iPhone 7 review

The iPhone 7 remains a great cheap iOS option

iPhone 7 review

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iPhone 7 vs iPhone 6S camera

There's a few upgrades in the iPhone 7's camera that are worth digging into: while the resolution is the same, the improvements are more behind the scenes. You can look at things like a six lens system, but it's hard to demonstrate the practical benefits of these to the average user.

Instead, a few key upgrades stand out: much better low light performance, a faster shutter speed, brighter and more colorful images - complete with a better screen to view them on.

However, some of the changes don't add a huge amount, with some scenarios not showing a massive upgrade in picture quality.

Take a look below at our side by side comparison shots and see for yourself the differences on offer. The iPhone 7 is on the left, but you can slide each image across to the right to see the iPhone 6S camera sample.

And note of course that Apple has further improved camera performance for newer phones - the iPhone 7 is no longer anywhere near being the top dog, that honor goes to the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.

The effect is very similar here, but the iPhone 7 colors are more vibrant.

The contrast of the iPhone 7 photo is slightly better with the black and white filter applied.

Here we can see the most stark difference: the low light performance is night and day (ahem...).

The flash on the iPhone 7 is clearer and more 'rounded' in its light dispersion.

Interestingly the iPhone 6S (lower image) is the brighter here, but the auto HDR has captured more detail from the iPhone 7.

Again, the iPhone 6S seems to be the brighter photo, but with slightly less detail.

There's little to choose in the zoom - the iPhone 7 is a touch brighter.

The colors are more vibrant with the iPhone 7, although both offer good clarity.

Neither macro mode particularly impresses.

In mixed conditions, the iPhone 7 has the stronger HDR mode, with the sky showing the right color.

Another close up, and the iPhone 7 here brings a clearer, brighter and more colorful pic.

The upgraded selfie cam, from 5MP to 7MP, seems to offer similar pics in bright light.

TOPICS
Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grew with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.

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