In the mobile phone Olympics between Apple and Samsung, the two have been playing ping-pong lately. Apple had the best camera; Samsung had the best camera. The game evens up, then one pulls ahead for a few months.
When Apple first made the larger Plus phones back in 2014, the appeal was always about screen size, battery life, and to a small extent camera. Really, all the larger 5.5-inch model had that the standard 4.7-inches didn't was optical image stabilization (OIS). This year, the iPhone 7 finally gets OIS -- great for smoothing out shaky-handed pics and videos.
TOP PHONE CAMERAS COMPARED
Camera shootout: iPhone 7 Plus vs. iPhone 6S Plus vs. Galaxy S7
But the 7 Plus, reviewed here, leaps ahead with a new first for an Apple phone: dual rear cameras. (Apple is following in the footsteps of LG and Huawei, both of which already offer dual camera models.) One is identical to the wide-angle model on the 7, but the second one adds telephoto, including true 2x optical zoom. And the phone's software deftly fuses the two, so you can effortlessly jump between them, or have them stitch together a single image.
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The 7 and 7 Plus have much in common otherwise. Really, they're two variants on the same phone. Both are water resistant, and have the same fast A10 Fusion processor. Yeah, they both lack headphone jacks. Even battery life has evened out a bit: The smaller 7 makes greater gains over last year's 6S than the 7 Plus does over the 6S Plus.
Put another way: Everything we like -- and dislike -- about the smaller iPhone 7 applies to the 7 Plus model, too. (Read the iPhone 7 review here.) Just know that you're paying a premium of $120, £120 or AU$190 when you step up to the 7 Plus at each storage capacity. (Yes, the price has creeper up a bit from last year.)
I've bounced back and forth between the 4.7-inch iPhone and the 5.5-inch version over the past few years. I used to hate the idea of the Plus. Then I preferred it. Then I shifted back to the smaller iPhone and used a battery case. The smaller one feels better to hold. The larger one has the superior display, but feels awkward in my hand.
Samsung and other manufacturers are doing a far better job folding identical 5.5-inch or larger displays into bodies like the S7 Edge that feel smaller and better in your hand. But now with cameras that can truly differentiate it from its smaller sibling, the 7 Plus finally has an easy justification for that jumbo size. It's finally the step-up experience the larger phone needed.
I'm not a pro photographer, but I'm trying to get better. James Martin, a senior photographer. He shot with the 7 Plus in the Bay Area, while I took it around and used it for everyday life in New York and New Jersey.
Compare and contrast James' photos from the 7 Plus to 6S Plus to the Samsung Galaxy S7 here.
Editors' note: We're still testing the battery and the camera performance of the iPhone 7 Plus. Consider the ratings to be tentative until finalized.
How the dual cameras up the ante
The dual cameras don't actually zoom, like a point-and-shoot camera with a protruding lens. Instead, the phone switches between the wide-angle camera and the telephoto, from 1 to 2x. From there, the camera app can digitally zoom up to 10x versus 5x on the iPhone 7. For video, it's 6x.
Digital zoom works better than it used to, but zooming in too far still results in blurry, digitized pics. It can't work miracles. But adding the 2x optical helps frame photos: I found many landscape shots transformed.
When Apple first made the larger Plus phones back in 2014, the appeal was always about screen size, battery life, and to a small extent camera. Really, all the larger 5.5-inch model had that the standard 4.7-inches didn't was optical image stabilization (OIS). This year, the iPhone 7 finally gets OIS -- great for smoothing out shaky-handed pics and videos.
TOP PHONE CAMERAS COMPARED
Camera shootout: iPhone 7 Plus vs. iPhone 6S Plus vs. Galaxy S7
But the 7 Plus, reviewed here, leaps ahead with a new first for an Apple phone: dual rear cameras. (Apple is following in the footsteps of LG and Huawei, both of which already offer dual camera models.) One is identical to the wide-angle model on the 7, but the second one adds telephoto, including true 2x optical zoom. And the phone's software deftly fuses the two, so you can effortlessly jump between them, or have them stitch together a single image.
All things iOS 10
iOS 10: All the new features, tips and guides
23 hidden features in iOS 10
15 ways iOS 10 will make the iPhone better
The 7 and 7 Plus have much in common otherwise. Really, they're two variants on the same phone. Both are water resistant, and have the same fast A10 Fusion processor. Yeah, they both lack headphone jacks. Even battery life has evened out a bit: The smaller 7 makes greater gains over last year's 6S than the 7 Plus does over the 6S Plus.
Put another way: Everything we like -- and dislike -- about the smaller iPhone 7 applies to the 7 Plus model, too. (Read the iPhone 7 review here.) Just know that you're paying a premium of $120, £120 or AU$190 when you step up to the 7 Plus at each storage capacity. (Yes, the price has creeper up a bit from last year.)
I've bounced back and forth between the 4.7-inch iPhone and the 5.5-inch version over the past few years. I used to hate the idea of the Plus. Then I preferred it. Then I shifted back to the smaller iPhone and used a battery case. The smaller one feels better to hold. The larger one has the superior display, but feels awkward in my hand.
Samsung and other manufacturers are doing a far better job folding identical 5.5-inch or larger displays into bodies like the S7 Edge that feel smaller and better in your hand. But now with cameras that can truly differentiate it from its smaller sibling, the 7 Plus finally has an easy justification for that jumbo size. It's finally the step-up experience the larger phone needed.
I'm not a pro photographer, but I'm trying to get better. James Martin, a senior photographer. He shot with the 7 Plus in the Bay Area, while I took it around and used it for everyday life in New York and New Jersey.
Compare and contrast James' photos from the 7 Plus to 6S Plus to the Samsung Galaxy S7 here.
Editors' note: We're still testing the battery and the camera performance of the iPhone 7 Plus. Consider the ratings to be tentative until finalized.
How the dual cameras up the ante
The dual cameras don't actually zoom, like a point-and-shoot camera with a protruding lens. Instead, the phone switches between the wide-angle camera and the telephoto, from 1 to 2x. From there, the camera app can digitally zoom up to 10x versus 5x on the iPhone 7. For video, it's 6x.
Digital zoom works better than it used to, but zooming in too far still results in blurry, digitized pics. It can't work miracles. But adding the 2x optical helps frame photos: I found many landscape shots transformed.
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