Apple iPhone 7 Plus review: Hail to the king, baby!

12 October 2016
The iPhone 7 Plus hardly needs an introduction. Apple's preciousnesses always get the proper attention no matter what the company changed - just one pin or the whole thing. Controversy has always been part of Apple's knowhow and the polarized opinions have always tipped the odds in the iPhone's favor.

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  • S
  • Savor
  • PSw
  • 13 Oct 2016

AnonD-88295, 13 Oct 2016The iPhone Plus is certainly an excellent phone. But I fail... moreApple is the king with no clothes on. The false king.

The only thing iPhones are class-leading at is the SoC, software optimization, and speed tests. The A9 chip from a year ago can still defeat many Android flagships of this year. So Apple is at least one year ahead of Samsung and Qualcomm with SoC. This area is where Apple clearly is the king at but that's it.

Apple lost to design vs Samsung and perhaps Huawei too. The ceramic white Huawei P9 Plus is the best-looking device of 2016 followed by the Note7 and S7 edge.

Apple lost to Samsung with photography. Samsung's ISOCELL is not only fast, thinner, but destroys iPhones in low light.

Apple lost to Samsung in battery life and a few Huawei models like the Mate series.

Apple doesn't have the best displays anymore. How can Apple charge $700+ for an iPhone 7 with only a 750p display? And the 326ppi is the same from the iPhone 4 from SIX YEARS AGO!

iOS v Android during a speed test is like a horse only needing to carry 100 lbs vs one packing 130 lbs. Of course the one with less to carry can get to the finish line first. I admit, iPhones and iOS are the best single-core, single-task OS there is. But for everything smoothness and better RAM management, you are still stuck with alot of restrictions like iTunes to act as your media file manager!

And value, Apple loses to several Chinese OEMs. The same Chinese people who assemble iPhones.

King of SoC, RAM management, Planned Obsolescence (via future software updates), and Overratedness.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • 8ns
    • 13 Oct 2016

    Force Majeure, 13 Oct 201675 h endurance with a huge battery? Are you freaking kiddin... moreIt should be better yes.But look to its performance and you'll see why.
    Phones that you list are 50% slower (redmi isnt even in the same sentence),they had bigger batteries.... and for what?

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      • AnonD-88295
      • PDQ
      • 13 Oct 2016

      The iPhone Plus is certainly an excellent phone. But I fail to see what makes it a king?
      - King of Bezel? Most probably with Pixel phones comes in second.
      - King of Performance? Undisputable. The A10 Fusion +IOS 10 combination is a beast.
      King of Display? King of LCD Display is more like it. The S7/S7 Edge has better display IMO with deeper black, brightness, resolution and flexibility (many modes)
      - King of Battery Life? Nope. With the endurance of 75 H, the Exynos S7 Edge (98H) and Snapdragon S7 Edge (87H) have better battery life.
      - King of Camera? I think it's comparabale with S7/Edge. The Galaxies even won many blind tests compared to the iPhone 7 still camera photos. S7/Edge autofocus is industry leading with iPhone 7's stabilitzation leading the industry. The telephoto makes it more versatile but with degraded photo quality and unusable in low light.
      One thing for sure, the iPhone 7 Plus is the King of IOS devices.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • ty@
        • 13 Oct 2016

        Anonymous, 12 Oct 2016- Firefox for Android and Dolphin both still supports Adobe... moreAre you talking about V20 ?

          if my Pixel XL doesn't live up to the hype, I'll be getting one of these. Samsung has lost me on the Note7

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • uJD
            • 13 Oct 2016

            subar, 12 Oct 2016powerful what? Apple can't even design CPU, they're using s... moreThose are patent trolls.. They stole the patents kept it and did nothing, just suing to get money.

            Samsung in the other hand, outright copies others, even when its patented, in-use and currently selling popular. i.e. vacuum cleaners / phones / tablets etc.

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              • AnonD-503868
              • J%6
              • 13 Oct 2016

              The ISO 12233 photography benchmarks tell a different story. The sensors on the iPhone 7 Plus, S7 Edge (and others) are like japanese engines. They're efficient, light and small, but can't argue with the big blocks of smartphone photography.

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                • AnonD-582357
                • th7
                • 13 Oct 2016

                subar, 12 Oct 2016powerful what? Apple can't even design CPU, they're using s... moreHahahaha you angry brah? Don't be...see it for yourself how fast iPhone is compare to your lagdroids, will you?

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • X{3
                  • 13 Oct 2016

                  The king GSMArena said.

                    • S
                    • Savor
                    • PSw
                    • 13 Oct 2016

                    Techradar was generally correct when they battery tested iPhone 7 series with previous iPhone models and other Android phones. The S7 edge still tops it for video playback and streaming among all current flagships followed closely by the now defunct Note7.

                    Samsung has had terrific optimization with video playback in many of their phones being tested at 15h or more and with the help of AMOLED when watching movies with top and bottom black bars since they can keep the nits higher, and it would affect too much of darker scenes.

                    When it comes to both web browsing and video playback, Samsung tops Sony these days for highest SOT. I like the iPhone SE, 7, and 7 Plus. The SE offers the best value since A9 is still a powerhouse. The 7 is the perfect middle ground for size. 7 Plus is the better 7. Just remember PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE is also where Apple excels.

                    Apple newbies who are Android transplants will first love their very first iPhone. They love opening the box. For awhile, they will be smitten with anything Apple. A couple years down the road, you will start hating it. You need to jump through hoops with Apple's lame restrictions. I mean seriously, why is it so hard to delete photos from an album? Why do I need to delete it from the computer and then sync it to iTunes again?

                    You will be scratching your head at simple things you can't do with an iOS device like drag and drop. At least Macs do have a file manager and a SD storage slot. Better to deal with MacBooks than useless media devices like iPads and iPhones. Macs are a more versatile with drag and drop. While iOS is a poor man's Mac OSX version for Apple to have you stuck into their overrated ecosystem which causes a halo effect.

                    Mac is better than Windows except in gaming. Android is better than iOS except in gaming. I think iOS and having to sync to iTunes to move files around is a joke.

                      • S
                      • Savor
                      • PSw
                      • 13 Oct 2016

                      [deleted post]- Ugly design used thrice
                      - Inferior display still only at 1080p
                      - Inferior cameras (front cam angle is too close)
                      - Doesn't top at battery life
                      - Non removable battery and no microSD slot
                      - Future software updates that destroys battery life
                      - No headphone jack (eliminating it when it wasn't needed)
                      - Android > iOS (poor man's Mac OSX with no file manager)

                      Sure, boss. Whatever reassurance you need to keep yourself in denial and blinded by Apple's planned obsolescence.

                        • D
                        • AnonD-11127
                        • mxt
                        • 13 Oct 2016

                        Anonymous, 13 Oct 2016Read the AN review about the display to see how the iphone ... moreI addressed every statement that you made. I was expecting the same in return. Anyway, lets go at it again:

                        "Read the AN review about the display to see how the iphone display is far more accurate than any Samsung display and how Apple INDIVIDUALLY calibrates the display of each of the devices it makes. That is attention to detail you will never get from any Android OEM"

                        I agreed to you on the accuracy front. However, DisplayMate disagrees with you.
                        http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/iphone-7-display-sets-performance-record-but-it-s-still-not-the-best-1328967

                        "Again about SD cards, people use the cloud to store pics and videos for FREE. Why pay for something that is slow and inconvenient?"

                        Samsung gives you 100GB of OneDrive cloud storage. You need SD card when you are disconnected form the internet or in an area of spotty coverage. Unless you are a person who sits at home all the time, you will come across such a scenario. Moreover, not all countries have high speed Wi-Fi and 4G everywhere.

                        "Apple Care+ lets to get worldwide support. Tried it myself and numerous people have posted their experiences online. Go to an Apple store and ask yourself."

                        Samsung, for example has international warranty. http://www.samsung.com/sec/support/guarantee/InternationalWarranty.html
                        I believe other companies too have it.

                        Now let's look at what iCare+ is

                        "AppleCare+ for iPhone is an insurance product that provides up to two years of expert telephone technical support and hardware coverage, including up to two incidents of accidental damage, each subject to an excess fee of £25 for screen damage, or £79 for any other damage." Source: http://www.apple.com/uk/support/products/iphone.html

                        This is an additional service that has to be separately paid for and costs an additional fee to perform repairs. You get what you pay for.


                        "Iphone 6s video quality is far superior to S7, note7 and other Android OEMs - Source - AN iphone 6s/7 review"

                        Again, I addressed this claim in my previous comment. Read it again.

                        "Medical research done by Apple and iphone is one google search away. Go for it."

                        That wasn't my concern. You claimed that they didn't use user data for Ads. They may be giving out user data for medical research. How sure are you that the data is not used for any other purpose? All you can do is take their word for it.

                        On a related note, Samsung has their medical facility which conducts medical research and directly treats people too.
                        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Medical_Center

                        "Some other points, S7 FP scanner scratches from day to day use as reported by pocket now. Note 7 too. This is called cheap build quality. iPhone wont because its sapphire."

                        However, the home button on the iPhone 7 is unusable with gloves on. Even the time and notifications can't be checked by clicking on it if you have your gloves on.
                        I am not saying Samsung is great here, just pointing out the design flaw with Apple.

                        "Again, There is a reason iPhone owns the market. It is the best phone in the world."

                        Ad populum

                          • F
                          • Force Majeure
                          • m}J
                          • 13 Oct 2016

                          75 h endurance with a huge battery? Are you freaking kidding me?! €1000 for a measly 75h average rating???? Isn't apple supposed to be so efficient? That why they have tiny 2011-type 1800 mAh batteries in their new devices? King of shit more likely. I though this one was going to have 90-110 h easily, like S6 Active or Redmi 3S, or Lenovo P2 for €200. Lol Fapple.

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                            • AnonD-442781
                            • H5W
                            • 13 Oct 2016

                            Anonymous, 13 Oct 2016Samsung amoled was the most accurate mobile display. Th... moreYou obviously haven't read anandtech's review.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • 6ug
                              • 13 Oct 2016

                              AnonD-442781, 13 Oct 2016Samsung amoled was the most accurate mobile display. But wi... moreSamsung amoled was the most accurate mobile display.

                              There is actual proof. With numbers and research by highly respected engineers at Anand tech that say the samsung displays are over saturated garbage yet you still want to argue lol.

                              This is same as when Note 7 fanboys argue that it doesnt lag or stutter when there is PROOF on XDA that it does.

                              I swear fanboys have no capability to think.

                                • s
                                • steve
                                • K3e
                                • 13 Oct 2016

                                all hail the king!

                                  • D
                                  • AnonD-442781
                                  • H5W
                                  • 13 Oct 2016

                                  Anonymous, 13 Oct 2016Also Samsung displays are pure garbage. over saturated cart... moreSamsung amoled was the most accurate mobile display. But with the iPhone 7 Apple caught up in terms of accuracy. Pentile matrix isn't as bad as you make it sound, which you would know if you understood the anatomy of human eyes. So it is you who doesn't understand.

                                    • D
                                    • AnonD-402029
                                    • KRV
                                    • 13 Oct 2016

                                    LG superfan, 12 Oct 2016Can someone please explain the telephoto camera what are it... moretelephoto = zoom

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                                      • AnonD-402029
                                      • KRV
                                      • 13 Oct 2016

                                      AnonD-292864, 12 Oct 2016I will always remember these quotes. "You are holding it... morei dont think most people will simply just buy a new microsd when their current equipped microsd is full..no, just no..in perfect world, yes people will have thousands of microsd to swap it, but in real world, people just simply move the things to pc or cloud or somewhere else, but not buying new microsd

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • 6ug
                                        • 13 Oct 2016

                                        AnonD-11127, 13 Oct 2016I would be grateful if you could point the flaws in my stat... moreAlso Samsung displays are pure garbage. over saturated cartoon like colors and Pentile matrix? Cheap technology made to fool fanboys who know nothing of how it affects resolution. They just think more saturation = better.

                                        iPhone display on the other hand has full RGB stripe and most accurate colors. Samsung is not even close to being as good.

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