iPhone 7 review

Apple's iPhone 7 is the best iPhone you can get, but it's not a huge improvement over the existing iPhone 6S

Specifications

Processor: Quad-core A10 Fusion, Screen Size: 4.7in, Screen resolution: 1,334 x 750, Rear camera: 12 megapixels, Storage: 32GB, 128GB, 256GB, Wireless data: 3G, 4G, Dimensions: 138 x 67 x 7.1mm, Weight: 138g, Operating system: iOS 10.0

Apple's always courted a certain amount of controversy with its new iPhones. No one needs to be reminded of the iPhone 6's 'bend-gate' debacle, and it's a rare day when I don't see someone using an iPhone with a smashed screen on public transport.

The iPhone 7, however, is arguably Apple's most controversial phone yet, as its decision to remove the headphone jack has caused no end of consternation from enraged audiophiles. To be fair, the iPhone 7 isn't the first phone to lose its headphone jack. That honour goes to the Moto Z. 

In reality, though, it's not that much of a big deal. Apple might be hawking its wireless AirPods and Lightning-powered EarPods headphones as superior alternatives, but the truth of the matter is that you can still use your old 3.5mm headphones so long as you don't mind using the bundled 3.5mm-to-Lightning adapter.

It's not exactly the most elegant solution for a company that's often prided itself on simplicity and ease of use, but at least it means you don't have to fork out even more money just to carry on listening to your favourite tunes. For the iPhone 7 is the first iPhone in ages to have received a significant price hike (thanks, Brexit), rising to £599 for the entry-level 32GB version from its usual spot at £539.

Still, at least it's no more than Google's newly-announced Pixel and Pixel XL phones, as these will also cost £599 and £719 respectively for the 32GB version (and £699 and a whopping £819 for the 128GB models, going toe to toe with Apple's new pricing structure). Google launched its new phones to great fanfare last night, so it will be interesting to see how the very best of Android compares to the best of iOS when they launch later this month. 

Apple iPhone 7 review: Storage

In a way, it's a small price to pay for double the storage, as Apple has finally listened to reason and ditched the 16GB option. We've long complained about how 16GB just isn't enough space for a modern, flagship handset, so it's welcome to see 32GB as the new starting point.

The other storage options have doubled in size as well, and if you grab a 128GB or 256GB model you also get the option to buy the iPhone 7 in its extra shiny Jet Black finish – which, sadly, isn't available in 32GB. It's also perhaps a shame there's no 64GB option to provide some sort of middle ground, but overall this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Apple iPhone 7 review: Design

The aforementioned Jet Black version, however, takes several strides backwards. It’s now more prone to picking up mucky fingerprints than its matte siblings, and it's also considerably more slippery to hold. I never felt confident holding our Jet Black review sample, and I was constantly afraid I was going to drop it.

Apple itself has warned customers that the Jet Black's polished finish is more likely to pick up scuffs and scratches than the plain Black, Silver, Gold and Rose Gold options, advising that you invest in a case to keep it in pristine condition. In my eyes, this rather defeats the point of buying one with a flashy back in the first place.

Apple iPhone 7 review: Home button

The newly redesigned home button also takes some getting used to. This time around, Apple's replaced the mechanical aspect of the iPhone 7's home button with a similar kind of capacitive Force Touch technology found in its MacBook and MacBook Pro products. Rather than pressing inwards with a standard click, the button now simply vibrates whenever you apply any pressure, giving you enough feedback to let you know you've pressed it properly without moving anything inside the phone.

This should hopefully make it less likely to break and fail after prolonged use, but given Apple's heavily reliance on using the home button to navigate its iOS operating system, I didn't find it quite as easy or as intuitive to use as its old click buttons. Putting the phone on a flat surface, you'll notice the buzz's effectiveness is reduced somewhat, too. It still works, but it's nowhere near as beefy.

It also doesn't work with gloves, which isn't particularly good news when the winter months are drawing in fast. We've tried a number of different gloves to test this out, and while some touchscreen gloves did work, the vast majority didn't, so be prepared to brave the cold when you're using your iPhone 7 this winter. It's even more vexing now that iOS 10 doesn't let you get to the PIN screen unless you press the home button, as swiping to the right and left only bring up the camera and search screens respectively. 

Apple iPhone 7 review: Waterproof protection

A more welcome addition is the iPhone 7's improved water and dust protection. Its IP67 rating means you can now drop the phone in up to a metre of water for up to 30 minutes without damaging its internals. This makes it much more practical to use on a daily basis, as you no longer need to worry about accidentally dropping it down the loo or getting caught using it during a heavy rain shower.

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Apple iPhone 7 review: Display

One thing that hasn't changed is the screen size and resolution. Just like the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s before it, the iPhone 7 has a 4.7in display with a 1,334 x 750 resolution. That doesn't necessarily mean there are no improvements at hand, however. The iPhone 7 now has a wide colour gamut display, which allows it to reproduce brighter, more intense shades of colour. And as an extra bonus, its panel is now a claimed 25% brighter than the display on the iPhone 6S.

When I compared both phones side by side at maximum brightness, the difference was plain to see. Colours on the iPhone 7 looked much richer and punchier, and blacks were noticeably darker. However, I had a hard time replicating Apple's quoted brightness figure of 625cd/m2, as I couldn't coax my colour calibrator any higher than 540cd/m2, which is actually lower than the 580cd/m2 we managed on the iPhone 6s. That's still more than enough to see the screen clearly outdoors, but it's not quite as good as I'd hoped.

It’s difficult to properly benchmark the iPhone 7’s display, however, since it only uses this wider palette of colours in applications that specifically support it. As all our display tests are run in an Opera browser window – sadly, Safari just doesn’t play ball with our testing software – the iPhone 7 automatically defaults to the standard, or narrow, sRGB colour gamut. This is, quite sensibly, so that images on the web don’t end up looking overblown and unnatural.

Even in this scenario, though, the iPhone 7 is still supremely accurate. It reproduced 95.8% of the sRGB colour gamut – not quite as high a figure as the best Android handsets, but the quality of those colours means that it is more accurate than most. Going by DisplayCAL’s measurement report, the display isn’t far off what we’d expect from a professional desktop monitor. It’s fair to say that Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge still nudge slightly ahead overall, but this is still a step up for Apple.