Apple iPhone 6S has 18 new features

LOS ANGELES — For those of you who heard Apple tout new features for the new iPhone 6S and said, "that doesn't sound like much," Apple wants you to think differently.

The maker of iPhones, iPads and Mac computers took out full-page ads over the weekend touting that "the only thing that's changed is everything," for the iPhone 6S, which goes on sale Friday at 8 a.m.

As consumers have come to realize, every other year Apple redesigns the phone, and then offers a new feature or two in the off year. Past S features included the Touch ID fingerprint sensor and introduction of Siri, the digital personal assistant.

But this year, even though the new iPhone 6S looks just like last year's model, Apple wants you to know there are 18 new features worth pointing out.

You may have heard about the biggies: faster performance, improved camera, 4K ultra-high- definition video recording and that new 3D Touch engine that previews e-mail and apps depending upon how hard you press on the screen.

Let's zoom on 10 of the others Apple is touting:

-- Better Selfies. The FaceTime front-facing camera now has more megapixels (five) and thus higher resolution.

-- Improved voice quality on videos, with more (four) microphones built into the phone.

-- New color. Rose-Gold is the latest hue.

-- Hey Siri. Apple says you don't have to press the home button to say Hey Siri, a change from previous models, which had to be plugged in to power to make it work. To get the feature off the ground, you'll need go to settings and opt-in for the feature.

-- Live Photos. Take a snap and the iPhone will get a still and a quick video of you, and wrap it into one moving photo, like an animated GIF.

-- Better flash reproduction in low light with selfies and the "Retina Flash" feature.

-- Faster Internet. You can connect to Wifi networks twice as fast as before, and and get more speed out of your LTE wireless bandwidth than before. This actually counts as two features.

-- 7000 Series Aluminum. The strongest metal alloy ever used on an iPhone, Apple says.

-- M9 Motion Compressor. Provides a wide range of fitness tracking capabilities to help you measure how much you do every day.

-- Stronger glass. If you're one of those who drop your phone, -and that includes all of us, you'll be glad to know Apple says the new cover glass is the strongest it's ever used before.

(I'll believe that one when I see it, when I drop the iPhone 6S and the glass doesn't shatter.)

Follow USA TODAY tech columnist and #talkingtech host Jefferson Graham on Twitter, where he's @jeffersongraham and listen to his daily audio tech reports on Stitcher and TuneIn.