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  • ddriver - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    So much for long delayed reviews because of "details".
  • willis936 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    It's been literally a month. What world are you living in?
  • ddriver - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    The world in which AT reviews take many many months apparently.
  • londedoganet - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I, too, would like to base my buying decisions on quick impressions made in the week immediately after a product's launch. And Anandtech doesn't quite scratch that itch for me.
  • solipsism - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    If you want fast reviews of products there's innumerable websites and YouTube videos in which to choose. If your argument is, "sure, but it want it from AnandTech," and the reason is you want it from AT is because of their detail and thoroughness, then you have to wait for them to be detailed and thorough.

    Note that AT did give you a hands-on review from the event and an article of the teardown:

    • http://www.anandtech.com/show/10657/hands-on-with-...
    http://www.anandtech.com/show/10687/early-iphone-7...
  • Cheesetogo - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Oh please, it doesn't require a month to write a review like this. Not sure if Purch doesn't fund the site enough or people just aren't motivated since Anand left, but there's been a very noticeable decline.

    Here's an AT review of the iPhone 3G, published *5 days* after the phone came out. It's also more detailed than this one.

    http://www.anandtech.com/show/2571
  • dsumanik - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Everyone remember when i predicted this review, its content, the photos, and its outcome a few weeks back?

    Who's laughing now?

    8)
  • solipsism - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    You're compared they efforts they put into testing this phone's HW with how they tested the 2nd gen iPhone and also compiled a "more detailed" article because you're lumping in what would eventually be called iOS 2, which was demoed several months earlier? Geez man, I don't even know how to deal with someone who purposely posts such crap.
  • Samus - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    Even Engadget writers live with the phone for a week or so before writing a review. A zero day review is useless for something like a smartphone.

    I like AT's style. They use the device for awhile, and don't even start writing a review until the first or second OTA update to reflect the realistic ownership scenario.
  • londedoganet - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I was actually being sarcastic.
  • sweenish - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    And if I had been waiting for an HTC 10 review? This iPhone review is nearly instantaneous by comparison.
  • jtang97 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Actually, this review came out about 5 times faster than the HTC 10.

    1 month compared to 5...

    I'd say that that's an achievement. Add to the fact that it's a double phone review as well...
  • Affectionate-Bed-980 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    As a long time Anandtech reader one would notice the reviews are now standard 7 page affairs. Look at the iPhone 5 review and how Anand went in detail about CPU performance and power consumption. That kind of stuff doesn't happen anymore. And no offense Josh, taking a photo of a bush is pretty poor photography.

    We can't even compare against the Nexus phones. I understand some of this is challenging because different reviewers work on different parts of the review. I know Josh likes to take photos at UCLA whereas Brandon takes photos elsewhere, but it's very annoying I can't compare across all these phones because of that. You guys need to work something out for this. The same goes with benchmarks too and carrier tests. Maybe you guys need to standardize on reviewing GSM devices only and use a T-Mobile or AT&T SIM across the board.
  • dsumanik - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Wondering why "previous iPhone models had serious display variance' was not mentioned until now.

    IPhone shortcomings are only mentioned in the next generation device review. Hence I predict the iPhone 8 review will have the following statement

    "with the iPhone 7 Apple made the move to remove the headphone jack, however they were not yet able to replace wired headphones on cost and quality. With the iPhone 8 I can safely say the issue is now moot"

    Damn it's hard being right.
  • hans_ober - Saturday, October 15, 2016 - link

    +1
  • maher86 - Sunday, April 9, 2017 - link

    Win the new iPhone 7- australia only
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RhV5wTcVJg&fe...
  • Wicasa - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Remember: "One-fifth of the people are against everything all the time."
  • ddriver - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    And the rest 4/5 are complacent sheeple that settle for anything.

    And judging by the responses, the "attention paying" skills of the status-quo are just as poor as expected, since I clearly didn't mean to complain about a "late review", but was rather making a point that when it is an iphone, the review is rather on time, at least relative to the AT standards of late.
  • dsumanik - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Dude the site is resting on the laurels of past achievements.

    The staff should be able to handle an iPhone review in one week or less.

    But honestly I'll save you trouble, Tania going to recommend it to be the the best phone ever and must buy, like every other iPhone review.

    If you want the real opinion you have to read between the lines in next years iPhone 8 review about all the problems the old device had.

    Best bet make up your own damn mind.

    No headphone jack, yet a fav exists onboard that is used with the adapter and onboard speakers.

    Would u rather have a top mounted speaker or be able to use headphones, forced to buy expensive poor performing Apple licensed ones.

    If wireless was the future beats would make wireless only, and they would be so much better that no one else bought wireless headphones anymore.

    I'm mean after all the flip phone was replaced by a smartphone and wired headphones were replaced by...???

    Expensive crap.
  • dsumanik - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    The above comment was written on an iPhone 6s pretty iRonic an iPhone can't type a simple website comment ahahahahaha
  • MadaMadaDesu - Wednesday, October 19, 2016 - link

    Why are Fandroids always so angry and bitter? I mean, did they trip over an old Mac and fell and lost a leg or something years ago?

    I never see this kind of animosity out of iFans.
  • lolipopman - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    So a month doesn't count as a delay anymore?
  • ApePriori - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Good grief, just give it a rest.
  • wessam_yamani - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Oh buddy hhheeee, I waited 4 month for htc 10 review
  • Calista - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    AT reviews tend to stay valid for years. And the iPhone 7 will be sold - new or used - for years. And only a small amount of all the phones sold will be sold the first month efter release. I'm more than happy with the current situation and hope the staff at AT doesn't listen to the nagging bunch.
  • dsumanik - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    You mean do thier job ins tomely fashion? Guarantee you pitch has cut thier budget, they need more staff because they've lost readership due to being forced to write advertorials instead of real reviews, in a way I feel bad for them, but then again they could have started a new blog and kept the old format. They didn't.
  • dsumanik - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    On a side note all these spelling errors were written on an iPhone 6s.... which is pretty iRonic.
  • steven75 - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Dude did you just reply to yourself TWICE with the essentially the same comment? Get a grip.
  • Dennis Travis - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    The spelling errors are YOU and not the 6s! Don't blame the phone for your bad spelling and typing.
  • ex2bot - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    But it's iRonic! ;-)
  • willis936 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    That is some serious double think in the conclusion about justifying the lack of a headphone jack. I doubt it's willful ignorance but not addressing valid concerns or opposing arguments and just painting it as God's Gift To Consumers is sad. Also while I appreciate the lax style of writing it seems to give a healthy sense of opinion. Opinion is fine, this is a review, but when opinion feels influenced by emotion it looks bad. I see comparison to android and highlighting of how iOS is better but you make no mention of all of the missing features in iOS compared to android. OEMs don't care about the details in large yet you talk about HTC so often who is a competent system integrator. Android need to catch up on SoCs, storage, and cameras. That's about it.
  • MathieuLF - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Many Android manufacturers have caught up with cameras though. Samsung notably and now the Pixel as long as Google's claims are true about the camera. But yeah you're right that this review was pretty pro-Apple biased but I guess it's no real surprise.
  • willis936 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I guess my main complaint with android cameras is the notable lack of OIS.
  • lilmoe - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Samsung's latest phones are the class leaders here. Nothing really compares. But that's just for the Exynos variants. Qualcomm screwed up again their encoder blocks.
  • tuxRoller - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    That's interesting.
    Is there some link you have that provides evidence of this?
  • jtang97 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    I had to read you comment a second time because I read it as,

    "I guess my main complaint with android is the notable lack of IOS."
  • lolipopman - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    How is it biased? How can you deny the GPU improvements? Significantly, far superior than anything on the market.
  • prophet001 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Let the kool-aid flow.

    smh
  • lilmoe - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    "Android need to catch up on SoCs, storage, and cameras"

    Nah. SoCs are fine, and faster in lots of aspects than Apple's offerings. UFS 2.0 storage is also comparable with Apple's "SSD" implementation in sequentials, yet faster in randoms. The cameras *have been* better for a while.

    I totally understand, and respect, others' opinions of preferring Apple products. I also was sort-of impressed during their announcements. But after further hands on with the new devices, reading some reviews, and comparing them with the previous 6S (first hand), I wholeheartedly recommend Apple lovers to skip this generation all together and save themselves a couple of bucks (and headphone headache). If you want an iPhone, I would definitely recommend the 6S (which also has better battery life).
  • solipsism - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    lilmoe wrote, "I would definitely recommend the 6S (which also has better battery life)."

    So AnandTech's review is a lie?

    • http://www.anandtech.com/show/10685/the-iphone-7-a...
  • TEAMSWITCHER - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I kept my iPhone 5s for three years...and just got a 128GB iPhone 7. It was a HUGE upgrade for me.. I can't wait for the new Air Pods .. cables are so last century.
  • Lolimaster - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    So in the name of "fashion" you listen to music/video with sh*tty quality? And willing to pay the overprice for the luxury of listening with again sh*tty quality. Why not buy a 2nd hand 4S, will be the same.
  • dakishimesan - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    When did he/she say anything about fashion? Cables are a pain in the ass to keep untangled, often cause you to accidentally pull the headphones off, are the primary source of failure and short life-spans for headphones, etc. In the context of a home, where Ethernet is so much faster and more reliable than WiFi, I'm fine with cables (that don't tend to need to be moved). On the go, by all means, get rid of them.
  • sprockkets - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Yes, but a headphone jack and bt wireless stuff isn't mutually exclusive. It's still a bull shit decision, one that only benefits apple, their OEMs who now have to sell and pay apple for accessories.
  • steven75 - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    It will be highly amusing when Android phones drop the 3.5 mm just as they one proclaimed Flash support as the best thing ever until it wasn't. So predicable!
  • ex2bot - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    The <$50 wired earbuds develop shorts after a few months, too. I'm using the wireless Anker Soundbuds Sport. They're okay, though the tips are too flimsy. Sound q is good.
  • lolipopman - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    You sure feel superior for yourself. I'm guessing you're exactly the kind of person thinks your music preferences are 'better' than others' and even jerk off to classical music.

    I'd rather not listen to the ramblings who still dwells in their mother's basement.
  • ex2bot - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Seriously? The adaptor in the box allows for standard wired headphones, and the 7 and 7 Plus are light years better, faster and more capable than the 4S (though I do love the 4/4s design).
  • Mumrik - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    " I can't wait for the new Air Pods .. cables are so last century."

    Wonder how you'll be charging your new toys then.
  • steven75 - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    I agree that wireless charging should be next. We don't need no steenkin cables!
  • ex2bot - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Apple claims ~25 hours total using the charging case (the Air Pods themselves have 5 hour life). That should be enough to get through the day
  • Meteor2 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I think the big leap was 5->6. Since then not a lot has *noticeably* changed (I.e. outside the spec sheet).
  • Tams80 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    How courageous.

    I recently had to go back to a 5s. It's rather good.
  • techconc - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Which SoCs are faster than the A10 and in what respect? Which phone has faster NAND storage than the iPhone 7? Cameras in Android systems have largely caught up, but are not universally accepted to be better. Yes, sensor size matters and that does help with detail, but so does color accuracy and overall ISP ability. I'd suggest they're more on par than you suggest.
  • CloudWiz - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    "faster in lots of aspects"
    Hmm, maybe next year the SD830 or E8895 can finally start beating the iPhone 6 in single threaded performance.
    "UFS 2.0 is comparable with Apple"
    Sequential reads and writes in the 6s/7 are approximately twice as fast as the fastest UFS storage in androids. In randoms, everyone is about equal.
    "have been better for a while"
    Perhaps, to certain people, because over saturation is highly pleasing to the eye. But Apple has always remained relatively true to life, and being able to outperform many Android phones with much larger sensors is a testimony to their ISP.
    "6S has better battery life"
    The 6S has battery life barely comparable to the 6, while the 7 has battery life comparable to the SE, which lasts nearly 3 full hours longer than the 6S.
  • CloudWiz - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Slight correction: *get close to the 6s
  • menting - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    i like how you're cherry picking to compare.
  • jlabelle2 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    "Sequential reads and writes in the 6s/7 are approximately twice as fast as the fastest UFS storage in androids. In randoms, everyone is about equal"

    except that GSMArena tested the 32Go version as well, and it appears that the memopry is SIGNIFICANTLY slower. And that is an euphemism as the write spead appears 8 times slower and it showed a 4 times longer time to trim the same 4K video.
    So only the 128Go version seems to be in line or slightly above the competition but the 32Go seems dog slow.
    It would not be surprising of Apple, being cheap as usual.
  • steven75 - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Posted without a trace of irony considering Android manufacturers still can't beat the 2 years old iPhone 6 in CPU performance.
  • tuxRoller - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Yeah, no.
    Do you have evidence that there exists any android soc that is "faster" than these apple socs?
  • lolipopman - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    I agree that Apple rules the market currently.

    *Currently*. It actually seems that the recently announced ARM A73 will be a beast.

    And let's not forget the Mali G71 which is said to be very close to Nvidia Shield's performance.

    I'm curious what the A11 chip will be bringing to the graphics table when the next revision of iPhones drop.
  • jospoortvliet - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Sadly the A73 won't even make a dent, it is maybe 20% faster at same power, that isn't a third of the gap with Apple...

    GPUs are doing better indeed but with far higher pixel densities end user experience is still that much worse.
  • tuxRoller - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Unfortunately it won't. The a73 looks to be quite good at efficiency, but per clock perf is still going to be decently far behind.
    As for graphics, no one can match IMG for efficiency. I really wish arm/Softbank would buy IMG.
  • ex2bot - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Android has been competitive in many areas and just plain better in some important ones (customization, screen quality, flexibility, choice), but the truth is that Qualcomm fell behind in perf with the 810 and 820. It looks like the 821 is close in performance.

    Secondly, the 7 and 7 Plus are most likely going to show better battery life because they have bigger batteries than the 6s and 6S Plus.
  • CloudWiz - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    821 is just a clocked-bumped 820, the performance difference between 820 and 821 will be less than 10%. Kryo is currently twice as slow as Hurricane in ST and far less efficient.
  • cknobman - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I'm just going to reference this: http://www.windowscentral.com/best-smartphone-came...

    This was a blind test of over 13000 people voting on pictures taken in many many different scenarios. It compared 4 of the top smartphone cameras (which one of which was the iPhone 7).

    The Galaxy S7 won by a landslide, not even close.

    The iPhone 7 has its own drawbacks largely ignored by this review.
    The lack of a headphone jack is a bigger issue that anyone makes it out to be and iOS is a terribly hindered OS that makes using any iPhone an painful experience.

    Sure the battery life is good/great but this is largely because Apple choosing to remain so far back in their resolution. If you live in a Apple box and only look at their devices then sure its fine.
    But go use any of the dozens of non Apple phones out there and then come back to an iPhone (especially the plus) and you immediately notice the lowered resolution and display quality.
  • The Garden Variety - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I was in tears and the injustice of this "review" until I read your supportive, nurturing reply. Thank you for giving all of us hope. Hope that the truth will reign, and that someday tech "journalists" will be exposed and jailed for their obvious bias. JAILED.
  • cknobman - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    LOL Your butthurt was so painful it seems you could not even comprehend what I wrote.

    I never called out the reviewer for bias or injustice but you apparently only choose to read/see/envision what you want...............either that or you are just plain stupid.
  • grayson_carr - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Let me propose a scenario. You have two identical displays. One is perfectly calibrated. One has the color saturation boosted and does not display colors accurately. If you pull a bunch of people off the street and have them look at both displays and vote on which one looks better, which one do you think they are going to pick? Answer: They are going to say the one with boosted saturation is better despite it being an identical display with objectively worse calibration. The average person does not know what is good, which is why I think blind photo comparisons are stupid. Now I'm not saying the Galaxy S7 doesn't have the best camera in a phone. The Galaxy S7 probably does have the best camera in a phone (in stills at least, video sucks). But I would much rather hear it from a professional photographer than a bunch of average Joes that know nothing about photography or cameras. That's just me.
  • menting - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    a professional photographer will probably feel insulted to even consider a rating a photo from a phone.
  • Daniel Egger - Sunday, October 16, 2016 - link

    Amen to that.
  • techconc - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Blind tests are interesting, but not necessarily accurate. For example, if you take 13,000 random people off of the internet and show them pictures, it shouldn't be very surprising that the majority of them will prefer over saturated and inaccurate images. For the untrained eye, these are often more aesthetically pleasing. However, for real photographers that actually care about things like color accuracy, they are a joke. It also shouldn't be surprising that a much smaller percentage of the random population is able to accurately assess a photo. That's not to suggest that I think the iPhone wins in every photo. Rather, I don't take these random polls very seriously and treat them for what they are.
  • cknobman - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    techconc and grayson you are both correct and if you read the article it does mention the exact points you bring up. People tend to prefer over saturation and colors that pop.

    Its a very similar reason why TV manufacturers set the default settings so high and why people are drawn to TV's on the showroom floor.

    All the same, most people are not professionals, and most professionals do not use a smartphone as their main camera.
  • techconc - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Fair enough... I'm just trying to understand the point you were trying to make with the blind photo test. If it's to point out that most people viewing such surveys don't know what they're looking at, then I agree with you. However, from the tone of your post, you seemed to be using this as the basis for claiming how much better the S7 was.

    On a side note, you mention the headphone jack. I think we can all agree this is a minor inconvenience for some in the short term, but I wouldn't agree with your characterization overall. For starters, it comes with lightning earbuds right out of the box. Most people are now using bluetooth wireless headsets anyway. For that matter, I really like what Apple has done with their W1 chip. It really fixes problems with existing bluetooth synchronization. The ability to use the same headphones with all of my devices seamlessly without having to worry about individual pairing is very appealing. Finally, as a fallback, there is always the adapter for legacy equipment. That's not a great solution but it's not the end of the world either. The fact that Apple is only charging $9 for these adapters pretty much makes it a non-issue. Just keep a couple lying around or connected to your headphones, etc.
  • steven75 - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    In other news, TVs in super oversaturated "demo" mode rated "best display" aware by Joe Sixpack. News at 11!
  • ex2bot - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    I can't see the pixels on my 6 Plus's "tiny" display. At all. Now you *will* miss the display *quality* going between the best AMOLED screens and LCDs. The 7 and 7 Plus have excellent LCD displays with better color space than the 6s, but they're not AMOLED.
  • milli - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Anand's Apple reviews have been extremely pro-Apple for as long as I remember. Even in the old days when their laptops were having obviously negatives, it was not spoken about.
    Any iPhone review on this website is generally very positive. They usually accomplish this by not talking about the negatives.
    Anand's iPhone reviews are interesting for one thing only and that's the detailed info of the SOC.
  • mjh483 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    It's giving credit where it's due.
  • jospoortvliet - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Amen, I found this a decent ando balanced article!
  • akdj - Friday, October 14, 2016 - link

    Make that three of us ...excellent, well studied review. Many thanks for your work and realize that most of us sincerely DO appreciate your efforts! It's actually become humerus that the same three or four doorknobs continue to frequent, completely manage to miscomprehend and actually take the time and expend the effort to post the same drivel they posted ...last year. Same time. Same place. Year in. Year out. Just have to zoom by the first 80-100 whining posts from said three or four 'knobs and enjoy the remainder
    They inevitably tire out or their mother's confiscated their phones and computers.

    Looking forward to seeing the 'deep dive' and, my bad for forgetting the author who's daily driver is Android gear ...but one question for him.
    Is the iPhone 7/7+ enough _____ to consider jumping ship? :-)

    Thanks again, keep up the great work and know a small percentage of your readership will ever even 'venture' into the comments and even fewer will take the time to register and post. There's a huge population that laughs at DBag comments ...even definitions modified to refer to them and their DBagEry. Both as a noun and a verb. "Troll".

    J
  • sprockkets - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I agree. WTF with "friction points"? I'll give you a friction point - making a stupid dongle that is necessary to use with any headphones made in the past 20 years.

    Screw that crap. I'm willing to bet apple won't include it in next years batch. I'm not going to buy those air pods either just to get aac encoded audio via bt either.
  • blackcrayon - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Oh no, you might have to buy one for what will then be about $5. The humanity! And the AirPods are obviously not the only bluetooth AAC enabled headphones.
  • UtilityMax - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Every BT headphone I have tasted is utter garbage, even ones costing 150USD. I would very much prefer to keep my affordable but audiophile grade Koss PortaPro, Sennheiser PX100-II or Grados.
  • Tams80 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    This is the site that almost went on a crusade against people who like removable storage and batteries. Double think and and being condescending are normal.
  • hans_ober - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Could you test the phones with a higher power charger (iPad or any other) to see if they increase the charge rate? Is the charger or the phone the limiting factor?
  • Ryan Smith - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Yes, the charger is the limiting factor. We don't have data for this specific phone, but we've tried it on prior generation iPhones.
  • ikjadoon - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    From here,

    http://blog.equinux.com/2014/09/iphone-6-and-6-plu...

    You just need to plug the iPhone into a Mac and open System Profiler. If it lists the extra 1600mA, then it'll still work.
  • ex2bot - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    I use a 12w charger exclusively to charge my iPhone because it is significantly faster.
  • A5 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    The AirPods are like $160, aren't they?

    Expensive bluetooth headphones work fine too, but why take away the option of using $5 earbuds? (Or $160 wired headphones that are better SQ?)
  • lowtolerance - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    They haven't taken away the option of using $5 earbuds or $160 headphones. All existing 3.5mm headphones still work with the iPhone 7, right out of the box. A dongle might not be ideal, but it's still an option for anyone looking to use their existing headphones with the iPhone 7/7 Plus.
  • solipsism - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    The 3" adapter has a very firm fit on your 3.5mm headphones; more so than your typical headphone jack on a smartphone. I'm sure this is intentional to help keep it in place.

    As mentioned in the article, wireless is the future, and while I've been using BT headphones for years now, my current ones (Bluez Aftershockz 2) finally broke so I'm using wired headphones until I the other headphones with Apple's W1 chip hit the market. I'm leaning toward the BeatsX as I prefer in-ear, and the connected cable, but I'm willing to give the AirPods a chance since so many are saying they are more comfortable than their included EarPods, which I find to be uncomfortable.

    I've noticed that my wired headphone cable doesn't get tangled as easily and is easier to plug into my iPhone. I attribute this to both the slightly extra weight and thickness of the connector. I'd rather not be wired at all, but the adapter certainly hasn't been an issue. Since I only charge my phone once a day or every other day, this repeated claim that everyone needs to charge and listen to wired headphones as the same time escapes me. I'm guessing it's one of those invented problems only a few people actually need
  • greyhulk - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I hope you address thermal throttling in the deep dive. That's what I'm most interested in with the new A10.
  • SydneyBlue120d - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    While I really hope to see AV1 2160p60 with multichannel audio encoding with iPhone 8, I'd like to read a test comparison between Intel and Qualcomm modem, especially with Europe networks :) Thanks a lot.
  • i4mt3hwin - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    "Overall, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus remain the best phones on the market for video capture. Strange issues with Snapdragon 820 video encode blocks mean that all Snapdragon 820 devices are just barely passable for video capture."

    I don't recall seeing this anywhere? I Know the OP3 article mentioned that the video was blocky - but I don't remember it linking that to the 820 - just a OP3 implementation issue? Does this mean the Pixel is going to experience similar issues?
  • grayson_carr - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I can confirm that my S7 Edge has this issue, and it's bad. When I first got it, I recorded a couple 4k videos while hiking along an oceanside trail and the blocky artifacts in the water and sky looked so crappy that I just never recorded videos with it again. It was technically 4k video, but it looked more like a 360p YouTube stream with the amount of blockiness, especially when panning up and down.
  • lolipopman - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Why was this issue not explored by Samsung? I'm pretty sure it's not common or else it would've been known.
  • lilmoe - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    You do realize that the shutter speed on the iPhone's night images is twice as long as the others using lower ISO values, right?

    You call this "impressive"? I highly recommend a primer in photography.
  • JoshHo - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    The exposure time of 1/4s is not indicative of all exposures. I would reference the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus reviews to better understand how Apple handles low light to avoid motion blur despite long exposures.
  • lilmoe - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Yea, I've seen that review.

    Might I also suggest a primer in videography. Here's how a the video review portion should look like, and what it should include/test:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YCvLW2ySr0

    Listen, I don't mean to insult you or anything, but you need to know that your criteria is fundamentally flawed. In addition to the objective truth that Samsung, and others, have the superior video (and audio), their image processing is what PEOPLE WANT. You give customers what they want, not what you think is best, especially for a mainstream product (ie: non-professional). If you want to compare sensor/lens quality, you compare RAW images using the same settings (but you didn't, for reasons).

    Smartphone photography is about USABLE images/footage. You just don't apply the same criteria you do when reviewing a DSLR/DSLM.

    Stop marketing "true colors" (which aren't exactly true, btw) for a crowd of users that apply filters to everything they post online.

    Admit, correct and move on.
  • grayson_carr - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Samsung? Superior video? LMAO. Go home. You're drunk. I almost took you seriously until you said that out loud. -Galaxy S7 Edge owner
  • Speedfriend - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    I have an S7 Edge (Exynos version) and a iPhone 6S and the S7 video is way better. In fact the camera is better in every way.
  • Ranger1065 - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Well spoken.
  • R. Hunt - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    Need to keep those Apple invites coming!
  • jlabelle2 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    You did not address the point of letting the iPhone using a longer exposure. The iPhone 7 in low light is terrible and allowing twice as much light to enter is just lying on the performance of the iPhone. Is it on purpose or not, I could not tell but your answer is not helping to disregard that.
    Also RAW represents NO color reference on the contrary if what you wrote as on bayer sensor, RAW data are basically black or white.
    Without being arrogant, maybe Anandtech should avoid commenting technically on camera performance or should find a journalist with maybe better comprehension on this aspect which, I understand, is maybe not evident event for specialized reviewers like you and Brandon.
  • Ranger1065 - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    LOL.
  • palladium - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    How many percent of DCI-P3 does this display cover?
  • beepboopbop - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    According to display mate it covers 102% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.
  • Brandon Chester - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    As shown in the saturation chart, the display has full P3 gamut coverage.
  • Maxpower2727 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Just started reading and they already referred to the Galaxy S6 as a "fairly thick" phone, all 6.8mm of it. I expect better from you, AnandTech.
  • xdamm - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    These kinds of statements and comparisons make no sense, especially if this is an iPhone review. If they were comparing it to the super slim Moto Z I would understand, but in the end thickness isn't the whole story when it comes to comfort.

    For example, my "quite thick" S7 Edge (7.7mm) feels a hell of a lot better in the hand than the iPhone 6S Plus and iPhone 7 Plus. It's also considerably lighter, which makes it easier and more comfortable to hold.
  • GTRagnarok - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Yeah, that statement made no sense. He said it was fairly thick relative to the iPhone 6S which was thicker at 7.1mm so...???
  • lilmoe - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    The whole thing about thickness and "freezing motion" made no sense. He probably didn't have anything else to prove his "point" that iPhones faced little competition in 2014/15.

    The context of AT reviews has been broken for a while. Just like someone else here suggested; they should only focus on reviewing parts of tech in which they have more knowledge about and accurate tools to measure. Hopefully using better "tools" than browser benchmarks (!).
  • Ryan Smith - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    For better or worse, you will be seeing browser benchmarks for years to come. As few developers care to tackle cross-platform system benchmarks, we aren't left with very many tools to use. Never mind the fact that browser performance is still a major part of the overall smartphone experience.
  • lilmoe - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Your perception and truth and credibility is up to you. But if it is worth anything, I'd suggest you change the title/section to "Mobile Safari Performance (vs Mobile Chrome)", or scratch it off entirely.

    What you're currently doing is provide false information (and lies) to your readers, unless the purpose of this site has changed to "providing fanboys and fools with fuel for their petty flamewars". You're making yourself look like an Apple shill, or worse, you're providing a cover up for Google's failings in optimizing their browser and platform for the latest Cortex and custom cores.

    If you have no tools for accurate measurement, like you just stated, then you should skip this section all together or narrow it down to Apple SoC comparisons ONLY, with a big fat disclaimer explaining why that data CANNOT be applied/compared with other SoCs and platforms.
  • lilmoe - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    ***Your perception *of* truth and credibility is up to you
  • blackcrayon - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Yes, they should have included GeekBench as a cross platform SoC test. THAT would have shown that... oops... The A10 still blows away everything else in single core by a huge margin.

    From what I've seen, using other browsers on Android doesn't help much. But if you'd like to point to some benchmarks we're all eyes.
  • UtilityMax - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    The smartphone SoCs have reached a point where their performance differences are pretty much superfluous. Yeah, we all know that the Apple SoC is significantly better than Snapdragon 820. But that's just like saying that if you bring to a race track Lamborghini, Ferrari, and McLaren and race them, then you will find out that one car is fast than the rest, which is somewhat irrelevant outside of such racetrack. The truth is that smartphone SoCs have gotten to be fast enough that a three year old Nexus 5 is still fast and more than adequate for day to day duties. On the other hand, apple's deletion of the headphone 3.5mm jack and its refusal to allow the users to upload the multimedia into the device bypassing the iTunes GARBAGE is a big loss. For these reasons, in my book, a 200USD Moto G is still a lot better than an iPhone 7, even if the iPhone 7 was also sold for 200USD.
  • ex2bot - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    I can get the multimedia to my Apple phone without the iTunes GARBAGE. Maybe you have a different model from me or something. ;)
  • CloudWiz - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    Which is why both XDA and Anandtech have found that the Note 7 was incredibly slow to load apps in Discomark, which definitely impacts daily usage.
  • ex2bot - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Forget GeekBench. Stick with Antutu. More representative.
  • tuxRoller - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    Oh yes, AnTuTu. What does that do again? How does it do it?
    Geekbench is SLIGHTLY better as it explains, at a fairly high level, how each test is performed. It even lets you know that they are preference apple by using llvm everywhere.
    None of these are worth respecting reporting on, however, unless the benchmarks are open source.
  • Ranger1065 - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    The old Anandtech...maybe :)
  • Dribble - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    If you like your wireless headphones that's great, but don't try to sell me that ONLY having them is somehow fine. It's not like you couldn't use wireless for iphone 6 and now suddenly you can. Sometimes wired is better - e.g. phone in the car, you are charging phone and plugging into the jack to play music off it. You don't want to have to take some silly adaptor dongle everywhere with you in case you need wired (that's a bad user experience).

    It would also have been more honest to say why they removed it - it's not for some mythical extra space to add other stuff like you suggested, its 100% to make more $$$. Irrespective of who designs or makes it anything that plugs into apples proprietary jack has to pay apple money because they own the copyright. They don't own any copyright on the 3.5mm jack. Hence they removed the jack to force devices to use apples jack and hence pay them more money (something we the consumer end up paying for).
  • solipsism - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    1) Cars with BT have been on the market for over a decade, it comes with inexpensive automobiles, and those buying a new iPhone 7 aren't likely to be driving a 1984 Toyota Tercel.

    2) If you're really against BT, and this is to be used while in the car, then why are carrying around this adapter? Wouldn't you just leave it in the car, which is now a single plug into the device, instead of two. If you claim that you wouldn't keep the adapter in the car, are you also saying that you're moving your USB and analog audio cables with you everywhere, too? If so, then what does it matter?

    3) You don't even have to look at a teardown of the iPhone to see that internal volume makes a difference to what you can include inside a device. Physics still exit, right? Just look at the back of the iPhone to see that the camera is moved down. Then look at the camera, battery size gain, the better taptic motor, and the barometer, to name a few. If anything, I'd say this move is overdue, and you'll soon see this happen to to the rest of the smartphone market.

    4) Apple doesn't own Bluetooth, so how does that argument fit into your 3.5mm jack copyright argument? I assume you know that over 15% of headphone unit sales were wireless last year and that it accounted for over 50% of the market. People typically don't like wires, yet, if you a huge fan of them you have so many options from using a stationary adapter in your car, to not buying a new iPhone, to not buying anything from Apple. Vote with your wallet.
  • Lolimaster - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    His is not against bt, he against forced behavior and make the customer believe its the right choice, the future.

    What hes refering to, is that without the jack change, you had both options without hindering aesthetics and without make the device look stupid and retarded (which will make fashionistas wannabes buy the propietary haedphones), and also make sensible people annoyed by having a "dongle" to use their 3.5 headphones for no other reason but sucking more money out of monkeys/isheeps.
  • Dribble - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    1) lots of cars don't have BT even those owned by apple users, it's generally an extra that you have to pay (too much!) for, it's also not as reliable as a solid jack connection.
    2) I am charging my iphone and playing music I can't plug in both at once. I am in someone else's car and want to share my music.
    3) rubbish, the space taken by the jack was tiny, every other phone including all the previous iphones manages fine with a jack.
    4) You have to remember to charge wireless headphones, and BT is never as reliable as it's meant to be, it gets confused, takes time to connect. A headphone jack doesn't have those problems, it just works all the time every time. Like I said I am pro having the option to use BT, in fact pretty well every phone on the market and all previous iphones support BT, yet a surprisingly large number of people still use wired - why is that?
  • grayson_carr - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    My $19,000 Hyundai Elantra and my wife's similarly priced Honda Civic, both purchased in 2012, both came with bluetooth. And we didn't get the upgraded stereo systems or navigation or anything. If you bought a new car in the past 5 years and it didn't come with bluetooth, you must have really been scraping the bottom of the barrel. Also, I would like to know what car is so barebones?
  • wolfemane - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Wife and I bought a uses 2002 Nissan Maxima 4 years ago and it had bluetooth... and a tape deck.

    I don't understand the hate people have towards the removal of the jack. And I wonder how many of those complaining are actual iphone users? I can't remember the last time I even used the headphone jack, been bluetooth for so long.. Personal, and anecdotal, but to the point.

    oh and I have an iPhone 6s plus. First iPhone I've ever owned, came from a long line of Android phones (mainly Galaxy's). Gotta say, I dig it a lot more than my old S6.
  • Klug4Pres - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    People like open standards, and solutions that are effective technologically.

    Wireless headphones might be "good enough" for many people, but consider that some have invested quite a lot of money in a superior, wired set of headphones. Yes, they can still use them with a dongle, but that is a "friction point" and causes problems with charging while listening to music.

    Apple has done this to make money selling Airpods. Remember, it bought a purveyor of crappy headphones, and the company has to get a return on that investment.

    This is an unsettling reminder that when buying many consumer electronic devices, we are beholden to companies who will position their products in such a way as to maximize their profits, and not in such a way as to give the best possible value to consumers.

    Yes, I know, we can choose to buy or not buy etc. That is what critics are saying - they won't buy, or they will, but reluctantly. Markets do not always provide what people would like to buy. In the smartphone industry, Apple has significant market power, and knows how to milk the consumer (e.g. by drip-feeding features to boost unit replacement, RAM rationing, controling OS updates to break or cripple older phones etc., limiting repairability, sealed batteries, to name a few). On the other hand, a forced replacement cycle is what funds R&D, OS development, customer service, people with jobs at Apple, people with jobs in China, and so forth.
  • azulon1 - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    Look some of your stuff is a little over the line. I think the general argument is that they make their phones only as good as they must to defeat the competition. And I think that they are doing a fine job at it. For instance when you talk about ram rationing? Do they need to add more ram to defeat android headsets?
  • MadaMadaDesu - Wednesday, October 19, 2016 - link

    "controling OS updates to break or cripple older phones etc."

    Maybe so. But I had to abandon two Android phones after one year each because they were acting up.

    My 4 year old iPhone 5 was upgraded from iOS 6 through 9. And I could've further upgrade it to iOS 10, except I just got an iPhone 7, so I didn't bother.

    So in the end, crippling or not, I got a lot more out of my iPhone than I ever did from my Android phones.
  • Speedfriend - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    While my 3 year old BMW X5 has bluetooth and direct connection via 3.5mm jack, on bluetooth ti doesn't access music libraries properly, so I have to connect via 3.5mm, so that will no longer be an option.
  • Featherinmycap - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    I have a 3 year old X5 too. Just plug your phone into the usb jack in the center console. Charges your phone and works very nicely overall showing cover art, your play lists etc.
  • londedoganet - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    From the iOS 10 section, I take it that Brandon is advocating for an iOS 10...Anniversary Update?

    (The joke works even better because next year is the iPhone's 10th anniversary.)
  • dudebrodude - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Friction points...friction points...friction points
  • Mumrik - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    When the expression in neither technical or intuitive, you're probably drowning in PR speak.
  • Krysto - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    What I really wanted to see is how A10 compares to Intel's chips (Celeron, Pentium, Core M, Core i3 and Core i5).

    So I'm disappointed there's none of that here. But you could still write a different post about it just covering that.
  • Lolimaster - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    A 1-2 ARM cpu vs 4-15w ones, you can guess.
  • Lolimaster - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Nowadays most the "snappy" feel is more about having a fast storage devide to handle the OS.

    The most pathetic celeron (both with 4GB of tam in win7) will feel snappier than a 6950X with a good quality SSD vs the latter with a 5400rpm HDD.
  • techconc - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Hopefully they will cover this with the A10X when the next iPads come out.
  • Ryan Smith - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Indeed that's the plan. A tablet-to-tablet comparison is the better way to go about it, particularly due to how voltage/frequency scaling works.
  • Toss3 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    How are you going to compare them? Don't really see any point in a comparison until you get a valid testing methodology (running the same apps on all platforms). Using browser benchmarks won't work, geekbench won't work, so how exactly?
  • lilmoe - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Magic (TM)
  • Ryan Smith - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    That. And maybe some SPEC as well.=)
  • lilmoe - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Ohhhh, you mean compiler magic :P
  • sunbear - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Disappointed that there was no investigation of LTE performance or a discussion of "modem-gate" - the fact that the T-mobile and ATT models contain the Intel XMM7360 modem which is not compatible with Verizon and Sprint (it has no CDMA capability) and the Intel modem is not capable of 256 QAM until the Qualcomm X12 modem present in the Verizon/Sprint models.
    http://www.pcmag.com/news/347729/will-iphone-7-sup...
  • wolfemane - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Wow... thanks for the info.
  • atechas16 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I really enjoy your reviews - thanks for digging into the details. One minor thing with the visualization plots... for example, the charge time plot comparing 7 and 7plus I would recommend creating the same axis limits to make visual comparisons between the two easier. Just a thought.
  • df99 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Could you please say something detailed about use of the phone as a phone comparing improvements of the iPhone 7(+) over the 6s(+)? Your chart of hardware shows the Wifi, for instance but not the LTE modem which is far more critical because of skyscrapers and other large buildings blocking signal and because of population density in cities. The unit has the Qualcomm X12 modem, but it doesn't cover AWS-3 (Band 66) which is a huge swath of spectrum, making the phone already obsolete.

    I would like to see as part of a technical phone review the differences in 1) signals between the 7+ and 6s+ and 2) differences in download speeds and 3) differences in voice quality. e.g.,, is the noise cancellation circuitry any better in 7+ vs. 6s+?
  • damianrobertjones - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    "Overall, I think that if there’s any phone that is worth 650-750 USD at its base"

    ... , it's absolutely NONE of them. These items should be far, far cheaper. The price will continue to rise until someone, somewhere, states 'enough' and stops these companies charging stupid prices. Then again, of course, money makes the world spin so that'll never happen.
  • solipsism - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    So you want legislation to artificially control smartphone prices and kill the free market. Brilliant¡

    If you graph the supply and demand for the iPhone you'll see that equilibrium price is actually lower than it could be. Meaning, Apple is actually losing money in the short term, but this isn't altruistic, but designed to help capture the market for the longterm, therefore increasing their overall profitshare. Economies of scale are already maxed out at it is.

    The cost of components or what you perceive as the value of a smartphone is irrelevant—all that matters is what the market dictates. If you feel that high-end smartphones are too expensive, then don't buy them. They did release an iPhone SE because the market wanted a 4" model. If you and enough others stop buying smartphones in this price range you'll see that ARP drop. This happened in India.
  • jlabelle2 - Friday, October 14, 2016 - link

    "They did release an iPhone SE because the market wanted a 4" model"

    Not at all. If it was the case, the sales of the iPhone 6 would not have been so huge compared to previous model.
    The release the SE because they wanted to target people not willing to spend 750-850$ on a phone. The SE is selling mostly because it is half the price and the cheaper iPhone ever sold.
  • grayson_carr - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    The price of iPhones has not risen. What are you talking about?
  • grayson_carr - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    The first iPhone was originally $599 subsidized with a two year contract, meaning over $1000 were it not for the subsidy, and the base model iPhone 3G was priced much lower at $599 full price without a contract, but that still equates to ~$670 today when you factor in inflation. So at a starting price of $649, the iPhone 7 is cheaper today than iPhones were 8 years ago accounting for inflation.
  • StrangerGuy - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I didn't knew owning luxury goods is a fundamental human right.

    It doesn't matter much you stinkers try to hide your entitlement syndrome under the guise "for the greater good", you still get smelled a million miles away.
  • kogtsalami - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Small correction: The iPhone 4 was not made of aluminium but stainless steel.
  • JoshHo - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    The intent was to say that the iPhone 4 was one of the first smartphones to use external antennas integrated into the design rather than internal antennas embedded in RF windows.
  • dsraa - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    No mention of the audio performance through the new dongle? what about bluetooth sound?? I know this is a brief review, but at the very least their should be a section on audio and how it compares to the 6s since there it is now done through a digital 'adapter'???
  • TechnologyGuy - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Sorry as usual with an iPhone review here - great on the details but illogical conclusions. The removal of 3.5mm headphone jack doesn't matter? That's a clear deal breaker for me, especially when AirPods for me literally belong in the garbage and having invested $1000's on headphones in the past. Not sure what you mean about the camera - iPhones have now barely caught up in quality, but clearly still lagging behind the S7 and Pixel. The iPhone 7 battery life is mediocore at best, and without fast charge or wireless charging - another automatic deal breaker for me. The screen is just passable in comparison to the competition.

    So really, the only thing that is industry-leading is the SoC, and I think at least for me, that hardly compensates for all the subpar areas. I am not sure why you are so obsessed with the SoC and system performance when the overall experience based on the components (at least those that matter in day-to-day usage - screen, camera, battery life/charging) is no batter than your average $300 phone. My experience with a phone does not depend how good I feel about the SoC under the hood. This phone is a clear no for me and not worth the $650-750 USD.
  • mrochester - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    You're forgetting that you need to consider the OS and ecosystem too. A phone isn't just a bunch of hardware components, and it's an OS and software layer too, which is much more important than the hardware anyway.
  • grayson_carr - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    You can still use your old headphones with the adapter included in the box.

    The Pixel has a better camera? I didn't realize reviews were already out.

    Mediocre battery life? Did you even read the review? the only noteworthy phone that beats the iPhone 7 is the S7 Edge, and it beats it by what, 20 minutes?

    The iPhones will charge a lot faster if you buy an iPad charger. Sucks that they don't include a higher W charger in the box, but you at least have an option for faster charging.

    Good to know the screen with the most accurate colors of any phone ever, and the only one to include proper color management, and one of brightest screens of all time is passable!

    So it's not worth $650-750 for you. Ok. That's fine. It seems to be worth that much to a whole bunch of other people though.
  • SquarePeg - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    https://www.dxomark.com/Mobiles/Pixel-smartphone-c...
  • grayson_carr - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Well if they said it, it must be true. After some of the scores they have given certain Sony phones, I will never trust them.
  • jlabelle2 - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    "After some of the scores they have given certain Sony phones, I will never trust them."
    Here we are again... And earth is flat, I know...
  • mef - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    "The screen is just passable": really???

    http://www.displaymate.com/iPhone7_ShootOut_1.htm

    The iPhone 7 matches or breaks new Smartphone display performance records for:
    • The Highest Absolute Color Accuracy for any display (1.1 JNCD) – Visually Indistinguishable from Perfect
    • The Highest Absolute Luminance Accuracy for any display (±2%) – Visually Indistinguishable from Perfect
    • Very Accurate Image Contrast and Intensity Scale (with Gamma 2.21) – Visually Indistinguishable from Perfect
    • The Highest Peak Brightness Smartphone for any Average Picture Level APL (602 to 705 nits)
    • The Highest (True) Contrast Ratio for any IPS LCD display (1,762) – Higher Dynamic Contrast Ratios are phony
    • The Lowest Screen Reflectance for any Smartphone display (4.4 percent)
    • The Highest Contrast Rating in High Ambient Light for a Smartphone for any APL (137 to 160)
    • The Smallest Color variation with Viewing Angle (2.1 JNCD or less)
  • Toss3 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    They compared it to the iPhone 6, and while it is accurate, many people would still pick an AMOLED screen over the LCD any day of the week; samsung's recent amoled-screens are almost as accurate (negligible difference really, with infinite contrast and higher perceived sharpness both due to an increase in contrast and pixel density).
  • R. Hunt - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    OLED will only be accepted by mainstream media as vastly superior the moment Apple starts using it.

    We all know this.
  • techconc - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    No, DisplayMate's review was not simply comparing the screen to the iPhone 6. There are areas where the iPhone 7 screen is best in class overall. Moreover, in a recent Wired article Dr. Soneira went on to say that the best screen overall is a "toss up" between the Galaxy's OLED and the iPhone 7's LCD. Both have inherent strengths and weaknesses. Neither is better overall.
    https://www.wired.com/2016/09/iphone-7s-screen-loo...
  • Constructor - Monday, October 17, 2016 - link

    No, they're not, since Android has no color management whatsoever. Plus AMOLED deteriorates over time, including pixel-wise burn-in and incremental color degradation (also varying across the display area).

    Samsung et al clearly don't care much about as you can see from their short support span for these devices, but Apple devices are often used for many years and they stay very high quality for years; They also get full update and upgrade support directly from Apple for 5 years.

    AMOLED is simply not good enough and not durable enough for that, even if you did calibrate it in the factory and if you had an OS with color management.
  • TechnologyGuy - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I specifically made no mention of the OS because that is subjective. I have owned both Android and iOS phones and I have always preferred Android over iOS. I do understand people might prefer one over the other but I like to micro-manage and customization of every little detail is important to me.

    Yes, Pixel camera reviews are out - please search for yourself. Plugging in an adapter/dongle is not what I want to bother to do every time I use the phone. An extra accessory to lose, a feature that adds zero (negative) value for me. Battery life in real world usage is not quite the same as on the test - two of my colleagues have already acquired the phone with poorer battery life than the 6S. In addition, other sites' battery tests do show mediocre results for the iPhone 7.

    I am aware of the color accuracy, which is why I said passable. Simply put, a so-so black level and a resolution below quad HD is not acceptable for my use. And yes, I can tell the difference on a 5 inch phone.
  • azulon1 - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    Well it's not passable, it's one of the best displays ever made.
  • MadaMadaDesu - Wednesday, October 19, 2016 - link

    "Plugging in an adapter/dongle is not what I want to bother to do every time I use the phone."

    Nit picking. Plug your earphones onto the dongle and leave it there. Tape or glue them together if you think you'll lose it.
  • ACM.1899 - Wednesday, October 19, 2016 - link

    some just want their phone to have a 3.5 jack.
    it is because of this kind of answers that some people call some other "isheep".
  • zeeBomb - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I remember the last time a review was suppose to come out.

    Came in November!
  • Der2 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    First...we did it boys!
  • tipoo - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Is the die still dual sourced, or did they go all TSMC this time?
  • ToTTenTranz - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I am honestly saddened by all the tech sites trying to shrug off the lack of stereo jack as if it wasn't a big thing.

    The very same tech sites that a couple of years ago were doing extensive testing to the phones' analog audio outputs:
    http://www.anandtech.com/show/8554/the-iphone-6-re...

    And now analog out doesn't matter because the airpods are "good enough"?

    For crap's sake...
  • grayson_carr - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    As if AirPods are your only option now... Every pair of headphones that was an options before is, shocker, still an option with the adapter included in the box. Just leave the adapter attached to your old headphones and you won't even notice the difference unless you are one of the few people that often charge and listen to headphones at the same time (which can still be done by the way, with a different adapter).
  • ToTTenTranz - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    "unless you are one of the FEW people that often charge and listen to headphones at the same time"

    Few.
    Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.
  • grayson_carr - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    I think you're the one who needs to come back to realty if you think that's a common scenario.
  • ws3 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    I have an iPhone 6 and I use headphones often. I would say that I have wanted to listen while charging maybe 2-3% of the times I have used headphones.

    It does happen, and it would be annoying those 2-3% of the times, but it's not common enough to be a deal breaker for me.

    Generally I use the headphones in the night and at the end of the day I almost always have around 30% battery on my phone which is good for 3+ hours of headphone use.
  • MadaMadaDesu - Wednesday, October 19, 2016 - link

    Well then stop buying phones with crappy battery life.
  • Ryan Smith - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Unfortunately that review was a bit of a one-off. The equipment used there is not something we have access to, so we can't replicate the tests. But it's definitely something we'd like to do if we had the opportunity.
  • zeeBomb - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Great review as always, and awesome footnotes between the differences in iOS and Android for optimization and performance.

    Hey, what do you guys mean when the iPhone is lacking in z-height? As in the top of where the iPhone sits on the top right corner or the portion where the lens stick out? The protrusion?
  • Constructor - Monday, October 17, 2016 - link

    It's not thick enough to support a longer focus and thus a larger lens, leading to less light on the sensor through the small lens and more noise in low-light situations.
  • fanofanand - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I thought this was an excellent review, and the first review of any Apple product in a LONG time that didn't read like the author was angling for a job in Cupertino. The phone itself looks amazing (I will never buy an Apple product period, but let's be honest shall we?) and it sets a high bar for Android to compete against. It will be interesting to see what they come up with next year, because it looks like all they did this year was turn up clock speeds. They won't be able to do that again next year.
  • syxbit - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    "The latest generation of Android devices outpaced Apple's A9 SoC some time ago, so that's one area where Apple could stand to improve against the competition."

    Wow AnandTech has gone down hill. How can you make a statement like that without data. In what way has the A9 been outpaced? There are many things in the iPhone that could stand to improve, but the SoC is not one of them.
  • Brandon Chester - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    That statement was missing the specification of GPU performance, which is an area where 2016's Android devices did move past A9. I have amended the statement, and I apologize for the error, but I see no basis for jumping to the conclusion that "AnandTech has gone down hill" because two words were missing from a sentence.
  • RT81 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I use a Mac and an iPhone for my music production projects, so I enjoy the reviews on Apple stuff. However, you all have to admit, the Anandtech comment crowd isn't really the target audience for this stuff. These are people that grew up hating Apple because the only thing they really care about is benchmarks and raw power for gaming and they hold a grudge against Apple for marketing themselves as being the cool, trendy company.

    Paying more for a computer that is basically an appliance with a warranty is meaningless when all you care about is tinkering and min-maxing hardware for performance.

    As long as you guys continue to review Apple products, you all are going to have thicker skin.
  • RT81 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    *going to NEED to have thicker skin
  • solipsism - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    You as in AnandTech'a staff or those that hate a company for producing something they aren't interested in purchasing? If you mean the latter, then I agree.
  • RT81 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Now that you mention it...both. :0)
  • mrochester - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    It's a shame there are narrow-minded people like that. If only they were more open-minded, they'd probably fine they like the Apple experience.
  • azulon1 - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    Brandon your services are appreciated, don't worry about jackarses like him. If it were up to you, you would just blend them up in a grinder.
  • mef - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Very good review! Thanks, AT.
  • solipsism - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Yes. I especially like Brandon Cheaters writing.
  • Savanah - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    LoL
  • Eden-K121D - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    A is near s
  • Savanah - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Why does Brandon use Android device as a daily driver(he lets us know very often) when he has nothing but good things to say about Apple and iphones. If iphone is best in everything then shouldn't he be using it instead of some Android phone. Is it to make the readers believe that he is writing an unbiased review?
  • mkaibear - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Why not? I have nothing bad to say about iPhones apart from the price and I'll never buy one either. Just can't justify the price to myself.

    Same reason I won't be getting a Pixel unless there's a stellar deal.
  • solipsism - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I'n the opposite of mkaibear. I prefer my iPhone but I have nothing against Android, WinPhone, or OEMs building devices for those OSes.

    I'm also glad to know what he uses and prefers. Wouldn't you want to know that I used an iPhone if I was reviewing an Android-based device?

    You can tell Brandon goes out of his way to be objective in his writing, even when decisions are somewhat opinion-based. This is not a gift that I see too often, so I appreciate it when I do.
  • mjh483 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Simple. Android vs iOS. Android can do things that iOS simply can't.
    Just because Android provides features that he needs doesn't mean he can't appreciate iOS.
    I think everyone needs to read the review carefully, because it's not like he is praising everything. He DID criticise the low resolution of the Retina display.
    And he gave logical reasons for things that he is impressed about. If you wanna refute that, then it's only right for you to come up with your own logical reasoning to back it up.
  • Infy2 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I am interested in the color space of the jpgs the camera produces, since the phone itself shows them in wider than sRGB. How will the jpgs be shown by color space aware programs and "normal" programs, like web browsers, that dont know anything about color profiles or color management?
  • Infy2 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Digging up shows the jpgs show color space as "[EXIF] ColorSpace: Uncalibrated" but they have embedded ICC P3 color space profile. Viewing the jpgs on Windows 10 with uncalibrated sRGB monitor (manufacturer's stock ICC profile installed though) shows very small difference in color intensity between color managed and non-color managed programs. Overall I dont see it as big issue that the world's most popular camera phone produces images in non-sRGB color space.
  • bw13121 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I'm hoping the deep-dive includes a section on the choice of modems. Whether the Intel or Qualcomm radios- the process technology, signal performance, power consumption and a list of supported radio bands themselves. There have been rumours that the Qualcomm radio in the non EU countries is on a newer process and supports more bands? Also, it is Cat 12 Vs Cat 10 Intel XMM7360.

    Thoughts anyone?
  • jlabelle2 - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    It makes little sense. Either the P3 ICC profile is embedded in the JPEG and only color profile aware software can show them properly (so very little on a Windows PC, and none on an Android or Windows phone) or it is not and the pictures will appear under saturated everywhere but some Apple devices / apps.
  • grayson_carr - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Not sure about other browsers, but Safari supports proper color management and will display jpegs in their proper color space. I did notice that viewing iPhone 7 photos on an Android device makes them look far worse though because Android devices compress everything down to fit inside sRGB, making iPhone 7 photos look undersaturated on Android phones.
  • jlabelle2 - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Yes but this is quite an exception. IE or Chrome or Edge for instance does not support reading the ICC profile of embedded image. Same for most software or app and same for ALL Android and Windows Mobile apps.
    Android is not "compressing anything". It just pass the RGB value to the screen.
    On a aRGB or P3 JPEG, a 100,0,0 pixel represents a more satured red than a 100,0,0 in sRGB color space.
    So if you display on a sRGB screen, without color management transforming the value to an equivalent one on the smaller color space, the colors will be displayed logically much less saturated.

    I ask already this question to Brandon on the iPad Pro review but never get answer on this very practical question. He mentioned future proof but TODAY, if really the pictures of the iPhone 7 are taken in a wider color space than sRGB, it is a big BIG issue as it means that you cannot basically share it to almost anyone (on 93% of Windows PC and Chromebook, on 85% of the mobile phones) because it will not be displayed properly.
    It seems so counterproductive that I have no idea why Apple would do that except to try cheating people making them believe of the advantage of their wider color gamut screen while the difference is mostly due to the color management issue (almost no real life pictures go beyond sRGB gamut).
  • Constructor - Monday, October 17, 2016 - link

    The way it should be working is this:

    • The camera shoots the picture in P3 color space and attaches the appropriate P3 profile to the picture, so any color-managed software knows precisely what the colors are supposed to look like.

    • On a display with a smaller color space the image color space will have to be compressed into the smaller space – you cannot see the colors as they actually were but only a less saturated, incorrect image but it will be fit into the smaller space as well as possible if color management is present, for instance preserving the color balance even if the display is just weak in blues or reds. If no color management is present, the image can become discolored on top of the compression, depending on the exact limitations of the display.

    • On a display with full P3 color space you see the colors from the P3 photo precisely as they actually were, exploiting the full gamut.

    • With a photo coming from a smaller color space such as sRGB, the color-managed P3 display would display this photo as it is supposed to look like, namely with its sRGB colors.

    Without color management the gamut would simply be blown up to full P3 gamut, incorrectly oversaturating the image.
  • jlabelle2 - Monday, October 24, 2016 - link

    "The way it should be working is this:"

    Well less and no. You are totally CORRECT on the behavior today: it seems to have been confirmed that the JPEG have the DCI-P3 color space embedded but I have not be able to find some iPhone 7 images that did not have sRGB instead...

    So if this is the case, it means, exactly as you said that basically more than 85% of the population (all Android and Windows PC/laptop/tablet users) will see the image wrong, desaturated because of the smaller gamut of their screen.

    Saying that what it should do is to implement it so that you can NOT share it with 86%+ of the population is ... weird.

    What Apple could have done is to let the user select this in the settings like every camera able to capture wider gamut than sRGB do. But no. It is Apple. So for the excuse of making things simple, they screw up the very vast majority of the population.

    The fact that it can be put by Anandtech in any positive way is really puzzling. Anand would have had better knowledge than that but he is not here anymore.
  • ycc - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Pretty much every updated program you use on a PC (Windows or Mac) will (should) be color managed, be in Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, etc. In those cases the picture will just look a little less vibrant but the basic accuracy should be fine.

    The only issue is on mobile space, where Android devices don't support color management. I would imagine if you look at a jpg taken on an iPhone 7 with the DCI-P3 color space will look weird when Android tries to display it in its native color space without performing a conversion.
  • jlabelle2 - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    "Pretty much every updated program you use on a PC (Windows or Mac) will (should) be color managed, be in Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, etc"

    Absolutely not. NONE of the Windows Store app are for instance. The email applications / software or photo app (the default one) and Windows Photo Viewer are not. Also, IE has the issue of not applying the monitor ICC profile which create an issue for any wide gamut monitor.
    Firefox was for a long time the only browser (with Safari on OS X) to manage properly the colors (assign sRGB to untagged image, read and convert image color space, use monitor ICC profile).

    Because of that, wide color gamut screens on Windows (or Android) is still a huge problem making all the OS and applications colors appear oversaturated.
  • Ryan Smith - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    It's something we're already working on as part of the deep dive.=)
  • Bandur - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    First page: "their first SoC with heterogeneous CPU cores"
    System Performance subpage : "this is not a heterogeneous design"

    Is this meant to be like this?
  • Ryan Smith - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    The hardware is heterogeneous, however the execution model is not. A heterogeneous execution model would have the system using all 4 CPU cores at the same time, instead of bouncing between the big and small cores based on power/perf needs.
  • ikjadoon - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    IMO, maybe this could've been clarified slightly. I had some trouble if the first page was a typo. 2 cents.
  • Featherinmycap - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Fantastic review. I learned a great deal. I have been reading and enjoying this site for so long and the transition of the founders to Josh and Brandon has really gone smoothly. I am sorry the discussions have gone so far downhill from the early days of the site. This used to be an enthusiast site and now there seems to be so many people doing their upmost to pointlessly criticize how long it takes you to post something or what you decide to write about. I read many other tech blogs as well and these same people spew the same rhetoric on those sites as well. I am one loyal reader who says keep up the great work.
  • mef - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Well said!
  • techconc - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    "While it’s not unusable by any means, you don’t need to have amazing vision to see the difference between 326 PPI and the 400-500 PPI of most Android devices and the iPhone Plus line."

    I realize this is the common mantra repeated by the spec conscious crowd, especially by Android fans. However, it simply isn't true. This can also be proven mathematically.... which is why I find random and unsupported comments like this to be rather disturbing on a respected technical site like Anandtech. Just a few points here....
    1. If you understand the definition of normal (20/20) vision having the ability to discern 1 minute of arc, it can be mathematically proven that you can't see any signs of pixels at normal viewing distances.
    2. This comment also assumes all things are equal between technologies. That is, take the Samsung Amoled displays that use Pentile based pixel arrangements. They use 1/3 less subpixels and need more full pixels in order to achieve the same level of sharpness.
    3. Actual Apples to Apples comparisons.... I cannot see a quality difference between Apple's iPhone 6 (326 ppi) and 6 plus (401 ppi) screens. However, I can see a quality difference between these and the iPad's 264 ppi screen.
    3a. I've seen people try to demonstrate a difference using text. They've mistaken a lighter font on an Android phone for higher resolution. You need to make a true comparison with the same programs, the same OS and the same font rendering systems to make the proper conclusion.

    At the end of the day, nobody is looking at an iPhone screen and saying this is great.. I just wish it were sharper. This is only an issue for people counting specs who don't know what they're looking at.
  • grayson_carr - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Depends on your definition of normal viewing distance. At an arms length (2+ feet), I definitely can't tell the difference between a 4.7 inch iPhone and the 5.5 inch 1080p iPhone or a QHD Android phone, but when I bring the phone in to about 1 foot from my face, as I often do when sitting down or laying in bed, the difference is obvious.
  • techconc - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Mathematically, 326 ppi comes down to 10.5" and 401 ppi comes down to 8". I don't hold my phone closer than either. If you're claiming that you can see a difference than you either
    a) have super human vision (certainly far better than 20/20).
    b) are lying
    c) are comparing different things (per my note.... need to compare same OS, same application, same font rendering engine, etc.).

    I'm not sure which applies to you, but if you have normal 20/20 vision, your claim about being able to see a difference is false and can be disproved mathematically. Plenty of PHDs have weighed in on this topic and this is consistent with my own observations.
  • mkozakewich - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Also, do remember that 50% of people are better than the average. There are a lot of near-sighted people who can really focus on devices and sometimes use a phone at a bit less than 12" away.

    (I'll also argue that the really dense phones we're seeing today enable things like the Gear VR. The one-foot handset viewing distance is just one use-case.)
  • mef - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Same dense phones that finish a graphic intensive benchmark at a pathetic 10 fps or lower (final frame rate graph). More pixel please!!
  • grayson_carr - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    You can use math. I can use something far more simple and less abstract. A real world comparison. Maybe I have 20/10 vision. I don't know. But I can see a difference. Easily.
  • mkozakewich - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Keep in mind the argument for 1 arcminute is for differentiating pixels. Meanwhile, you can make out things like aliasing of lines or non-parallelism of lines at those resolutions. I find that what I really notice is the tiny grid between pixels, and anything will look fine as long as I can't see that grid.

    There is one fundamental argument that is still sound, though: Apple was the first to really push acceptable display resolutions, and a-little-over-300 is still a 'fine' density today. Staying here (like staying at 1 GB of RAM for a while) has specific trade-off benefits, and they're meanwhile pushing different areas of performance that matter more (in this case, calibrated displays and better OS color management).
  • techconc - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    Yes, I've done some research into this and I'm aware of the concept of hyper acuity which basically suggests that you can tell there is a difference even if you can't specifically see the difference, etc. The bottom line is this. For all practical purposes, there is no real advantage to Apple going to a higher pixel density than where they already are. People just won't see the difference. As such your RAM analogy falls down a bit as OS and application demands to continue to grow. Your analogy would only fit if human eye sight started trending towards greater acuity as the years go by. That's not the case.
  • techconc - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    I should add that if Apple goes AMOLED next year and they use a Pentile based display, then yes, they should increase the pixel count because Pentile based displays have 1/3 fewer subpixels and consequently need a higher pixel density in order to achieve the same level of sharpness. For most people, this "difference" that they think they see is very much a placebo effect.
  • Meteor2 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Very well said, techconc.

    The only place higher resolution matters is with VR headsets which use phones.
  • Toss3 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Contrast is just as important as resolution when it comes to perceived sharpness, so that matters as well. Definitely agree that 1080p is enough for 5.5inch phones, unless you want to use them for VR (in that case a full RGB 1440p would be great).
  • Jodiuh - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    "...after trying some pre-production AirPods I think it’s fairly safe to say that wireless is the future for any kind of mobile device..."

    I almost stopped reading after this idiotic statement. Wow. Just wow...add in the ridiculous click bait ads at the bottom (what happens next is terrifying!)...so much for AnandTech. :(
  • jaxdid - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    What is your actual problem?

    Wireless headphones already outsell wired headphones TODAY. Which part of safely assuming this trend will only increase in the future strikes you as idiotic?
  • Toss3 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    People get upset because they are not interested in convenience, but high quality audio output, which just isn't possible with BT. For those people an external DAC/AMP would still be recommended though, so the 3.5mm jack would be useless anyways. I'd still prefer to have the option of using a 3.5mm headset as I already own plenty of those, and I usually want to charge my phone at the same time I am watching something on my phone in bed.
  • blackcrayon - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    That would be a bigger deal (charging and listening simultaneously with wired headphones) if it were an unsolvable problem. Instead, it's just slightly less convenient. Nothing to be up in arms about (not saying you are).
  • id4andrei - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    What about AdobeRGB? Similarly technical review site notebookcheck.com show the 7+ covering only 63% of the spec while "Galaxies" reach 90%. Does this spec not matter? In the color space argument I mean. It's a pretty prevalent standard from what I read. Samsung does pretty well because some parts of P3 overlap with AdobeRGB, even though they don't advertise as P3 compatible.

    You focus on sRGB and P3 and ignore the dominant spec AdobeRGB. P3 is a new addition that only Apple boasted support while everyone focuses on AdobeRGB - recently Dell introduced P3 support on some monitors.
  • Ryan Smith - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    AdobeRGB is primarily a print standard, which is why it's not used in digitally distributed content. Right now virtually everything is distributed sRGB, with Apple and others working to bump it up to P3.

    But in any case, I haven't read the review in question. But as you note the AdobeRGB and P3 color spaces are very close together. If Notebookcheck got 60%, then it sounds like they somehow tested an sRGB image. The display operating in P3 mode should be closer to 90%.
  • Toss3 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Yup Adobe RGB is pretty much useless if you have the option of using P3.
  • id4andrei - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    It's a very technical review from an Austrian site. I did not write the full link because I thought it would be read as me advertising that site on Anandtech so I only mentioned the non-linkable name.

    http://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-iPhone-7-Plus-S...

    Still P3 is a cinematography related standard. A print standard seems exactly Apple's bread and butter in real life. Aren't photographers more concerned with AdobeRGB than P3?

    PS: I doubt their numbers are wrong as Apple has the same relatively poor support - of AdobeRGB - on their macbooks also.
  • jlabelle2 - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    notebookcheck review are just again in a completely different level and best I have seen so far of any website.
  • jlabelle2 - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    "Samsung does pretty well because some parts of P3 overlap with AdobeRGB"

    It is useless as Android does not manage color. Therefore, you have to move to the Standard mode (or whatever it is called) that constraint the screen in sRGB gamut.
  • mrtanner70 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    As a very long time reader I have a suggestion: How about Anandtech only does performance reviews - it's what you are known for and what your brand is all about. Don't take this the wrong way but your standard reviews, while thorough, don't add much value to the test of the tech sites.

    The performance deep dives, however, are without equal. Simplify your message, simplify your workflow, strengthen your brand, Anandtech Performance Reviews.
  • bw13121 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    On the review suggestions, I'm very happy with them all. I would just suggest more of them and a real deep-dive on the A10! Let's see how them 3.3 Billion transistors outpower anything from the Android camp!
  • bw13121 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Also, to add to the comments on the review regarding the slow charge time, does a battery not last longer if it is charged slow as opposed to Fast charging/Qualcomm Quickcharge?

    The recent issue with Samsung phones could give an indication to the problem associated with fast charging, whether the FC compound or creates any battery issues?

    Can AT do another deep dive chemistry wise to compare battery longevity to include the quality of the battery, relative power density and the typical lifespan with the default charger?
  • Meteor2 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    By 'last longer' I assume you mean overall lifespan, not the time a single charge lasts. Yes, you're certainly right -- fast charging diminishes the lifespan of lie ion batteries. I swap out fast chargers for 5W chargers for daily use, but keep the OEM 15+W charger plugged in somewhere in case I ever need a fast boost.

    'Tis true though, USB-C (I.e. really easy to put in) and quick charging largely does away with the need for wireless charging. At least that's my experience.
  • Meteor2 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Good advice.
  • Mumrik - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    "without a single mention of the deletion of the 3.5mm headphone jack, and that’s mostly because I think removing it doesn’t really matter after spending some time with AirPods, which really do remove a huge number of friction points from the user experience in a way that I didn’t even think about."

    I'm eternally surprised by the amount of people who happily use whatever headphones come with or are sold for their latest piece of technology.

    On my side of the universe, this is more like buying a bluray player and switching your entire TV because they removed HDMI from the player.
  • Seraphimcaduto - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    I didn't see anyone already ask the question, so I'll ask, for deep dive are you planning on at the difference that the amount of ram plays between the iPhone 7 and 7+? I remember it coming up during podcast 38 , there was no mention about it later so I thought I would ask great review overall it's why I keep coming back here in and waiting until you do a review before making that purchasing decision.
  • Ryan Smith - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    It's something we're looking into, though it's too early to say if we'll have anything conclusive.
  • df99 - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    As noted in an earlier comment, there is no mention whatsoever about the Qualcomm Modem X12 -- MDM 9645 and transceivers WTR 4905 and WTR 3925. The combination of the later two chips allows for combining of 3 data streams. There is mention of the WiFi interface in the hardware table but nothing mentioned of the LTE Qualcomm interfaces (CDMA versions of Verizon and Sprint) or the Intel Modem interfaces (AT&T and T-mobile). The Qualcomm modem is Cat 12 DL and Cat 13 UL.

    The Samsung S7 phones have 4 antennas to support 4x4 MIMO, 256 QAM (DL). To my knowledge, but I don't know for certain and it would be nice if Anandtech told us, there are not 4 antennas in the iPhone 7 so 4x4 MIMO can't be supported. 4x4 MIMO, 256 QAM allow for better signal reach than phones that don't support it. The Samsung S7 phones all use Qualcomm X12 modems as stated earlier, Apple has taken a shortcut and used the Intel modem on AT&T and T-mobile and the Intel modem lacks the 4x4 MIMO support and is a Category 9 modem.

    These chips and antennas make a difference for signal performance and I hope Anandtech goes into these very important details.

    In addition, as pointed out before, the iPhone 7 and Samsung S7 phones do not have the veer large spectrum AWS-3 (band 66) support. The newest LG phone, the V20 shipping later this month, does have AWS-3, band 66 support.

    I also would appreciate the testing of voice quality and noise background noise cancellation comparing the iPhone 7(+) with 6s(+) and Samsung S7.

    I have the iPhone 7+ on Verizon and I feel frustrated that Apple's iPhone for Verizon / Sprint which uses the Qualcomm X12 modem does not seem to have the 4 antennas and thus support for 4x4 MIMO and 256 QAM that the Samsung S7 provides. I wish there were more pride on Apple's part to ensure latest technology on the mission critical aspect of the phone (e.g., phones generally not useful if in need of 911 or other important call and can't get signal).

    Again, I'm not certain if the iPhone 7(+) does not have the 4 antennas and whether it can soon support 4x4 MIMO and 256 QAM, but I wish the review had mentioned this critical piece of information.
  • tempestglen - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    No SPEC2000 or SPEC06 result?
  • RdVi - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    Just to nit pick, you stated in the intro that the Galaxy S6 had a disadvantage of being thicker than the iPhone 6 which you attribute to the larger battery. The GS6 is actually 0.1mm(!) thinner than the iPhone 6.
  • MykeM - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    He's probably referring to the Galaxy S6 Edge which is 0.1mm thicker than the iPhone 6 (7mm vs 6.9mm).
  • doubledeej - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    It's hard to take the article seriously when it says that the removal of the headphone jack "doesn't really matter." There are a ton of users out there that are completely unsatisfied with the terrible sound quality of the included headphones, and the AirPods are no better. And there are other issues as well.

    Those interested in high quality sound, who are the most invested in actually wanting a headphone jack, will have better quality headphones they'll want to use. (I, for example, have never removed the EarPods from the iPhone box.) Yes, Apple includes an adapter (gag!), but that's just one more thing we'll forget to bring with us when we leave home, or to get lost and have to be replaced. Adapters are a horrible solution.

    It's even worse for those of us that actually connect our phones into high quality audio systems. Again, we're stuck (or in my case, would be stuck) with using an adapter, and not being able to charge the phone at the same time.

    Wireless is NOT the same thing. Wireless sound quality always suffers. And having to remember to charge one more device, and worry about one more battery wearing out, just isn't an acceptable solution. Not to mention that you can't use wireless headphones on an airplane.

    Apple's decision to remove the headphone jack was just dumb. I, for one, have forgone getting the iPhone 7 specifically for that reason, even though I've purchased every other model since it became available on my carrier. And unless the headphone jack returns, the 6S will be my last.

    Some will argue that "wireless is the future" but it's a mediocre substitute at best for a reliable, simple connection that has been proven over time. Simple is a good thing. It means it just works. Some may call the headphone jack a relic, but we use old relics of technology all of the time. Being old doesn't make it bad. The wheel, for example, has been around for millennia, but you don't really see very many people pushing to replace it with something else. Wireless headphones are far more complicated: encoder -> transmitter -> antenna -> antenna -> receiver -> decoder -> analog conversion -> amplifier -> headphone instead of digital -> analog conversion -> amplifier -> headphone.
  • eastpoint - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    i love hifi audio and i have a pretty nice set of cans i paid a pretty penny for. I have so far left the adapter connected to my headphones without problem. why? because its fundamentally something i have to have a wired connected to anyway so its no big deal. i also purchased an additional adapter for my home setup and left it connected to that as well. sure i could sit and complain about it but the solution is simple enough and low cost enough that its no big deal. I could have complained more but it came with a free one in box so it left me actually losing no functionality with purchase so to me its beating a dead horse over nothing. You may not like the solution but there is one and its a really simple one at that.
  • ACM.1899 - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    they removed the 3.5mm jack and what did they add instead? at least a built in dac (like HTC 10, v10 or v20) would have been nice.
    i've heard the sound through the dongle isn't as good as previous.
    or bluetooth headphones (in general) are not as good as analog headphones (with the same price).
    and i know it's a smartphone, not a pro music player.
    every time Apple does something stupid we say it's because of this
    or that
    or it's a dead horse
    or for that you can do this
    or it's the future....
    but WHY?
    for now the only (main) reason is marketing.(Apple & Beats)
    it looks like we are buying a better iPhone with the same price as before but after a year (or 6 months) you'll be forced to buy another dongle or BT headphone , even then you'll still think that you bought a better phone, and that's sad...
    as long as a good BT headphone is not the same price as a good analog headphone , i don't want them.
    until then the 3.5mm jack should have not been removed.
    at least i don't need that bs taptic engine...
  • Constructor - Monday, October 17, 2016 - link

    It's rather simple, and very likely exactly what they've been saying all along: To make room for other components, such as the bigger camera, the bigger battery, the bigger Taptic Engine and apparently also the pressure interface for the barometer.

    Engineering is always a matter of compromises, and in a smartphone size, weight and battery life make all compromises difficult to reconcile. And in the fight for future improvements the built-in headphone jack got kicked to the curb to allow for the other improvements.

    Any develpper worth their salt knows these kinds of decisions from experience, and users waffling on about "marketing" or "greed" almost always have us roll our eyes. Developing complex machinery is a tough business and not for the faint of heart; Very few manufacturers allow their developers to pursue new opportunities as ruthlessly as Apple does. And so far they've got a pretty good track record of mostly being right in hindsight (although some people still keep moaning about the buil-in serial ports or floppy drives of old).
  • Dbarua - Monday, October 10, 2016 - link

    AIDA reports the gpu is the power vr 7XT 7600 6 cores. That would make it the same as the iPad pro with half the number of clusters. Also as expected I have a model 1784 and the modem is a n Intel 7360
  • Ryan Smith - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    For what it's worth, AIDA is just guessing. It's not like on the PC where you can poke registers and get a definitive result, rather the program is just querying its database. It's an educated guess, but reality is a bit more nuanced than simply calling it Series 7XT.
  • just4U - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    I've read every single iPhone review by Anandtech thru the years.. and never owned one. I've used others briefly but never found anything interesting enough to bite the bullet and get one for myself. Maybe it's a question of what your used to?

    I went from a Mike Phone (work) to a blackberry to S2, S4, and S6. Course I also owned a brick!! back in the early 90s but that's neither here nor there..
  • Code.Red - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    I have the iPhone 7 and noticed the animation stuttering issue when closing apps as well, but am struggling to understand the explanation given for it in the article. The iPhone 6 and 6S do not stutter in the same animation on iOS 10, so why does the new home button make a difference there? I can press the 6S' physical button and the 7's solid state button at the same rate and the same timing, so what about having a solid state button changes the way the animation works?
  • UtilityMax - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    I think the iPhones were truly interesting in their earlier years, when their iOS was vastly superior to a repetitively chaotic android that was still playing a catch up. However, around 2012-2013 the convergence of the OSes was pretty close, and the Android hardware made a massive leap by introducing large screen smartphones while Apple continued being stuck with relatively small iphones until iPhone 6.
  • jlabelle2 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    So, in a nutshell:
    - screen is very well calibrated but not in a way that makes a difference now compared to competitor, it is still not an AMOLED display and resolution is on the low side as well as maximum brightness.
    - camera is still worse than competition, even showing low light picture with twice the shutter speed, and basically the same as the 6S except a different processing (that could be given to the 6S by an over-the-air update)
    - haptic button is (obviously) worse than a physical button
    - 3,5mm jack is gone
    But it is still insanely fast, in a way that does not matter for anyone anyway because it does not offer a different experience than the 6 or 6S and still cannot overcome some small software animation issues (where the processor power is not the culprit).
    So what is exactly the appealing side of the phone versus the 6S?
  • sagarsiddhpura - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Author is clearly biased towards iPhone. S7 does sharpening but every review states that it outperforms iP7. Photos are not well lit and just dull on iP7.
  • thek - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    the battery results do not stand with most of the other reviews I read .. (for example; http://www.trustedreviews.com/g00/iphone-7-review)...

    Now before people say that Anandtech is more technical so therefore not biased I actually think it's the exact opposite.
    It seems that anandtech relies too much on benchmarks (and I've said this in the OnePlus3 review as well) and instead of actually looking at the screen in the OP3 case or checking the real life feeling of the battery in the Iphone7 case they just say if it's bad or good based on the benchmarks.

    Personally I think that if people say that the Iphone7 battery is almost the worst they've ever had but it's excellent in the benchmarks- then I'm sure 100% Apple adjusts it's software and design to excel in benchmarks for the reviews to praise them.
    I'd feel better if Anandtech would start providing more ''real life'' feelings regarding the phones they use.
    Yes it's individual but it's becoming obvious that benchmarks are irrelevent and so does anandtech
  • thek - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    btw I'm not sure if I can post links but the bad battery life is talked about in almost every review I read. and by bad I mean not on par with other premium handsets like the galaxy s7, etc
  • rantao333@hotmail.com - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    i personally own a galaxy s6 edge and iphone 6s, under normal usage, my iphone 6s always last longer than my galaxy s6, though not by much. which ironically does not match with the result of most reviews out there.
  • Ryan Smith - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    "It seems that anandtech relies too much on benchmarks (and I've said this in the OnePlus3 review as well) and instead of actually looking at the screen in the OP3 case or checking the real life feeling of the battery in the Iphone7 case they just say if it's bad or good based on the benchmarks."

    This strikes me as an odd argument to make. You're essentially arguing against systematic testing. Which besides unscientific, is very much the opposite of how we do things. If we're going to claim that a product is good or bad, we want to have the numbers to back it up, and to ensure that it was done in a rigorous manner so that it's accurate.

    Our battery life test is specifically designed to test phones against modern webpages, piles of JS, overbearing ads, and all. It is a true workout of display, radio, and SoC, so it's very much a real life benchmark.
  • dumbnub - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    I think a more valid arguement, then ditching benchmarks, is to use benchmarks that are closer to real life. I have a huawei P9 and when I use it on wifi at home, in airplane mode, in the dark (brightness set to auto), I have yet to achieve 8hrs + like your benchmarks show. To me battery tests are most useful as a comparison between different phones rather than for accurate numbers. But I guess it's a hard task to get more accurate data because people use their phone differently and the benchmarking tools available are limited. I'm glad you do the benchmarking for battery life for comparisons sake.
  • dumbnub - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Also reports of SOT vary wildly over at the xda developers forum for the huawei p9, so battery life is a very difficult thing to nail for everyone, maybe impossible.
  • techconc - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    What matters is that the same test is being applied to all devices. The number of hours a device lasts in a test is really immaterial as the scores should still be relative to other devices tested.
  • jlabelle2 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    The issue is not that much about relying on benchmarks, the problem is the kind of test which is done.
    Running a video for 8 hours while desactivating everything else is just completely unrealistic.
    My wife left home with her iPhone 6S at 83% at 9AM. We were traveling on the way to vacations and at noon, there was only 26% remaining. And this real life usage.

    Because: bluetooth is on (and connected to the car), push for email is activated, plenty of applications are activated and running in the background (Whatsapp, Messenger, Skype), location is on, and she is either using the phone doing some internet like facebook or it remains idle, open and close regularly along the 3 hours.
    This is real life usage. And here, you have a completely different result because you are consuming much more due to greater usage of radio module (and Apple is using a less efficient modem than other flagships as mentioned in the review), processes in the background and using the phone.

    I have never seen any iPhone (or any phone) allowing 8 hours of CONSTANT usage when everything activated and usual applications loaded. It just does not happen. And when you have a real life usage, the iPhone SIGNIFICANTLY smaller battery just cannot overcome the more efficient SoC.
  • Matt Humrick - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    "Because: bluetooth is on (and connected to the car), push for email is activated, plenty of applications are activated and running in the background (Whatsapp, Messenger, Skype), location is on, and she is either using the phone doing some internet like facebook or it remains idle, open and close regularly along the 3 hours."

    Exactly! How are we supposed to test "real life" battery performance when every single person is running different apps, using different screen brightness settings, different mixture of radios on/off, different signal strengths, different use cases, etc. Our battery life tests are not designed to tell you how long YOUR phone will last on a single charge. They are designed to objectively compare one phone to another in an ideal setting. So a phone that lasts 8 hours in our test will generally last longer than another phone that lasts 6 hours given the same workload. The only other option is to run dozens, maybe hundreds, of battery tests all while running different apps, brightness, etc. so that one of them might match up with how a single reader uses their phone.
  • jlabelle2 - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    "How are we supposed to test "real life" battery performance when every single person is running different apps"

    Let's be real here: I don't think that web browsing 8 hours non stop is representative of ANY single person.
    Also, I think that everyone will agree that having Location, Bluetooth (especially on the iPhone 7 pushing BT headset) and email push (which is the default settings) is pretty standard for the majority of users. At last, iMessage working only on Apple devices, which are a minority, it is fair to assume that almost everyone is using AT LEAST one other messaging service.
    Bottom line: such battery tests from Anandtech have NEVER been realistic about the real usage as the consumption of the screen, the radio stack and optimization of the OS are not taken into account in a balanced way representative of any users.
    GSMArena for instance has 3 values that you can mix depending of your usage. And this make much more sense.
    Otherwise, a meaningful test would be having BT, Localization, Push and one messaging app activated, Facebook also (as everyone has that) and a mix of idle + usage case with some browsing, some picture taken and some video. But this battery test is just useless as it favors low consumption screen (where the low resolution of the iPhone has an advantage) and reduce the impact of the connectivity consumption (where the iPhone has no adantage and even trail on an hardware side while having much smaller battery than competition).

    Obviously, it would put the iPhone is a much more realistic light which is not following the editorial note of the site...
  • lilmoe - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    "It is a true workout of display, radio, and SoC, so it's very much a real life benchmark"

    Oh dear, Ryan, JUST heed the advice. People are slowly realizing that the very benchmarks you're mentioning are absolutely irrelevant in terms of real life scenarios. This is BAD for Anandtech, because just like the op said, these "benchmarks" are dragging you to irrelevance as well.

    We criticize because we LIKE this website, not because we hate it. Your stubborn *opinion* isn't helping.
  • thek - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    ''so it's very much a real life benchmark.'' Did you really just say that?!
    Doesn't a reviewer feel bad or weird when he reviews a phone, provies ''scientific numbers'' such as 8 hours of battery time on wifi loading pages just to use the phone afterwards in real life as a normal user and get 4 max hours of SOT? (and yes, while on wifi loading pages)

    There are two issues here:
    1. Clearly, everyone can agree that current benchmarks provide completely way off numbers as they *do not* provide a real life case. or else we'd all have 8 hours of SOT on an Iphone. This either needs to be adjusted or removed altogether
    2. Companies probably adjust their software to excel in some of these benchmarks in order for you to report it

    I'm having a really hard time supporting this site if it bashes good phones like the OP3 because their numbers on the screen benchmakrs were low (while everywhere I looked it was said that the screen is more then fine for a *day to day use for the avarage user*, which is what we're looking for - we're not mechines that can spot the differences) and a site that says that the Iphone7 has a great battery life because the numbers said it while obviously it's incorrect.

    You need to understand that right now you are saying if a product is bad or good based on numbers that will back you up. I'm saying that you are blinded by the numbers and they clearly do not show if a product is good or bad.
  • yipwssg - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    "Apps like WeChat are fairly notorious for holding wakelocks on Android and never really stopping background resource usage " - you have already acknowledge this problem in Android.

    In real life, Android user will never disable IM application (wechat, LINE , Whatsapp, facebook messenger etc) before surfing net or web browsing.

    In the Battery test , why you disable the location and other background services before the test ?

    It will be interesting to see how long those Android phones will last with all those background service enable verse iPhone with the same IM application installed.
  • jlabelle2 - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    "In real life, Android user will never disable IM application (wechat, LINE , Whatsapp, facebook messenger etc) before surfing net or web browsing.

    In the Battery test , why you disable the location and other background services before the test ?"

    ^^^^^ THIS ^^^^.
    A million times. I do not care that the phone is only lasting 4 hours when Anandtech said 8. What I care is how it compares to others. And you cannot tell from this test because the test is very skewed to certain characteristic of the phone (screen consumption, optimization of the web browser and ... that's it).
    Anandtech has always insist of how iOS is efficient (which I am not critizing) compared to much bigger battery competitors. B
    ut the thing is that once you start to consider real usage, where your phone is not always on (so low density / small screen lower consumption is less a factor) and all the connectivity and push activated like in real life (where efficiency of the modem or GPS or BT module and the battery size have a direct impact), the result is completely different.
  • ArmedandDangerous - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Is there a reason why all the HTC 10 RAW photos are at 2s shutter which many times is totally overexposed?
  • JoshHo - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    The images were metered to reach near base ISO at 0 EV. The original DNG files are available if you would like to play with them yourself. The goal was to provide a reference image that could show all detail in the scene.
  • Agent Smith - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    I'm still waiting for Apple to support AptX on their phones?

    Now if you bear in mind the direction they're going with cordless audio you'd think the iPhone 7 would actually include support and promote this technology? Everyone knows the MacBooks support AptX yet an actual iPhone, that your 'more likely' to use with a cordless device, DOES NOT.

    Go figure the Apple logic in that?
  • dumbnub - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    It's funny, there is this phone reviewer on YT and she always bashes phones for not having accurate colors, she does all the tests with graphs and is always disappointed when they aren't accurate but when she bought a samsung S7 for herself, that has a more natural color mode, which she confirmed is more natural, she uses the default over-saturated mode because she says she prefers it and was like W.T.H. lol. I was always suspect about the whole arguement for natural colors because I loved the screen on the htc m7 and that isn't particularly accurate.
  • dumbnub - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    I meant "I was like W.H.T. lol".
  • dumbnub - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    lol, why no edit option? ^_^
  • jacropolis - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    People like to see a screen that pops. I'm an iPhone user but there is always a wow factor when I look at a samsung display. I think android central did a blind photo test the other day against most of the major flagships and the s7 ran away with it because the photos are oversaturated and highly sharpened. There is no baseline for correct when it comes to what people like to see. That being said, the only place where color accuracy is really important is when looking at things that are white, people know what white should look like and if it ends up with a pink or blue or yellow hue, it is really distracting. I have noticed this on some android phones when browsing the web, most sites have a white background and I found the neutral white of an my iPhone to look better than most other phones. When i'm looking at a photo though, who doesn't want greener plants and bluer(?) skies? Only other example I can think of it not looking right is if it screws up skin tones.
  • dumbnub - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    On the anandtech review of the nolia 640, they said it has a very accurate display. I'm not saying it doesn't but when I bought one for my dad I was not particually happy with the display. It just looked cheap and little naff to me. It was a cheap phone so I shouldn't have been surprised but these tests aren't worth much IRL IMO.
  • varase - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    So just what is anandtech's opinion on the eye's ability to discern dots on a smartphone display?

    How many DPI does anantech think you need before the dots become inperceptable? (... or are you talking about using the phone display with some kind of imaging magnifier which certainly falls outside the phone display design criteria?)
  • techconc - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    I'm not surprised that Anandtech has not responded to this question. It's clear that they don't know and are simply chasing specs. Actual display experts have all agreed that existing screens are perfectly sharp for normal vision at normal viewing distances.
  • Vagabondjonez - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    the laser focusing system ob the 10 does employ pdaf+laser. You even made mention of it in your htc 10 review.
  • Vishalaestro - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    would you guys mind posting an indepth review for the lenovo z2 plus ,it's the cheapest snapdragon 820 powered phone. ,it's even cheaper than one plus 3
  • JoeDuarte - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Anandtech, I have some feedback on the reader experience lately.

    1. The quality of the writing is bad enough to be distracting. I don't know if this is a new development, if editors were laid off or what, but it's pretty bad.

    Example 1: "I don't think that the design is especially notable at this point, but there are only so many ways to make a phone at this point."

    Example 2: There's a ton of real/really padding throughout the article like this: "Other OEMs have implemented some form of force sensing, but the implementation is not really executed in a way to improve user experience in a noticeable way. Adoption remained weak as well, with no real widespread support in the ecosystem for such features."

    What's the difference between widespread support and real widespread support?

    It gets clumsier on the subsequent pages. The quality of the writing is far below expectations for a site as high profile as AnandTech.

    The second issue: Your new ad model. On mobile, there is a pop-up ad on every single page of the article, the new kind that has to be dragged or scrolled to the top of the screen until it disappears. Having that kind of ad on every single page is excessive and uncommon – as far as I know you're the only site that does it.

    I visit less frequently because of these issues.
  • toli001 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    This review is a joke. Iphone's battery life is not even comparable with S7 Edge.

    Battery life in your review is based only on web browsing. You know that people use they phone for other things as well. Try watching videos and making phone calls and see the difference.
    And I don't have to mention higher display resolution.
  • osxandwindows - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Go make your own review and stop whining.
    Is that so hard?
  • blackcrayon - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    It's a given that a bigger battery will last longer in phone calls. That's because there isn't much a company can do there, it's using a standard chipset to make calls, and communicating over a carrier's network. Web browsing on the other hand can use the efficiency of the CPU/GPU/and software.
    They should have done a talk time comparison, but I'd say web browsing is far more indicative of the types of things done most of the time on a smartphone vs. voice these days.
    And display resolution is important too, but it's not Apple's fault that phones can't support their own high res screens in terms of performance and battery life. That is simply one of the tradeoffs.
  • WPX00 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Autofocus speed? Wanna see it against the GS7
  • JoshHo - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    The iPhone 7 is comparable to the 6s here but I will test it again when I can find the time.
  • jrb1234 - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    One annoying aspect of iOS10 and earlier versions is its truncation of links in text, so clicking on a link takes you to the wrong destination. An example is using a link in an email from the NY Times to a comment on an article in the NY Times. Although the link works fine on a laptop running Windows 10, on the iphone it simply takes you to the article or sometimes to a login page, and never takes you to the actual comment the link refers to. Similar problems occur in editing Wikipedia.
  • Constructor - Monday, October 17, 2016 - link

    It makes sense to truncate links in a document where space is constrained. But you can simply tap-and-hold the link to reveal the full URL without having to actually load it right away (you still can from the popup if you want, though).

    The same trick reveals alternate text on images or tool tips, by the way, which are only designed for mouseover in a desktop browser.
  • zeeBomb - Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - link

    Great review as always, and awesome footnotes between the differences in iOS and Android for optimization and performance.

    Hey, what do you guys mean when the iPhone is lacking in z-height? As in the top of where the iPhone sits on the top right corner or the portion where the lens stick out? The protrusion?
  • JoshHo - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Apple is very focused on reducing the camera hump and overall thickness so to maintain a well-balanced camera the sensor size is smaller than the competition.
  • zeeBomb - Saturday, October 15, 2016 - link

    I saw a new patent that will try and get the maximum available image quality, colors, etc despite a crammed size. Thanks for the reply Josh!
  • kamranki - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Really fast processors? So, if you could somehow install / get Android running on an iPhone7, it would run it better than the best Android phone in the market today? Is that what you are inferring?

    I, for one, don't think that it is fair to suggest that "it beats any other Android smartphone in terms of performance" when you can't run iOS on any other phone (Apples-to-apples comparison). Apple phones should be compared to Apple phones and Android phones should be compared to Android phones. My 2 cents.
  • UtilityMax - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    They don't the same OS, but they often run the same applications, so the comparisons are valid. For example, there exist the same web browser benchmarks that run on both OSes.
  • Constructor - Monday, October 17, 2016 - link

    On top of the faster CPUs, iOS is also optimized for more efficient resource use plus several special 64 bit optimiziations.

    Especially memory garbage collection on Android was a bad design mistake which keeps devices stuttering at random intervals.
  • ACM.1899 - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    "the headphone jack because that’s what users say they want."
    i have bunch of nice earphones at home and i don't need (want) to buy BT headphones.
    they removed the 3.5mm jack and what did they add instead? at least a built in dac (like HTC 10, v10 or v20) would have been nice.
    i've heard the sound through the dongle isn't as good as iPhone 6s.
    or bluetooth headphones (in general) are not as good as analog headphones (with the same price).
    every time Apple does something stupid we say it's because of this or that or for that you can do this or it's the future....but WHY?
    for now the only (main) reason is marketing.(Apple & Beats)
    as long as a good BT headphone is not the same price as a good analog headphone , i don't want them.
    until then the 3.5mm jack should have not been removed.
    at least i don't need that bs taptic engine...
  • ACM.1899 - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    or if Audio (through a smartphone) is that important to me , i can buy an android phone.
    btw i guess they won't remove it from the mid-range iPhone (SE).
  • serendip - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    That Redmi Note 3 will be staying at the top of the WiFi web browsing chart for a while longer. How the heck did AT get 12 hours? I've got the same phone and the longest I've seen is 10 hours on WiFi with LTE on but not enabled for data.
  • zodiacfml - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    I love your conclusion piece. I still hate Apple but they are commendable for the constant SoC improvement and the large die size of it. I'd get over the missing headphone jack if the quality of the adapter is good. They did an awesome job on the display too, extracting the best possible performance from the display. I'd get goosebumps if they would the same attention to detail using AMOLED displays for the next generation.

    I never warmed to the Google Pixel devices as they are too expensive with the unimpressive Snapdragon 821 or 820. I'd just get an S7 Edge for the hardware. The software part is the only missing piece as I'd rather have stock Android with yearly, latest updates from Google.
  • UtilityMax - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    SoC improvement is fine, but how much SoC improvement do people really need? It's not like smartphones are running PC games or are using for engineering design work. A three year old Nexus 5 with its Snapdragon SoC is still perfectly adequate as a daily smartphone when SoC is concerned. Now, the SD820 offers about twice the performance.
  • blackcrayon - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    How much? An infinite amount. It has to keep increasing in order for smartphone operating systems to get increasingly better. One example is using CPU power to increase photo quality. But no one wants to wait 10 seconds between shots...
  • UtilityMax - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Your argument is useless because not even a one year old Nexus 5X with a much criticized Snapdragon 808 SoC does not need to take so much time to take a picture. Any modern smartphone has a pretty adequately fast camera. If you find a smartphone with a slow camera that's not an excuse to buy an overpriced iphone with no expandable storage, no "approved" way to upload your media into it without using the iTunes junk, and no 3.5mm headphone jack.
  • blackcrayon - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Your counterargument is u... nevermind.
    You need to research what happens when you take a photo on a modern smartphone. There is a lot of processing done in software, which of course utilizes the hardware, to achieve better photos than would be possible without it. I'm not sure what you think your comparison means though. An iPhone "1" could take pictures too. It doesn't mean it could do the kind of instantaneous post processing something like an A10 can do. In this particular case it's Apple's ISP doing much (most?) of the work, but the analogy still stands. In order to add enhancements to the device that can work without drawbacks, they have to be fast. The more speed you have to spare, the more cycles you can use on things like instantaneous image processing, compression/decompression, "AI" that works locally on the phone, etc.

    Anyway, the Nexus 5X running Chrome alone should tell you SoCs aren't fast enough, especially with a poorly optimized app.
  • zodiacfml - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    Yep. The Google Pixel(s) is claimed to shoot HDR almost instantaneously which is useful to me. I don't use it if I will need flash photography on my Nexus 5. HDR is a must in most cases. White Balance is hard to fault after the HDR process.
  • techconc - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    Well said. I suppose if people simply use their phones for texting, they wouldn't understand why more power is needed. I'm looking at what the iPhone 7 plus is doing with showing real time previews of fake bokeh on images in portrait mode. It's absolutely amazing what they are accomplishing on a phone these days.
    For that matter, try playing a game like World of Tanks Blitz on the Nexus 5X. Trust me, iPhone owners like users like them. It helps them pad their stats with more kills, etc. Honest, this "why do we need more performance" argument is pretty comical.
  • zodiacfml - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    You have a point there and I still use a Nexus 5 everyday. It is plenty fast 95% of the time and only lags during app updates which I don't mind. It is perfectly usable while doing its tasks of downloading and installing updates.

    I'm itching for new hardware though as the Nexus 5 could use an AMOLED display, larger battery, and external storage. A new SoC can help though with better battery life at idle or average tasks.

    Yeah, I guess you are right about the 820. The 820 is impressive if found on devices around the price range of the One Plus 3. Androids with costs near an iPhone 7 is not good value.
  • omeryounos - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    @Anadtech, really clever review. You guys totally omitted Galaxy S7 Edge (with Exynos 8890) from system performance & battery test to showcase Apple's greatest innovation ever. Especially your comments in Battery life section stating that look how much better it is from Galaxy S7 (Exynos) & omit any results from Galaxy S7 Edge (Exynos), knowingly that it will beat both iPhone 7 & Plus hands down in all battery test by hours. We (the readers) expect more balanced reviews from this site especially when it is coming weeks later than most mobile sites.
  • BenSkywalker - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    I'm curious why you didn't dive far more into Apple's utterly staggering breakthrough in LCD technology-

    "However, I think AMOLED's color shifting off angle puts it at a disadvantage"

    Out of the hundreds of in depth instrumented tests I have witnessed and comparing hundreds of displays never have I seen a single LCD that was capable of besting *any* OLED in off angle performance- actually given the physics involved and how the displays are built, this is widely considered impossible. Given how extremely simple this is to test, I'm a bit confused as to why you haven't documented this industry changing technology and exactly what level of off angle performance improvement it shows over every other LCD ever made.

    I saw the comments about off angle OLED colors being an issue in the laptop review posted a short while ago, figured you must have had a defective unit(the *only* explanation)- now you are saying this iPhone7 display bests all AMOLEDs at off angle color accuracy- really hoping you can post your measured results with exactly what degree of variation you are seeing.

    Displaymate must have tested something wrong, they are still showing the iPhone7 with a catastrophic 55% drop off for brightness with some color shifting too at a mere thirty degrees, two of the photos on the front page of your review I think are also mislabeled, they say they are iPhone7 but they are showing abhorrent off angle viewing- they must be of some other, non Apple, phone.
  • JoshHo - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    I think it goes without saying that LCD will have greater off-angle contrast reduction than AMOLED, but for color accuracy you can look at the dE2000 formula and see that changes in hue are more significant than changes in luminance in human perception of color. You can also see DisplayMate's results to see that the iPhone 7 has about a third of the color shift of the Note7's display with changes in viewing angle which is due in part to the subpixel arrangement:

    http://www.displaymate.com/iPhone7_ShootOut_1.htm
    http://www.displaymate.com/Galaxy_Note7_ShootOut_1...

    If you have any other questions or concerns please feel free to contact me by email as I don't have the time to sift through hundreds of comments searching for responses. My email is josh@anandtech.com.
  • philehidiot - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    What I would like to see is a more in depth look at the sound quality. Not through the speakers but through headphones. The reason for this is that I attached a pair of monitoring headphones to my HTC M9 and found the top end to be incredibly harsh and distorted but when plugging those same headphones into my tablet (Kindle Fire 7 HDx) the sound was far better and there was no distortion. I would guess Apple would have better sound than the competition but a paragraph on wired headphone performance would be good and might well push more manufacturers to improve in this area. Interestingly, the Dolby "enhancements" make cheap headphones sound a load better but make decent monitoring headphones sound far worse - I assume this is because the compression applied to bring the sound into the limited dynamic range of the cheaper headphones actually helps but on the more expensive ones which can reproduce the full dynamic range of the recording it just effectively narrows it. Someone please correct me if I'm talking bollocks.
  • UtilityMax - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    For me, the iPhones do not exist, because I own a large media collection and I can't upload any of it to the iPhone without going through slow and buggy iTunes. On top of that, the iPhones do not exist for me after the 7 release after they deleted headphone jack. I own several audiophile grade but still very affordable headphone, and not of them can be used with it. I'd have to replace each one of them with a different set that costs something 2-3 times more and the benefits of doing that are pretty much dubious.

    So yes, in my world view, I would take a Moto G over the iPhone any day.
  • blackcrayon - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Sounds like you don't understand iPhones or iOS if you think you *HAVE* to use iTunes to put media on it... Hell, you don't even seem to know that they come with a headphone jack adapter for all of your "audiophile grade" headphones...
  • UtilityMax - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    I understand the iOS and issues very well. There are ways to bypass iTunes, then they still suck big time. As for the headphone jack, you can keep the headphone adapter to yourself. I am not carrying it, when it is about million times more convenient not to have to use it.
  • indifferent - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    I second blackcrayon, UtilityMax you need to read more about iphone.
  • UtilityMax - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    I don't need to read more about the iphone. I have used all the models up tp 5S. There is no way to upload my media into the iphones without using the garbage software that's known as itunes. (The last time I installed it on a PC, it literally deleted my BluRay drive), There are some also very ridiculous an inferiour methods to by pass that such as the using a third party software like VLC. None of that works as well as plugging my android phone with USB cable into a PC and copy/paste directly all the files that I need on the phone.
  • blackcrayon - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    Ahh, I guess you meant to say there is no way to upload music to the stock music app (unless you use streaming/cloud which I find a much better solution anyway), or upload photos to the stock photos app (unless you stream, which I find a much better solution anyway). You didn't clarify. But you still don't *need* iTunes to put "media" on the phone. Also, you might consider that 802.11ac probably gets data onto an iPhone faster than using USB at this point...
  • jlabelle2 - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    No Blackcrayon, UtilityMax is correct. If I want to put my FLAC on my iPhone (because Qobuz and others sites only propose FLAC and not ALAC), I need to 1/ open iTunes, 2/ look for the apps section, 3/ find the app like VLC that allow file transfer 4/ make a drag-n-drop, 5/ turn on the app on the iPhone and wait the synchronization.
    That is really CRAZY that in 2016, you just cannot simply drag-n-drop from the computer on the iPhone.

    "unless you use streaming/cloud which I find a much better solution anyway"
    if you do not care about audio quality, have unlimited data, and have ALWAYS an internet connection wherever you are, 100% of the time, ...yeah, it can be a good enough solution for you.

    "Also, you might consider that 802.11ac probably gets data onto an iPhone faster than using USB at this point"
    The time where you will even remotely transfer as fast 30Go of music with wifi than USB you will call me buddy. But you are in dreamland.
  • techconc - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    No jlabelle2, blackcrayon is correct. There are multiple solutions for accomplishing file transfer without iTunes. Some as simple as AirDrop. For PC users, there are file transfer apps. There are cloud solutions, including iCloud itself. I would suggest that the majority of iPhone users don't even use iTunes at all anymore for any sort of phone syncing. This isn't 2007 anymore... time to update our memes.
  • jlabelle2 - Friday, October 14, 2016 - link

    "Some as simple as AirDrop"
    No help, I have a Windows PC, like 93% of the population out there. Beside, can you AirDrop FLAC?

    "For PC users, there are file transfer apps"
    Great, so your answer to "you have to use a special program like iTunes to transfer dumb things like music" is "no, not true, you can use ANOTHER special program"???
    What an answer is that?

    "There are cloud solutions, including iCloud itself."
    How do you transfer FLAC into your iPhone with iCloud? Could you share your workflow?

    "This isn't 2007 anymore... "
    It is and this what we are complaining. Changing ringtones, putting some music in your phone... in 2016? like we were 10 years ago? Really?
  • techconc - Monday, October 17, 2016 - link

    Your complaints seem to be focused on FLAC. For starters, if you insist on using FLAC, you can do so with VLC, etc. It's not a real barrier. For that matter, you ask about alternate workflows. Have you tried something like WALTR? It's a free application that's available on both Mac and Windows. It allows for drag and drop of your media in basically any format, including FLAC. You drag and drop the files onto the application and it does real time conversion (losslessly in the case of FLAC) to a native iOS format in order to work properly with native apps. The point being, even your edge case scenarios have viable solutions.
  • adrift02 - Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - link

    You mentioned UI fluidity in the review, and that none of the recent iPhones are the most fluid mobile devices you've used. So what device tops them? I'm asking because that's why I switched to iOS when the iPhone 5 was released -- I was sick of animation stutters and progressive slowdown among Android devices. I'm now looking to switch back to Android (for audio reasons, as I want a headphone jack and the 7 dongle's DAC wasn't great) but am torn re: choices. I'd like an experience that's as smooth as iOS and am considering the Pixel (waiting for reviews), as well as the V20 (just for the DAC, but it's waaay to big for me).
  • Crono - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    Disable animations in developer options. Install Nova Launcher, enable Aggressive Desktop, select "Faster than light" in animations. On a clean ROM or.a debloated device - I'm using am Honor 8 - it's a less stuttery/faster UI than the iPhone 7 fresh out of the box.
  • Crono - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    ^ please ignore the typos, it was a quick reply and there's no edit feature :(
  • techconc - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    Until the runtime system decides to do a garbage collection cycle and then you see the standard Android stutters that we're all intimately familiar with. Your Honor 8 does not have a faster or smoother UI than the iPhone.
  • Crono - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    Using an iPhone 7 side-by-side with my phone, I beg to differ.
  • techconc - Monday, October 17, 2016 - link

    Using a Galaxy S7 side by side with iPhone 7... I beg to differ with your begging to differ. Not to mention, this is commonly understood and documented.
    http://www.xda-developers.com/with-the-note-7-sams...
  • yipwssg - Friday, October 14, 2016 - link

    http://www.whathifi.com/apple/iphone-7/review

    According to What HiFi , the iPhone 7 DAC Adapter sound better than iPhone 6s
  • OscarCookeAbbott - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    Why the hell isn't the OnePlus 3 on the charge graph?!
  • R. Hunt - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    If Apple did include features like expandable storage, OLED displays, wireless charging... would they suddenly matter or would competitors who lacked them get a pass as well?
  • Sand6man - Thursday, October 13, 2016 - link

    Attention to detail and Hardware/Software optimization, that's why I will stick to iPhones. No Android device gets these 2 things right even though they have some cool features.
  • srinivasvarma - Friday, October 14, 2016 - link

    There ae no major improvements in iphone 7 they just renamed iphone 6s and added few colors. Am pretty happy with my iphone 6s :) <a rel="dofollow" href="http://www.buyiphone7.org/"></a>
  • MadaMadaDesu - Thursday, October 20, 2016 - link

    Keep telling yourself that. It's how humans rationalize their decisions.

    We understand.
  • mjh483 - Friday, October 14, 2016 - link

    Is there any difference in storage speed between the 32GB and 128GB models?
  • bw13121 - Friday, October 14, 2016 - link

    I think within the A10 deep-dive (even though it focus mainly on the A10) Andantech can use their expertise and compare speeds across the storage, maybe even IP6 before it transitioned to SSD NVMe storage, 6S and then the 7?
  • zeeBomb - Saturday, October 15, 2016 - link

    Short answer: Yes.
  • Johnwood - Saturday, October 15, 2016 - link

    . Photographer Samuel Zeller releases his photos on CC0-enabled platform Unsplash, resulting in increased views and reuse, and ultimately clients for his photo commission business.
  • Johnwood - Saturday, October 15, 2016 - link

    enabled platform
  • zeeBomb - Sunday, October 16, 2016 - link

    Link?
  • Rod_Serling_Lives - Saturday, October 15, 2016 - link

    I see a lot of talk about the headphone jack. Repeat after me..."It doesn't matter and I am the exception to the rule". Most people do not spring for expensive headphones. They continue to use what is supplied with the phone and more often than not, they will replace them with the same headphones if they are lost. If they opt to buy something on the go, the iPhone accessory market will bridge the gap or they can use the supplied adapter with standard buds or over-ear models.

    The market has refused to move forward in terms of making better wireless solutions en masse. They have been average at best. The removal of the jack from a major player like Apple will push the market forward in other segments due to the heavy adoption rate. This is a win-win for the consumer. We can finally see marked improvements in BT headphone technology.

    I know that BT headphones are awful, but nobody seems to be saying, "How can we make that better?". A lot of complaining with zero solutions. Stop accepting everything as finite and start asking for better and more efficient solutions for our everyday use cases.
  • marty1980 - Sunday, October 16, 2016 - link

    We didn't need lightning headphones!

    If Apple is confident in the wireless future, then why include wired headphones in the box?

    The lightning headphones were an unnecessary sidestep towards wireless. Lightning headphones only work with iOS devices and Apple did not release an adapter for Lightning headphones to be used with devices that have 3.5mm jacks. I'm sure it will come along, but the adapters shouldn't be necessary in the first place.

    We will all be just fine with this, but Apple definitely took a consumer-burdening route this year. Fingers crossed they take feedback on this transition seriously next year. Too bad they are unlikely to backtrack lightning headphones.
  • waltercarroll - Monday, October 17, 2016 - link

    IPhone 7 and 7 Plus is mostly an evolution of the iPhone 6's design as u say but but other than design they are alot of things that can be said revolutionary. I must say its a next level thing for the current and new users.
  • marty1980 - Monday, October 17, 2016 - link

    Please list what you believe is revolutionizing about the iPhone 7 and/or 7 Plus. Your comment is wasted without some justification to your statement.
  • Fidelator - Monday, October 17, 2016 - link

    At $650 the iPhone 7 is simply a terrible deal, the screen resolution alone makes for a deal breaker, the camera is not up to the standards of the competition, no expandable storage, inferior sound quality, "No friction points audio playback" you forgot to mention that if you want a seamless experience as the one you'd have with the 3.5mm jack you'll have to shell out $170 more.

    As for the zoom camera on the 7+ it is very prone to handshaking and it depends on use scenario, I don't believe it makes any sense to claim it provides superior, unmatched detail, since you are working with a zoomed in image, on that basis, you could argue that the camera on the G5 provides superior, unmatched detail because it fits way more in the frame than any other camera providing more content and therefore more detail about the situation.
    I don't believe it makes sense to compare different crops and frames, it is all dependant on use scenarios
  • Fidelator - Monday, October 17, 2016 - link

    Though it is worth noting that android OEMs really need better SoCs, for 4 product cycles Apple's SoCs have been vastly superior and nearly unmatched in most scenarios, with the 820 Qualcomm seems to have gone back to the right route but it's performance still leaves a lot of room for improvement
  • MadaMadaDesu - Thursday, October 20, 2016 - link

    "you could argue that the camera on the G5 provides superior, unmatched detail because it fits way more in the frame than any other camera providing more content and therefore more detail about the situation."

    If what you say is true, all professional photographers and others need is a single ultrawide lens? Why then, would the pros, especially a sports photographer, need a small army of super-telephotos that sometimes cost more than $10,000 each? Hey, just snap with an ultra wide, you captured way more!

    Except sometimes you want a close up of a single ball player, not a picture of the 50,000 people in the stadium.
  • uceejay - Wednesday, October 19, 2016 - link

    How much time it takes to charge iPhone 7 and 7 plus with 12W iPad adapter?
  • tipoo - Wednesday, October 19, 2016 - link

    What size iPhone did you test? GSMArena showed for one that the 128GB model is much faster, and two that the 32GB model is much slower at writes

    http://www.gsmarena.com/the_32gb_iphone_7_plus_use...
  • Harry_Wild - Monday, October 24, 2016 - link

    Read most of the comments and it appears that the iPhone 7 is selling well based on the out of stock data! Just because it not technologically the best does not mean people have gave up buying it! It is a luxury item and most buyers do not think about it in theses terms. They just want it at Apple prices!
  • bw13121 - Sunday, October 30, 2016 - link

    I'm waiting for the Iphone 7 deep dive mentioned for release at the end of the month- that leaves today! Come on Anandtech, get this A10 dissected
  • darwiniandude - Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - link

    First page table is wrong in that the 56mm f2.8 is not OIS
  • hassanmm - Wednesday, November 9, 2016 - link

    Brand new Original Apple iphone 7 and 7 plus cost 650usd with 1year warranty.

    Serious buyer should contant us.

    Whatsapp CHAT or Call : +447405502988 or 00447405502988
  • Vanguy79 - Friday, November 18, 2016 - link

    They can afford a deep dive for Google pixel phone but not for iPhone 7?
  • douglerner - Saturday, November 19, 2016 - link

    I find my new iPhone 7 Plus display noticeably dimmer and "dingier" than my iPhone 6 Plus display in all lighting situations. I went to exchange and the exchange unit was even dimmer. Currently Apple is "looking into it" and were supposed to get back to me by the end of the week. Generally I like the phone features and speed. But the fact the screen is not as advertised and is, in fact, dimmer than my iPhone 6 Plus irks me.

    You can see more details and my side-by-side photos at https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7744754
  • Mojo66 - Saturday, November 19, 2016 - link

    I've written an app with which you are not only able to accurately measure iOS disk speeds, but also compare them to other users results (no registration necessary because the app uses a public iCloud database)

    http://appstore.com/udothiel/diskbench
  • lokesh - Wednesday, November 30, 2016 - link

    Is it possible to download paid apps through tweakbox app on my iPhone 7 ? because i am going to buy this phone and also expecting to get tweabox app apk in this phone to install paid apps. http://iosgeeksbuzz.com/tweakbox-ios-app-download/
  • Bolang - Thursday, December 1, 2016 - link

    love this reviews.

    Get free now http://freeiphone7plusgiveaway.win/
  • melgross - Thursday, December 15, 2016 - link

    Ok, so I expect no one's reading this anymore, but what happened to the deep dive we were supposed to get late in October? It's a bit past that now, on December 15th.
  • chipguy_619 - Monday, January 2, 2017 - link

    I'm still waiting for promised A10 Fusion deep dive.
    Did you gave up on that piece?
  • Mangosteen - Thursday, February 2, 2017 - link

    Still awaiting a reply from Anand on this. They have not said anything, and the deep dive was promised in NOVEMBER. it is now February...
  • Giuliano - Sunday, January 8, 2017 - link

    I signed up to say this was a great review and also that it's a bit shocking how angry this community is. What's wrong with these people? Why does everyone have to be so angry all the time? Will definitely be back for future reviews, not so much for the comments.
  • Jim001 - Thursday, January 12, 2017 - link

    Can you add "standby time" to your battery tests? Apple claims up to 10 days which isn't close to being true.
  • danj555 - Friday, January 27, 2017 - link

    Where is the review for the a10?? Cant find it in search....
  • Mangosteen - Thursday, February 2, 2017 - link

    It's nonexistent.

    Apparently it takes 19 months (SLIGHT exaggeration) to run some tests on an iPhone 7. I can't imagine what could possibly be taking them so long. When I bothered them on Twitter they said they "are busy with many other reviews". Can they not just focus on this one instead? At this point most people have probably forgotten about the deep dive but it was always my favorite part of Anand's reviews and I'm still eagerly awaiting some good benchmarks to showcase Apple's chip design dominance (among the other important details a deep dive would reveal).
  • tipoo - Wednesday, August 16, 2017 - link

    At this point it's probably more prudent to ask for a timely A11 deep dive than an existant A10 one.
  • fasa01 - Monday, February 20, 2017 - link

    Brand new Original Apple iphone 7 and 7 128GB plus cost 550usd with 1year warranty.

    Serious buyer should contact us.
  • Hoodie22 - Sunday, February 26, 2017 - link

    Why the test needed to change because of the p3?
  • Hoodie22 - Sunday, February 26, 2017 - link

    Is there a bit difference between the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus In display colors
    I know that the contrast ratio is different but that only matter in low ligh
  • hammo01 - Wednesday, March 8, 2017 - link

    Brand new Original Apple iphone 7 and 7 128GB plus cost 550usd with 1year warranty.

    Serious buyer should contact us.
  • maher86 - Sunday, April 9, 2017 - link

    thank you for this artical
    Win the new iPhone 7- australia only
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RhV5wTcVJg&fe...

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