If you were thinking of upgrading to an iPhone 15 - you might just be tempted to hold onto your old iPhone for now after seeing these photos.

The annual iPhone Photography Awards (IPPAWARDS) this week announced the winners of its competition, which is now in its 16th year, where it looks for some of the best photos taken on an iPhone.

The camera on Apple's smartphone has come on leaps and bounds since we could only take photos and nothing else back in the days of the iPhone 3G. But now, not only can you record video, slo-mo videos, add filters to what you've taken, and more, but there are also three whole lenses to help focus on certain subjects for example in certain modes like Cinematic.

With iPhone 15 Pro Max rumored to feature a new lens to help give better photos when zoomed in, you may have been waiting to upgrade. But once you see some photos in this competition taken with an iPhone 7 Plus, there's a small chance you may reconsider.

It's not over yet for older iPhones

Scroll to the Abstract section, and you'll find the winner, Tim Wheeler, with his photo having been taken on an iPhone 7 Plus - and that's the same for the runner-up, Neil Nesheim as well.

These are amazing photos, and you can easily lose an hour simply scrolling through all of these while wondering why you are still struggling to take a decent photo of some plants in your garden.

The list goes on, with other winners including an iPhone 12 Pro, an iPhone XR, and even an iPhone X, proving you don't need Apple's best iPhone to take the best pictures. Granted, many of these may have been edited with a third-party app such as Pixelmator or Adobe Photoshop to help bring out the colors and the subjects even more.

But it says a lot that something like the iPhone 7 Plus, released back in 2016, is still capable of taking amazing photos, and also how far we've come since.

Have these photos made you reconsider holding onto your iPhone for now? Let us know in the iMore Forums if that's now the case.

Despite the size of your iPhone 7 Plus' battery, you may find it's not lasting through the day, especially if you're a power user. Carrying around an external battery pack can be cumbersome, so why not streamline the process and grab a battery case instead. It'll probably bulk things up a bit, but better bulky than a brick.

Which should you buy?

All of these battery cases will be compatible with both the iPhone 7 Plus and the iPhone 8 Plus. For my money, the Smtqa battery case is the best option, since it has 80,00mAh battery power. It should keep your iPhone going at least all day and into the next, and it's protective without being extremely bulky.

If you're wary of buying an unknown brand, the Mophie Juice Pack carries a well-known name, so it's a brand you can trust. Plus it comes in a variety of fun colours and is guaranteed to keep your iPhone's battery secure.

Now that we're in the midst of the month of September, it's only a matter of time before new iPhone models are released to surpass last year's versions. Previous generation devices are still fantastic though, and you can score some pretty heavy discounts on select models thanks to the impending release of the 2019 iPhone.

Verizon has the Apple iPhone 7 Plus on sale for only $5 monthly when you add a new line to your account, and you'll be eligible whether you're switching to Verizon or already an existing customer. That's nearly $19 off its monthly cost otherwise, and a savings of $450 in total. This offer is only available on the 32GB model.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 8 is available from Sprint for just $8 monthly as an 18-month lease when you add a new line of service. You'll see a $17 promo credit applied to your bill during the duration of its lease which can take up to two months to first appear. After the lease, you'll have the option of swapping out the device with a newer model or paying the remainder of its balance to keep it.

Verizon's deal applies a promo credit to your account over 24 months, meaning you'll see the full charge of the device on your bill along with a discount to bring its cost to $5 each month. You also have the option of buying the phone outright at retail price, in which case the discount will still be applied over 24 months to your monthly bill. The sale on the iPhone 7 Plus is to own the device, whereas Sprint's offer on the iPhone 8 is just a lease, so you definitely want to keep that in mind while deciding between the two.

Though the iPhone 7 Plus was released in early 2017, it's still a powerful choice featuring a 5.5-inch Retina HD display, IP67 water and dust resistance, and a gorgeous 12MP rear camera offering 4K video resolution as well as a 7MP FaceTime HD Camera with Retina flash. You'll be able to use the stunning Portrait Mode too. This is also one of the last iPhone devices to include a headphone jack, which is a must-have for audiophiles and anyone who doesn't already own a pair of AirPods.

Making your decision a bit more difficult, around a year ago we called the iPhone 8 "the upgrade many people will be looking for" and that still holds true if you're on an older device or the iPhone 7 Plus. The iPhone 8 is more than capable of handling all the latest apps and games, taking stunning photos and videos, wireless charging, and more at a fraction of the cost of the latest models. For an in-depth look on whether you should choose this upgraded model, this guide can help.

There's been enough said about the price of Apple's latest iPhone devices, but you don't have to break the bank to get your hands on a new iPhone. Verizon is offering the Apple iPhone 7 Plus for only $5 monthly when you add a new line to your account, and you'll be eligible whether you're switching to Verizon or already an existing customer. That's nearly $19 off its monthly cost otherwise, and a savings of $450 in total. This offer is only available on the 32GB model.

Verizon's deal applies a promo credit to your account over 24 months, meaning you'll see the full charge of the device on your bill along with a discount to bring its cost to $5 each month. You also have the option of buying the phone outright at retail price, in which case the discount will still be applied over 24 months to your monthly bill.

Though the iPhone 7 Plus was released in early 2017, it's still a powerful choice featuring a 5.5-inch Retina HD display, IP67 water and dust resistance, and a gorgeous 12MP rear camera offering 4K video resolution as well as a 7MP FaceTime HD Camera with Retina flash. You'll be able to use the stunning Portrait Mode too. This is also one of the last iPhone devices to include a headphone jack, which is a must-have for audiophiles and anyone who doesn't already own a pair of AirPods.

To learn more about the iPhone 7 Plus, take a look at our in-depth review of the device.

The iPhone 7 Plus's screen is beautiful, to be sure — but that glass beauty can break if dropped, smashed, or otherwise chipped against similarly-hard surfaces. Some breaks are worse than others, but if you completely smash your screen, you're probably in need of a screen repair.

After all, modern iPhone screens aren't just LCD and glass: They pack several different components in one. The digitizer reads your finger contact and movement; the LCD displays all the images, video, and other visual information, and the glass screen helps shield the inner components of the phone. As such, whether you crack the glass, run into a black screen, or can't interact with your phone via touch, you'll need to replace the entire screen to get your phone working properly again. When you crack your screen, it also destroys your iPhone's water resistance; if you're used to keeping it near water, you'll definitely want to fix your device.

There are several ways to repair or replace a broken iPhone screen, depending on your monetary situation and free time. Here are a couple, in order of easiest (and cheapest) to most complicated.

• Buy a screen protector
• Get Apple to fix it
• Fix it yourself
• Required tools and parts
• Open the iPhone
• Disconnect the cables
• Remove the camera and speaker
• Remove the home button
• Replace the screen
• Put it all back together

Buy a screen protector

If your screen is shattered but relatively intact, you can put off a potentially-costly repair by sealing the broken pieces behind a screen protector. I'll note that this is a temporary measure, and one I generally recommend for screens that are cracked, but not completely destroyed — it can keep the cracks from worsening or pieces of the screen from falling apart, but eventually, you'll need to replace the screen. It also won't maintain your iPhone's water resistance.

• See at Amazon
• Best iPhone 7 Plus Screen Protectors
• How to replace a tempered glass screen protector

Make an appointment with Apple

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus screens have more complicated technology embedded within them than any iPhone before them: Between the Touch ID sensor, Taptic Engine-based Home Button, 3D Touch display, and FaceTime front-facing camera, a cracked iPhone screen can be a real hassle to replace.

Luckily, if you purchased AppleCare+ with your iPhone, a screen repair is simple and inexpensive — assuming you have the time to send it to Apple. It's just $29 to fix a broken iPhone 7 or 7 Plus screen, and an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Representative store you visit has the equipment necessary to properly remove, replace, and re-calibrate your iPhone for Touch ID and water resistance.

Start a repair request

Repair the screen yourself

In past years, we've recommended this option above making an appointment with Apple, but as the iPhone screen has gotten more complicated — a home-brew repair can potentially hinder your device from full operability. (You won't be able to re-calibrate your screen for water resistance, for instance.)

But if you'd prefer to repair your gadgets yourself, here's the best way to go about it.

If your glass is intact, but your screen is black or you have lost touch control, you should always try a soft reset of your iPhone before this repair.

1. Press and hold the Power button on the right side of your phone.
2. While holding the Power button down, press and hold the Volume Down button on the left side of your phone.
3. Hold both buttons down until you see the Apple logo on the screen.

If the Apple logo doesn't appear after holding down the buttons and waiting for at least 90 seconds, your phone likely needs a screen repair.

Always make sure to back up your phone before any repair.

• Always use good lighting - smart device components are small and you'll need plenty of light to see what you are doing.
• Maintain a clean, organized workspace so you don't lose or confuse any components.
• Group your screws so you can keep track of where they came from. Most screws cannot be interchanged.
• Apply enough heat to loosen adhesive but not enough to damage the device.
• At any point during a repair, if the adhesive becomes hard to separate, apply more heat.
• After separating adhesive, keep the housing and screen in close proximity until flex cable is disconnected.

How to replace a broken iPhone 7 Plus screen

The iPhone 7 Plus LCD screen assembly is difficult to remove and replace: Several flex cables can be torn easily, so proceed carefully. In addition, loosening the screen's adhesive requires controlled heating with a dehydrator or heat gun.

Not only will need a new screen — an "LCD Assembly", if you want to be technical about the part — you're going to need some tools if you're going to do this right. Or at all.

• iPhone 7 Plus LCD assembly
• Metal spudger
• Phillips head srewdriver
• Pentalobe screwdriver
• Tri-point screwdriver
• Spudger
• Dehydrator, heat Gun, or heat mat

While not required to repair your iPhone, we also recommend you use a magnetic mat and screw capsules to keep everything organized. You're going to be working with some tiny screw here; these will help you keep them on your table and not lost on the floor.

Start by heating up the device's interior adhesive strips with a dehydrator, heat gun, or heat mat. Heat guns are the quickest, but be careful because it is easy to overdo it and damage the device. Twenty minutes in the dehydrator should be enough. Ten to twenty seconds of a heat gun on a low setting should be all you need to loosen the adhesive.

1. Remove the two pentalobe screws on the bottom edge of the phone. They are on either side of the lightning port.

2. Using the metal spudger, slowly and carefully separate the screen of the iPhone from the body. Start on the bottom edge by the Lightning port and proceed slowly.

3. Continue using the metal spudger or use playing cards or guitar picks to separate the adhesive from the sides and top. Don't push the metal spudger too far into the device.
4. The left side of the screen will open off the body like a book opened from the back cover. The flex cable connecting the screen to the battery will still be attached, so exercise caution.

1. Remove the silver EMI shield on the mid-right side of the phone needs. It is secured by four tri-point screws; one of those screws is longer than the others.

2. After the shield is off, use a spudger to disconnect the battery from the logic board.

3. Disconnect the display connector flex cable using the spudger.

4. Unscrew the two Philips head screws on the shield over the front panel sensor assembly connector; that's the silver shield near the top of the phone with the flex cable coming out of the bottom.

5. Disconnect the black front panel sensor assembly connector cable from the logic board with the spudger: It's the one that connects the screen to the iPhone's body.

6. Remove the LCD assembly of the iPhone 7 Plus from the body.

1. Next, we will remove the five Phillips head screws that hold the silver bracket on the top of the LCD assembly.

2. Pull the front camera up and out of the way with your spudger or tweezers.
3. You can now also remove the earpiece speaker.

4. Use your spudger to remove the ambient light sensor and proximity sensor. This is a thin cable that is easy to tear so use caution.

The Touch ID sensor must be removed carefully. Failing to remove it safely or breaking any of its connectors will require visiting an Apple Store.

1. Unscrew the pentalobe screws holding the Touch ID and home button bracket.

2. Remove all the screws around the sides of the LCD shield. There are 5 tri-point screws and 1 Philips head screw on the bottom edge.

3. Pull the LCD shield away from the screen. The flex cable passes through an opening on one side.

4. Using your spudger, disconnect the home button cable connector.

5. Disconnect the underlying connection carefully.

6. Pry the adhesive holding the Touch ID and Home button to the back of the digitizer.
7. Push the home button forward through the front of the screen.

1. Insert the home button into the new screen from the front.

2. Reconnect the home button flex cable.

3. Pass the flex cable through the LCD shield.
4. Set the LCD shield in place over the screen.

5. Screw the 5 tri-point screws and single Philips head screw that fasten the LCD shield to the screen.

6. Re-attach the home button bracket. There are four tri-wing screws. Do not overtighten as this can cause home button issues. The shorter screw goes directly on the home button.

7. Using your plastic spudger, gently press the ambient light and proximity sensor back into place.

8. Re-install the front camera.

9. Re-install the earpiece speaker.

10. Attach the bracket over the front camera. It needs five Phillips heads.

1. Reconnect the front-facing camera flex to the logic board.

2. Screw in the front facing camera EMI shield using two Philips head screws.

3. Reconnect the display flex cable.

4. Fasten the display flex EMI shield back onto the mid-right side of the phone using its four tri-point screws. The longer screw goes in the right corner.

5. Fold the screen over the body. Insert the top of the screen into the frame first. Proceed carefully, it will click back into place but don't press too hard on the glass.

6. Screw in the two pentalobe screws that go on either side of the lightning port.

If you have any other questions about this repair, or if you find this iPhone 7 Plus repair too complicated to attempt on your own, check out iMore's repair partner iFixYouri online at www.ifixyouri.com or at 888-494-4349.

Digital zoom is never going to be great — you're essentially just cropping and enlarging pixels from the original photo. But, more often than not, we use digital zooms when composing iPhone images — especially if we're shooting a subject from far away.

Thanks to its multi-camera system, the iPhone 8 Plus and onward devices offer up to 2x optical and up-to-10x digital zoom when composing your images — and better still, that zoom is now a one-handed circular swipe. Here's how it works!

How to use photographic zoom on iPhone 8 Plus and later

Note: Portrait mode doesn't currently support zoom, since both lenses are already active and engaged.

1. Open the Camera app and swipe to the Photo, Square, or Pano option.
2. Tap on the 1x button and swipe to the left to increase zoom, swipe right to decrease. You can increase up to 10x in Photo or Square, and up to 2x in Pano.
3. To return to 1x, tap again on the zoom button.

Note: You can also quickly switch between 1x and 2x zoom with a single tap of the zoom button.

With the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models, there is a new Ultra Wide lens in the camera so you can even zoom out to .5x, in addition to the normal 1x Wide and 2x (Pro models only) Telephoto lenses. You can still tap and swipe on these magnification levels to fine-tune your zoom level with the zoom dial.

How to use the camera on the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro

How to use zoom with video on iPhone 8 Plus and later

1. Open the Camera app and swipe to the Video or Slo-Mo option.
2. Tap on the 1x button and swipe to the left to increase zoom, swipe right to decrease. You can increase up to 3x in Video or Slo-Mo, or up to 2x in Time-Lapse.
3. To return to 1x, tap again on the zoom button.

Questions?

Let us know in the comments.

Updated September 2019: Updated for iOS 13 and iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. Serenity Caldwell contributed to an earlier version of this guide.

Whenever a new iPhone is launched, there are always flaws that are found and pointed out by curious and concerned consumers.

A few years ago it was the bending of the iPhone 6, but when the iPhone 7 Plus launched last year, there was some speculation about the antenna – specifically, how it might not be the best of the best…

Some people say they've seen a bit of a difference between their iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 6 Plus...

While others say they only notice a difference in the number of bars they would normally get...

But what do you think?

Hop on into the iMore forums and join the discussion today! We love to hear from different Apple-lovers and their opinions on different tech, updates, gadgets, and more!

See you in the forums!

Join the discussion on the iMore forum!

Most people will agree that putting a case on their iPhone 7 Plus is a no-brainer. Until science is able to build them out of the same secret formula used for Captain America's shield, it's wise to try and protect them. At least a little bit. The new Oaxis InkCase lets you keep your iPhone safe and has an awesome E-ink second screen on the back.

The quick and dirty details:

• This Kickstarter is only for the iPhone 7 Plus InkCase. Other smart cases and InkCase products for the iPhone 6 and 7, as well as cool gear like direct-contact speakers and kids' smart watches, are available at the Oaxis website.
• Early birds can get in for $89. The case will retail for $159 once the Kickstarter slots are filled.
• The cases are scheduled to ship in July 2017. That's like next week.
• All the details can be found at the InkCase iPhone 7 Plus Kickstarter page.

InkScape cases are pretty cool. You have a full-size (5.2-inch for the iPhone 7 Plus) E-ink display on the back of your phone, embedded in an impact-absorbing micro-weave case. You connect the InkCase to your phone wirelessly, and you can do things like reading eBooks ('natch), checking your calendar or even taking selfies with the high-resolution rear camera.

And none of this sucks away at your phone's battery: the InkCase has its own. Because E-ink displays aren't power hungry like the big full-color screens used for our phones, you'll get about 5 days of battery life from it. To top up, use the provided magnet cable with a wall charger.

They're built tough and let you do even more with your phone. That's a winning combo, and we're glad to see one for the iPhone 7 Plus!

If you're someone who didn't upgrade the second the new iPhones came out, then you've had a number of months to admire from afar the features and qualities each iPhone has to offer.

But if someone came up to you and asked you point blank "IPHONE 7 OR IPHONE 7 PLUS?!", what would your answer be and why?

We're chatting in the forums to see if you should upgrade to the iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus!

Join the discussion in our forums and let your voice be heard by hopping into the conversation and let us know if you think the iPhone 7 is the way to go or if the iPhone 7 Plus will forever reign supreme!

Join the discussion on the iMore forum!

Die-hard Apple fans will always be die-hard Apple fans, but it's hard to ignore the look, feel, and features that the Galaxy S8+ has packed into its sleek-looking frame.

So we wanted to ask the question: if you had the option, would you choose the Galaxy S8+ over the iPhone 7 Plus?

Why would you pick the iPhone 7 Plus over the Galaxy S8+ or vice versa? Are you someone who's super attached to your iPhone and couldn't imagine parting with it, or are you ready for a change with the Galaxy S8+?

Join the discussion in our forums and let your voice be heard as to why one phone is catching your eye more than the other!

Billboard's February 17 issue has a cover shot on iPhone 7 Plus using Portrait Mode, the feature that provides a depth-of-field-like effect usually only obtainable with fancy lenses. Shot by Miller Mobley and featuring Camila Cabello, it shows once again just how far Apple is pushing photography on iPhone.

From Billboard

Sure, iPhone photography doesn't yet have the range or flexibility of a DSLR or micro 4/3 armed with thousands of dollars of glass, but it's lighter, faster, and always connected. That, combined with its ever-increasing range and flexibility, can let you get photos you might otherwise miss, and instantly share them in ways not otherwise possible.

That's especially true of Portrait Mode, which really focuses attention and emotion on the subject, blurring out the world, for an almost old-world film feel.

And it's still a first generation feature. Imagine a year from now? Two? Ten? Yeah.

BILLBOARD DEBUTS COVER CAPTURED ON IPHONE 7 PLUS

Miller Mobley Photographed Camila Cabello for the Feb. 17 Issue Using the World's Most Popular Camera

NEW YORK – February 16, 2017 – Billboard, the leading global destination for charts, news, business, lifestyle and innovations in music, today unveiled its February 17 magazine issue cover shot on iPhone 7 Plus using Portrait mode. Renowned photographer Miller Mobley used the new iPhone 7 Plus feature, which applies a depth-of-field effect to make the foreground subject sharp while creating a beautifully blurred background, to shoot pop superstar Camila Cabello for the February 17 issue of the magazine, on newsstands now.

"Music fans today are increasingly turning to their phones for minute-by-minute coverage about the music they love," said John Amato, President of The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group. "As our mobile audience continues to grow, we wanted to utilize technology available to our readers and fans to create a stunning cover demonstrating how our audience can use their own device to stay engaged and in touch with the world of music that plays such an important role in their lives."

Each day, more photos are taken with iPhone than any other camera in the world. With a surging mobile audience committed to engaging with Billboard's unparalleled news content on the go, Billboard decided to utilize technology available to millions to create a one-of-a-kind cover. Armed with an iPhone 7 Plus and a set of lights, Mobley took advantage of the new iPhone features to capture gorgeous images for the cover.

The new cover rolls out on the heels of the The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group's acquisition of SpinMedia's storied music assets Spin, Vibe and Stereogum, which established the world's largest music brand by digital traffic, social reach and audience share. With an online audience of 45 million readers a month, the decision to shoot a cover on an iPhone felt like a natural extension of the brand and emphasizes a commitment to using technology to deliver unparalleled content to a worldwide audience.

Update: Pro photographers have shared their tips on how to get the most out of Portrait Mode on iPhone 7 on apple.com:

When I first downloaded the iOS 10.1 beta and began experimenting with Portrait mode, Apple's DSLR-inspired depth of field option for the iPhone 7 Plus telephoto camera, I did so with pretty low expectations. Software-based background blur is hard — and even though the iPhone 7 Plus has optical assistance thanks to its wide-angle and telephoto lenses working in concert to create a depth map, it's incredibly difficult to deliver the same kind of results you might see from high-end cameras and lenses.

But, as I discovered, the more you explore the world around you with Portrait Mode, the less that all matters. I started testing Portrait mode by doing a comparison against an entry-level DSLR, which gave me a good baseline for its photographs: It's not about whether the Portrait camera result was technically better than its DSLR counterpart, but whether the recipients of the photographs believed it was.

Because when it comes down to it, we take photographs to capture memories. To evoke feelings. We take pictures of our animals, our kids, and our friends to freeze-frame a moment in time. And what matters most about those images is that they properly capture that emotion — unless you're into photography for the art of the craft, chances are you're not going to care if you snap a perfect "bokeh" blur behind your pet.

I've taken 22 car and plane trips in 2016. I use my photographs to remember events, trips, and exciting moments in time that might otherwise fall into the abyss. Without my cameras, I don't know if I'd have remembered the exact taste of hot chicken in Nashville, or the feeling I got when a bobcat crossed my path in Yosemite. Images have become memory aids for the mundane and the fantastic, giving its recipients a smile when they sometimes need it most.

This is why Portrait mode works as well as it does: A depth of field effect allows you to focus your viewer's attention on part of an image. A portrait of a family member amidst a chaotic background might be unremarkable without that focus, but racking in gives us an essential snapshot of their personality.

Portrait mode does so with a dreamlike, fuzzy quality that doesn't compare to DSLRs so much as past boutique film cameras: Ricoh, Leica, Polaroid, Kodachrome film — all of these produce specific looks, giving memories a tint and emphasis they may not have otherwise had. The same goes for the iPhone 7 Plus. It's not a replacement for a DSLR in your pocket. But in some ways, it might be better.

The iPhone's telephoto lens is the primary capture for Portrait mode photos, and it ships with a f/2.8 aperture that prefers portraits to macros, and well-lit shots to evening snaps. Portrait mode won't fire if the iPhone doesn't think it can get a good shot at 1/30 shutter speed or better, though you can still take a non-blurred shot with the telephoto lens using this mode (unlike regular Photo mode, which will automatically switch to a 2x zoom of the wide-angle lens). It's also not really built for object-based shots just yet, and has particular trouble with mirrored surfaces like glass. And when you shoot with it, your iPhone 7 Plus gets hot — not to trigger temperature warnings or make you want to set it down, but certainly enough to make it a great hand warmer in the winter (and less fun in the summer).

But I've rather grown to love the mode's limitations: It forces me to think about what I'm looking for in my shot in a way that most mobile "point, shoot, forget" photography doesn't these days. For me, shooting Portrait almost feels more like shooting with an old 24-exposure one-use film camera than a traditional digital machine. Yes, I still have endless room for shots (depending on my iCloud and local storage), but I think more about the composition for photos I take in Portrait mode. And, often enough, those shots have ended up being my favorites of the day.

Portrait mode's poor low-light tolerance actually makes for some beautifully textured shots when you get a low-light subject with bright lights in the background — shooting carnivals at night, my fiancé in our kitchen, and my friend skating at sunset resulted in some of the most beautiful grain I've seen in iPhone photographs. It's the kind of grain that the wide-angle camera usually smooths out when the iPhone's image signal processor processes a picture, but smartly has chosen to leave in for the telephoto lens.

Going back to my point earlier: Why is that grain really important, if we're not taking photographs for the art, but for the memories? To me, that texture makes memories feel real in a way that many hyper-smoothed mobile shots don't. It's a grain we associate with, again, old school film memories — a time when every snapped shot was special, because we took time to compose them.

I've had the most success with truly special Portrait mode shots when it comes to people — the only officially supported subject in this mode — but I've still managed to grab a wide variety of beautiful object-and-pet-related shots. The mode won't automatically grab and focus the subject like it will with Portrait's face detection, but you can still manually focus by tapping anywhere on the viewfinder.

Doing so, I've gotten some of my favorite shots of our dogs and cat, as well as some gorgeous fall atmosphere and product shots. Again, this mode won't perfectly replicate a DSLR — and it still has many issues to figure out when it comes to cutting out fur, glass, and similarly-colored objects to its forefront. (Fences, leaves, and other patterned surfaces remain a challenge for the mode, though it's certainly improved since its initial beta release.) But it doesn't need to be perfect for me to love the results — nor does it seemingly matter to folks on Twitter or Instagram, who have wowed over some of the iPhone 7 Plus images I've put out over the last week.

There are going to be people who don't like the iPhone 7 Plus's effect — who label it cheesy, or "unreal," or awkward. There are also going to be people whose entire Instagram is suddenly full of Portrait mode shots of their children, or dogs. And there are going to be budding photographers who use this as a stepping stone for learning composition and depth.

But at the end of the day, all great photographs come down to this: Does it catch your eye? Does it tell a story? Does it evoke emotion?

And for all three, Portrait mode is a resounding yes. It's a new generation of specialty camera, and has made carrying an iPhone 7 Plus as my daily driver completely worth it. I can't wait to see how Apple improves both the mode and future hardware, but in the meantime, I'm looking forward to a year of Portrait mode photography — the experiments, the mistakes, and the beauty in both.

You can experiment yourself with Portrait mode by downloading iOS 10.1, which is available now, and browse through many of my images below.

I love — LOVE — the 4-inch iPhone. Though the larger 4.7- and 5.5-inch iPhone devices are great for most, there are some of us that still prefer a phone that can fit easily in a back pocket and can be used with one small hand effortlessly.

When the iPhone 7 Plus was unveiled, however, I was so enamored with its faster speed, amazing camera, and that Home button that's not actually a button, that I had to have one, even though it meant switching to a larger-size phone.

Three months later, and I've formed a solid opinion about whether I think 4-inch iPhone fans would be happy with or regret the decision to switch to the iPhone 7 Plus.

Why the iPhone 7 Plus rocks

First off, a larger phone would have to be pretty special to convince me to switch, and the iPhone 7 Plus is just that. What pushed me over the edge? The camera.

The iPhone 7 Plus has not one, but two camera lenses. They are both 12 megapixels. One is a wide-angle lens with an aperture of f/1.8 and the other is a telephoto lens with an aperture of f/2.8. Because of these two lenses, the iPhone 7 Plus has a 2X optical zoom. Not that fake digital zoom that leaves your pictures grainy.

Additionally, the iPhone 7 Plus has a bonus Portrait Mode in the Camera app that creates a faux depth effect that is pretty spectacular. Portrait mode, while not fully DSLR-grade, is about as close as you can get with a mobile phone.

There are a lot of other amazing things about the iPhone 7 Plus, like wide color gamut (DCI P3), better speakers (in stereo!), the the A10 fusion chip. But, honestly, If it weren't for the camera, I probably wouldn't have made the switch from the iPhone SE.

What daily usage on the iPhone 7 Plus is like.

In short: it hurts.

That's right. It actually hurts me to use the iPhone 7 Plus for extended periods of time. If I'm using the device in landscape mode with both hands, I'm fine. But, who uses their iPhone in landscape mode all of the time?

If I'm checking emails or chatting with my coworkers in Slack, my hand starts to cramp up and my wrist gets sore. I find myself setting my iPhone down on a table or my lap, just so I can continue working while giving my hand a rest.

If I'm playing a video game, I'll hold the phone in my left hand with my ring finger resting at the bottom of the phone for support. I've developed a sort of tough spot on that finger (not a callus). If I play a game for more than about 10 minutes at a time, that spot on my finger starts to feel irritated because it is rubbing against the rough edges of the Lightning port. Incidentally, I also have the same problem with my pinky finger on my right hand.

I know this sounds nit-picky and overly dramatic, but these are actual in-the-field experiences I'm having with the larger, heavier iPhone. It isn't the worst thing that's happened to me, but it is real (#firstworldproblems, I know).

Should I stay or should I go?

The iPhone 7 Plus has so many amazing features that the iPhone SE doesn't have. I love 3D Touch. I love the buttonless Home button. I love how fast it runs. I love the Taptic feedback. I love the bright colors and huge screen when I'm playing games or watching YouTube videos. I love the clarity and sound boost of the stereo speakers. I love that I can see everything on the screen without squinting. I absolutely love the camera. I really, really love that camera.

I don't love that it doesn't fit in my fanny pack very well (yes, I wear a fanny pack, but it's super badass and makes me look tough, I swear). I don't love that I tend to keep it out of said fanny pack because it is easier than trying to stuff it in and yank it out all of the time. I'm always worried that I'm going to leave it on a table somewhere. I don't love that I can't sit down with it in my back pocket or it might fall out. I don't love that I can't play Pokémon Go one-handed with it. I don't love that I get physically fatigued when I use it for lengthy periods of time.

After having spent a full three months with the iPhone 7 Plus, I've come to the conclusion that size does matter when it comes to mobile phones. I need something that is light, small, and easy to use with one hand. The iPhone 7 Plus is none of those things for me.

That is why I'm switching back to the iPhone SE. By the time you read this, I'll have already switched.

"But what about the larger screen, brighter colors and the faster speed?"

I have the 9.7-inch iPad Pro for that. In my opinion, the iPhone 7 Plus is about as portable as the 9.7-inch iPad Pro; in other words, not very.

"What about that camera you love so much?"

You got me there. I'm having to give up that oh-so-awesome 2X zoom 12MP camera with faux depth effect in exchange for a phone that fits in my pocket. It was a very tough decision. I'm not going to say it won't hurt a little.

Should you go or should you stay?

If you love the 4-inch iPhone, but have been tossing around the idea of switching to the iPhone 7 Plus because of the awesome camera and super cool hardware feature, consider this: Why are you still using the 4-inch iPhone?

If the answer is that you have small hands and are afraid that the iPhone 7 Plus is too much to handle, literally, then you might want to stick with the 4-inch form factor, or at the very most, upgrade to the 4.7-inch iPhone instead. I can say from experience that the iPhone 7 Plus is difficult to use for long periods of time and I find myself not wanting to pick it up as often.

If the answer is convenience (the 4-inch iPhone just fits better in my pocket), then you should think about an upgrade. As annoying as it was to squeeze the iPhone 7 Plus into my tiny fanny pack or even hold it because I didn't have a pocket to fit it into, I could have gotten used to the size. I would probably have eventually purchased a larger fanny pack, or move onto some other bag, to keep the iPhone 7 Plus in. Though it is less portable than a 4-inch phone, it certainly shouldn't be the only reason you don't upgrade.

If the answer is cost, then you might want to look into the iPhone 6s Plus. It has a ton of awesome hardware features that the 4-inch iPhone doesn't, like 3D Touch, a 5MP front-facing camera, and more. It costs $120 less than the iPhone 7 Plus model and you're getting a whole lot for a whole lot less.

TL;DR Wrap it up!

Even with the most amazing camera I've ever seen on a mobile device, the beautiful screen, the buttonless Home button, and the super fast speed, in the end, I've decided to go back to the 4-inch iPhone SE because the 5.5-inch phone actually hurts me to use it. That, coupled with the fact that it is too big to fit in my bag or back pocket, is enough to make me decide that portability is more important than a kickass camera.

My experience is not going to be the same as yours. If you've been thinking about switching to a larger iPhone, consider why you've stuck with the 4-inch iPhone this long. You may find that you love the 5.5-inch screen and it's worth a little inconvenience to have such an amazing piece of hardware.

Like that camera. Oh, that camera.

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus have been out for just about two months now. In that time, I've dunked at least seven or eight of the phones under faucets, in lakes, and into fountains — all in the name of science. In that time, I've never seen an iPhone so much as reboot as a result of water exposure. But despite all that, the device isn't waterproof, and Apple itself counsels against using it intentionally near or in water.

I suppose it was only natural, then, that the first time I used an iPhone 7 Plus for "fun" underwater photography, it immediately died. The worst part: It wasn't even mine.

Great photography… with a $99 catch

Every year, my fiancé and I go visit his parents down south for Thanksgiving; while the food and family is always appealing, we also get a hearty helping of pool and beach time before returning to a New England winter.

What better time, then, to at last test out the iPhone 7 with underwater photography? I'd taken some video in the course of our iPhone 7 review and my Apple Watch adventures, but most of our shooting locations had murky water with few true camera opportunities. A clear-blue pool, on the other hand…

Everything started out swimmingly: On day one, I brought my own 7 Plus into the pool for a few silly selfies and Live Photos with no ill effects. But disaster struck on day two — my iPhone 7 Plus fell out of my pocket on the way to the pool onto concrete, which cracked the display.

Surprisingly, the crack wasn't terrible: Between the Jet Black finish and Apple's new build quality, I only wound up with a small white abrasion on the lower left corner of the phone. But a crack is a crack, no matter how small, and it effectively beached my iPhone from further underwater adventures. (The last thing you want is water seeping into a crack in your screen.)

But hey — my fiancé had just purchased an iPhone 7 Plus two weeks earlier! I'd just use his for my rear-facing camera tests. Five minutes later, I'd tucked my iPhone safely into my shoes and brought his rose gold phone to the steps of the pool. He and his relatives were practicing underwater handstands — short of a dolphin appearing in the pool, it was likely the coolest shot I could get this vacation.

I waited until they began another handstand attempt, then brought the phone underwater for its first adventure, and fired off a few bursts of them balancing. Perfect.

But as I brought the phone back up for air, I noticed something rather alarming: Air bubbles escaping from the right side of the screen.

Uh-oh.

I immediately took the phone out of the pool and returned it to our belongings, dried it off, and played the loudest song I could think of to empty any water droplets from the speakers.

But it was too late: The iPhone's ten-second exposure to water was to be its downfall. Ten minutes later, the screen had a water leak; within an hour, the Taptic Engine had shut down; and by the next day, even after burying it in rice, it looked more like a multicolored piece of art than an iPhone 7.

And that's how, on Black Friday, we ended up at an Apple Store to replace the poor thing. Happy Thanksgiving!

Splash-proof vs swim-proof

Officially, the iPhone 7 series has been road-tested to survive a dunk of up to 30 minutes in three feet of water — the same resistance as the original and Series 1 Apple Watch, in fact.

Like the watch, the iPhone's eventual weakness is in its rubber gaskets: They wear down over time, and all it takes is one imperfect seal to bring down the whole device.

Before our misadventure, I'd tested enough Apple Watch models and iPhone 7s to feel pretty confident with Apple's water resistance assessment — I wasn't going to take my iPhone on any scuba-diving attempts, but I felt fine dunking it for a picture or two.

But there's a reason Apple's taken to branding this sort of water resistance "splash-proof" Just because the iPhone can theoretically go underwater doesn't mean you should take it on a seaside adventure.

As we learned this week, the water-blocking gaskets aren't the only things that can fail on an iPhone. The internal rubber seal on the iPhone 7 Plus's screen is vulnerable, too, especially if it hasn't been properly seated.

My fiancé's phone was brand-new and in a case — it had never been dropped or cracked, but the internal display seal failed on its first underwater outing. Attempt an underwater dunk if you have ever dropped your phone or had the screen replaced, and the chances of your display seal being mis-seated increase dramatically.

Unfortunately, even if you wind up with a defective model — as we did — Apple doesn't officially cover water damage in its warranty. You'll need AppleCare+ not to pay an outrageous sum to replace your device. Thanks to the phone being covered, it was just $99, but you only get two incidents at that price — drown your iPhone a third time, and you'll be paying half of your original purchase price for a replacement.

The Genius we spoke to did note that one-time drownings were rare; they were sending our phone to Apple's engineering department to dissect and check on the seals, and if one of the display seals was indeed found to be faulty, we might get our money and AppleCare+ incident back. But that's a long shot, and not one I'm necessarily banking on.

My general takeaway from the week's misadventure is this: You can probably use your iPhone in the shower, at the beach, or wash debris off its screen under the faucet with no ill effects. But when you completely submerge it, you're putting stress on every water-resistance gasket in the phone — and if just one of those gaskets fails, you're looking at an Apple Store visit and a costly to very costly repair.

Lesson learned

Much as I've enjoyed taking photos underwater with the iPhone 7 Plus, it wasn't worth the stress of seeing a new iPhone die before my eyes — especially when the phone wasn't mine to begin with. (Sorry, Rick.)

I'm going to cross my fingers that the next iPhone has true "swim-proof" capabilities, but until then, if I want to do any more underwater filming, I'm getting a waterproof case. No point in risking yet another $99 repair.

And besides: There are still plenty of nice shots to take outside the water.

Apple's Portrait mode for the iPhone 7 Plus isn't perfect — but that doesn't mean it's not already helping people take great photographs. Out of curiosity, I asked on Twitter for people to share their favorite Portrait mode snaps — and was very quickly blown away by some of the submissions. This camera mode may not be a substitute for a real DSLR (especially in low-light conditions), but it's already produced some truly spectacular and moving images taken by a wide variety of folks around the web.

But you don't have to take my word for it: Check out some of the Twitter submissions we got below.

If you can't see the embed below, go to the Twitter Moment directly.

iPhone 7 Plus's Portrait Mode in Real Life

Taken any great Portrait mode photos lately? Share them with us @imore on Twitter, or @imoregram on Instagram!

Some folks are having trouble viewing our images inside the iMore app. We're working to fix this problem, but in the meantime, we suggest visiting our website for the full version.

When the iPhone 7 Plus and its dual-camera system launched, it did so missing a key feature: Portrait mode, which uses the Plus's two cameras to create a faux depth-of-field effect with a gaussian blur, simulating the look of higher-end cameras like DSLRs and mirrorless models. On stage, Apple SVP of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller even jokingly compared the iPhone's photos to a "DSLR photo" — before revealing the image had, in fact, been taken with an iPhone 7 Plus and a beta of Portrait mode.

• Review: The iPhone 7 Plus and Portrait mode

Portrait mode is now available to everyone with iOS 10.1, and we figured a perfect test of this mode was to actually compare it to an entry-level DSLR — namely, Canon's T4i — with a 40mm f/2.8 lens, just a little bit shallower than the iPhone 7 Plus's second 56mm-equivalent lens.

We ran these tests with a beta of Portrait mode in late September, so I wasn't expecting miracles or for the iPhone 7 Plus to "beat" the Canon (spoiler: it doesn't). But what I do find fascinating is just how close the iPhone comes in certain circumstances to replicating — or, in some case, exceeding — the DSLR look without the heft or the cost of a pro camera setup.

How we tested

Like my other camera tests, the goal for these was to simulate the way an average user might snap images with their iPhone or entry-level DSLR. Both cameras were shot freehand, and though I shot with the DSLR in Manual mode, that was primarily to get a similar ISO and shutter speed to the iPhone's telephoto lens, and I kept the Canon's white balance on auto. Both recorded to JPEG, with no post-processing.

For the DSLR comparison, I used my Canon Rebel T4i with Canon's 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens to match the iPhone 7 Plus's telephoto lens setup as much as possible.

NOTE: Though many (myself included) have argued that this system is closer in comparison to a normal or portrait lens than a true telephoto, I understand Apple's intentions here: Because they're marketing the lens in conjunction with a 2x feature, it may seem more appropriate to call it "tele" than "normal" or "portrait" to the average user — especially considering that Apple has a planned "Portrait" feature coming out that utilizes both lenses later this year. For that reason, I'm referring to the lens as Apple names it — tele, or telephoto — even though I don't necessarily agree with that branding.

People

The iPhone 7 Plus's Portrait mode is designed around taking snapshots of people — it has face and body detection built in to aid with the effect — so it's only fair that its first test actually involve human subjects.

When it comes to shooting outdoors, the two cameras have almost identical picture quality, and the trees are nicely blurred out in the background. Portrait mode seems to struggle a bit right now with getting smooth cuts for faces and bodies against highly blurred backgrounds, however; it's most obvious against my hair in the first shot, and my male subject's face and body when shooting backlit.

The iPhone tends to try and grab more information about the background than the Canon, and as such, the background is a lot darker and has more definition in the trees than the DSLR shots, which blow out the light between the trees for a more stylized effect. (Don't make me call it bokeh.)

Indoors, the Canon's superior sensor offers a lot more detail than the iPhone, which resorts to smoothing pixels a bit to keep the image clear. The depth of field effect is gorgeous on the smartphone, however, providing a nice mid-level blur as well as blurring out the Enceladus poster in the background.

Pets

I tricked a few people on Twitter with the photos below, and for good reason: The iPhone loves outdoor subjects with clear focal areas to measure.

Though the iPhone continues to process images with a slightly warmer coloration and sharpness than the Canon, the depth maps on these images are quite similar. The Canon benefits from some foreground blur, but the iPhone smartly uses the dog's feet in this photo to create a midpoint blur and taper between that and the full background blur, and it looks beautiful. Even with the dog in motion, the iPhone identifies differing blur points and tapers down, though it's not as smooth as the Canon.

I wasn't supposed to be able to get this photo: When I first tried to grab it, Portrait mode insisted I was too close to my subject, and I probably was — I only managed to snap this after moving away, then pushing back in. But boy, am I glad I did. Even in relatively low-light conditions, I got a lot of the detail in our dog's face, and the multi-layered blur separates her paws and ears from the rest of the scene.

Products

I take a lot (a lot) of technology product shots, largely with my DSLR; in the past, the iPhone's lack of depth (save for macro modes) has made it difficult to get good spotlight shots. But I've been toying with shooting iMore heroes on the iPhone 7 Plus, and Portrait mode makes it surprisingly easy — as long as there's good light.

Though I can't get quite as close as I'd like to when shooting in Portrait mode with the iPhone 7 (the 56mm-equivalent lens has a minimum focus distance of 19 inches), it still nicely highlights the iPhone and blurs out the background, though not with as much light diffusion as the Canon.

Where the iPhone unfortunately falls flat is low-light snaps: Because the iPhone 7 Plus's 56mm-equivalent lens has no optical image stabilization and a smaller sensor, it has real trouble capturing low-light images — especially low-light images that are close up. I went back and forth between the "not enough light" and "back up" error messages for at least two minutes before eventually deciding to just take the snap as-is, without the Portrait mode. It still has some depth of focus to it, but the image isn't nearly as clear or as tapered as the Canon.

This poor Lego.

I really pushed Portrait mode to the limit here, giving it a tiny subject to work with against a grained background, all while trying to shoot as close as humanly possible. The result: A very grainy photo on the iPhone 7 Plus side without a ton of nuance to the background blur, and a closer shot that confused the head of the Stormtrooper for the background. Whoops.

Flowers

Like the Lego example above, flowers are entirely outside Portrait mode's current scope, and given how well you can get decent depth of field shooting macro with the wide-angle, I don't know if I'd use Portrait for this stuff very often.

The flowers and leaves are a bit more blown out than the Canon image, in part due to this snap being in the shade and close to evening time. While there's a nice variegated blur going on at the top of the image with the ferns, the middle of the image (between the flowers) didn't get a blur applied at all, and the wall looks strangely in focus.

Were I going to shoot nature closeups with this mode, I'd probably do something closer to this shot: Macro leaves with the rest of the background out of focus. The only real clue between these two shots, besides the color temperature, is the slight foreground blur on the Canon image.

Drinks

Taking artsy drink shots is a time-honored Instagram tradition, but I'm skeptical as to how well the iPhone's telephoto lens will snap them unless you're outdoors or in a brightly lit area.

Admittedly, I gave the iPhone a stiff challenge in this photo of a whiskey bottle: glass bottle, dark kitchen, mirrored surface, onion in the background. And while it didn't exactly fail this challenge, there's no question about which image looks better. The iPhone struggled with blur areas, getting a nice foreground blur but missing parts of the reflective table and accidentally blurring out words on the bottle. And when it comes to macro, of course, the telephoto can't focus on the bottle at all, ceding the competition to the Canon.

Bottom line

Portrait is getting its start in beta as a fun experiment and a bit of a gimmick — one I have no doubt will take over Instagram as readily as vignetting and tilt-shift did. But I have high hopes for the feature: The iPhone is always going to struggle against something as full-featured as a DSLR given its limited room for sensors and lenses, but the device still puts together an awfully strong showing — and does so without the need of carrying a pro camera setup or fiddling with manual controls.

In some cases during our tests, I was able to get a very similar shot to my DSLR without taking the time to check the exposure meter and adjust my shutter speed accordingly; I needed only to lift the iPhone up to my subject and snap the photo.

The iPhone's Image Signal Processor is working overtime when you snap these shots, which is why you won't see extra bells and whistles just yet — no Flash or low-light images, no zoom, and no official support for snapping photos of objects. But I have no doubt this feature will evolve and transform as more users get their hands on the Public Beta and Apple continues to refine its controls.

For now, it's a fascinatingly fun feature to play with, and I can't wait to give it a more thorough run through its paces over the next few days.

Do you have an iPhone 7 Plus and Portrait mode? Let us know what you think.

Some folks are having trouble viewing our images inside the iMore app. We're working to fix this problem, but in the meantime, we suggest visiting our website for the full version.

Apple touts the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus as having its best smartphone camera systems yet, and while I'm not giving any spoilers to our upcoming camera comparison, I've been very impressed by the images I've taken over the last few days. The f/1.8 aperture on the wide-angle camera helps capture great low-light shots and flesh out detail in HDR images, and the iPhone's optically-stabilized 4K video continues to impress. (We shot our entire iPhone 7 review on it, after all — including underwater shots!)

But of all the camera aspects I've looked at over the past few days, I've heard the most clamor over the new zoom features of the iPhone 7 Plus model: Its camera system not only features the iPhone 7's wide-angle lens, but also sports a smaller 56mm-equivalent "telephoto" lens with an f/2.8 aperture for portrait work.

NOTE: Though many (myself included) have argued that this system is closer in comparison to a normal or portrait lens than a true telephoto, I understand Apple's intentions here: Because they're marketing the lens in conjunction with a 2x feature, it may seem more appropriate to call it "tele" than "normal" or "portrait" to the average user — especially considering that Apple has a planned "Portrait" feature coming out that utilizes both lenses later this year. For that reason, I'm referring to the lens as Apple names it — tele, or telephoto — even though I don't necessarily agree with that branding.

Both lenses capture data simultaneously when you shoot a picture to provide a seamlessly-blended "hybrid" image with more detail than you'd be able to get with the single wide-angle lens, and this combination system allows Apple to offer an up-to-10x digital zoom and 2x optical enlargement (looking straight through the tele lens) or, in low light and macro situations, a 2x digital zoom.

After I posted this example image on Twitter from our recent trip to New York City, I had several requests to show off more examples of the iPhone 7 Plus's zoom capabilities, and moreover, how they compared to the telephoto-less iPhone 7 — which retains the old pinch-to-zoom 5x gesture.

How we tested

I took both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus out to a park in Providence, RI to shoot a variety of outdoor landscapes, signs, macro detail, and runners. I've also included indoor shots of animals, detail, and sunset landscapes.

All of these shots are straight out of the stock Camera app; the only adjustments made to the photos were the in-camera digital/optical zooms, and the occasional brightness slider adjustment — both iPhone models' digital zooms had a tendency to initially overexpose the scene. (I also took out license plates and other identifying information in a few of the running images.)

I used no equipment save for the iPhones themselves — no tripod or other stabilizing help — with the goal of simulating the use case of the average iPhone user.

The iPhone 7 Plus has a detailed zoom meter: 1x - 10x in .1x increments; we shot images at 1x, 2x, 5x, and 10x. The iPhone 7 is less precise: It retains the old, numberless pinch-to-zoom interface, and only goes from 1x to 5x. We shot images at 1x, "2x" (to simulate the 2x shot, I took photos slightly before the halfway mark on the zoom slider, but there may be some slight variation), and 5x. The final shot is the original photo, cropped to 10x.

Daytime

The majority of our zoom tests were taken in daylight, and for good reason: Digital zooms can't do much when there's not enough light to expose the contents of the image to the camera's sensor(s). We took a look at some long-throw shots over lakes and park grounds, some would-be macro shots, and some artsy attempts at readable signs.

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus both have equally-great wide-angle lenses, and the 1x versions of each show that. The optically-stabilized lens and its f/1.8 aperture let in plenty of light — even on this gloomy day — to add definition to the clouds and faraway trees, and the P3 wide color space keeps the trees green and the buoys red. Once we hit 2x, however, you can start to see the telephoto lens coming into play on the Plus side: Though both images have a certain amount of grain to them, you can see more details on the mid-water mooring and in the trees, whereas the iPhone 7 immediately starts to get fuzzy. The 5x/10x shots are the biggest tells: Though neither camera is outputting great images at this point, the Plus's shots are at least readable, especially at social-media-sharing levels.

For these tests, I snapped shots of both straight-on signage and an angled macro image. The first test pits a green biking sign against green trees and a gray sky; it's also responsible for my first exposure troubles. The iPhone 7 frequently tended to overexpose the scene without careful slider guidance, especially at zoomed levels; the iPhone 7 Plus, with assistance from the telephoto lens, did a much better job metering the whole image and capturing the lows and colors present on the playground in the 1x, 2x, and 5x. At 10x, it again isn't much to look at, but does a decent job identifying the pine needles on the tree as separate items, rather than single green blobs. It also captured some of the darker maple leaves in the shadows that the iPhone 7's blown-up 1x failed to capture.

This salmon-pink park barrier was too cool a color to pass up, though both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus had trouble metering exposure when pumping up to 2x, 5x, and 10x (on the Plus). As we zoom in, the telephoto lens helps the iPhone 7 Plus retain some of the more nuanced pockmark wall details where the iPhone 7 blurred them together, but both returned fairly similar imagery overall.

This is where the iPhone 7 Plus's zoom really appears to outshine the iPhone 7: Long-throw photography of humans. While there's a distinct possibility some users will use this feature for less-than-noble means, the 10x zoom can also help capture important memories during graduations, day concerts, sports, marathons, and more. It's all the more impressive that these photos are entirely hand-shot, but still capture the subject clearly — at 1x, you can barely tell that a person is running down the road, let alone who it is, what shirt they're wearing, or what they're holding in their hands. 10x makes that all possible — albeit with fuzzy, blocky, and blown-up edges.

Not going to lie: After taking these photos, I jokingly showed them to my fiancé (my running model), shouting "ENHANCE!" every time I swiped to a new zoom level. Because what fun are camera tests if you can't be a little silly while taking photos?

This was a variation of my runners' test, but done with an unusual stationary object in the frame (R2D2, naturally). Here, the 7 Plus displays greater focus accuracy combined with better detail on both the bench, R2, and the tree leaves.

These zooms on macro-level subjects aren't anything fancy to look at up close, but at social-media sharing level, they look a lot more impressive than they have any right to be. There's something pretty special about being able to capture morning dew on grass with only an iPhone in your pocket.

This is also the first instance of the iPhone 7 Plus's camera shutting off the telephoto lens in favor of the wide-angle: The 56mm-equivalent lens has a much longer minimum focus distance, and as a result, if you get too close to a subject and tap "2x" in the Camera app, your iPhone will default to the wide-angle (which has a fairly short minimum focus distance). It's a primary reason why these grass shots look a whole lot more comparable between models than our previous shots.

Indoors & Nighttime

As mentioned above, I didn't snap a ton of indoors and evening shots — one for stationary objects, one moving, and a sunset — primarily because of the iPhone 7 Plus's tendency to revert to digitally zooming the wide-angle lens in low light. Lacking optical image stabilization and with such a small aperture, it's not surprising that the iPhone 7 Plus's telephoto can't provide adequate light for a good hybrid image, but it still means there's not a ton of information to be gained by comparing the 7 and 7 Plus indoors — at that point, both are essentially shooting (and zooming) with the same lens and sensor — the Plus just has a nicer interface.

Here's an "iPhone 7 Plus is primarily using the wide-angle for its 2x" shot, and it shows: This is the only test where I actually prefer the iPhone 7's blown-up "10x" image over the 7 Plus's naturally-shot 10x image, because the 1x shot was more stable and readable than a shaky low-light 10x.

Despite being in a lower-light situation, here the iPhone 7 Plus's images are snapped with the wide-angle/telephoto hybrid rather than just the wide-angle, with the telephoto at one of its lowest acceptable settings (shutter speed of 1/60 second). In the low light, this means more detail on my dog's (traditionally terrified for cameras) face and in blanket threads, but at the expense of more noise on the image.

These images were taken with the wide-angle on both phones, and they look very similar overall, save for the 10x — whatever little data the iPhone 7 Plus is getting from the telephoto here, the phone uses it to create a decent backdrop of leaves against a sunset.

Final thoughts

Digital zoom isn't a game-changer in mobile photography; at best, it's a placeholder and portent. In some ways, it shows us how far we've come — some of those 10x shots look better than the images my 2005-era smartphone snapped. In others, it shows where smartphone photography can still improve; how we can polish those details, give our camera systems more light, and, if possible, space for longer lenses.

All that said, the iPhone 7 Plus takes a definitive step forward in this arena: its dual-camera system significantly improves images both optically framed and digitally zoomed, and lets us create 12-megapixel images from items that would otherwise be blurs. They may not be truly printable images yet, but most people aren't going to want a printable image from a 10x mobile camera zoom: It's the kind of feature born for social media, letting users show their friends and networks that they were "so close!" to a star at a concert, or that they snapped the perfect shot of a roaring animal at the zoo.

If zoom is something you care about, the iPhone 7 can't compete with its bigger sibling: The vague pinch-to-zoom interface already feels hopelessly out of date after you spend a little time with the Plus's zoom capabilities, and blown up photos suffer somewhat on detail without the secondary lens providing supporting image data.

Apple's "optical zoom" feature also gives users the ability to either shoot directly with the 56mm lens equivalent or capture a crisp 2x digital zoom, and the crop provides a nice, new way to experiment with framing shots. It's a feature I was skeptical about in my first day or two with both phones, but as I've used both devices over the last week, I've grown more attached to shooting photos with the 7 Plus. If nothing else: More tools in the toolbox, right?

We'll have much more on the iPhone 7's cameras — including a complete head-to-head test with all current iPhone models — very soon. In the meantime, what do you folks think of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus's zoom capabilities? Let me know in the comments.

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• Vena vAllure for iPhone 7 Plus in Navy Blue/Gold - $2.99 with code VENOFF10
• Vena vAllure for iPhone 7 Plus in Rose Gold/Coral Pink - $2.99 with code VENOFF10
• Vena vLove for iPhone 7 Plus in Rose Gold/Coral Pink - $3.99 with code VENOFF11
• Vena Mirage for iPhone 7 Plus in Rose Gold/Rose Gold - $2.99 with code VENOFF12
• Vena Mirage for iPhone 7 in Navy Blue/Rose Gold - $2.99 with code VENOFF12
• Vena vLuxe for iPhone 7 Plus in Burgundy Red (Leather)/Gold - $3.99 with code VENOFF11
• Vena vLuxe for iPhone 7 Plus in Carbon Fiber (Leather)/Space Black - $3.99 with code VENOFF11

Other accessories

• FosPower MFi Certified Braided Lightning Cable – Space Gray - $4.99 with code FOSPWR07
• FosPower MFi Certified Braided Lightning Cable – Gold with code FOSPWR07
• FosPower PowerActive 10200mAh Rugged Power Bank - $19.99 with code FOSPWR10

Remember, you will need to change the seller to be SFPlanet not SFPlanet Fulfilled by Amazon for the coupons to work. Which colors will you be grabbing? Let us know in the comments!

When you pick up an iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, XS, XS Max, or iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro, you're also getting a great multi-camera system to take photographs with and shoot video. By default, you'll use with the iPhone's 12-megapixel wide-angle f/1.8 lens in Photo mode, but you can also amp up the magnification and take photos with the new 56mm-equivalent "telephoto" lens — either in the Camera app, or in a variety of great third-party apps.

NOTE: Though many (myself included) have argued that this system is closer in comparison to a normal or portrait lens than a true telephoto, I understand Apple's intentions here: Because they're marketing the lens in conjunction with a 2x feature, it may seem more appropriate to call it "tele" than "normal" or "portrait" to the average user — especially considering that Apple also uses it with its "Portrait" feature that utilizes both lenses. For that reason, I'm referring to the lens as Apple names it — tele, or telephoto — even though I don't necessarily agree with that branding.

What iPhone models have the telephoto lens?

Apple currently builds three iPhone models that have the multi-camera system:

• iPhone 7 Plus (f/2.8 telephoto lens)
• iPhone 8 Plus (f/2.8 telephoto lens)
• iPhone X (f/2.4 telephoto lens)
• iPhone XS and XS Max (f/2.4 telephoto lens)
• iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max (f/2.0 telephoto lens)

All of these have access to shooting with the telephoto lens or shooting in Portrait mode, as well as Portrait Lighting (except for iPhone 7 Plus).

How to shoot with the telephoto lens in the Camera app

1. Open the Camera app and select Photo mode.
2. Tap on the 1x button to switch to 2x mode.
3. Frame and shoot your photo!

Note: As long as you're shooting in a brightly-lit area, the Camera app will automatically select the 56mm-equivalent lens when you switch to 2x magnification; if you're in a dimly-lit area, however, you won't be able to use it, and the app will automatically switch to digitally-zoomed wide-angle shot.

If you're running iOS 10.1 or later, you can also use Portrait mode, which will automatically always shoot with the telephoto lens.

How to shoot with the telephoto lens in third-party apps

If you run into a situation like the above where you want to make sure you're shooting with the 56mm-equivalent lens — and that lens only — you can use a third-party manual camera app that supports lens swapping. (Our current favorite is ProCamera

Here's how to shoot in ProCamera:

1. Open the ProCamera app.
2. Tap the More button (looks like a 3x3 square grid).
3. Select the Tele camera option.

For other third-party apps that support the multi-lens camera system with telephoto lenses, instructions will likely be similar — you'll just want to look for their lens selectors.

Questions?

Let us know in the comments.

September 2019: Updated with iPhone XS, XS Max, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max.

Serenity Caldwell contributed to an earlier versiono of this guide.

Whether you just got a brand new iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus, or are preparing for your delivery before it takes place, you'll want to check out these great case deals. With cases as low as $4 at Amazon, there is no reason not to add some protection to your new phone to keep it looking good for as long as you can. Whether you are looking for a clear case to show off your color choice, or just something that you enjoy the look of, there is likely a case for everyone here.

With the iPhone 7 cases, the coupons will work when the seller is Caseology Fulfilled by Amazon, but the iPhone 7 Plus cases you will need to select the seller as just Caseology.

iPhone 7

• Waterfall Series Clear - $3.99 with coupon code ZPN4N8SL
• Titan Series Gunmetal - $3.99 with coupon code BPKZUFS6
• Vault Series Black - $3.99 with coupon code 3D7Y4H4Z
• Savoy Series Navy - $4.99 with coupon code H7DTZCHJ
• Envoy Series Black - $4.99 with coupon code EAY792ER

iPhone 7 Plus

• Waterfall Series Clear - $3.99 with coupon code 625O8XXZ
• Titan Series Gunmetal - $3.99 with coupon code ER4WDZOZ
• Vault Series Black - $3.99 with coupon code YQM3JUTX
• Savoy Series Navy - $4.99 with coupon code M7X8YK4A
• Envoy Series Black - $4.99 with coupon code 3WKPL385

Will you be picking any of these cases up for your new iPhone? If so, drop a note in the comments and let us know which ones you went with!

Apple has issued a statement to several media outlets, including TechCrunch, on the extremely limited availability of iPhone 7 Plus, and of Jet Black in all models, at launch this Friday:

That's a stark contrast to previous years where it always seemed like Apple held some stock back from the pre-orders to ensure availability at retail. It does follow a pattern, however, of Apple de-emphasizing in-store launch in favor of the online pre-orders.

The huge lineups were great publicity for Apple and demonstrable signs of the popularity of iPhone, but they weren't a great experience for customers who had to get in line days early at times, or risk sellouts and settle for a model that wasn't exactly what they'd wanted.

Carriers and big boxes may or may not have any iPhones 7 Plus or any iPhones 7 in Jet Black, but it doesn't seem likely, and even if they do, they'll probably be extremely scarce.

Either way, if you want Jet Black or an iPhone 7 Plus for certain, you'll need to order online ASAP to get in the queue. If you want an iPhone 7 in silver, gold, rose gold, or matte black, you can still try and line up super early, or likewise order online ASAP.

Apple has announced the next iterations in its iPhone lineup, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. While the phones carry over the same basic design of the previous generation, the new iPhones feature new colors, camera technology, and are now water- and dust-resistant. For those of you looking to dive into the specs of these new phones, you've come to the right place.