The iPhone 7 was quite popular. It’s 2020 and the iPhone 11 is around. You can still flex with the 7, but is it worth it? Let’s talk about this.
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The handset feels super rich. It’s made from aluminium, so it’s a dream to have in your hands. The metal is soft, and the phone is curved well. It doesn’t have the most weight to it, though. It is 138 grams.
Design-wise, you’re looking at a familiar device. It’s almost identical to the iPhone 6 and 6s. Apple loves reusing designs – we’ve seen this with their phones countless times. The only difference is that the 7 is void of any antennas on its back.
It isn’t big. In 2020, handsets are enormous. It comes in at 4.7 inches. If you’re used to more modern devices, having to use a phone that’s so one-handed might be strange.
Something you see a lot in Apple’s devices is water resistance. The iPhone is IP67 rated. This means it can handle dust as well as depths of 1 meter underwater for 30 minutes.
Looking across its sides, you won’t see a headphone jack. The company removed it a long time ago. You aren’t getting a microSD slot either. You’ll be plugging your headphones in through a lightning cable. You’ll have to purchase it separately.
There is a fingerprint sensor on it, its home button hosts it. Its current siblings have retina scanners.
You can pick it up in several colours. They are:
We’re huge fans of the red. You don’t always see iPhones so vibrant. The 6s comes in similar colours. However, you’re not getting black and red. It offers a space grey, which the 7 does not, though.
As it’s so small, its viewing experience is impacted. This is especially true as you don’t get a good screen-to-body ratio. There’s some serious bezel action going on - its ratio is only 65.6%. Its predecessor has an identical one.
At least you don’t have to worry about damaging its front. The glass on it is ion strengthened. It is also oleophobic, so you can snack in peace.
The panel on it is Apple’s Retina display. If you didn’t know, it’s an IPS LCD. It offers a wide colour gamut. This allows for good colour reproduction.
The cherry on top is the fact that its screen is bright. You’re met with a 625 maximum nit display. Over 500 is the gold standard, which it easily surpasses. This lets it handle the harsh Sri Lankan sun. That being said, current iPhones have much brighter displays.
As its screen is so small, its 750 x 1334 p screen resolution makes it sharp.
It offers a 3D touch. You press down, seeing what apps have to offer. To be honest, the feature isn’t very useful. It was subsequently removed from newer iPhones.
Seeing a small battery is not surprising. Its unit is only 1960 mAh. Don’t expect it to last a day. Thankfully, there are good power-saving modes that will prolong it. Even its successors struggle with battery life.
You’ll be using the lightning cable to charge it. Depending on the power adapter you plug it to, how long it’d take to would differ. It can take around 3 hours to go from 0-100% with a 5 W one.
Inside of it is the A10 Fusion chip. Apple uses its Bionic chips on all their devices. It’s super-fast. Out of the box, it runs iOS 10. It can be upgraded to the latest iOS 13. It’s supposed to receive iOS 14 too.
Everyone knows that iPhones don’t come with expandable storage. If you want a lot of space, you should’ve bought the appropriate model. You can pick the 7 up with 32, 128, or 256 GB of memory, along with 2 GB of RAM.
The thing is, many older iPhones slow down whenever new iOS updates come in. This is known to be true for the handset too.
There is a single shooter on its rear. It is a 12 MP wide lens. Along with it, a 7 MP camera is on its front. Being an Apple product, it’s no surprise that its camera works well. It takes exceptionally detailed shots. They’re colour accurate too, and give most mobile set-ups these days a run for their money. This is seen from its selfie camera as well.
Now that you know everything about it, let’s see how it compares against others. This will help you know if it’s the unit for you.
Unlike the Apple device, the S8 was released in 2017. It’s not made from aluminium. You’re getting a Gorilla Glass 5 build. The phone is bigger than its counterpart. It comes in at 5.8 inches.
It has a death wish. It is extremely slippery. It collects a lot of fingerprints too, especially in its black variant.
We have to say, its display is really good. It rocks a Super AMOLED front. This means colours are very vibrant. There is also a superb screen-to-body ratio. It is 83.6%. This means there’s less bezel action going on.
It has a good screen resolution as well. It is 1440 x 2960 pixels. It is also HDR10 rated – it will produce more colour, being able to screen HDR content.
Not only is its back made from Gorilla Glass 5, but so is its front. The device is super durable.
Its battery is larger than the iPhone 7’s. It is 3000 mAh. It’ll last well over a day. To charge it, you’ll be using a 15 W fast charger. It uses fast charge 2.0, taking it a little over-an-hour to reach 100%. The cherry on top is the fact that it’s capable of wireless charging.
Inside of it is the Exynos 8895. It beats the A10 Fusion chip. You can pick it up with 64 GB of space, and 4 GB of RAM. If 64 gigs of space are not enough for you, you can expand its memory.
Out of the box, it runs Android 7. Although the handset is 2 generations old, it can be upgraded to Android 10.
It utilizes One UI. It’s way more customizable than iOS 13.
In terms of its camera, there is a single 12 MP shooter on its rear. There is a dual-camera set-up on its front. However, only 1 of the lenses is used to take pictures. It is its 8 MP wide lens. The other sensor is its 2 MP iris scanner.
The handset is also made from aluminum. The glass on its front is not ion strengthened, it is Gorilla Glass. Although a Plus variant, it’s still small by today’s standards. It is only 5.5 inches. You’re getting barely less bezel action compared to its counterpart.
Its screen is a Retina IPS LCD, just like in the iPhone 7. However, its display is sharper. It is 1080 x 1920 pixels.
The processor inside of it is the A10 Fusion chip. It also comes with iOS 10 out of the box. It can be upgraded to IOS 13 6.1.
No, you can’t expand its storage. You can pick the 7 Plus up in 32, 128, and 256 GB of space. RAM wise, 3 GB are available.
Its battery is larger than its alternative. It is 2900 mAh. It will last around a day. You’ll be using a lightning cable to charge it. Depending on the adapter you use, how long it’ll take would differ. If you use a 5 W one, it’ll take a while.
Camera-wise, there is a dual set-up on its rear. They are two 12 MP sensors. One of them is a wide lens while the other is a telephoto lens. Its front camera is a single shooter. It is a 7 MP camera.
The Nova 5T was released in 2019. This explains why it’s much larger than the iPhone 7. Phones these days are giants. It comes in at 6.26 inches. It is made of glass. But it’s the regular strengthened type. Like its iPhone counterpart, there is an aluminum frame.
Its screen is an IPS LCD. It barely comes with any bezels. Its screen-to-body ratio is an impressive 84.2%. There isn’t even a notch on it.
You’re met with a sharp display. Its screen resolution is 1080 x 2340 pixels. If you’re wondering what the glass on its front is, it’s the same we saw on its back.
Unfortunately, you can’t expand its storage. This is alright as it comes with 128 GB of space and 6 or 8 GB of RAM.
The chipset inside of it is the Kirin 980. Compared to the A10 Fusion processor, it beats it. You are met with Android 9 out of the box. What’s more, you can upgrade the device to Android 10. It runs EMUI – Huawei’s proprietary UI. It’s extremely customizable, running laps around iOS. But people don’t say it looks good.
Its battery is great. It is a 3750 mAh unit. The 5T can last around a day and a half. You’ll be charging it through its 22.5 W fast charger. It takes around half an hour to reach 50%, which is impressive.
There is a quad-camera set-up on its rear. Its primary sensor is a 48 MP wide lens, its secondary sensor is a 16 MP ultrawide lens, its tertiary sensor is a 2 MP macro lens and its fourth sensor is a 2 MP depth sensor. In terms of its front camera, a 32 MP wide lens is present.
When it comes to the iPhone 7, it comes with specs that are good enough for 2020. But like most older iPhones, it gets slower when updates roll in. Compared to alternatives, they out-beat it. You might want to check them out, especially the Samsung S8 as it’s a former flagship too.
Compared to newer iPhones, the 7 doesn’t stand a chance. But you may want to flex on a budget and own a decent device, so give it a go.
If you’d like a look at older Apple devices, we’ve run through a plethora of them on our Facebook page. We regularly update it with informative reviews and lists, so check us out!
