Apple iPhone 7 Plus review: Plans | Pricing | Specs

Where to buy

If you believe the Apple hype, every new generation of iPhone is magical, wonderful and revolutionary. After around 10 generations (depending on how you count the iPhone SE), we’re not so sure that every single one of those words still applies, but there’s little doubting the general frenzy that surrounds a new iPhone launch. With the iPhone 7, Apple has applied some new techniques and technology to the iPhone line to bring it more into line with its Android competitors and, in some cases, leap over them.

The A10 Fusion chip that powers the iPhone 7 Plus is the biggest new improvement under the hood of the phone, alongside improved dual-camera optics exclusive to the larger iPhone. The iPhone 7 is broadly similar in specifications, save for only having the single wide 12MP camera at the rear (and the smaller screen, of course).

Design

• The addition of water resistance and higher storage capacities are much appreciated
• The loss of the headphone jack, however, is not

• Read more on the iPhone 7 Plus design

  The Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus, available only in the 128GB and 256GB sizes, is most definitely eye catching if you’re after something that mixes both conservative and extroverted in a phone body. The matte black finish is also nice, albeit essentially appearing as a darker tone version of the old "Space Grey" iPhones.

  The addition of water resistance is not a new thing for smartphones, with numerous handsets from Sony, Samsung and Alcatel featuring it of late. Still, it's a first for Apple. The iPhone 7 Plus can now take an accidental dunking and it should still survive. Apple advises that it’s IP67 rated for water resistance, but it’s also worth noting that the warranty explicitly excludes internal water damage. In other words, it should survive an accidental immersion, but don’t go scuba diving with it because Apple won’t support you if you do.

  Similar to the MacBook Pro and MacBook touchpads, there’s no "home button" on the iPhone 7 Plus to speak of. Instead it has a small reactive feedback engine underneath where you’d think the button is that vibrates when tapped to give the sensation of a button. This should be considerably more durable than the old home button, but the inclusion of the engine also opens up other force feedback possibilities for phone events and media such as games.

  Apple held onto the 16GB entry level storage specification for iPhones for way too long, especially considering that iPhones don’t easily allow for expandable storage. Thankfully the entry level for the 7 series iPhones is a more acceptable 32GB, all the way up to 256GB for those who want storage on tap.

  One of the biggest changes with the iPhone 7 Plus is not what's been added, but what's been taken away: the headphone jack. Yes, Apple calls it "courageous", and we can see from teardowns of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus that it was in a bit of a bind when it came to packing in batteries, camera and the new taptic engine into the iPhone 7 Plus’ frame.

  Still, it’s a definite nuisance unless you’re already heavily into the Bluetooth audio space, because you’re going to need an adaptor for every pair of headphones you want to use, and you’ll need to remember the adaptor every single time. Bluetooth has some elegance for connectivity, but it can also have audio quality, connection and power issues.

  If we had one more wish, it would be for Apple to focus on slimming down the considerable footprint of the iPhone 7 Plus. The iPhone 7 Plus's 5.5 inch display makes it functionally identical to the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. However, hold both together and you’re immediately struck by how much more hand space the iPhone 7 Plus takes up. This makes it less comfortable in the hand, especially if you have small hands to start with. We had the same issue with the iPhone 6s Plus, but it appears Apple’s not willing to let go of that larger bezel around the screen just yet.

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Camera

• Adding a dual-lens camera greatly increases the capabilities of the iPhone 7 Plus
• Automatic image configuration allows photographers of all skill levels to take high-quality shots

• Read more on the iPhone 7 Plus camera

  2016 was been a year of great camera optics in smartphones, so the iPhone 7 Plus had its work cut out to impress us. We pitted it against the already great Galaxy S7 Edge’s camera in a straight shootout, and the iPhone 7 Plus either held its own or slightly edged out the S7 Edge in low light and general shooting scenarios. Like the Huawei P9 and LG G5, it features a dual camera array in its body, which does give it something of a bulge at the back.

  What it does with it is reasonably clever, because it offers either the standard wide lens (also found in the iPhone 7) or a 2x optical zoom lens for picture taking. Unlike the LG G5, the switch between lenses is quite rapid, so it’s actually feasible to switch to a zoom shot for quick opportunities. Shots taken are analysed by the A10 Fusion processor during capture for best effect, and it really does show in the end results most of the time. Naturally, you can still take bad and wobbly shots with the iPhone 7 Plus as you can with any camera, but even novices will be able to take some quite impressive snaps with it too.

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Performance

• Top-of-the-line performance makes the iPhone 7 Plus the go-to choice for raw power
• The two-tier design of the A10 Fusion processor allows for more power efficiency when performing simple tasks

• Read more on the iPhone 7 Plus performance

  Apple always talks up how much better its new generation of processors are, but with the A10 Fusion, they’ve got a serious point. The A10 uses what’s effectively a dual, dual-core approach, with two power efficient cores for lower intensity tasks and two higher capacity cores for when you’re pushing the iPhone to its limits.

  The end result is a phone that’s really very powerful indeed for day to day use, even with more processor heavy tasks such as high intensity mobile gaming. It’s an approach that pays off in raw benchmark terms as well. Benchmarks never tell the full story of a phone’s performance, but they can be a useful guideline for phone comparison. Apple’s iPhones have lagged a little behind such contemporaries such as Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy Note 7 or Huawei’s P9, but the A10 Fusion sees the iPhone 7 Plus handily leap to the top of the benchmark charts.

  Here’s how it compares using Geekbench 4’s CPU tests against a range of contemporary handsets.

  Handset	Geekbench 4 CPU Single Core (higher is better)	Geekbench 4 CPU Multi Core (higher is better)
  Apple iPhone 7 Plus	3374	5649
  Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	1359	5333
  Samsung Galaxy S7	1378	4718
  Apple iPhone SE	2449	4171
  Apple iPhone 6s	2465	4052
  Google Nexus 6P	1293	3594
  Sony Xperia X	1122	2626

  The A10 is a pretty handy little processor when it comes to games performance as well, taking on and beating all comers in 3DMark’s Ice Storm Unlimited test:

  Handset	3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Result
  Apple iPhone 7 Plus	37956
  LG G5	29597
  Apple iPhone SE	29276
  Samsung Galaxy S7	28903
  Samsung Note7	28646
  Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	28402
  Apple iPhone 6s	28171
  HTC 10	27392
  Sony Xperia X Performance	26125
  Google Nexus 6P	24703

  Will everyone push the iPhone 7 Plus to its limits on a regular basis? Probably not, but it’s nice to have power when you need it, and a great differentiator in the premium phone space.

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Battery life

• A bigger battery and a smarter processor give the iPhone 7 Plus significantly better battery life than any iPhone preceding it

• Read more on the iPhone 7 Plus battery life

  The longest running joke in iPhone circles has, sadly, been the generally woeful battery life of most iPhone models. The Plus devices usually ran a little better than their smaller brethren thanks to having more physical space to cram batteries in their frames, but they still paled next to most Android competition.

  Not any more, though. The combination of that battery sipping A10 Fusion processor and an even larger battery pushes the iPhone 7 Plus into the upper echelon of phone battery usage, both in anecdotal testing and using Geekbench 3’s battery test mode. Here’s how it compared against a range of premium phones:

  Handset	Geekbench 3 Battery Test Duration	Geekbench 3 Battery Score
  Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	11:55:00	7150
  Huawei Mate 8	11:14:40	6659
  Apple iPhone 7 Plus	11:11:20	6713
  Samsung Galaxy Note7	11:02:20	6623
  Sony Xperia X	10:40:40	6406
  Samsung Galaxy S7	10:01:20	6013
  Huawei P9	8:26:30	4948
  Apple iPhone 6S Plus	7:48:10	4681
  LG G5	7:36:10	4561
  iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case	7:21:10	4407
  Sony Xperia X Performance	6:46:51	4068
  Google Nexus 6P	6:39:20	3754
  Apple iPhone SE	4:27:10	2671
  Apple iPhone 6s	3:52:10	2321

  Geekbench’s older test doesn’t tell the whole story, so we’ve been keenly testing the iPhone 7 Plus on an ad-hoc basis since launch, and it hasn’t disappointed us at all. A single day’s usage, even if you’re a heavy user, is entirely feasible and for the first time we’re happy to say that two days between charges is even possible. Apple’s taken its sweet time to get battery tech right, but with the iPhone 7 Plus it seems to have cracked it.

  While it’s great that Apple’s finally delivering a premium phone with premium phone life, there’s a catch. Unlike phones that offer fast charging alternatives, the iPhone 7 Plus still plods along with a relatively poky 5W charger which takes much longer to juice up your phone. To add a little insult to injury, without dropping extra cash on a multi-point lightning adaptor, you can’t charge the iPhone 7 Plus and listen to music at the same time as you can with older models.

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Verdict

• By incorporating long-awaited features like water resistance and a dual-lens camera, the iPhone 7 Plus reaffirms Apple's position at the forefront of the premium smartphone space

• Read our full iPhone 7 Plus verdict

  Apple hasn’t redefined the smartphone with the iPhone 7 Plus, but it’s done precisely what it actually needed to. It’s a fast phone with an exceptionally good camera, water resistance and really good battery life, all of which were features that iPhone fans have wanted for some time now. It’s definitely an attention getter in the highly competitive premium phone space, and an exceptionally worthy contender if you’re looking for the best of the best in phones right now.

  The usual rule of thumb is that you should upgrade iPhones every two years, meaning that those on the "s" variant phones stick with that series while full number owners jump up to other full number phones. Even so, the jump up from the iPhone 6s Plus is large enough that we could see a solid argument for a single year upgrade in this case, presuming you have the cash to spare to begin with.

  Of course, at the iPhone 7 Plus’ price point, you could have quite literally any other phone on the market with some change left over.

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Pricing and availability

• Price: From RRP $1049
• Where to buy: Amazon | eBay | Kogan The Good Guys | JB Hi-Fi

Compare Apple iPhone 7 Plus plans

Apple iPhone 7 Plus specs

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