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 design is starting to show its age, as competing phones squeeze a 5.5-inch screen into smaller, sexier bodies
- 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, large 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)
- Also adds extra RAM on top of the iPhone 7 setup (3GB vs 2GB) making it more future-proof
Camera
- Excellent front and rear cameras - this is Apple's best camera phone to date, and pushes the envelope to offer great results
- The camera is a also a step up over the iPhone 7, with a dual rear camera setup delivering a true 2x optical zoom, and with an exceptional bokeh mode to come via a forthcoming upgrade
- The front-facing FaceTime camera has been bumped to 7 megapixels now, and it looked great for selfies or videos
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
- Very good battery life - lasts an hour longer than the previous iPhones 6S Plus
- 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 Plus, but they may not be thrilling enough to warrant an upgrade