Apple released the iPhone 7 in 2016 – basically a refreshed iPhone 6S with subtle design changes without the headphone jack, and added waterproofing. Its a phone that I have recommended a lot of times on iLounge to people looking for a sub $400 budget phone.
The iPhone 7 got so many things right. Especially the “new” (at the time) home button which uses the taptic engine to emulate the pressing of the home button by providing haptic feedback. The button itself makes using the iPhone 7 a better experience than the iPhone 6S or other home button based iPhones. The feedback from the iPhone 7 button is very pleasing.
The design of the iPhone 7 is also better than the iPhone 6S as it has a much more subtle camera bump on the back compared to the iPhone 6S. Apple also made changes to the body of the iPhone 7 from the iPhone 6S to make it somewhat “waterproof” – more technically, the iPhone 7 is water resistant.
The biggest difference between the iPhone 6S and the iPhone 7 is the battery life. The iPhone 6S offered one of the worst batteries in any iPhone, in part due to the addition of 3D Touch which decreased the size for the battery. Apple quickly changed the scenario by improving the battery life on the iPhone 7.
While the iPhone 7 does not offer all day battery life, it does run longer than the iPhone 6S. The even older iPhone offered decent battery backup but it suffered very badly in terms of performance.
If you are looking forward to buying an iPhone for less than $250 – be it old or refurbished. The iPhone 7 is still a great choice as it does not suffer from any major problems and will very likely receive the next two major iOS updates.
