At 10 a.m. Pacific, 1 p.m. Eastern, and 6 p.m. Britain time, Apple will hold an event where it is expected to announce what many hope to be the iPhone 7, or whatever Apple may choose to call it. So with only a few hours to go and everyone wondering just how this new handset will stack up against its predecessor, the iPhone 6s. Here’s a quick last-minute comparison of what we expect in the iPhone 7 versus iPhone 6s.
iPhone 7 (rumored) vs. iPhone 6S
iPhone 7 vs. iPhone 6s: design
If you’ve been following the myriad of rumors about the iPhone 7, then you are probably already aware that the consensus suggests nothing much will change in design. Even though this year should be a redesign year, much of the design is expected to remain the same. It is thought that the iPhone’s antenna lines will be moved to the top of the device to give it a cleaner look, however.
Other design rumors suggest that we could see the complete removal of the headphone jack, which would require iPhone 7 users to use earbuds that connect via Bluetooth or a Lightning connector to use wired headphones. Waterproofing could also be a feature of the iPhone 7, plus the home button may be replaced with a capacitive one with Force Touch capabilities.
iPhone 7 vs. iPhone 6s: display
At this moment in time, everything we know about the iPhone 7 is just a rumor, so you should take this with a grain of salt. However, it has been suggested that the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 could have an AMOLED Quad HD display and Force Touch. If this is the case, the 4.7-inch device will have a pixel density of 624ppi, which is very high for a device of that size.
However, other rumors suggest that the iPhone 7 will have a full HD resolution display that will deliver a more modest 468ppi.
The iPhone 6s has a 4.7-inch LED-backlit display with a resolution of 1334 x 750 pixels, meaning it has a pixel density of 326ppi. So if either of the iPhone 7 display rumors is accurate, it would have a much sharper screen than its predecessor.
iPhone 7 vs. iPhone 6s: camera
Concerning the camera on the next iPhone, there have been some rumors which center around a dual-camera setup. However, it appears that a consensus has been reached suggesting that this technology will appear on the Plus but not the standard iPhone 7.
For the standard model, some rumors suggest a 12-megapixel sensor, which will sit flush with the handset’s back and offer improved performance in low-light conditions.
The iPhone 6s features a 12-megapixel rear sensor with a front-facing selfie camera of 5-megapixels. Both the 6s and 6s Plus feature a Retina flash on the front and a feature called Live Photos, which is expected to make an appearance on the iPhone 7. However, one major difference is that the iPhone 7 could be able to capture 4K video.
iPhone 7 vs iPhone 6s: software
Apple introduced iOS 10 in June at WWDC. It is this version of iOS that will undoubtedly launch preinstalled on the iPhone 7 and offers improved functionality, features, and improvements in performance when compared to earlier versions.
The iPhone 6s and its larger sibling currently run on iOS 9.3.5, the last version of the previous firmware. They will soon be updated to iOS 10, but is believed that some of the extra functionality built into the new mobile OS was done specifically for the 7. So these features could be something that iPhone 6s owners miss out on.
iPhone 7 vs. iPhone 6s: hardware
The CPU in the new iPhone could be the rumored A10 processor. It is supposed to focus on improving not only battery life but also the stability of the handset it serves.
Other rumors suggest that Apple is about to do away with the 16GB storage tier, instead offering 32GB in its place as a starter option and possibly 256GB at the top end. It is thought that the handset will come with either 2GB or 3GB of RAM, depending on the storage option included in the handset.
There have also been rumors about improved battery capacity, but Tim Cook himself suggested that he feels this is not a priority for Apple at this time. Instead, wireless charging may be an option to keep the next iPhone charged up when indoors.
The iPhone 6s features an A9 CPU and has an M9 motion co-processor with 2GB of RAM. As with most previous models of the iPhone, the lowest tier has 16GB of storage, with the other two tiers at 64GB and 128GB.
iPhone 7 vs iPhone 6s: final thoughts
There is no doubt that the next iPhone will in some way improve on what came before it.
It looks as though iOS 10 and the A10 chip will give it superior performance compared to the iPhone 6s. As for the camera, Apple’s purchase of the Israeli firm LinX in 2015 could mean that it has managed to utilize some of the advanced camera technologies it had been working on and will be able to offer up great DSLR quality cameras in both variants of its next handset.
Should you buy the iPhone 7?
Personally, if the handset looks clean-cut and offers improved performance over its predecessor, I think purchasing it would be a great move. However, if you want something truly groundbreaking, maybe you should wait for the iPhone 8 in 2017.
