Was the 6S really the peak iPhone?

It was a warm summer night in September 2017 when Mashable asked itself: Has Apple innovation stalled? Do these glitzy new Apple phones (back then, that was the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus , as well as the then-upcoming iPhone X ) carry their weight, or did iPhone evolution end with the most perfect phone that came out two years earlier? In short, we asked ourselves: Was the iPhone 6S the last of the great iPhones ? First, a little context.

I didn't write the article; I'm way too enamored with the next new thing to look back in such a way.

It was written by my former colleague Foster Kamer.

Ever the new phone skeptic, Kamer argued that the iPhone 6S, then two generations old, was the perfect iPhone; one that's fast enough, perfectly sized, light, and equipped both with a headphone jack (remember those) and an actual Touch ID button, which was later replaced with a faux button and, ultimately, with Face ID.

The article goes into quite a bit of detail, but ultimately it's not just about the iPhone 6S or any particular iPhone; it's also about how the best iPhone purchase is almost always one that's one or two generations old.

Because, you know, it's just so much cheaper.

SEE ALSO: The latest iPhone 18 news, leaks, and rumors: Release date, price increases, and colors This is where I'm willing to concede the argument: Yes, if you don't care about the latest fancy new feature, by all means go for last year's phone, or even the one before that.

It's probably gonna serve you just as well; it'll be a lot cheaper, and since these are iPhones we're talking about, it'll probably last you a good two, three, or even four years.

This is even more true today than it was in 2017.

Smartphone companies have been putting their best R&D minds to work on smartphones for decades now, and innovation has, to some extent, been exhausted.

I'm using the latest and greatest iPhone 17 Pro Max, but I can honestly say that switching to the previous model wouldn't kill me.

Glorious Touch ID button, why has thou abandoned us? Credit: Future Publishing / Getty Images However, go back a year or two more, and the differences are staggering.

The battery life and camera on my current iPhone are just so much better than they were on the iPhone 14 or 15 Pro Max, it's not even funny.

I'm not even talking about some fancy new features; I'm talking about the very basics, precisely the stuff that seemingly reached its peak at every new iteration.