Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
The iPhone 7 Plus has plenty to be proud of about – sealing , a twin - lens photographic camera , a specs bump , two-channel audio , a customisable Home button – but is there anything here to get passionate about ? You might want the newfangled 8 Plus or X , but the 7 Plus still has a smart design and an impressive feature article set and user experience ; the Portrait Mode is rather lovely , too . But the cost is still steep . Unless you ’re particularly in love with big screens or the very in style in camera features , the iPhone 7 may be a better - value alternative .
The iPhone 7 Plus features improved specs over theiPhone 6s Plus , include a quicker - than - ever A10 Fusion processor Saratoga chip and a twin - lense camera , along with two new coloring material options ( both black – do n’t worry , we ’ll explain ) and IP67 sealing . Our iPhone 7 Plus review will help you adjudicate if Apple ’s now superseded phablet is for you . Thanks toMobileFunfor bestow us the matte black iPhone 7 Plus we ’ve been using for this review .
iPhone history
This iPhone has been replaced with a new role model . come up tie-in below to our critical review of all iPhone models , including the up-to-the-minute generation.iPhone 16is expected to set up in September 2024 ( seewhen is the best time to purchase a new iPhone ) , whileiPhone SE ( 4th generation)andiPhone 17are probable to come out in 2025 . rule out aboutApple ’s September event detailsandhow to keep an eye on the Apple September case live stream ; or for other Apple products , get wind more about all thenew Apple products come this yearandwhen is the next Apple event . You might also like ouriPhone buying usher , best iPhone dealsandcomparison of every iPhone that is available to bribe today .
UK price
With the iPhone 6S and SE now discontinued , the iPhone 7 is now the sure-enough smartphone that Apple still sells . The 2018 framework are theiPhone XS , XS MaxandXR .
The 7 Plus which we ’re front at here now begin at£569/$569and that will get you 32 GB of storage . If you require 128 GB then it’s£669/$669 . Just stick out in mind that you’re able to get theiPhone 8 Plusin 64 GB for £ 699/$699 .
you’re able to buy it throughApple ’s on-line store .
Design & build quality
Apple traditionally postdate a ‘ tick tock ’ update cycle with its iPhones : a major , full - issue update with a visible strong-arm redesign ( iPhone 4 , iPhone 5 , iPhone 6 ) fall out by a minor , S - branded update that take care close to or exactly the same as its predecessor ( iPhone 4s , iPhone 5c/5s , iPhone 6s ) . So after the relatively unexciting update last class we were expecting and hoping for a essentially different intent .
In fact , the iPhone 7 Plus is largely the same in overall purpose to the iPhone 6 Plus and 6s Plus before it : the dimensions are almost identical to the 6s Plus . And the camera still sticks out at the back , which is mildly rile .
Try place the iPhone 7 Plus face - up on a table and it wo n’t lie in down vapid : the back lens will shore it up very slightly . It ’s particularly galling given that the iPhone SE , released back in fountain 2016 , has a innovation in which the camera is entirely flush . Still , most of us will keep the iPhone cased ( with one of thebest iPhone 7 Plus cases ) , which removes the issue entirely . And even if this design has been around for a while now , it remains very smart and attractive .
There are a couple of deviation from the previous generation . The iPhone 6s ’s seeable antenna bands have been removed , which produces a clean , more minimalist invention . And more significantly , the phone port is also go , which has a similar aesthetic result but is totally more controversial .
show next : iPhone 7 vs iPhone 6s|iPhone 7 vs iPhone 7 Plus
Colour options
The iPhone 7 Plus is available in seven coloring material , six at launch . ash grey , gold and Rose Gold are the same as we acquire on the previous multiplication , but Space Grey has been ditched and replaced by two different black finishes , one in flatness ( just call pitch-black ) and the other in burnish ( Jet Black ) .
The lusterlessness - smutty iPhone 7 Plus ( just called “ black ” ) strikes us as pleasantly crushed - key , although some may recover it dull . The extremely glossy Jet fatal version is more apparently lovely to attend at , but it picks up fingerprints like nobody ’s patronage and seems to be scratch - prostrate , too .
Then , in March 2017,Apple launched a special edition red versionof the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in partnership with AIDS / HIV group ( Product ) RED , and despite ( Product ) RED Apple Watch band and iPods being bring out in the past , it ’s the first time the company has released a modified variation red iPhone .
The matte violent finish is absolutely sensational as it shimmers in the visible radiation , and is easily one of the good looking iPhones ever released . desire us when we say that even though it looks swell in picture , it appear phenomenal in real sprightliness and could be our best-loved colouring optionever .
As with everything Apple , it ’s all about the diminished touches : the mirror - finis silvern logo on the back of the red smartphone matches the flange of the Lightning port and Touch ID band on the front of the smartphone .
Unfortunately it is no longer on sales event ! But you might be capable to find one 2d - mitt .
Headphone port
The iPhone 7 Plus ( like the iPhone 7 ) has n’t got a 3.5 mm headphone jack . You ’ll need to either utilise Lightning headphones ( a brace of Lightning - based EarPods are included with the earpiece ) , go wireless , or utilise an adaptor .
It got a certain amount of applause at the launch consequence ( particularly when Apple bravely claim that the move demonstrated “ braveness ” ) , but in the real world this has not proved to be a popular proclamation . People already own headphones , in most cases based on the 3.5 mm criterion , and do n’t much like the estimation of having to buy a new set to conform to the iPhone 7 handsets . Apple fan drive so disgruntled about the phone remotion out front of the launching that apetitionwas specify up to ask Apple to reconsider . More than 300,000 masses ratify .
But the headphone move being leaked forward of the launching rather delineate the sting of the online indignation , and I would say that most citizenry have become relatively sanguine about the whole thing . In part this is because of Apple ’s announcement that a Lightning - to - mini phono adaptor will be bundled with iPhone 7 handsets , and cost just £ 9 even if you fall behind it .
Sure , the idea of lugging around an adaptor if you need to listen to your exist headphones is pestiferous , but you could always apply the novel EarPods and keep your nice audiophile cans for home plate use with the adaptor . It feel like a retrograde step , or at least a premature one , but the inconvenience broker just does n’t feel like that much of a bad deal now .
Nevertheless , now we lie with there is n’t a earphone port on the iPhone 7 Plus , there ’s give-up the ghost to be a lot of demand for three things : Lightning headphones , Bluetooth headphones(such as theAirPods ) , andBluetooth Speaker .
Read next : iPhone 7 vs Samsung Galaxy S7|iPhone 7 Plus vs Sony Xperia XZ Premium
Home button
Piper Jaffrey psychoanalyst Gene Munster suggest ahead of the launch that the iPhone 7 handsets would n’t have a Home clit , and that the Touch ID sensor would be built into the screen itself . That has n’t happened . But Applehassubstantially redesigned the Home release .
Apple has kept the Home button but modify it , changing the button from a moving to a non - moving part , equipping it rather with the haptic technology from the MacBook ’s Force Touch trackpad . In other words , it ‘ buzzes ’ when you apply insistency to assume a downward press , while in literal fact not moving at all . ( For more on the tactual Force Touch trackpad , read13 ways to use Force Touch on the MacBook . )
This felt leftover at first , and on the whole is n’t as good a deception as the MacBook ’s Force Touch flick . This feel different to the old Home button and there ’s no acquire away from that fact . But you get used to it very quickly . It ’s different , but good in its own way . ( Also , we recommend using the most subtle issue - one setting for the Home push ’s haptic feedback , which seems the most natural to us . Read : How to customize the iPhone 7 Home button . )
Waterproofing
As predicted ahead of the launch , the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are formally more waterproof than any previous iPhones – although Apple is studiously using the phrase ‘ water - resistant ’ instead .
The iPhone 7 handset are range IP67 for solid and fluid trespass auspices .
Screen
The iPhone 7 Plus has a very similar CRT screen to the iPhone 6s Plus : it ’s the same 5.5 - column inch phablet form factor that ’s been a popular option for the 6 Plus and 6s Plus , with the same declaration ( 1920 x 1080 ) and pixel density ( 401 pixels per inch ): the high-pitched of any Apple product . And while rival manufacturer have gone considerably high still – Samsung ’s Galaxy S8has an staggering 570ppi – it ’s debatable whether the human eye is equal to of getting much from density above 400ppi . At this distributor point it ’s about specification boasting more than appreciable differences in the user experience .
We rule it a shade too large for our tastes ( like the 6s Plus , it stretches the seams of our slim - set pant pockets … ) , but Apple has at least addressed potential problems using such a big - screen equipment one - handed with a feature called Reachability , which compresses the blind downwards when you twofold - water faucet the Home button . ( That ’s not a raw feature , mind : it was announced along with the iPhone 6 Plus . ) Interface touches like that are key to Apple ’s collection . ( See:7 summit for using the iPhone 6 Plus with minuscule hands . )
There are a couple of enhancement to the screen for this genesis . It ’s 25 per centum brighter , Apple claim ( we ’ve not been drown by this in drill , although it does seem a petty open for viewing in sunlight ) , and has a wider coloring gamut .
Camera
As expected , the iPhone 7 Plus follow with a treble - lens camera apparatus on the back ( there is no such upgrade for the iPhone 7 ) .
This broadly fits with Apple ’s past behaviour , since the company more often than not likes to set apart its top - of - the - line phone with at least one feature that is n’t usable on any other – and it ’s often something in the photographic line , such as optical image stabilisation . But this is the first clip a Plus - stigmatize iPhone has had such a blazing physical advantage over its minor cousin .
The treble - lens camera pop the question a identification number of likely benefits , many of which will come forth across the derive calendar month as app developers and Apple itself do up with new software package features . The most important are optical rapid growth up to 2x and Portrait Mode , an arty photo musical mode added in the iOS 10.1 update a month after the iPhone 7 Plus ’s launch .
We ’re also trust for post - shot refocusing – if you get a picture slightly off , it ’s potential with some dual - lens cameras to alter the centering later using the combined information from both lenses – but this looks unlikely . However , we ’re certain that app developers will hail up with all form of clever things to do with this computer hardware .
The iPhone 7 Plus features two different lenses , one of them a telephoto ; this is what enables the 7 Plus to offer an opthalmic rapid growth by switch from one genus Lens to the other . It also has 10x digital rapid growth , liken to the 5x digital zoom on the iPhone 7 and on the old generation . We search the capabilities of the optical zoom in the next section .
Read next : iPhone photo tips
Camera testing
We ’ve spent a mountain of time with the iPhone 7 Plus ’s tv camera , and while not every shot has get out perfectly – photos learn in rough galvanizing light indoors sometimes seem to have an almost ‘ paint ’ polish , as if they ’ve been put through a retro filter – it ’s generally performed impressively . Colours are rich , item is stiff , and most of the time the shutter is faster than we ’re used to .
Click to flesh out – but be warned it ’s a elephantine file !
have ’s talk about the soar for a moment . Thanks to that dual - lens setup , the iPhone 7 Plus is supposed to extend optical rapid climb up to 2x , with digital rapid growth submit over after that point . You ’ll likely know that digital rapid climb is n’t up to much : essentially the earpiece is cropping into the photograph and using software to assume the additional point that ’s required , so photos use up with digital zoom will be that much noisier and more pixellated than a photo accept at normal 1x ‘ magnification ’ . ocular zoom , attain through use of the glassware , should have no such problem .
It does n’t quite form out that way of life – some reviewers have speculated that in fact some component of digital zoom is combined with optical rapid climb before you get through 2x enlargement – but the effect is perceptibly better than the 2x zoom on an iPhone 6s Plus .
Here ’s a dig take with the iPhone 7 Plus at 2x zoom . chatter to surge in ( be warn that it ’s a very large image file ) .
And here ’s roughly the same shot achieved by move nearer to the topic and shooting at 1x . Again , fall into place to elaborate .
Now countenance ’s repeat the barb with an iPhone 6s Plus . At 2x zoom :
And at 1x zoom , displace closer to the content :
We can get a better comparison of how well the two phones handle the zoom by cropping in tightly to the subject ’s face . Here we do that for the iPhone 7 Plus :
And here ’s a comparability of the item in the iPhone 6s Plus ’s injection :
At 2x zoom the iPhone 7 Plus ’s gibe is a flake messier and we ’re starting to see some pixelation around the subject ’s pinna and neckline . But it generally contain up . The iPhone 6s Plus struggled much more at 2x zoom – although remember that this is atight craw and the loss of definition wo n’t be this noticeable in most case .
Portrait mode
On 24 October 2016 , Apple unloose iOS 10.1 , which added Portrait Mode to the iPhone 7 Plus ’s repertoire of skill . It ’s relatively early days , and the feature article is still officially in beta examination , but we ’re loving Portrait Mode so far .
Unlike Live Photos , say , which is toggled on or off at the top of the screen and applied to the stock Photo format ( it can not be applied to solid shots , for some reason ) , Portrait Mode is an entirely new photograph data format access via the swipe fare along the bottom of the Camera port . In the iPhone 7 Plus this menu now comprises , from left to right , Time - Lapse , Slo - Mo , Video , Photo , Portrait , Square and Pano .
When you take a shot in Portrait Mode the iPhone also keeps a copy of the figure of speech take conventionally – by default , at any charge per unit . you’re able to tell the telephone not to bother in setting , but it ’s probably deserving keeping on in case the earphone gets the focus ‘ wrong ’ , which has come about to us on several occasions . This also earmark us to easily liken the essence of Portrait Mode .
( For tips on using Portrait Mode more efficaciously , seeHow to use Portrait Mode on the iPhone 7 Plus . )
By mimic the‘bokeh’effect you frequently see when photographers work with DSLR cameras – blurring the background and move over greater prominence to the matter – Portrait Mode produce a more dramatic and attractive shot . Not every delineation you take with Portrait Mode will exploit out this nicely , however : it ’s of import to get the subject at the right distance from the tv camera , with a background a good aloofness further away , and upright lighting is substantive . But Portrait Mode offers tip on set thing up by rights .
We ’ve establish that Portrait Mode works quite well when take picture of people , and we think that this is in part due to the facial recognition capabilities of the smartphone . The tv camera then ‘ knows ’ where the main direction of the shot should be , and will adapt the bokeh issue consequently and usually with telling results .
However , the results become a bit more reach - and - miss when it comes to objects , especially if the fore- and scope have similar patterns / colour . We ’ve have issues chiefly to do with direction , as the effect will sometimes blur part of the foreground image call up it ’s a part of the background and frailty - versa . Lighting is also extremely authoritative , as the telephotograph lens used has a smaller aperture than the broad - angle lens it ’s partner off with , and thus permit in much less short . If idealistic ignition conditions are n’t converge , users will likely get portrait photos that look grainy and out - of - focus .
To read more about Portrait Mode , check out the mode pullulate our workfellow put together using the novel lineament : iPhone 7 Plus vs DSLR picture gunplay . you’re able to see how this went in the following video :
Battery life
Thanks to its larger chassis , the iPhone 6s Plus and the 6 Plus before it were both able to contract in great - capacity battery units than their non - Plus equivalents – and these larger batteries were able to more than compensate for the extra major power prerequisite of a larger screen with far more pixels , ensue in higher assault and battery life than any other iPhones . The iPhone half a dozen Plus is right for about 12 hours of unplugged World Wide Web surfing , compared to roughly 10 hours with the iPhone 6s .
The iPhone 7 Plus has a great barrage life than the 6s Plus ( Apple claims that for the average user , it ’ll last an extra hour between charges ) , but the iPhone 7 has gain an norm of two hours – which mean the gap between the criterion and Plus exemplar is narrower than in the previous . We screen these claims below .
Read next : How to better iPhone battery lifespan
Battery testing
We test the iPhone 7 Plus ’s battery to exhaustion using the battery - test constituent of GeekBench 3 ( a test which has been removed fromGeekBench 4 ) . It hold up 10 hours , 8 instant and 20 seconds . That ’s a score of 6083 .
We tested our year - old iPhone 6s Plus at the same time , and it managed only 7:03:30 , a score of 4235 – although you should bear in mind that a year ’s heavy utilization will don down a battery unit of measurement and ensue in less performance . A comparison between two box - fresh model would be tight .
The GeekBench 3 battery psychometric test is especially demand and you ’re likely to find that your phone lasts substantially longer between charges than the above figure .
Processor
The iPhone 6s Plus ( and the iPhone 6s , for that subject ) arrive with a proprietary - intention A9 C.P.U. chip with an M9 motion co - processor . It does n’t take a genius to predict that the iPhone 7 Plus would therefore admit an A10 – but Apple has slightly sidestepped expectations by brand it the A10 Fusion .
The business firm says to have a bun in the oven around 40 per centum higher processing hurrying than with the iPhone 6s Plus ’s A9 , and about twice the execution of the A8 . But obviously we decide to see for ourselves .
GeekBench 4 processing speed scores
Here ’s how the iPhone 7 Plus compares to the iPhone 6s Plus in the GeekBench 4 speed - examination suite . high scores are respectable .
JetStream 1.1 JavaScript benchmark scores
Here ’s how the iPhone 7 Plus fuck off in when we used the JetStream JavaScript bench mark . Again , higher scores are better .
GFXBench OpenGL graphics scores
We tested out the iPhone 7 Plus ’s art capabilities in the GFXBench OpenGL suite . Here ’s how it got on – and the scores for the 6s Plus , for compare .
iPhone 6s Plus :
Manhattan onscreen : 39.9fpsManhattan offscreen : 36.2fpsT - Rex onscreen : 57.2fpsT - Rex offscreen : 67.8fps
iPhone 7 Plus :
Manhattan onscreen : 43.5fpsManhattan offscreen : 41.1fpsT - Rex onscreen : 57.8fpsT - Rex offscreen : 83.4fps
RAM
It ’s now been confirmed byiFixit ’s teardownthat the iPhone 7 Plus has 3 GB of RAM , which ought to give it an additional speed advantage over the iPhone 6s Plus , which had 2 GB .
The iPhone 7 , meanwhile , has only 2 GB . It ’s understood that the extra random access memory for the Plus modeling has been include to handle the demands of collate / combining the output of each can - face camera lens of the eye and father a last simulacrum with the good elements of each .
