iPhone 6 Plus to 7 Plus: Conclusions

[janeauburn]

Friend and I both have come from the 6 Plus and have given the 7 Plus a few weeks of steady use. Between us, we have used 3 different 7 Plus units extensively. Here are our observations:

Difference in weight (and width/size) is noticeable. 3D Touch, the brainfart largely responsible for the added weight, is not nearly worth the price.

Battery life of 7 Plus is worse, yes, and the battery drains faster even when not using the phone.

We both like the new home button, but have found unit-to-unit differences in how (well) it responds.

Speaker call quality is different, at best--more muted. One 7 Plus had such horrible speaker phone quality that it had to be returned.

Overall, when picking up the 6 Plus, it feels like a relief due to less weight and width.

The 6 Plus screen a bit easier to read, especially at night, when it seems less "yellow." The added stuff due to 3D Touch has made the screen worse.

Speed--much better. But overall, the 6 Plus is still fast enough (one of us refused to go to iOS 10 on the 6, which slows the 6 down appreciably).

Transfer of content: Sucks. iTunes is a piece of garbage, to put it nicely. There are third-party alternatives, but they're all lacking, and most of them cost money to unlock the features you need.

The new leather cases: nice buttons. Formerly nice and grippy, they're now slippery as soap. Step backwards.

The 6 Plus is still the best phone Apple has released, ever, but it's too large for the screen it gives you. The form factor is a pain to carry.

We will both probably keep the 7 Plus, but one of us will not use it as a main phone.

 

[dmillar74]

Friend and I both have come from the 6 Plus and have given the 7 Plus a few weeks of steady use. Between us, we have used 3 different 7 Plus units extensively. Here are our observations:

Difference in weight (and width/size) is noticeable. 3D Touch, the brainfart largely responsible for the added weight, is not nearly worth the price.

Battery life of 7 Plus is worse, yes, and the battery drains faster even when not using the phone.

We both like the new home button, but have found unit-to-unit differences in how (well) it responds.

Speaker call quality is different, at best--more muted. One 7 Plus had such horrible speaker phone quality that it had to be returned.

Overall, when picking up the 6 Plus, it feels like a relief due to less weight and width.

The 6 Plus screen a bit easier to read, especially at night, when it seems less "yellow." The added stuff due to 3D Touch has made the screen worse.

Speed--much better. But overall, the 6 Plus is still fast enough (one of us refused to go to iOS 10 on the 6, which slows the 6 down appreciably).

Transfer of content: Sucks. iTunes is a piece of garbage, to put it nicely. There are third-party alternatives, but they're all lacking, and most of them cost money to unlock the features you need.

The new leather cases: nice buttons. Formerly nice and grippy, they're now slippery as soap. Step backwards.

The 6 Plus is still the best phone Apple has released, ever, but it's too large for the screen it gives you. The form factor is a pain to carry.

We will both probably keep the 7 Plus, but one of us will not use it as a main phone.

I came from a 4.7 (6) to the 5.5 (7 plus)... the added weight , one would think, would take a lot of getting used to even more than your 6 Plus -> 7 Plus... but in reality I don't think even about it. But the most interesting statement you made was with respect to transfer of content. Why did you use iTunes? I haven't used it in years. With iCloud, transfer of content is a snap. Maybe I'm missing something?

 

[janeauburn]

I came from a 4.7 (6) to the 5.5 (7 plus)... the added weight , one would think, would take a lot of getting used to even more than your 6 Plus -> 7 Plus... but in reality I don't think even about it. But the most interesting statement you made was with respect to transfer of content. Why did you use iTunes? I haven't used it in years. With iCloud, transfer of content is a snap. Maybe I'm missing something?

Quote from my friend:

I had a number of podcasts saved in the Apple podcast app, and it turns out that the content for that app is not included in iCloud backups—so the content didn't come over to the new phone via restore. The next discovery is that the Apple podcast app also doesn't have a “share” function, so no way to export the content that way. I then installed iTunes on my PC (malware), and iTunes lets you see the content nicely listed—but again no way to copy to the new phone or even extract to PC. Finally I got a third party software—more malware, and full of bugs—but finally was able to save the content to the PC. Then I found a podcast app that supports importing media files (it is called Downcast), transferred from the PC to the new phone, imported to that new podcast app—and done. This took hours, in part because once extracted to PC from the old phone, the meta-data about these files (order, when received, etc.) was lost, so I had to rename the files to preserve the correct order.

 

[torontoapple]

Just reading this topic quickly , I also came from 6plus to 7plus and love the 7plus. I find the battery is the same or just as better and speed on the 7 is much more faster and noticeable. A win win

 

[janeauburn]

Just reading this topic quickly , I also came from 6plus to 7plus and love the 7plus. I find the battery is the same or just as better and speed on the 7 is much more faster and noticeable. A win win

What did you do with your 6 Plus?

 

[Xgm541]

Quote from my friend:

I had a number of podcasts saved in the Apple podcast app, and it turns out that the content for that app is not included in iCloud backups—so the content didn't come over to the new phone via restore. The next discovery is that the Apple podcast app also doesn't have a “share” function, so no way to export the content that way. I then installed iTunes on my PC (malware), and iTunes lets you see the content nicely listed—but again no way to copy to the new phone or even extract to PC. Finally I got a third party software—more malware, and full of bugs—but finally was able to save the content to the PC. Then I found a podcast app that supports importing media files (it is called Downcast), transferred from the PC to the new phone, imported to that new podcast app—and done. This took hours, in part because once extracted to PC from the old phone, the meta-data about these files (order, when received, etc.) was lost, so I had to rename the files to preserve the correct order.

I dont think your friend fully understands the definition of malware. iTunes is not great on windows, but it's far from malware.

 

[jetsam]

I also went from a 6 Plus to a 7 Plus. I didn't have any of the issues you had. I think the 7 Plus is better in every way. The only thing I'm unhappy about is having the Intel modem, and the $650 credit I'm getting from AT&T for my 6 Plus is easing that pain.

I did a restore from an iTunes backup of my 6 Plus. No issues.

Battery life is significantly better, even though I'm using both raise-to-wake and always-on Siri. (And the 6 Plus had significantly better battery life than the 5 it replaced.)

The 7 Plus is much faster than the 6 Plus. I probably shouldn't have upgraded the 6 Plus past iOS 8, in retrospect (it was running 10.0.1 when I traded it in).

Yellow screen issues? I compared my 6 Plus and 7 Plus side-by-side on the same, mostly white, screen. In my, obviously subjective, opinion, the 6 Plus was further from pure white than the 7 Plus. The former was on the blue side, the latter on the yellow side.

I didn't notice any weight issues. Apple's specs say the 7 Plus is a little heavier - 16 grams, about 1/2 ounce. That's not typically something I would notice. I did notice the weight increase going from the 5 to the 6 Plus. That was a 60 gram (about 2.1 oz) increase.

Overall, I'm thrilled with the 7 Plus, and don't miss the 6 Plus at all.

 

[jianrong]

I also came from 6 Plus as tempted by variety... haha well is good to be back from Android too. Lol.

 

[timeconsumer]

Friend and I both have come from the 6 Plus and have given the 7 Plus a few weeks of steady use. Between us, we have used 3 different 7 Plus units extensively. Here are our observations:

Difference in weight (and width/size) is noticeable. 3D Touch, the brainfart largely responsible for the added weight, is not nearly worth the price.

Battery life of 7 Plus is worse, yes, and the battery drains faster even when not using the phone.

We both like the new home button, but have found unit-to-unit differences in how (well) it responds.

Speaker call quality is different, at best--more muted. One 7 Plus had such horrible speaker phone quality that it had to be returned.

Overall, when picking up the 6 Plus, it feels like a relief due to less weight and width.

The 6 Plus screen a bit easier to read, especially at night, when it seems less "yellow." The added stuff due to 3D Touch has made the screen worse.

Speed--much better. But overall, the 6 Plus is still fast enough (one of us refused to go to iOS 10 on the 6, which slows the 6 down appreciably).

Transfer of content: Sucks. iTunes is a piece of garbage, to put it nicely. There are third-party alternatives, but they're all lacking, and most of them cost money to unlock the features you need.

The new leather cases: nice buttons. Formerly nice and grippy, they're now slippery as soap. Step backwards.

The 6 Plus is still the best phone Apple has released, ever, but it's too large for the screen it gives you. The form factor is a pain to carry.

We will both probably keep the 7 Plus, but one of us will not use it as a main phone.

I went from a regular size iPhone 6 (loved that phone) to a 6s Plus (great except for being huge and heavy) to a regular 7. Honestly, I don't know why I switched from the 6. The 7 is awesome in terms of size/weight but I don't know what I'm getting for my use that couldn't have been done on the iPhone 6 I had.

 

[janeauburn]

The 7 Plus is much faster than the 6 Plus. I probably shouldn't have upgraded the 6 Plus past iOS 8, in retrospect (it was running 10.0.1 when I traded it in).

I stayed on iOS 8.x as long as I could with the 6 Plus. Eventually Apple or third-party apps force you to upgrade. The Apple Store and a few other apps, for example, refused to run on 8.x
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I went from a regular size iPhone 6 (loved that phone) to a 6s Plus (great except for being huge and heavy) to a regular 7. Honestly, I don't know why I switched from the 6. The 7 is awesome in terms of size/weight but I don't know what I'm getting for my use that couldn't have been done on the iPhone 6 I had.

Not a lot, really. You're having the same first-world pangs that many people have upon upgrading to the 7. We don't really need anything that the 7 gives us. It's all luxury and unnecessary. Add to that the fact that our thousand bucks could help to feed quite a few families in this world (not to mention our own), and the upgrade seems borderline decadent--or maybe not-so-borderline.

 

[iSunrise]

Speaker call quality is different, at best--more muted. One 7 Plus had such horrible speaker phone quality that it had to be returned.

Apart from the fact that I am currently pretty happy with my new iPhone 7 256GB matte black (exact model is A1778 with the Intel modem), I can confirm that for some reason speaker quality is reduced a lot during calls, voices sound muffled, like there is some kind of low-pass filter active, which really make the speaker phone sound like some mono speaker from a 70's radio. Watching media files from the internal video player is fine, but I know exactly what you mean with "at best - more muted". IMHO it's clearly gotten worse and I compared that with my iPhone 6s. Since nowadays I am using the phone more as a personal assistant and less calling activity, I don't prioritize speaker quality that much, but it seems like Apple really does not take too much care anymore for basic functions of a phone. I mean, it's still a phone where speaker quality should still have top priority.

Now, the main reason why I personally switched from my 6s was that I only got like 6 hours of active battery life out of it and it kept shutting off at some random percentages. I always thought there was something wrong with my phone, but since that only started happening several months after I bought it and I did not purchase Apple Care with it, I was basically in need of a new phone and I really don't like the whole Android ecosystem too much.

I dont think your friend fully understands the definition of malware. iTunes is not great on windows, but it's far from malware.

It's not great on either platform. iTunes is a very bloated software that has a lot of limits managing personal content, so much that it completely fails at some basic functionality managing it, which is a real pain in the ass. It may not be malware, but it's one of the worst experiences in the whole Apple ecosystem, since Apple keeps on letting it grow and not doing anything about it.

 

[noobinator]

I am the opposite of OP. My 6 Plus was quite horrible. It was the least snappy iOS device I've owned in some time. It was also very glitchy with the addition of landscape homescreen and different landscape look in apps. My battery is better on my 7 plus, the added weight (the dimensions are the same if I recall correctly, maybe a tiny bit of depth?) makes it feel sturdier, 3d touch is useful when you give it a try, camera is much better, new black colors are much better than the old colors, speakers blow the 6 plus away, home button is much better (no more mechanical errors), and the screen is better than ever. And I haven't used iTunes in many years.

 

[janeauburn]

I can confirm that for some reason speaker quality is reduced a lot during calls, voices sound muffled, like there is some kind of low-pass filter active, which really make the speaker phone sound like some mono speaker from a 70's radio

Both personal experience and now multiple user reports seem to confirm that the speaker quality of many of the 7 phones (but not all) is worse.

 

[QueenTyrone]

I liked your review a lot. I switched from the 6s plus to the 7 plus due to issues with my 6s plus that apple couldn't fix. Nor would they replace my phone. In general I think my battery life is indeed worse but because I use auto brightness. My speakers are BEYOND loud and clear -almost too loud.i can have it at 30% and it's the same sound and quality as my 6s plus on max volume. Overall I'm extremely happy with my upgrade.

 

[Harmonious Zen]

I had to use a relative's 6 Plus to help them setup an app. So glad it's not my phone. The 7 and 7 Plus are miles ahead in terms of speed and responsiveness. I also absolutely love the stereo speakers. It's such a huge improvement over the older generation and is particularly great when watching YouTube. Have had none of the other issues that OP has mentioned. Weight is sort of laughable to me because it's not as if you're going from a feather to a brick. Yes, it's noticeable if you pick both up one after the other. But who does that on a daily basis? The key is that the added weight is not nearly a detriment in day to day use.

 

[iSunrise]

I liked your review a lot. I switched from the 6s plus to the 7 plus due to issues with my 6s plus that apple couldn't fix. Nor would they replace my phone. In general I think my battery life is indeed worse but because I use auto brightness. My speakers are BEYOND loud and clear -almost too loud.i can have it at 30% and it's the same sound and quality as my 6s plus on max volume. Overall I'm extremely happy with my upgrade.

Just out of interest, do you already use iOS 10.1 on it? There seem to be reports on here that say that iOS 10.1 reduces the general speaker volume.

 

[timeconsumer]

I had to use a relative's 6 Plus to help them setup an app. So glad it's not my phone. The 7 and 7 Plus are miles ahead in terms of speed and responsiveness. I also absolutely love the stereo speakers. It's such a huge improvement over the older generation and is particularly great when watching YouTube. Have had none of the other issues that OP has mentioned. Weight is sort of laughable to me because it's not as if you're going from a feather to a brick. Yes, it's noticeable if you pick both up one after the other. But who does that on a daily basis? The key is that the added weight is not nearly a detriment in day to day use.

I'm not sure if you've used a 6s plus while laying down. But the weight and size of that was awkward to me and I would occasionally drop it to where it would land on my chest. I've yet to do that with my 7 as it's much smaller and lighter. It's also much easier to run/exercise with as well.

Not a lot, really. You're having the same first-world pangs that many people have upon upgrading to the 7. We don't really need anything that the 7 gives us. It's all luxury and unnecessary. Add to that the fact that our thousand bucks could help to feed quite a few families in this world (not to mention our own), and the upgrade seems borderline decadent--or maybe not-so-borderline.

Very true. Hopefully I can keep this in mind when Apple announces the new iPhone next year. Don't get me wrong the 7 is nice, but I think I may just be burnt out of technology in general or I'm getting older to where I don't care as much.

 

[pika2000]

Thanks for sharing.
This post proves that people will have their own personal preferences.
Your post is one of the few posts that say positive things about the 6 Plus. The general consensus is that it's supposed to be one of the worst iPhone. It is prone to bending, and its GPU is not zippy enough to rescale its own UI to 1080p. I've seen people complaining about UI stutters.

 

[Bootleg Gucci]

Both personal experience and now multiple user reports seem to confirm that the speaker quality of many of the 7 phones (but not all) is worse.

Just returned my JB 7 Plus A1661, and I thought the earpiece speaker seemed less loud than my current 6S Plus at same volume settings. The improvements in 7Plus didn't jive with me as worth the upgrade. A10 slightly faster, new home button good, not much battery life increase for my usage, portrait mode grainy quality, screen brightness about same but 7 has warmer tones (not bothering me as yellow).

 

[VesselA]

i still have a 6 plus and the display is PRISTINE.
I remember when the 6s plus was released people
on the forum were noting the display was duller in comparison, I think due to the extra tech they had to add for force touch.
There was also talk of battery life being worse, noticably heavier and speakers not as good.
6 plus had issues with lag, but with the new updates it runs very smooth and nice.
One thing I noticed to begin with is the 6 plus had ridiculous battery life, I could get 19 hours usage, 16 hours, but this almost halved to what we have now when apple increased the FPS for the smoother experience.

I dont think the upgrade from 6 to 6s was worth it

One thing I like about force touch is the ability to get into app switcher by firm
press on left edge of screen. Peeking is nice too. I wouldnt have upgraded to the 7 plus, as I think the 6 plus is too similar , display is perfect, as smooth as the 7s niw with updates, but went for 7 due to perfect size form factor.

 

[dmillar74]

Wow. I just learned something new. I did not know that you could 3D Touch the left edge of the screen to get into the app switcher. Thanks!

 

[VesselA]

that is the best thing about it I think, stops you needing to stretch down to double tap home button

 

[janeauburn]

the display was duller in comparison, I think due to the extra tech they had to add for force touch.

That's what I suspect. The extra layer or whatever they had to add for the stupid 3D Touch affected the displays negatively, I feel.
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Wow. I just learned something new. I did not know that you could 3D Touch the left edge of the screen to get into the app switcher. Thanks!

It's kind of a weird shortcut, though--as in not really easy to use. I find double-tapping the home button easier.

 

[Mlrollin91]

Difference in weight (and width/size) is noticeable. 3D Touch, the brainfart largely responsible for the added weight, is not nearly worth the price.

.1 mm is noticeable? Thats the diameter of a single hair. Yes it weighs a half ounce more, but also not that noticeable.

iPhone 7Plus:
158.2 mm x 77.9mm x 7.3mm

iPhone 6Plus
158.1mm x 77.8mm x 7.1mm

No way that is noticeable.

 

[sunking101]

My findings regarding the 6+/6S+/7+

6+ has the nicest screen, the nicest loudspeaker and it's also the lightest.

6S+ is a speed demon which also cured the reloading and stutter/freezing of its predecessor but sadly it has a gnarly loudspeaker, an overly cool-blue screen and weighs a bit more.

7+ isn't all that noticeably faster in general use, it has a warmer screen than the 6S+ but still more fatiguing/straining in extended use than the 6+, it has the best home button, best camera and water resistance. Yeah it also has stereo speakers but the audio quality still isn't a patch on the 6+.

So basically give me a 7+ with the screen and loudspeaker from the 6+. I'm pretty sure that the 3D Touch engineering in the 6S+ and 7+ makes the display more fatiguing.