Feature Articles

Should you upgrade to the iPhone 7?

By James Lu - 2 Oct 2016

Should you upgrade your iPhone 6s to the iPhone 7?

Note: This article was first published on 21st September 2016.

Apple's latest iPhones have been out for nearly a week now (you can read my full review here), but if you're still undecided on whether or not you should upgrade, we're here to help. First of all, here's a quick rundown of everything that's new in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus:

  • The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are now IP67 dust and water resistant, capable of surviving submersion in 1m of water for up to 30 minutes.
  • The cameras are better: they take better low light shots, and the smaller 7 even gets the optical image stabilization (which was previously reserved only for the Plus edition).
  • To keep the 7 Plus camera special, it now has two cameras, one for wide angle shots, and one that's a little more zoomed in. Eventually you'll be able to use this dual-camera setup to take artsy bokeh shots too.
  • The batteries are bigger and last longer, the storage has doubled, the processors are a lot faster, and the displays are much better - they're brighter and display more colors.
  • Faster 4G speeds (up to 450mbps) - thanks Stuart Johnson for pointing this out!
  • Stereo speakers.

  Apple iPhone 7 Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  Apple iPhone 7 Apple iPhone 7 Plus
Operating system
  • iOS 10
  • iOS 10
Processor
  • Apple A10 Fusion quad-core 2.33GHz processor
  • Apple A10 Fusion quad-core 2.33GHz processor
Built-in Memory
  • 2GB RAM
  • 3GB RAM
Display
  • 4.7-inch Retina HD / 1,334 x 750 pixels (326ppi) / IPS
  • 5.5-inch Retina HD / 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (401ppi) / IPS
Camera
  • Rear: 12-megapixel, f/1.8 iSight camera with phase detection autofocus, OIS and quad LED (dual-tone) flash
  • Front: 7-megapixel, f/2.2 FaceTime HD camera
  • Rear: Dual 12-megapixel, (f/1.8, 28mm & f/2.8, 56mm) with phase detection autofocus, OIS, and quad LED (dual-tone) flash
  • Front: 7-megapixel, f/2.2 FaceTime HD camera
Connectivity
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot, Bluetooth v4.2, A2DP, LE, GPS, GLONASS, Lightning connector
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot, Bluetooth v4.2, A2DP, LE, GPS, GLONASS, Lightning connector
Storage Type
  • 32 / 128 / 256GB internal storage
  • 32 / 128 / 256GB internal storage
Battery
  • 1,960mAh
  • 2,900mAh
Dimensions
  • 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm
  • 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm
Weight
  • 138g
  • 188g

Next, a systematic comparison against the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6, iPhone SE and iPhone 5s to see what are the direct pros and cons when upgrading from these older models.


iPhone 6s to iPhone 7

The iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 are quite similar, so you should really only upgrade if you: A) spend a lot of time near water, B) need 256GB storage, or C) really, really like black.

What you get for upgrading

  • Jet Black and Black color options
  • IP67 dust and water resistance
  • Solid state Taptic Engine Home Button
  • Optical image stabilization on the 7
  • Dual camera setup on the 7 Plus
  • Improved ISP and quad-LED true-tone flash
  • 7-megapixel front camera
  • Stereo speakers
  • Brighter display with wider color gamut
  • Double storage capacity
  • Faster A10 Fusion processor 
  • Roughly two hours longer battery life

 

What stays the same

  • Mostly the same design with exactly the same dimensions
  • Same display size and resolution
  • Touch ID and Apple Pay

 

What you lose for upgrading

  • 3.5mm headphone port
  • Mechanical Home button
  • Space gray color option
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