iPhone 7 Proves To Have Some Advantages Over iPhone 7 Plus

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus arrived in stores on Friday. The iPhone 7 Plus, has been particularly hard to find, as MacRumors reported on Saturday.

“Customers relentless in their search for an iPhone 7 Plus have attempted to visit resellers like AT&T, Best Buy, and Target only to be disappointed, as supply of the 5.5-inch model is virtually nonexistent in any stores on launch day. Apple preemptively warned that demand would outstrip supply as usual, and it has not specified when iPhone 7 Plus and Jet Black availability will improve.”

Actually, availability has improved, and some Apple Stores have received new shipments of the iPhone 7 Plus. A visit to the Apple Store at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles, CA on Wednesday revealed that a couple of iPhone 7 units for AT&T and T-Mobile (rose gold) were sold in the afternoon. The store was expected to get more iPhone 7 Plus units in for all carriers on Wednesday evening.

The iPhone 7 is somewhat easier to find. After five days of use, it’s safe to say that even though the iPhone 7 Plus has more features, the iPhone 7 is no slouch and may actually be a better smartphone for some people due to its more manageable size, which makes it easier to do many tasks. Overall, the iPhone 7 is a better smartphone than the negative hype made believe.

It’s quite disappointing that the 4.7-inch screen still has a 1344 x 750 pixel resolution. This would have been good for 2013, but this is 2016. However, Apple makes up for the lower (than it should be) resolution with the Wide Color display, which is the same fantastic display that is available on the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.

While the new iPhone doesn’t look much different at first glance from last year’s model, you will certainly notice the difference in speed. The iPhone 6s was no slouch, but the iPhone 7 wins the gold medal for speed. You will especially notice this when using multimedia apps and the Camera app. Speaking of the camera, the iPhone 7 takes noticeably better pictures than the iPhone 6s thanks to Apple adding in optical image stabilization. The colors on the iPhone 7 pictures are more saturated than they are on the iPhone 6s.

Surprisingly, the biggest improvement is one that nobody talks about much — the stereo speakers. You can hear the “thump” of the low ranges of sound when playing videos or listening to music. They won’t replace high quality speakers, but they are the best stereo speakers that have ever been put on a smartphone. Samsung should take note. Interestingly, Samsung offers stereo mics for videos — something the iPhone still doesn’t offer.

As a phone, the iPhone 7 works well on T-Mobile. Testing in Glendale, CA did reveal a faint hissing noise from other callers, but that may be different in other areas. The hissing is minor and not even close to being a deal breaker. Because of the stereo speakers, the iPhone 7 is a top-notch speaker phone. As expected, the iPhone 7 pairs easily with wireless Bluetooth headsets from Bose, Sennheiser, and Bowers & Wilkins.

If you don’t need the dual cameras and the 1080p screen, you might just want to take a look at the iPhone 7 rather than the iPhone 7 Plus. If you’ve used a 5.5-inch iPhone Plus for the past couple of years, you may be surprised on how much you like the more portable 4.7 inch iPhone. In any case, the new iPhone 7 is more of an upgrade from Apple than anybody had ever thought it would be.

[Featured Image by Daryl Deino]