Should you buy iPhone 7 in 2020?

Hello and welcome to the first blog of Annoyed Techie. Today we are here to help you out with the very important question we face when we think of buying a mobile phone, i.e., should we go for premium Apple iPhone or its Android counterparts.

Here the choice becomes even more difficult when we are on a tight budget like around ₹15,000 to ₹25,000. Here the only offering from Apple is a new iPhone 7 or used/refurbished iPhone 7. So, we tell you how you are supposed to go ahead with your purchase and whether you should buy an older generation iPhone instead of a new Android phone.

For your ease, we have divided our findings into different segments after using an iPhone 7 for a month during the lockdown. So here we go:

Physical Overview

Physically iPhone 7 is very handy and single-hand usage is a breeze when we compare it to today’s Android phones which are not exactly meant for single-handed use.  Also, the built quality boasts premiums with an aluminum frame and metal (aluminum) back. But unfortunately, it misses out on the very essential 3.5mm audio jack but makes up for it by an IP67 water resistance and dual speaker(earpiece doubles up as secondary speaker). For security, it comes with the very handy fingerprint sensor at the front (touch id).  

Chipset

iPhone 7 is powered by Apple A10 fusion which is a Quad-core processor based on 16nm architecture coupled with 2GB of RAM. The base variant comes with 32GB of internal storage which is a big no from our side and we recommend to opt for the 128GB variant. This chipset has an Antutu score of slightly above 2 Lacks and can be compared with Snapdragon 675 which comes in Redmi Note 7 pro.

Display

The display on this phone feels very dated with those thick bezels, although the 4.7 inches IPS LCD is good in its own right, it falls short by today’s standard as the size is small and the refresh rate is 60Hz, so no brownie points here.  Because of this, the gaming and the media experience is compromised, although the display is adequately bright even in direct sunlight.

Battery

Here is the biggest con, the battery life of this phone is almost awful, and to add to it, it comes just with a 5-watt charger in today’s fast-charging age. So even if you are a light user you will have to charge it twice a day, and heavy users require to keep a power bank handy all the time. It takes anywhere around two hours to get fully charged.

Also one must keep in mind that, as it does not have wireless charging and 3.5mm jack, you cannot use wired earphones while charging. Second-hand buyers must ensure that battery health is above 85%.

Camera

iPhone 7 comes with a 12MP rear camera and 7MP selfie shooter and there are no modern-day cameras like ultra-wide, telephoto, or macro.

The camera quality with both the shooters is decent in well-lit situations, but it shows its age in low light environments where the photos are not much usable. The video capabilities are no different. There is no night mode and portrait mode. So, it falls behind the modern-day phones in the camera department.

Software and Gaming experience

iPhone 7 runs on Apple’s iOS 13 which is fluid and gives a rich user experience and regular updates are provided by Apple and it will get the upcoming iOS 14. The gaming experiences are decent and lag free when played in appropriate settings. For instance, PUBG runs smoothly on the HDR and High Frame Rates which is the highest setting available for PUBG on this device. But the experience is let down by smaller screen and pathetic battery backup.

Verdict

Now after considering all the above points, we come to the final verdict, which is subjective to the requirements of the consumer. Overall, iPhone 7 is a decent phone barring the battery life, if it is available on a very attractive price provided the consumer specifically needs an iPhone. For instance, a new iPhone 7 is available for around ₹28,000 for which you can get much better phones like Realme X3 superzoom, Realme X2pro, Redmi K20 pro, and premium non-Chinese alternatives include Samsung Galaxy A51, Samsung Galaxy A70s.

And used/refurbished iPhone 7 will cost around ₹16,000 for which you have alternatives like Poco X2, Realme X2, Realme 6 Pro, etc., and non-Chinese mobiles like Samsung Galaxy M31, Samsung Galaxy M21, Samsung Galaxy A50s, all of which are better phones at this price point unless you desperately want an iPhone. So, iPhone 7 can be bought only if you want an iPhone or else you should skip it.

Thank you for reading our blog and we hope to see you in our next blog.  

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