Smartphones seem to form the very basis of our lives not that the internet allows us to carry out both small and large tasks remotely with the help of these devices. With new models being launched by old, established companies and newbies looking to make a name for themselves in the smartphone industry, most people find themselves inundated with a flurry of options each time they want to look at the best smartphones for them. The best part about this variety is also that you can get great features at different price points, depending on what suits your individual requirements.
Apple is one of the biggest players in the market, releasing at least two premium smartphones with each passing year. With the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max hitting the market in the recent, the older models manufactured by the company have seen a significant price drop. This means that you can get access to the company’s well-loved technology without having to compromise on your budget. Two popular models that could be worth considering are the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, both of which were launched by Apple in 2016. During the course of this guide, we will be looking at the major differences between both these models!
Design Comparison
In terms of size and design, the company has not deviated much from the older iPhone 6s that was launched a year earlier than the iPhone 7. The iPhone 7 is 138.3 mm in height, 67.1 mm in width and 7.1 mm in terms of thickness. The phone is relatively lightweight, weighing just 138 grams. Built with a sleek aluminum body, the iPhone 7 is available in a range of color options, including Jet Black, Black, Rose Gold, Gold and Silver.
The iPhone 7 Plus is relatively larger than the iPhone 7. It is 158.2 mm in height, 77.9 mm in width and 7.3 mm in thickness. It does weigh a little more, at 188 grams. The iPhone 7 Plus also has an aluminum body and can be bought in Jet Black, Black, Rose Gold, Gold and Silver variants.
The antenna bands that used to awkwardly be seen on the rear of the phone in past models were moved to the top and the bottom. Both the phones have IP67 water and dust proofing as well. Finally, the big change was the removal of the headphone jack, which had been in the works for a while at that point.
Display: iPhone 7 vs. 7 Plus
The display of the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus is relatively smaller than most of the newer models that have been manufactured by the company in the past two years. The iPhone 7 has a 4.7-inch display with 1334 x 750-pixel resolution and a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch. The iPhone 7 Plus has a larger display, measuring 5.5 inches. This larger model has a Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution and a pixel density of 401 pixels per inch.
Other than these differences in display, both the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus gives consumers a Retina HD display and 3D Touch technology that allows you to access different features and functions depending on the force that you use while pressing. If you look at the numbers given, the iPhone 7 Plus may have a crisper look but both models perform along similar lines when it comes to vibrancy and viewing angles.
iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Camera Comparison
The one major difference between the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus is the camera that has been installed in each of the models. The iPhone 7 has been equipped with a single camera, which has a 12-megapixel sensor with an f/1.8 aperture. The front FaceTime HD camera is a 7-megapixel one with an f/2.2 aperture. The camera offers optical image stabilization (OIS), digital zoom up to 5x, True Tone flash and HDR photos.
The iPhone 7 Plus has two 12-megapixel rear cameras, one of which is a wide-angle lens with an f/1.8 aperture and the other is a telephoto lens with an f/2.8 aperture. This dual camera allows you to get digital zoom up to 10 times — as opposed to the five offered by the iPhone 7 — and a two-times optical zoom. The iPhone 7 Plus also has the same front camera specifications. Other features like OIS, Quad-LED True Tone flash, wide color capture, 4K video recording, and others are pretty much the same for both the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus.
Performance
When the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus were launched, they were equipped with the then-top-of-the-line A10 Fusion processor with an embedded M10 motion co-processor. This chipset was a game-changer for Apple, as it took the company’s silicon from 1.8GHz to 2.4GHz. While some of the company’s newer phones are now equipped with the A13 Bionic chipset, the A10 was fast enough to make the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus an absolute pleasure to work with.
Both models ran on iOS 10 when they released and can be updated to the latest software offered by Apple. This means that you may not notice a huge difference between the two phones when it comes to user experience and software features. For example, both the phones have Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, LTE Advanced up to 450 Mbps, as well as support for Apple Pay. The company has also used the second-generation of the Touch ID fingerprint sensor within the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus’ Home buttons.
Finally, both phones are made using aluminum exteriors and rounded sides for a less harsh look. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are both splash resistant, water-resistant and dust resistant (IP67), but it is important to note that they aren’t waterproof.
Battery Life and Charging
The iPhone 7 is smaller in size than the iPhone 7 Plus, and consequently, it also has a smaller battery capacity than its larger counterpart. For example, if you look at the 3G talk time offered by both the phones, the iPhone 7 Plus’ 21 hours of talk time is significantly more than the iPhone 7’s 14 hours. This is the direct result of the 7 Plus’ larger size and, hence, larger battery.
In terms of internet usage — both 3G and 4G/LTE — the iPhone 7 will give you 12 hours compared to the 13 offered by the iPhone 7 Plus. The iPhone 7 has a battery life of 14 hours when it comes to internet usage on Wi-Fi, as opposed to 15 hours for the 7 Plus, and audio playback of 40 hours in comparison to the 60 hours offered by the iPhone 7 Plus.
The standby time for the iPhone 7 Plus is 16 days, whereas the iPhone 7 will only give you 10 days of standby time.
Storage
In the past few years, Apple has chosen to keep its minimum storage variants at 64 GB, but the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus were launched before this change was brought in. For this reason, you can get both these models in three different size variants — the smallest capacity, 32 GB variant, the middle capacity, 128 GB variant, as well as the 256 GB variant, which is the largest for both the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus.
One option that is very clearly missing from this roster is the 64 GB storage capacity variant, which has since become the lowest storage norm for the company’s smartphones.
Price
At a time when the newer Apple smartphones are crossing the $1,000 threshold in terms of pricing, there are times when you seek out the more affordable options that get you access to the company’s cutting edge technology and fantastic user experience without burning a hold in your pocket. While you will not be able to get the iPhone 7 or the iPhone 7 Plus on the official Apple website anymore, there are a number of authorized resellers across the country that will allow you to get your hands on these models at a fraction of the price that the newer iPhone models will cost you. However, you must keep in mind that the iPhone 7 Plus will be more expensive than the iPhone 7 in any case.
Finally, the general consensus that both the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus are quite similar in terms of most specifications. There are, however, some significant differences, for example, the actual size, dual camera and battery performance. While some of these may cause you to gravitate towards one more than the other, the final decision needs to be based on your individual requirements. If a better camera and Portrait Mode is an absolute necessity for you, you may want to try the more expensive iPhone 7 Plus, but those of you who prefer smaller sizes and good savings may be pulled towards the iPhone 7. In other aspects, the phones are almost identical.
