Are the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus too heavy?

Every time Apple comes out with the new product there is some kind of the scandal in the media. This time around it seems that some users are worried about the weight of the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. Both phones have gained weight compared to their previous versions, and that is causing some users to question whether or not they should buy the new iPhones.

The new scandal has been dubbed “weightgate” and I have no doubt that you will see it more and more in the media. And of course the “analysts” will no doubt use it to make dire predictions about Apple’s future in the months ahead.

But are the new iPhones really too heavy? Or is this just another case of people going off the deep and about a very minor thing? In this column I’ll take a look at this question, and I’ll show you some of the posts from people online are complaining about the weight of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

You can make up your own mind as to whether or not the weight of the new iPhones is actually an important issue for Apple, or if it’s just more overblown hyperbole from whiners who are just looking for something to complain about.

How much do the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus weigh?

Here’s a breakdown of the weight difference between the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.

iPhone 6: 129 grams

iPhone 6 Plus: 172 grams

iPhone 6s: 143 grams

iPhone 6s Plus: 192 grams

So it looks like the iPhone 6s has about an 11 percent increase in weight and the iPhone 6s Plus has about a 12 percent increase in weight. Wow, how are people going to be of to pick up these massively heavy phones?

We’re talking 14 grams more for the iPhone 6s and a whopping 20 grams more for the iPhone 6s Plus. The horror, the horror! Shame on Apple for adding this unbearable burden on potential iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus customers.

What are Apple customers saying about the weight of the new iPhones?

Once the news of weightgate broke, Apple’s customers wasted no time sharing their thoughts in a thread on the MacRumors forum:

Swedegirl: ”Am I the only one that is somewhat turned off with the weight of the new phones….had my heart set on going from a 6 to a 6s plus and the weight stats are CRAZY high……this might be the first time since the 4 that I do not get a new phone at launch! ‘Im afraid it will feel like carrying a BRICK.”

Noble Actual: ”Would recommend that you got outside right now. Find an actual brick. Pick it up. Hold it in one hand. Get your iPhone. Hold it in the other. Compare. Then, you will come up with the conclusion that your comparison is stupid.”

Sunking101: ”I went from an iPhone 5 to the 6+ and it felt ridiculously heavy. The 6S+ sounds like a brick.”

Gav2k: ”I think the weight is the new screen and the Taptic Engine. The 7000 series aluminium should be the same weight or less even though there is slightly more material.”

Lukkee24: ”…it’s an increase of 10%+ over the previous models, which sounds significant. But whether we’ll actually be able to feel the difference is yet to be known.”

Ruinoonna: ”Quite noticeable if you’re holding the device for long periods of time (wrist fatigue). Mind, weight is one of the reasons I switched from the 6+ to the 6. That said, I find the weight of the new 6 (~140g) to still be quite acceptable.”

Blairh: ”I find my 6+ is too heavy at times. Going 20 grams more would be noticeable and I would not be happy.”

GrumpyMom: ”Yes but how would they have handled it in the keynote? Timmy, Jony, and Eddie get up there and point to their expanding waistlines and say we ALL are getting heavier at Apple?”

Doboy: ”Your body weight changes more than that throughout the day. You should feel bad for your knees carrying that extra weight around. ”

MattXDA: ”Both of the new phones are far too heavy. Will be like holding a bag of sugar. Will cause arthritis!”

More at MacRumors Forum

As you can tell from some of the messages I posted in the excerpt from the thread above, some users are very unhappy with the weight gain in the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. One woman even took a shot at poor Tim Cook’s waistline!

But other users think the whole thing is silly and overblown. I suspect that the folks that think the extra weight doesn’t matter probably vastly outweigh those who care about it.

Weightgate won’t affect the sales of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus

Frankly, I have to chuckle at the weightgate comments made by some users. The weight of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are not going to affect sales of the product. Most people don’t care about a few extra grams and consider them a fine trade-off to get new features like 2GB of RAM, 3D Touch, 4K video, better cameras and the super-fast A9 processor.

So I will go out on a limb and predict that the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will be Apple’s best selling iPhones ever.  The new software features and new hardware totally eclipse any issues caused by the weight of the new iPhones.

Weightgate, like so many Apple controversies before it, will fade away and eventually be forgotten. And Apple will sell more iPhones than ever to millions and millions of happy customers.

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