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iPhone 7/Plus iPhone 7 plus or iPhone 8 plus?

YukonGold

YukonGold

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 14, 2018
13
7
UK
Hi everyone, this is my first post here so please be gentle :)

I currently have an iPhone 6 and am looking to upgrade. I'm definitely after a larger screen but don't want to fork out for an X.

I'm tempted with a pre-owned 7+ from O2 (I'm in the UK) which I can get on a tariff that I'm happy with. My dilemma is that I'm not likely to upgrade for a couple of years and I wonder whether this model will really start to age in the next 24 months? Will iOS upgrades start having a detrimental affect on the phone e.g. on battery life?

Or would I be better biting the bullet and accept paying for a higher tariff for a handset that's one generation younger?

What would you guys do? Thanks in advance!
 
Is there a strong used / refurbished market in UK? No carrier plans with monthly installments available? Is there an Apple Store you can visit? Maybe a 6S Plus to hold you? I assume Android has no appeal then?
 
Hi there, definitely no appeal for Android, as a family we are very much tied to Apple!

The 7+ is on a carrier plan with monthly instalments (as would an 8+ be) just significantly lower than the 8+. I think I may just go for the 7+, its new enough to not go end of life in the next 2 years.
 
The 8 offers wireless charging which is very important TO ME. OTHERS may not see that feature as consequential. Sometimes it is not solely about the cost differential, but about the features
 
The 7+ should easily be able to last you a couple years. Unless wireless charging is of paramount importance to you, definitely go with the 7+.
 
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Wireless charging isn’t of interest to me, that would mean even more expense!

7+ it is then, thanks guys, my mind is made up, plus it’s also the very pretty red backed model (yes, im a girl :p )
 
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YukonGold said:
Wireless charging isn’t of interest to me, that would mean even more expense!

7+ it is then, thanks guys, my mind is made up, plus it’s also the very pretty red backed model (yes, im a girl :p )
Click to expand...

Great decision, the 7+ is a great iPhone and will certainly give you at least 24 months of service. Plus I'm sure you saved over purchasing the 8+, congrats and welcome!
 
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iPhone 8 Plus is a huge upgrade over the 7 and it doesn't cost significantly more. There's no way I would be recommend anyone pick the 7 Plus over the 8 Plus. iPhone X is of course the ultimate iPhone experience, but if you really can't budget for it, iPhone 8 Plus is a fantastic device.
 
dumastudetto said:
iPhone 8 Plus is a huge upgrade over the 7 and it doesn't cost significantly more. There's no way I would be recommend anyone pick the 7 Plus over the 8 Plus. iPhone X is of course the ultimate iPhone experience, but if you really can't budget for it, iPhone 8 Plus is a fantastic device.
Click to expand...

Agreed! The 8 Plus is a fantastic phone, my favorite thus far. However, if your on a budget the 7 Plus is still a great choice.
 
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Get the 7 Plus. Both models have 3GB of RAM. The 7 Plus has a brighter display and bigger battery compared to the 8 Plus. There's no good reason to invest heavily in the 8 given it's an evolutionary dead end. In 24 months, the 8 will feel as old as the 7.

The 6s was released 2015 and nearly 3 years later, it still performs well. The 7 was released in 2016 and you can expect it to perform through 2019-2020.
 
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7+ will be delivered tomorrow, now I need to buy a new case for my iPad so that it matches the new phone :rolleyes::oops:
 
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dumastudetto said:
iPhone 8 Plus is a huge upgrade over the 7 and it doesn't cost significantly more. There's no way I would be recommend anyone pick the 7 Plus over the 8 Plus.
Click to expand...

I disagree when you’re saying it’s a huge upgrade over the iPhone 7. I think the 7+ an 8+ are fairly similar, where the 8+ obviously has its advantages with wireless charging, True tone, and camera upgrades with AR capabilities. But to the average consumer, that’s not going to translate to much of a difference between both models, considering they both have three GB of RAM, similar form factor and display. Me, I see the iPhone 8 Plus more as the “S” model of the iPhone 7.
[doublepost=1521055077][/doublepost]
Oldmanmac said:
I'm thinking about the same thing..
What's sol great about the 8+?
Click to expand...

The main advantages with the iPhone 8 is it has True tone display, wireless charging capabilities, the stereo speakers are 25% louder over the iPhone 7 stereo speakers, has a glass backing versus the aluminum backing on the iPhone 7 and augmented reality capabilities with the camera.
 
For the average user, of which I am one, I think that most of the features of the iPhone 8 are not going to be of interest, my original question was about longevity of the device rather than features. I get that I’m probably not average in terms of the people on this forum!

I had to google the term AR!!

I’m not a technophobe by any stretch but, right now, my phone is primarily that, I don’t game and I don’t intend to watch HD movies etc on it. All that said, this discussion has been very interesting given my previous employment.

I worked for 02 when they were just Cellnet selling analogue handsets, I remember when text messages were reserved for our field engineers only, until some bright spark thought that our customers would also like them....

Better than that I worked for them (O2) when all the UK operators had paid millions of pounds for 3G spectrum and then we were all scratching our heads wandering what to do with it. The word app didn’t exist and social media was meeting your mates in the pub! The general consensus was that phones were for talking and texting, how wrong we were!

This post is now very off topic but it’s just reminded me of how far we have come with those pesky little devices that we all now rely on!
 
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Phone duly arrived today and thanks all, I made the right choice, I love it!

Still getting used to the size and slight weight increase but wow, that screen size, awesome!

Oh and the red back is just stunning.
 
I had a similar decision to make when I upgraded from my 6S last year. I bought both a 7+ and 8+ and tested them side by side. The 8+ is the better phone for sure as it can do everything the 7+ can do and more. But when used as a part of my day the differences wasn't noticeable.

I do think the 8+ has the best build/design of the 6/7/8 iPhones (the glass back is very nice) and the wireless charging seemed really cool but I ended up returning the 8+ and kept the 7+. The 7+ was less expensive and in the Product Red color (my favorite iPhone color ever). It also has 128gb vs 64gb which wasn't a big deal for me but is a bonus in case i ever need that space.

The extra processing power of the 8+ may come in handy in another year or two but I probably would upgrade to something else by then. And for now when used side by side they both feel equally as fast. I was reminded of that again when I was using an X last night and it didn't feel any faster than my 7+.

Good luck and have fun with your new phone.

SrB88dO.jpg
 
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I had the 7 plus and was happy with it. My wife had the 6 plus with 16gb of storage. She takes ALOT of photos. I gave her my 7 plus because I had 128gb of storage. I bought the 8 plus with 64gb. Thats all I needed.

Few things I noticed:

  • I can say right out of the gate I noticed the the 8 plus was faster.
  • Aesthetically very little noticeable difference. Used the same case I had on my 7 on my 8.
  • Photos and videos were noticeably better. My wife even noticed the difference and she is the textbook definition of average user. Low light photos were also improved.
  • Did not think much of wireless charging until I used it. Bought a Qi charger from Amazon for $15. Not a big expense. After using it for a couple of months, I don't know how I lived without it. One on my night stand, one on my desk. Very convenient.
 
8+.

The X has a smaller screen than the 8+. The way they measure it makes it sound better than it is. It's very skinny and once you remove the notch you have noticeably smaller screen size at your disposal on the X.

If the 7+ is stupid cheap then save some money on that. if you plan to keep the phone for 1-2yrs, then get the 8+
 
SquireSCA said:
8+.

The X has a smaller screen than the 8+. The way they measure it makes it sound better than it is. It's very skinny and once you remove the notch you have noticeably smaller screen size at your disposal on the X.

If the 7+ is stupid cheap then save some money on that. if you plan to keep the phone for 1-2yrs, then get the 8+
Click to expand...

Not sure whether you have posted on the right thread or have read it in full since I’ve bought the 7+ and didn’t mention the X
 
YukonGold said:
Phone duly arrived today and thanks all, I made the right choice, I love it!

Still getting used to the size and slight weight increase but wow, that screen size, awesome!

Oh and the red back is just stunning.
Click to expand...
8+ is a good bit heavier in hand than the 7+, so you probably made the right decision. I got the 8+ over the 7+ because it was my first iPhone and I hadn’t read much into them. I never wireless charge, so the glass back is meaningless to me since it can’t be out of a case where I work.
 
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