It’s early June, and the iPhone 7 is more than four months away. But like every year, we already know pretty much everything there is to know about it. We know the iPhone 7 will be very similar to the iPhone 6s in terms of design, we know what small changes it’ll have to offer, and we know most of the specs. That’s why I already know that Apple is making me buy an iPhone I don’t want this year.
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This will be the third year in a row that Apple launches more than one iPhone model. In 2014, we had the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, a year late the “S” generations of these devices followed, and this year Apple will have at least three new handsets in stores: the iPhone SE, the iPhone 7, and the iPhone 7 Plus. That’s assuming a 5.5-inch Pro model isn’t still on the cards, in which case there will be four distinct 2016 iPhones to consider.
But it’s the first time when same year iPhones will have different specs. The iPhone SE is basically your iPhone 6s packaged in a more compact body, so that’s out of the question for me.
That leaves two options, the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 7 versions. In previous years, the only thing that set these devices apart – aside from the obvious size difference and resulting side effects including a bigger battery and Full HD resolution – was the camera. The 5.5-inch models all have optical image stabilization (OIS), while the 4.7-inch iPhones don’t.
But this year, things are changing more than I’d like them to, assuming rumors are accurate.
The iPhone 7 is reportedly getting OIS of its own, but the iPhone 7 Plus gets a dual lens camera that’s supposed to bring with it an even better camera experience. On top of that, the Plus is also going to pack 3GB of RAM, while the iPhone 7 will be “stuck” at 2GB of RAM.
While everything else will stay the same between the two devices, camera and RAM differences are enough to make me consider buying the iPhone 7 Plus. And that’s something I thought I never would do.
I believe that a 4.7-inch screen is a great display size for the iPhone, at least as long as there’s a home button in the picture. The 4-inch iPhone SE is a great alternative, but it’s something I wouldn’t consider due its screen size. On the other hand, the 5.5-inch size is simply too big to carry around, even though the extra screen real estate is certainly appreciated.
Of course, I could very well get the iPhone 7, or wait for next year’s model to roll out. And I could choose an Android phone. But then again, it’s iOS that keeps me buying iPhones. And the iPhone is tied to my day job, so moving to the next-gen as soon as it comes out is a no-brainer. As long as the iPhone 7 Plus is the better choice, specs-wise, I’d rather go for that, even if that means having to handle a bigger screen – not to mention that paying extra for the whole package. The camera upgrade alone is worth the upgrade, and the extra RAM should make the iPhone even faster. If you upgraded from iPhone 6 to iPhone 6s then you know what I’m talking about: more memory and a new processor makes the iPhone 6s unbelievable fast compared to the 2014 iPhones.
That said, things can change until September, which is when Apple will hold its iPhone 7 announcement event. And I might end up buying the iPhone 7 rather than the Plus. But so far, it looks like Apple is forcing me to go for the phablet.
