Design
- The design follows on from the previous generation of iPhones - with the same excellent build quality, Apple's famed attention to detail, and beautiful aesthetics - in fact, the phone looks almost identical to the previous generation of the iPhone
- Splash, and water resistant
- No big changes in design from the last two iPhone versions
- The Jet black version is a fingerprint and scratch magnet (so, use it with a case)
- The new click-free home button takes getting used to because there's no mechanical click when you press the home button
Display
- Excellent display, improving a bit over the previous iPhones with a "wide color gamut" screen and enhanced color accuracy
Software
- iOS 10 is excellent and now makes more sense out of 3D Touch, enhances the lock screen and allows third-party integration with Siri and Maps
- Of course, iOS also has an industry-leading software update program - you are guaranteed to get all iOS updates in the next few years as soon as they are out
Performance
- Phenomenal, top-tier performance backed by the new A10 chip, beating Samsung's flagship phones for instance by a significant margin in benchmark tests (although in practical terms, you might only notice the speed on some intensive games and the video and photo-editing apps)
Camera
- Excellent front and rear cameras - significantly improved from the already good iPhone 6S
- The camera now comes with optical image stabilization - delivering much improved photos, especially in low light
- The four-LED flash is brighter too
- The front-facing FaceTime camera has been bumped to 7 megapixels now, and it looks great for selfies or videos
- Misses out on the dual camera setup of the the iPhone 7 plus
Audio
- Enhanced (louder, and now stereo) speakers
- Good audio quality
- Very good call quality
- The missing standard (3.5mm) headphone jack on the phone means that you won't be able to easily use your regular earphones with the iPhone now (though compatible EarPods come included in the case, as well as a Lightning-to-regular-headphone adapter dongle)
Battery
- Good battery life - lasts a couple of hours longer than the previous iPhones (though it is no match for some of the large battery Android phones out there now)
- Lacks fast charging support (which is now present on most of the Android flagships)
More
- Much improved haptics with Apple's updated "Taptic Engine"
- On the whole, while there are significant changes from last year's iPhone 6S, but they may not be thrilling enough to warrant an upgrade