We tested Apple’s smallest iPhone, now in a black version

Oct 8, 2016 13:00 GMT  ·  By
INTRODUCTION
HARDWARE CAMERA
BATTERY SOFTWARE
CONCLUSION

Apple took the wraps off the new iPhone 7 lineup on September 7 in a press conference during which company executives used the words of visionary Steve Jobs to explain some of the changes they made to the new generation.

Cupertino described the removal of the headphone jack as an act of courage, pointing out that Apple has always been among the first to make changes that were eventually adopted by the rest of the industry.

But leaving these changes aside, the iPhone 7 lineup brought few surprises after several months full of leaks and controversial debates on whether the iPhone can re-become the best-selling phone in the world or not. Samsung has improved a lot lately, and the Galaxy S7 posted record sales, finally challenging the iPhone and helping the South Korean company become the number one phone manufacturer in the world.

The first half of the year was quite a bumpy adventure for Apple fans, with rumors even claiming that the company planned to launch this year’s iPhone as a variation of the iPhone 6, in an attempt to save the iPhone 7 name for next year when it celebrates 10 years from the first model.

And yet, here we are using the iPhone 7, looking exactly like in the leaks that made the rounds before the launch and sporting the majority of features that we’ve heard about through unofficial channels. This is a little surprising given that Apple has always tried to keep everything secret prior to big launches, but leaks did happen, and many of them were quite accurate.

The new phone series brought the same two models as before, despite rumors that a Pro version could be added as well. After reviewing the iPhone 7 Plus with a dual-camera system, we decided to take the smaller 4.7-inch iPhone 7 for a spin too and see if this is a worthy upgrade or not. Continue reading to find the answer to this question.

iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus back view
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus back view

Hardware and performance

Aesthetically, the new iPhone 7 features almost no changes as compared to its predecessor, and unless it’s painted in Black (matte) or Jet Black (glossy), those uninitiated might really have a hard time guessing which one is which. The most striking difference is the bigger camera cutout on the new model and the antenna lines that have been moved to the top and the bottom edges. Otherwise, the old and the new models are exactly the same.

They have the same dimensions (138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm / 5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 in), but the iPhone 7 is lighter (138 grams versus 143 grams). And all these resemblances continue in terms of hardware as well.

The display is the same 4.7-inch IPS LCD screen with 16M color support and resolution of 750x1334 pixels. The same pixel density is maintained - 326 ppi, and given that no difference in size has been made, it also has the same screen-to-body ratio - 65.6 percent.

The biggest difference is that the iPhone 7 comes with wide color gamut support, which means that you can enjoy more natural colors on the display, especially when shooting photos. Every pic you take looks beautiful, and this is partially thanks to the camera, but also because the display manages to accurately reproduce more colors on its screen.

The yellow tint of the screen goes away after a while.

This doesn't mean that the display is flawless, though. The model we’ve tested was suffering from an issue that’s been reported on other iPhones as well, including older models, which led to a yellowish tint of the display.

There’s no official explanation for this, but it’s believed that the glue that Apple has used to seal the screen and make the device waterproof is at fault because the first units were shipped without it getting dry. But the more you use it, the more the yellow tint is supposed to go away - we did see some changes during our two-week test, though, and the color indeed was gone almost entirely.

Apple has obviously upgraded the CPU, and this is happening with every new iPhone model, so the iPhone 7 comes with the quad-core A10 Fusion, a worthy upgrade from the dual-core A9 clocked at 1.84 GHz. The same amount of RAM is being offered - 2 GB, as Apple decided to upgrade only the Plus model to 3 GB, most likely in order to deal with the necessary amount of extra processing power caused by the addition of a dual-camera system.

Cupertino has also changed storage options and discontinued the 16 GB and 64 GB versions, offering instead an entry-level version with 32 GB and two additional configurations with 128 GB and 256 GB. This is clearly a welcome change since the OS itself and photos eat up more space on the phone, so 16 GB was no longer enough for the base model.

The iPhone 7 no longer has a headphone jack, but comes with a Lightning connector that is being used for both charging and listening to music, and you probably heard all the controversy around this change. Apple is offering a Lightning set of headphones in the box, as well as a jack to Lightning adapter, but there’s no doubt that the transition is painful, to say the least.

Speakers are now stereo, with a secondary one placed in the earpiece, but the quality of the sound is only slightly improved. We’ve noticed the same thing on the iPhone 7 Plus, and used the same tech on both models. The same is valid for call audio quality, as only small improvements can be noticed.

iPhone 7 Home button
iPhone 7 Home button

The Home button has also been replaced with a touch-sensitive version that helps ensure waterproofing. To compensate for the removal of the physical button, Apple used a new haptic engine that emits a soft vibration to simulate a real press, and you can configure the intensity by choosing one of three pre-defined levels from settings.

Other than that, you get the same features, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC for Apple Pay, GPS, and the rest of the package. There is no microSD card support, no fast and wireless charging, and no infrared port.

Overall, the iPhone 7 is super similar with small exceptions here and there that are only supposed to improve the general experience with the phone. This is clearly a step in the right direction, but the similarities between the old and the new models are likely to affect sales, as many iPhone 6s owners can hardly find a reason to upgrade. And they really can't be blamed for anything, especially because performance is nearly identical and the new hardware doesn't make such a big difference given the excellent software optimizations in iOS.

Camera

Apple is trying to make the Plus a more compelling model for all buyers, and just like it did with the 6s series, the company is offering some exclusive features on the bigger version of the new generation.

This time, the iPhone 7 Plus comes with a dual-camera system that’s supposed to help you take higher quality shots, while the standard 4.7-inch iPhone comes with a single-lens configuration that at first glance isn’t offering the same performance.

And yet, this is not true. And it’s all very simple. The iPhone 7 Plus offers a dual-camera system that includes the wide lens and a telephoto lens, while the iPhone 7 comes with the exact same configuration, but without the latter. So the only thing you’re missing is the optical zoom, which to be honest, you’re not going to use too often, so you’re safe.

Dual cameras on the iPhone 7 Plus (left) and single-lens camera on the iPhone 7
Dual cameras on the iPhone 7 Plus (left) and single-lens camera on the iPhone 7

Furthermore, the iPhone 7 now comes with OIS, as compared to the previous model which lacked this feature, as it was exclusive to the Plus, and has the exact camera specs as the bigger brother, without the telephoto lens.

As a result, the iPhone 7 features a 12-megapixel unit with F1.8 and 1/3” sensor size, up from F2.2 on the 6s. This improvement allows the iPhone 7 to shoot better photos in low-light conditions and to make sure that performance here is better, Apple also equipped the device with a quad-LED flash, up from dual-LED on the predecessor.

iPhone 7 camera performance in optimal light conditions
iPhone 7 camera performance in optimal light conditions

The rest of the feature package is unchanged, as you get the typical features such as HDR, touch focus, face detection, and 4K video recording.

The front-facing camera has also been upgraded and is now featuring 7-megapixel resolution and F2.2, up from 5 megapixels and F2.2. This leads to a small improvement in video quality during FaceTime calls, but otherwise, you won’t spot any huge difference.

As far as real-life performance of the camera is concerned, here’s the thing. When comparing the iPhone 7 with the 6s, the improvements are more than obvious. The iPhone 7 shoots better photos in low light and takes more natural shots in perfect light. Compared to rivals such as the Note 7, it doesn’t offer the same detail quality, but it’s not far either, and it still has one of the best cameras on the market right now.

iPhone 7 camera sample - zoom in to view detail sharpness
iPhone 7 camera sample - zoom in to view detail sharpness

Low-light shots are processed depending on the subject, and this is where the quad-LED flash is coming into play. The iPhone 7 uses a system similar to the one we’ve seen on the Lumia 950 XL, which also featured an RGB flash, and turns to the LEDs in the flash to compensate for the colors in the photo. Just like we’ve said for the Plus, there sometimes seems to be a larger amount of red in night shots, but otherwise quality is above average.

All in all, the camera on the iPhone 7 is a worthy upgrade. And what’s also important, the rounded design makes more sense, aesthetically speaking, as the dual-camera system looks kind of odd on the Plus model and makes it feel clunky when trying to use on a desk.

Note: all these photos feature no edits, so they're just copied from the phone and published in the article. For more camera samples, you can also check out the review of the iPhone 7 Plus, whose main camera is available on this model too.

Battery life

First and foremost, it’s worth noting that this time Apple has actually increased battery capacity, so no matter what, the iPhone 7 should last longer than its predecessor. This means that if you were pleased with the autonomy of the iPhone 6s, you should be pleased with the iPhone 7’s too.

Cupertino used a lithium-ion 1960 mAh battery, up from 1715 mAh, with the company claiming that it offers better life, but without providing any figures. And truth be told, official figures are rarely accurate because they’re calculated in the perfect scenario, which is super different from real life.

It doesn't always get you through the day.

What we can tell, however, is that depending on how you use the iPhone 7, you can get anywhere between 18 hours to 30 hours of battery life. Yes, we know it’s not ideal, and sometimes you can get even lower than that, but you can always recharge it quickly, and you’re good to go with 100 percent of battery once again.

Battery information in iOS 10
Battery information in iOS 10

The problem here is that the iPhone 7 does not feature fast charging, and given that only the Lightning port is available, charging the device every few hours isn’t the most convenient thing to do, especially if you want to use it for listening to music. There’s no wireless charging either, and this is again a major drawback, because it could have helped overcome the lack of a headphone jack.

In the end, the iPhone 7 provides decent battery life, but be ready to plug it in more frequently if you are a heavy user. If you’re not, then there’s no reason not to be pleased with battery life.

Software

iPhone 7 ships with iOS 10 and if you’ve already used it on a different iPhone model, you pretty much know what to expect. And truth be told, there’s nothing new you’ll get in terms of software when it comes to the iPhone 7, except for some small tweaks here and there, such as vibrations and a few extra options. These are nice refinements, but you can live without them just fine.

iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus iOS 10 home screen
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus iOS 10 home screen

iOS 10 offers the same feature package on the iPhone 7 as on any other iPhone, but you also get vibrations when changing keyboards, when toggling from ringer to silent, or when opening the notification center. The Home button also comes with three pre-defined vibration levels, which you can configure from settings, but that’s pretty much it.

We’ve found iOS 10 on iPhone 7 to be exactly as fast as on the 6s, and just like we’ve said when reviewing the Plus, there might be a small improvement in terms of browsing speed in Safari.

Few iPhone 7-specific options

On the good side, iOS 10 continues to offer super advanced optimizations and it’s just amazing that Apple finds new ways to squeeze every little drop of performance from an operating system that doesn’t need an insane amount of RAM. Just think that Android devices have already reached 6 GB of RAM, but Apple is offering at least comparable performance figures with 2 GB, and this is impressive, to say the least.

Furthermore, Apple keeps putting extra focus on battery optimizations with every new iOS update and the new version, coupled with a bigger battery on the iPhone 7, provides longer life than on the 6s.

In the end, iOS 10 is a welcome upgrade, but once again, nothing that you couldn’t live without. It’s clearly nice to have, especially given the aforementioned refinements here and there, but we’re not so sure that many 6s owners would agree to pay that much just for having a new phone that does almost the same thing as their old one.

The bottom line

Let us put it this way: if you’re not pleased with the look of the iPhone 7, and the chances are that you’re not given the fact that it brings only little in terms of aesthetics, just try the black version. You won’t believe the difference it makes. It looks fresh, it looks luxurious, and it certainly looks smaller.

On the iPhone 7 Plus, the black color makes such a big difference that you don’t even notice how big it is. Although on paper adding a new color to the iPhone lineup seems to be such an insignificant thing, after holding it in hand for a few minutes you can’t help but wonder how come that Apple didn’t do this earlier.

And the iPhone 7 with its dimensions makes this even more compelling, especially if you’re no longer interested in big phones. We must be honest here: the Plus model is still gigantic and with those huge bezels, it kind of lost the design battle with its rivals. Just look at the Note 7 - it has a bigger display, but it's almost the same size as the iPhone 7 Plus.

But the standard 4.7-inch iPhone is easy to carry around, has a decent battery life, it has the same main camera as on the Plus model, runs iOS 10, and offers all the advantages that you get from the bigger model. You’re not losing anything except for the telephoto lens, which we guarantee you’ll use quite rarely anyway. This upgrade also brings OIS on the iPhone 7, so really, you won’t be losing anything.

The 4.7-inch iPhone continues to be the iPhone, and even though Apple is trying to push more people to the Plus version, the smaller version is just not done yet. And by bringing it in line with the Plus, Apple’s making even harder for new buyers to ignore the 4.7-inch iPhone.

iPhone 7 (42 Images)

iPhone 7 in Black
iPhone 7 boxiPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus boxes
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