The second half of 2016 has been very interesting as far as flagship smartphones go. First Samsung released the sleekest and most impressive smartphone the world had ever seen, but had to subsequently recall it because some units were exploding. The Note 7 is now back on sale in the US but having left destroyed cars, injured users and even a burnt down house in its wake, the phone may never gain back the momentum it had.
Then Apple launched its new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but supply was so tight that Apple didn’t have a single iPhone 7 Plus model available to purchase in stores on launch day. Things are getting a bit better now and we recently showed you how to find the iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus model you want, but good luck finding a Jet Black iPhone anytime soon.
Launch issues aside, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are still the phones to beat now that they’ve launched. In this post, we’ll look at several ways Apple’s new phones are unbeatable, even when pitted against Samsung’s best flagship Galaxy phones.
MUST READ: All the biggest complaints about the iPhone 7
It doesn’t explode
Okay, that was a joke. Sort of.
Optical zoom
Apple’s new iPhone 7 Plus features a dual-camera setup that includes one wide-angle lens and a second telephoto lens. Apart from all of the depth data the camera can capture as a result, iPhone 7 Plus users can also use an optical zoom feature that zooms in at 2x without any loss of quality. The phone also has digital zoom, as do Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 and Galaxy S7 series, but the iPhone is the only device with optical zoom.
Better water-resistance
Samsung smartphones have featured water-resistance for longer than Apple’s since the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are the first iPhone models to feature an IP rating. But it looks like Apple may have actually done a better job than Samsung, at least according to some recent tests. Looks like removing that headphone jack wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
Insanely smooth performance
Samsung’s Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy Note 7 are among the most powerful Android phones that have ever been built. Incredibly, they still can’t touch last year’s iPhone 6s, let alone this year’s iPhone 7. In real-world use, comparing the Note 7 to Apple’s iPhone 7 was just embarrassing — Apple has done a remarkable job with its A10 Fusion chip, and with optimizing iOS for speed and performance.
Durability
Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and Note 7 are gorgeous phones and they’re built out of premium materials that feel great in the had. All that glass is fragile, however, making the aluminum iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus far more durable and less likely to break when dropped. Take a look at the second video in this drop test post and you’ll see just how much stronger Apple’s iPhones are.
Stereo speakers
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are the first iPhones to feature stereo loud speakers, with one that faces down on the bottom of the phone and a second that faces forward in the opening above the display. The sound is dramatically improved compared to earlier iPhone models, and it’s also much better and more clear than Samsung’s flagship phones.
3D Touch
Combined with Apple’s advanced Taptic Engine, 3D Touch is a fantastic feature on Apple’s iPhone lineup that no Samsung phone can match. It allows users to perform a wide range of different actions quickly and easily.
Timely software updates
This is a huge one.
When Apple releases an iOS update, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus users have access to it instantly, and this will continue to be the case for many years. When Google pushes out an Android update, Galaxy S7 and Note 7 users are lucky if they get it a few months down the road. And next year when the phones are no longer Samsung’s latest and greatest, users will have to wait even longer.
