The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus Review: Iterating on a Flagship
by Joshua Ho & Brandon Chester on October 10, 2016 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- Mobile
- iOS
- iOS 10
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
Video Performance
While still images probably constitute a significant portion of what a smartphone camera is used for, video performance still remains important as anything moving or with a notable sound requires video or something that is but quite isn’t a video. In order to test video performance, we use direct comparison with two devices recording simultaneously on the same rig.
| iPhone 7 Video Encode Settings | ||||
| Video | Audio | |||
| 1080p30 | 16 Mbps H.264 High Profile | 86 Kbps, 44.1 KHz AAC | ||
| 1080p60 | 25 Mbps H.264 High Profile | 86 Kbps, 44.1 KHz AAC | ||
| 4kP30 | 48 Mbps H.264 High Profile | 86 Kbps, 44.1 KHz AAC | ||
| 1080p120 | 38 Mbps H.264 High Profile | 86 Kbps, 44.1 KHz AAC | ||
| 720p240 | 38 Mbps H.264 High Profile | 86 Kbps, 44.1 KHz AAC | ||
Before we get into the actual results I want to discuss the video encode settings. It's kind of interesting to see how the iPhone only records mono audio, which I suspect is a function of not having enough microphones to do noise cancellation and useful stereo recording. It's also interesting to see how Apple can actually encode AVC High Profile for all video – including 4kP30 at 48 Mbps – which is more than I can say for a number of high-end flagships this year. This suggests that the encode blocks are capable of keeping up without any strange problems.
| 1080p30 Video |
Looking at 1080p30 video I'm just profoundly disappointed by how high-end Android devices perform in comparison. The state of affairs here is so depressing there's really no reason to compare 1080p60, 4K, or slow motion capture because it's clear to me that something is just fundamentally broken (or consistently misconfigured) with Snapdragon 820's encode blocks. Even casual examination reveals massive macroblocking any time the sky comes into view, which is something we've consistently seen with the HTC 10, Galaxy S7, LG G5, and OnePlus 3. Other than this, the LG G5 and Galaxy S7 both have extremely oversaturated color rendition which just doesn't represent reality. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus clearly have better output than any other Android device. The iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 7 with the 28mm focal length camera perform quite similarly to the iPhone 6s Plus other than some improvements in dynamic range and noise reduction, so I'd refer back to the iPhone 6s review for those interested in learning about how the iPhone 7 stacks up because the state of the art in Android has not progressed since then.
| OIS Video |
In the interest of trying for completeness anyways, I also tested image stabilization performance. Relative to the Galaxy S7 we continue to see how the lack of software stabilization to go with the hardware stabilization leads to really shaky and jerky footage when recording while walking. The iPhone 7 still shows large motions, but it's much smoother and also handles wind noise better. The HTC 10 is much more competitive with the iPhone 7 here but I would say that Apple's software stabilization appears to be slightly better and the lack of PDAF on the HTC 10 camera is definitely noticeable in the focus transition testing but it's important to keep in mind that the HTC 10 has no software stabilization if you enable 4K video. The LG G5 has basically all of the same traits as the Galaxy S7 in this test and needs improvement in all of the same areas as a result. If you're upgrading from either the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, or 6s you're going to also see a major improvement as the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus both have OIS which works with the software stabilization to maximize the reduction in hand shake when capturing video.
I also went ahead and tested the iPhone 7 Plus with some quick footage to see what difference it provides when capturing video, and it's fairly obvious that the secondary camera lacks OIS but also dramatically increases captured detail which makes it useful for static shots where you can avoid inducing hand shake but its utility rapidly decreases in low light or high hand shake conditions.
Overall, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus remain the best phones on the market for video capture. Strange issues with Snapdragon 820 video encode blocks mean that all Snapdragon 820 devices are just barely passable for video capture. Considering how OEMs have had almost a decade to get this right, it is truly incredible that phones costing 600 US dollars still have these obvious problems, and that Apple remains among the few to get it right.
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bw13121 - Friday, October 14, 2016 - link
I think within the A10 deep-dive (even though it focus mainly on the A10) Andantech can use their expertise and compare speeds across the storage, maybe even IP6 before it transitioned to SSD NVMe storage, 6S and then the 7?zeeBomb - Saturday, October 15, 2016 - link
Short answer: Yes.Johnwood - Saturday, October 15, 2016 - link
. Photographer Samuel Zeller releases his photos on CC0-enabled platform Unsplash, resulting in increased views and reuse, and ultimately clients for his photo commission business.Johnwood - Saturday, October 15, 2016 - link
enabled platformzeeBomb - Sunday, October 16, 2016 - link
Link?Rod_Serling_Lives - Saturday, October 15, 2016 - link
I see a lot of talk about the headphone jack. Repeat after me..."It doesn't matter and I am the exception to the rule". Most people do not spring for expensive headphones. They continue to use what is supplied with the phone and more often than not, they will replace them with the same headphones if they are lost. If they opt to buy something on the go, the iPhone accessory market will bridge the gap or they can use the supplied adapter with standard buds or over-ear models.The market has refused to move forward in terms of making better wireless solutions en masse. They have been average at best. The removal of the jack from a major player like Apple will push the market forward in other segments due to the heavy adoption rate. This is a win-win for the consumer. We can finally see marked improvements in BT headphone technology.
I know that BT headphones are awful, but nobody seems to be saying, "How can we make that better?". A lot of complaining with zero solutions. Stop accepting everything as finite and start asking for better and more efficient solutions for our everyday use cases.
marty1980 - Sunday, October 16, 2016 - link
We didn't need lightning headphones!If Apple is confident in the wireless future, then why include wired headphones in the box?
The lightning headphones were an unnecessary sidestep towards wireless. Lightning headphones only work with iOS devices and Apple did not release an adapter for Lightning headphones to be used with devices that have 3.5mm jacks. I'm sure it will come along, but the adapters shouldn't be necessary in the first place.
We will all be just fine with this, but Apple definitely took a consumer-burdening route this year. Fingers crossed they take feedback on this transition seriously next year. Too bad they are unlikely to backtrack lightning headphones.
waltercarroll - Monday, October 17, 2016 - link
IPhone 7 and 7 Plus is mostly an evolution of the iPhone 6's design as u say but but other than design they are alot of things that can be said revolutionary. I must say its a next level thing for the current and new users.marty1980 - Monday, October 17, 2016 - link
Please list what you believe is revolutionizing about the iPhone 7 and/or 7 Plus. Your comment is wasted without some justification to your statement.Fidelator - Monday, October 17, 2016 - link
At $650 the iPhone 7 is simply a terrible deal, the screen resolution alone makes for a deal breaker, the camera is not up to the standards of the competition, no expandable storage, inferior sound quality, "No friction points audio playback" you forgot to mention that if you want a seamless experience as the one you'd have with the 3.5mm jack you'll have to shell out $170 more.As for the zoom camera on the 7+ it is very prone to handshaking and it depends on use scenario, I don't believe it makes any sense to claim it provides superior, unmatched detail, since you are working with a zoomed in image, on that basis, you could argue that the camera on the G5 provides superior, unmatched detail because it fits way more in the frame than any other camera providing more content and therefore more detail about the situation.
I don't believe it makes sense to compare different crops and frames, it is all dependant on use scenarios