iPhone 7 vs iPhone 7 Plus — Which one should you buy?
A lot of people ask me which iPhone should they buy, iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus. Two years ago, it was easy for me to choose the iPhone 6 Plus over iPhone 6, but this time around, it was more difficult.
Coming from the iPhone 6 Plus, the bigger size of the 7 Plus wasn’t a big problem for my average size hands, although the smaller form factor of iPhone 7 was much more appealing to me.
After considering the pros and cons of both devices, I have decided that my next phone will be iPhone 7 Plus.
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iPhone 7 Plus next to iPhone 6 Plus [/caption]
These are the main reasons why.
Optical zoom
The camera on iPhone 7 has gained the OIS (optical image stabilization). It is nice, but the the addition of the second ‘telephoto’ camera to iPhone 7 Plus is much bigger improvement.
This extra ‘telephoto’ camera delivers an optical zoom at 2x and hugely improves the digital zoom up to 10x. iPhone is my main picture and video taking device, so an extra feature like this is always highly appreciated.
Portrait Mode
Another cool feature of iPhone 7 Plus camera is a Portrait mode, which provides the DSLR-like depth-of-field effect, also known as bokeh, that keeps objects or faces sharp while creating a blurred background.
Portrait mode is easily one of my favorite features of iPhone 7 Plus.
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Unedited picture taken with iPhone 7 Plus [/caption]
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The same u nedited picture taken with iPhone 7 Plus using Portrait Mode [/caption]
Longer battery life
The better battery life on the Plus model was the main reason why I chose 6 Plus over 6 two years ago. This year, according to Apple, the iPhone 7 battery life is 2 hours longer compared to the previous generation, which is nice, but still cannot compete with the battery life of iPhone 7 Plus.
Bigger screen with higher ppi
After using the 5.5-inch display for two years, going back to 4.7-inch might feel like a downgrade. The bigger screen is definitely more enjoyable for consumption of the media content.
In addition to a higher resolution (1080p vs 750p), the pixel density of iPhone 7 Plus display is also higher (401 ppi vs 326 ppi), meaning that text and pictures will look sharper on iPhone 7 Plus.
Conclusion
Of course, iPhone 7 Plus is also a little bit more expensive, but in my opinion, when you already pay over $1000 for a phone, $120 doesn’t make a big difference, considering the additional benefits you get with a bigger model.
To summarize, if you can’t handle the big size of iPhone 7 Plus, then the iPhone 7 will be the perfect device for you. But, if you can get over the size, iPhone 7 Plus is definitely worth the extra money.
