Should you upgrade 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.

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

iPhone 6 to iPhone 7

The iPhone 7 looks mostly the same as the iPhone 6, so if you're one of those people who generally skip the 's' iterations because they look the same, you might want to hold off until next year's iPhone.

What you get for upgrading

• Jet Black, Black and Rose Gold color options
• Pressure-sensitive 3D Touch display
• 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
• 4K video recording
• 7-megapixel front camera
• Live Photos
• Stereo speakers
• Brighter display with wider color gamut
• Double storage capacity
• Much faster A10 Fusion processor 
• Much longer battery life
• Faster and more responsive Touch ID

What stays the same

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

What you lose for upgrading

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

iPhone SE to iPhone 7

If the budget-friendly iPhone SE was your first foray into the iPhone maybe you're now considering upgrading to the 7? The SE's 4-inch design is more pocket friendly, and its battery life is just as good (it lasted 11 hours and 42 minutes in our video looping benchmark). The SE runs on the same A9 processor found in the 6s, so the 7 isn't actually that much more powerful. There's also a possibilty that Apple will release an iPhone SE 2 next year, so if you really like the 4-inch display, hold off for now. 

What you get for upgrading

• Jet Black and Black color options
• 4.7-inch or 5.5-inch display size 
• Pressure-sensitive 3D Touch display
• 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 
• Faster and more responsive Touch ID

What stays the same

• Pixel density (326ppi)
• Battery life
• Apple Pay

What you lose for upgrading

• 3.5mm headphone port
• Mechanical Home button
• Space gray color option
• Much smaller, lighter build

iPhone 5s or earlier to iPhone 7

If you have an iPhone 5s, 5c, 5, 4s or earlier, you should definitely consider upgrading. With bigger, brighter displays, a much faster processor, better cameras, stereo speakers, more storage, 3D Touch, 2nd generation Touch ID fingerprint scanner, and Apple Pay, it's time to experience what a modern iPhone is capable of.

What you get for upgrading

• Jet Black, Black, Rose Gold and Gold color options
• 4.7-inch or 5.5-inch display size 
• Pressure-sensitive 3D Touch display
• 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
• 32, 128 or 256GB storage capacity
• Much faster A10 Fusion processor 
• Much better battery life
• Faster and more responsive Touch ID
• Apple Pay

What stays the same

• Pixel density (326ppi)

What you lose for upgrading

• 3.5mm headphone port
• Mechanical Home button
• Space gray color option
• Much smaller, lighter build

Is it worth waiting for next year's iPhone?

If you've been keeping up with your iPhone rumors, you'll know that Apple has something special cooking. We've heard about edge-to-edge OLED displays, wireless charging and a drastic redesign. But that wasn't the iPhone we got this year. So maybe Apple is holding off until next year, which just so happens to be the iPhone's 10th anniversary. In many ways, the iPhone 7 feels more like the iPhone 6s part 2 (iPhone 6ss?); it has the same design as the previous year, and many of the upgrades are subtle or incremental. Even its best improvements, like its IP67 dust and water resistant build, will go unnoticed by most people (unless you have a tendancy to regularly drop your phone in the toilet). The question then is, should you wait for next year's iPhone?

If you need to buy a new phone right now, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are excellent. They're the best iPhones Apple has ever made. But if not, next year's iPhone could be the one that changes everything, again.

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