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The ultimate question, is the iPhone 7 a 6SS?

Is the iPhone 7 a true upgrade from the 6 series?

  • Yes, the iPhone 7 is a new and improved model that deserves the 7.

    Votes: 38 55.1%

  • No, the differences are small and not worth the 7 at the end.

    Votes: 31 44.9%
  • Total voters
    69
C

cdmoore74

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jun 24, 2010
2,413
711
After owning the phone for a few days did Apple do enough to convince you that this is indeed a true iPhone 7?

I'm picking no, the iPhone is not a true successor to the iPhone 6/6S. But I'm still buying the Plus model because I've never owned it.
 
Next year will be a huge upgrade but this years is still a good upgrade.

New color
Better speakers
Better camera features
Water resistance
More storage if needed
Faster

Either way though the 6s is still an amazing device
 
iPhone 4 -> 5 major redesign. 5 -> 6 major design as well. But, 6 -> 7 not sure. Faster processor and bigger RAM should not be counted for improvement due to its new IOS 10 requires more CPU power. Tried to compare iPhone 4s with iOS 4.3.3 vs iPhone 6s with iOS 9. Their performances are on par.
 
keysofanxiety said:
Massive CPU jump. Massive GPU jump. Bigger and better battery. Looks similar? Yeah. No headphone jack? Okay.

It's a different model and next year will be the 7S IMO. I don't think this incredible rumoured anniversary edition iPhone will be happening until 2018.
Click to expand...

I would be very surprised if Apple did anything about the "anniversary" phone. Outside of enthusiast colonies when people are almost wedded to their phones, I dont think anyone else cares of counts if Apple is having its 10th anniversary or not. Heck, people forget their own anniversaries. I hope that Apple focuses on doing the best possible job for the next phone and not get caught up with "Special edition" or "Anniversary" badge and delivering some crap.
 
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mtneer said:
I would be very surprised if Apple did anything about the "anniversary" phone. Outside of enthusiast colonies when people are almost wedded to their phones, I dont think anyone else cares of counts if Apple is having its 10th anniversary or not. Heck, people forget their own anniversaries. I hope that Apple focuses on doing the best possible job for the next phone and not get caught up with "Special edition" or "Anniversary" badge and delivering some crap.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Plus I doubt they are going to break the 'S' cycle just to honour some stupid 10th anniversary of the iPhone.

We've seen these rumours come and go so often. Remember the iPhone 4 with 16th months before the next update? Everybody thought it was going to be something special. Nah, it was the 4S. Same shell, better internals.

It'll be the same next September, I'm sure of it.
 
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It is now waterproof
It has dual speakers
It has an improved camera
It has a better screen
A new home button

That's a pretty significant update. Enough to make it not the 6SS.

If there weren't any rumours about this anniversary iPhone next year people would be able to appreciate it for the good update that it is.
 
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Shanghaichica said:
It is now waterproof
It has dual speakers
It has an improved camera
It has a better screen
A new home button

That's a pretty significant update. Enough to make it not the 6SS.

If there weren't any rumours about this anniversary iPhone next year people would be able to appreciate it for the good update that it is.
Click to expand...
It's water resistant NOT waterproof
[doublepost=1474297640][/doublepost]
Isamilis said:
iPhone 4 -> 5 major redesign. 5 -> 6 major design as well. But, 6 -> 7 not sure. Faster processor and bigger RAM should not be counted for improvement due to its new IOS 10 requires more CPU power. Tried to compare iPhone 4s with iOS 4.3.3 vs iPhone 6s with iOS 9. Their performances are on par.
Click to expand...
The 4s came with iOS 5.0 not 4.3.3
 
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Shanghaichica said:
It is now waterproof
It has dual speakers
It has an improved camera
It has a better screen
A new home button

That's a pretty significant update. Enough to make it not the 6SS.

If there weren't any rumours about this anniversary iPhone next year people would be able to appreciate it for the good update that it is.
Click to expand...

The speakers are nice, I agree
The camera is not improved on the 7 vs the 6S (at least not for me)
The screen is not better in my opinion (too warm)
The new home button isn't a feature for me
Looks the same


Water resistance...for me that's really the only major selling point. I would definitely call this a 6SS.
 
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keysofanxiety said:
Massive CPU jump. Massive GPU jump. Bigger and better battery. Looks similar? Yeah. No headphone jack? Okay.

It's a different model and next year will be the 7S IMO. I don't think this incredible rumoured anniversary edition iPhone will be happening until 2018.
Click to expand...
Yep.

I see very little reason to believe that 2018 will be anything other than a 7s model. However, it would not surprise me to see entirely new iPhones next year either.

One thing that I think goes over the heads of people: Both of the phones released by Apple in 2016 (iPhone SE and iPhone 7) are 3rd generation evolutions of their most recent designs. The iPhone SE is the the 3rd iteration of iPhone 5 design, and the iPhone 7 is the 3rd iteration of iPhone 6 design.

This is of course NOT inherently a bad thing, as some idiots would love for you to believe.
[doublepost=1474300463][/doublepost]
bbates123 said:
The speakers are nice, I agree
The camera is not improved on the 7 vs the 6S (at least not for me)
The screen is not better in my opinion (too warm)
The new home button isn't a feature for me
Looks the same


Water resistance...for me that's really the only major selling point. I would definitely call this a 6SS.
Click to expand...
When DisplayMate calls it the best LCD on any product ever, and gives measurable data as to why, I'd say that renders any thoughtless opinion like yours completely invalid.
 
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Its bizarre that what Apple numbers it has a serious psychological impact on some people or that they feel smugly confident in what they want to personally number it.
 
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TurboPGT! said:
Yep.

I see very little reason to believe that 2018 will be anything other than a 7s model. However, it would not surprise me to see entirely new iPhones next year either.

One thing that I think goes over the heads of people: Both of the phones released by Apple in 2016 (iPhone SE and iPhone 7) are 3rd generation evolutions of their most recent designs. The iPhone SE is the the 3rd iteration of iPhone 5 design, and the iPhone 7 is the 3rd iteration of iPhone 6 design.

This is of course NOT inherently a bad thing, as some idiots would love for you to believe.
[doublepost=1474300463][/doublepost]
When DisplayMate calls it the best LCD on any product ever, and gives measurable data as to why, I'd say that renders any thoughtless opinion like yours completely invalid.
Click to expand...
Have display mate reviewed the 7/7 plus screens yet?

Nevertheless I can definitely see the improvements to the screen on my 7 plus. The place I'm seeing it the most is when watching videos. The colours are more vibrant.
 
Chew Toy McCoy said:
Its bizarre that what Apple numbers it has a serious psychological impact on some people or that they feel smugly confident in what they want to personally number it.
Click to expand...

It's Apple's fault, they have trained us this way. I believe it's time to do away with the "S" model and maybe that's the case for next year. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a iPhone 8 instead of a iPhone 7S.
 
If they hadn't changed the home button I'd be inclined to think if it as a 6SS but with the massive CPU and Camera upgrades, along with the new colors and the home button change I feel it's enough to stand on its own as a true successor.
 
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The major changes from 4 to 4s were dual processor, better camera, and Siri. The major changes from 5 to 5s were faster processor, better camera, Touch ID. The major changes from 6 to 6s were faster processor, better camera, 3D Touch.

By contrast, every single "s" model to the next whole number has involved a change in form factor: 3GS to 4 got a new body and Retina display; 4s to 5 got a new body and new screen size; 5s to 6 got new bodies and screen sizes.

The 6s to 7 jump is far more in line with what's traditionally been "s" upgrades. It's actually most similar to the 3G to 3GS upgrade because there's no new "selling point" feature (Siri, Touch ID, 3D Touch) but (as with the 3GS) there's actually quite a lot of improvement under the hood.
 
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I'd say yes. Almost the same outside but with major internal revisions.

It does not matter though IMO because the 7 is a substantial upgrade for many people.
 
That is why I got the smaller 7. I already have a 6s plus that I am keeping. The 6s/7 is a nice size.
If you upgrade every year, it's not going to be a substantial upgrade.
 
What Apple calls the new iPhone is all just marketing (in the end).

Would some feel better if the 7 was called the 6SE? Would that make it easier to decide whether to buy or not?

It doesn't matter what the 2017 iPhone gets called. Maybe they'll call it the ip8. And maybe not.

I guess those of you who are swayed by what something is called, rather than what is inside the new iPhone, have some deciding to do.
 
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cdmoore74 said:
It's Apple's fault, they have trained us this way. I believe it's time to do away with the "S" model and maybe that's the case for next year. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a iPhone 8 instead of a iPhone 7S.
Click to expand...



At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what Apple number’s it. Barring early hiccups each new model is better than the previous model to varying degrees.

I think we’ve plateaued on real meaningful innovation and now people think something like curved edge to edge glass is an important feature worth holding out for.
 
Shanghaichica said:
It is now waterproof
It has dual speakers
It has an improved camera
It has a better screen
A new home button

That's a pretty significant update. Enough to make it not the 6SS.

If there weren't any rumours about this anniversary iPhone next year people would be able to appreciate it for the good update that it is.
Click to expand...
Don't discount the A10 Fusion quad core SoC. That is one amazing chip from everything I read on the technical sites. WAY improved GPU as well.
 
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