than you would if you bought the new iPhones, or even the iPhone 7. That's a risk you'll have to determine yourself whether or not you want to take it, and it's why I'd suggest buying the iPhone 6s, refurbished or not, if you're a relatively light smartphone user.

Plus, the iPhone 6s still has one feature that's missing on the iPhone 7 and new iPhones: The headphone jack.

For me, a somewhat heavy smartphone user, I feel like I'm still getting my money's worth with the iPhone 6s Plus I bought almost two years ago. But I do expect it to slow down over the next year or so to the point where I'll want to upgrade to whatever Apple has in store for us in 2018.

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