Considering going from 6S Plus to regular 7

[verius]

So , ive used a 6 Plus and 6S Plus the last couple of years and enjoyed them but i am considering changing to a regular 7 mostly because of the smaller size and because Apple says the battery has been increased.

I am mostly concerned about battery life , i dont consider myself a power user , i usually ended the day with the Plus at around 40-50% battery , mostly using it for web browsing & Spotify bluetooth streaming + social media.

Could the 7 fill my needs without feeling like i would struggle for battery life at the end of the day ?

I am wondering if anyone else has gone from the larger phone to the regular size and if so what are your experiences with battery etc.

 

[chscag]

My understanding is that the 7+ battery is even better. Why would you want to downsize to a smaller screen after getting used to the larger one with your 6+ and 6s+?

 

[verius]

My understanding is that the 7+ battery is even better. Why would you want to downsize to a smaller screen after getting used to the larger one with your 6+ and 6s+?

It would be nice to have a phone i could carry in my pocket & that would be easier to handle day to day, i never really go used to the Plus , i just learned to live with the fact that it is large & awkward to handle.

 

[x34]

It would be nice to have a phone i could carry in my pocket & that would be easier to handle day to day, i never really go used to the Plus , i just learned to live with the fact that it is large & awkward to handle.

funny, i don't find it that much different to be true: just went from a 6s to a 7plus. i would buy a 7plus or stay with your 6s plus.

 

[mjb59463]

So , ive used a 6 Plus and 6S Plus the last couple of years and enjoyed them but i am considering changing to a regular 7 mostly because of the smaller size and because Apple says the battery has been increased.

I am mostly concerned about battery life , i dont consider myself a power user , i usually ended the day with the Plus at around 40-50% battery , mostly using it for web browsing & Spotify bluetooth streaming + social media.

Could the 7 fill my needs without feeling like i would struggle for battery life at the end of the day ?

I am wondering if anyone else has gone from the larger phone to the regular size and if so what are your experiences with battery etc.

Man, I've been in your shoes until today. Same usage categories for my phone, plus a lot of email. Owned the 6+ and 6s+. I kept thinking the size was something I would eventually get used to instead of just tolerating it. Thinking I had reached that point, I moved to the 7+ on launch day.

Today I made the decision to return the Plus and go with the regular 7. The 1080p screen and battery life are great on the 7 Plus, but in terms of a physical footprint, it's just not the phone for me. I can't (or perhaps don't truly want to) get used to it. And that's after owning 2 iterations of the Plus.

The camera wasn't really a large enough selling point for me either. I'm not a huge photo taker other than sporadic cool snapshots, am not into photography in the slightest and despite having a better camera in the Plus, it didn't alter my photo-taking habits or anything like that. So for me, I found that the dual camera was next to useless. The 7 camera has OIS and I find that it is more than adequate for me.

I've had my 7 less than a day, so I won't comment on my personal battery statistics thus far because they don't bear out my true usage pattern, but I'm believing the battery is going to be just fine. Based on what I've read about the 7's battery life, I think it will be around 25-35% at the end of your day.

Good luck in your choice! If it was me, I'd recommend buying one, trying it out for 12-13 days and if you don't like it, exchange it for the other!

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

funny, i don't find it that much different to be true: just went from a 6s to a 7plus. i would buy a 7plus or stay with your 6s plus.

Manu Plus owners who just got the 6+ or 6s+ thought the same thing soon after switching to it, but are singing a different tune after a year or two. Sometimes it takes that long for reality to set in.

 

[griss0r]

I was in the same situation right before pre order day. From 6s Plus to 7/Plus. So I asked my college if I can try his regular 6. The size in hand is good but I can't go back anymore. Looking at the smaller screen when used to the bigger is just not fun.

In General: go with what YOU like Most. That's why there are two sizes.

 

[BigDO]

I have a 6S Plus, and had a 6 Plus before it. I love the screen, and I love the battery even more since I use the phone a lot.

Even after 2 years, I still hate the size, everyday.

 

[ct2k7]

Looked at a 7 in a shop today, I can see the minor pixel difference, but it's enough to annoy me.

 

[NewZealandMatt]

Just in case it's helpful, I just went through exactly the same process as you. Had a 6S Plus, wanted better portability. Also had fond memories of using my iPhone 5 one-handed. But I only lasted a week with the 7 before returning it: compared to my 6S Plus the battery life was terrible, it didn't feel that much smaller in the pocket and I really missed the larger screen size. I also found the lower resolution to be noticeable, especially if I was reading in bed on my phone. So I'm currently awaiting my 7 Plus - and enjoying my 6S Plus in the meantime. Have come to the conclusion that you lose much more than you gain by downsizing.

 

[44267547]

It really comes down to portability over battery life. What's more important to you? Their both great models in their own respects. It is a matter over user preferences.

 

[ZipZap]

It would be nice to have a phone i could carry in my pocket & that would be easier to handle day to day, i never really go used to the Plus , i just learned to live with the fact that it is large & awkward to handle.

Its the whole reason I went from 6+ to 7. The plus is too big. Hopefully IP8 will no have borders which will make the bigger phone more comfortable to pocket.

 

[feard]

I went from 6S Plus to the 7. Main concern going to a 7 is battery life. Its not as good as plus but gets me through day no problem. I am enjoying the smaller size and ability to put into front shirt pocket for quick access. I also have 9.7 iPad Pro which I carry in backpack and use when I spend any real time looking at screen.

 

[jshtroutman]

Portability outweighs the benefit of a larger screen when comparing the 7 to the 7+ in my situation. Like another suggested above try one out risk free for 14 days and see what you think. My battery life is very good on my 7.

 

[silversin]

I've had the regular 7 for about 2 weeks now, coming from the 6 plus. Just returned it for the 7 plus.

I couldn't do it, really once you get used to that big screen it's hard to go back. the battery of the 7 was just as good as the 6 plus btw. So I expect the 7 plus to be better.

 

[clarencek]

Originally had a 6+, got a 7 - I returned it after a week. Portability was great, but I couldn't deal with the battery. It won't go a whole day with heavy use.

I have a 7+ now and it's been great.

 

[airjay75]

(posted on the wrong thread - deleting post)

 

[athletejmv]

Man, I've been in your shoes until today. Same usage categories for my phone, plus a lot of email. Owned the 6+ and 6s+. I kept thinking the size was something I would eventually get used to instead of just tolerating it. Thinking I had reached that point, I moved to the 7+ on launch day.

Today I made the decision to return the Plus and go with the regular 7. The 1080p screen and battery life are great on the 7 Plus, but in terms of a physical footprint, it's just not the phone for me. I can't (or perhaps don't truly want to) get used to it. And that's after owning 2 iterations of the Plus.

The camera wasn't really a large enough selling point for me either. I'm not a huge photo taker other than sporadic cool snapshots, am not into photography in the slightest and despite having a better camera in the Plus, it didn't alter my photo-taking habits or anything like that. So for me, I found that the dual camera was next to useless. The 7 camera has OIS and I find that it is more than adequate for me.

I've had my 7 less than a day, so I won't comment on my personal battery statistics thus far because they don't bear out my true usage pattern, but I'm believing the battery is going to be just fine. Based on what I've read about the 7's battery life, I think it will be around 25-35% at the end of your day.

Good luck in your choice! If it was me, I'd recommend buying one, trying it out for 12-13 days and if you don't like it, exchange it for the other!

I have the 7 Plus, but as someone active (gym, mountain/road biking, family/children, college, etc), it's kind of bulky IMO when I have it on my person all day. The main selling point for me on the 7+ was the higher PPI screen (battery too, but I suspect the regular 7 should be considerably better), but I don't think the size is worth the tradeoff for the higher PPI... Apple really needs to update its screen tech. The 7 feels much more natural/wieldy in the hand as well... especially when using it as a phone. My favorite feature is the "front" facing speaker(s) as they do offer better sound quality considering I use a sound machine app when sleeping at night.

Another thing I didn't like about the 7+ is that the one's I've handled have uneven colors... whiter whites near the top and a more dirty yellow color towards the bottom of the screen... my wife noticed/mentioned this on my phone as well when I was using it last night (not so obvious in an Apple store setting with bright lights and backlight all the way up...) my conditions were a dark room with the backlight about a fifth of the way to max). I'm assuming this is because the backlighting must travel a greater distance across the diffuser since it's fairly large panel and it's to my understanding that the screen is only lit from one side (vs all around the perimeter of the screen like a television). I had another plus that had the same issue, so I give up.

 

[MacDevil7334]

Posted this in another thread but thought I'd repost here:

I switched from the 6S+ to the regular 7 this year and am thrilled to be back on the smaller size. The bigger screen on the plus was never large enough to make the experience anything close to an iPad, and most apps didn't offer anything new to take advantage of the bigger screen on the plus anyway. At the same time, the large size of the plus meant I was constantly coming up with workarounds to make it fit into my routine. Some examples include shuffling it in my hand to reach areas of the screen, not being able to work the keyboard without using two hands, and having to take the phone out of my pocket when sitting in several different pairs of pants because it was too uncomfortable. I finally decided I wanted a phone that fits comfortably in my hand while offering a decent sized screen and the ability to accomplish most tasks one handed while out and about. The 4.7" model fits the bill perfectly. I admit, I am a bit jealous of the dual camera system on the plus, but not enough to make me switch back now that the 4.7" model has OIS on the camera.

At the end of the day, I had to remember that I have an iPad that goes with me most places and a nice TV and speakers for home. My phone has always been my media device of last resort and should be comfortable to use for other tasks. That means I won't have the biggest, best screen. But I don't really feel like I'm losing much there. Does anyone really claim that watching movies is really THAT much better on a 5.5" screen compared to a 4.7"? A bigger small screen is still a small screen.

All that being said, if Apple redesigns the phone next year so that the 5.5" model has a truly smaller body, I might go back to the plus. It's just to big right now though.

Also, to answer the OP's original question about battery life, it has been fine for me. Consistently ending the day with 30-40% with moderate use. Not as good as my old 6S+, which would end the day around 40-50%, but still more than enough to get me through the day. YMMV of course, but it does seem Apple has achieved some battery life savings with the A10 chip.

 

[justinTlME]

It would be nice to have a phone i could carry in my pocket & that would be easier to handle day to day, i never really go used to the Plus , i just learned to live with the fact that it is large & awkward to handle.

This is not a dig, it just sounds like you have small hands. My 6+ fits in all my pockets, and I can one hand it without any issues.

 

[verius]

So , i thought id give an update here,
I got the chance to borrow a iPhone 7 from my workplace for a couple of days and i am glad i did.

I have come to the conclusion that i am going with the iPhone 7 Plus, what suprised me the most was that it wasnt the battery life that i missed the most , the battery life on the 7 was actually pretty good and got me through the day with my use.
What i missed most was the screen , after using the Plus for the last couple years i didnt realise how good that screen is when it comes to resolution/quality vs the 7.

The feel in hand is better on the 7 than the Plus , but when carrying the phone around i kept putting the 7 in my back pocket like i did with the Plus (old habit i guess) so i didnt really matter what size the phone was. I also kept using the 7 with both hands when typing etc.

This is just how i feel though , others might feel diffrently about changing phone size.