Great battery life, powerful and efficient
Remarkably similar to previous models, lack of headphone jack is inconvenient
During Apple’s iPhone 7 launch, Phil Schiller explicitly listed 10 ways in which the latest handsets are improvements on their predecessors. He laboured on the improved camera, extra power, the better battery life and the ‘courageous’ decision to remove the headphone jack.
He didn’t, however, mention that the dimensions are identical to the iPhone 6S; you can’t charge your phone while listening to music and the brand new software isn’t unique – almost everyone can download iOS 10 for their older models.
Not to mention that the 10 new features will end up costing customers an eye-watering £1,000 for the high-end Plus model if they want to upgrade. So has Apple pushed its fans too far, or are the phones worthy of your money?
The iPhone 7 is the most similar of the two handsets to its predecessor. The dimensions are identical but the iPhone 7 is lighter than the 6S – 138g versus 143g. The iPhone 6, by comparison, is thinner and lighter than both at 6.9mm (compared to 7.1mm) and 129g. Both the iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 have 12MP rear-facing cameras but the iPhone 7's front-facing camera has been upgraded from a 5MP to a 7MP sensor.
The antenna strip has been moved to the top on the iPhone 7 and, of course, the headphone jack has been removed; leaving the Lightning port, and adding stereo speakers. The speakers are a welcomed addition, borrowing from the likes of HTC, and it’s a noticeable improvement when listening to music or watching videos without headphones.
The lack of a headphone jack, on the other hand, is inconvenient to say the least. Aside from Apple’s comment about the decision being ‘courageous’, the firm stresses it made the change because listening to music through the Lightning port improves the quality.
It does, but it’s marginal. Plus, this marginal improvement doesn’t counter for the fact that you have to carry around an adapter at all times, this adapter adds a significant bulk to the headphones when plugged in, and you can’t listen to music and charge your phone at the same time. It is unlikely you’ll be wanting to do the latter that often, but that doesn’t excuse the fact.
With the headphone jack removed, there is more room for a larger battery (1960mAh up from the iPhone 6S' 1715 mAh battery) – a much-needed improvement – and the taptic engine, less needed. This taptic engine means the traditional home button is replaced by a touch sensor that responds with a vibration when you press it. This takes a little getting used to, but once you’ve adjusted to it, it’s strange going back to using a button, and the taptic response is missed. A subtle shift in behaviour which Apple excels at.
This taptic engine also ‘clicks’ when you set an alarm, and vibrates when playing games. It feels similar to using a PS4 or Xbox controller but its a lot more subtle and nuanced. It’s a nice touch when using certain apps, but is little more than that.
Elsewhere, the iPhone 7 offers IP67 water resistance. On paper, this isn’t as resistant as Samsung’s handsets – and Apple notes it's resistant, not waterproof – but tests have shown the iPhone 7 range can hold its own when submerged, and as a result may perform better than Apple has suggested. For existing iPhone owners, this is welcomed but for non-Apple users, it’s another feature that is playing catch-up.
Apple has ditched space grey for the iPhone 7 and introduced matte black and jet black. The former adds a real sophistication to the device and we were surprised how much a simple colour can add to our opinion of a handset. The latter, conversely, seems like a good idea but scratches easily and makes the phone too slippery for our clumsy hands.
The iPhone 7 is also available in silver, gold and rose gold. Prices start at £599 for 32GB, up to £699 for 128GB and £799 for 256GB. The phones are available across Europe, America and Canada. On March 21, Apple added a red model to the lineup, as part of its 10-year partnership with AIDS charity (RED). The RED Special Edition comes in red aluminium and is available from March 24. Prices start at $749 for a 128GB model. Both special edition models are available worldwide and will start shipping to customers by the end of March in the US, and more than 40 countries and regions, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the UK and United Arab Emirates. Brazil, Chile, Colombia, India, Turkey and other countries will follow in April.
Apple claims the 4.7-inch display on the iPhone 7 is 25 per cent brighter than previous models and comes with a so-called P3 colour gamut which makes colours appear richer. Both claims are accurate. Photos, graphics and games look great on the display. Not quite as bright and rich as on the OnePlus 3, but a noticeable improvement on previous iPhones. The iPhone 7 has the now-standard Retina HD display giving it a PPI of 326; the same as the iPhone 6S and 6.
Elsewhere, more apps are embracing Apple’s 3D Touch and this feature feels more natural once you’re used to using the pressure-sensitive sensor home button. We’ve found ourselves gradually using 3D Touch for Citymapper, for example, or when posting to Instagram.
The display on the iPhone 7, and iPhone 7 Plus are both more responsive too. 3D Touch is not a feature we love, nor do we dislike it. Our only criticism is that we quite often enable 3D Touch actions when trying to copy a link or move an app and we’re still not used to the level of pressures needed for both.
Apple made a lot of the improved camera on the iPhone 6S and it has done similar with the iPhone 7. The smaller of the two new models has the same 12MP sensor on the rear but it has an aperture of f/1.8 and a new six-element lens. Apple has also added optical image stabilisation to the iPhone 7, along with body detection, a Quad-LED True Tone flash, and wide colour capture.
Read more: iPhone 7 Plus review: brilliant battery life is almost worth the money alone
The front-facing camera has gone from a 5MP to 7MP, and also comes with body detection, wide colour capture and auto-image stabilisation. Elsewhere, it has Retina Flash, the front-facing camera records in 1080p, while the rear can handle 4K.
By comparison, the iPhone 6 has an 8MP rear-facing camera, a 1.2MP on the front, both with an aperture of f/2.2 and no front flash or 4K.
The photos used as examples in Apple’s demos are staggering, yet we struggled to get anywhere near that quality. Granted we’re not professional photographers but the difference was stark. Portraits are sharp and detailed, colours are vibrant but far from how vibrant they appear in real-life and the controls are still basic.
Apple said it didn’t want to overwhelm users with too many controls and the majority of the upgrades are done automatically, but we were far from blown away with the quality of photos on the iPhone 7. Especially when we recently compared shots with the Google Pixel, for example, and the iPhone 7 was found to be lacking.
This is where the iPhone 7 came into its own. The handset has the new A10 Fusion processor alongside an M10 motion coprocessor said to be 40 per cent faster than the A9 and twice as fast as the A8.
Apple also makes bold claims that the GPU is 50 per cent more powerful and efficient than the A9 and three-times better than the A8. These claims seemingly stood up. Not once did we have issues with overheating, nor did games lag or stutter. We could switch between apps with ease and the phone was much better at handling more than one task being carried out simultaneously, including downloading apps while streaming music and playing a game.
Having used an iPhone for around five years, we are used to tolerating poor battery life, charging phones twice a day and having levels drain in an instance. Great leaps have been taken to rectify this in the iPhone 7 and even more so the iPhone 7 Plus.
We were concerned the extra power and brighter display on the iPhone 7 would have a negative effect on the battery, but if it did it was marginal. Apple’s official guidance suggests the iPhone 7 will last for two hours longer than the iPhone 6S but we would go as far to say it's better than that. In testing, we could run the iPhone 7 for, on average, four hours longer than a month-old 6S.
Apple's iPhone 7, and 7 Plus, ship with iOS 10 installed and some of this battery saving comes from having a more efficient OS. When the latest iOS was unveiled at Apple's June developer conference, the tech giant said it was one of the largest updates to its mobile operating system in its history.
Aesthetically, it wasn't as drastic a change as iOS 7 was but iOS 10 does come with features Apple fans have been calling for, for years. Others bring the software more in line with Android.
For example, photos, maps, and the keyboard have been improved thanks to machine learning meaning iOS 10 can now recognise faces in photos and group them together, or give more accurate typing suggestions. iOS may be restrictive in terms of tweaks that can be made and access to non-Apple software and systems but it is still the most simple operating system to use.
Elsewhere, iOS 10 comes with the ability to delete Apple's default apps – meaning Stocks, iBooks, iCloud don't have to clog up space. The update also sees a redesigned Apple News and Apple Music apps, bigger emoji, and a bedtime alarm.
Explore all of the new features in iOS 10.
The iPhone 7 is a good phone with decent upgrades. Not all the upgrades feel necessary or relevant but the handset does perform where it matters – speed and battery life. The latter being a particular surprise given the iPhone's woeful battery history.
If you’re an Android fan, this phone is unlikely to make you want to switch. Especially given that some of the new features and hardware are already found on rival Android devices from Samsung, OnePlus and HTC.
If you’re an iPhone 6S owner, there aren’t any features that should warrant an immediate upgrade but there are a couple of tweaks that could and should tempt you. We recommend waiting until your contract is up to make the switch.
The iPhone 7 is mainly aimed at people with the iPhone 6. There are enough upgrades from its earlier predecessor for you to part with your money for the latest handset, and chances are you’re coming to the end of a two-year contract anyway and the timing is right. You’ll benefit from the better cameras, 3D Touch and boost in performance without feeling like you’re swapping like-for-like.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
