Apple's iPhone 7 is out now, but as with any Apple launch, it's difficult to say whether you should upgrade now, or hang on to your old device until the next one comes out. Thankfully, we've put the two latest iPhone generations head to head to see whether it's worth picking up the latest model, or just waiting until the next one rolls around.

Display

The display technology is not that different on the whole when comparing the 6s and the 7, in both size models. Apple has kept the 3D Touch functionality and has implemented a 25% increase in brightness as well as a wide colour gamut.

Other than that it is the same IPS LCD Retina screen we've seen before at the same sizes and resolutions. There's rumours that Apple kept this the same this year because there will be a big change over to OLED expected for 2017 with the launch of the iPhone 8.

Design

Visually, both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are not massively far removed from the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in terms of design. However, a key difference is that the antenna bands have been moved to the upper and lower edges, which makes them more discrete. In terms of dimensions, the thickness is unchanged and there's been a scant handful of grams shaved off from the weight.

The other major changes come in the form of the Home key, which is now a capacitive, touch-sensitive panel rather than a physical button. It features a Haptic feedback engine and can perform a range of software functions, including the Touch ID fingerprint scanner. On top of this, the iPhone 7 series is the first family of iPhones which are fully IP67 water and dust proof, for up to 30 minutes submerged in water.

For some people, the ability to drop your iPhone safely in a bath might be reason enough alone to upgrade, but in most other respects the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus is very similar to what came before.

As well as being the first waterproof iPhone, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are the first smartphones by Apple to feature stereo speakers. Apple has also ditched the 3.5mm headphone jack and audio is now handled through the Lightning port (or wirelessly via Bluetooth).

Camera

The camera is one of the biggest changes for the iPhone 7 series when compared to previous models.

The Apple iPhone 6s and 6s Plus models both feature a 12-megapixel rear camera coupled with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, both with an aperture of f/2.2. The front facing camera features a Retina Flash and the rear camera is capable of 4K video recording.

However, the rear camera aboard the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus features a new 6-element lens with a wide f/1.8 aperture to allow in more light; it has a 12MP sensor with optical image stabilisation, and a quad-LED TrueTone flash with built-in flicker sensor, which Apple said will compensate for artificial light, and a brand new image signal processor.

The iPhone 7 Plus goes one step futher than the iPhone 7, too. Its setup boasts a pair of 12MP sensors in a dual-camera setup, one with a wide-angle lens and one with a telephoto lens; the result is a setup that has a much higher image quality overall, but can also perform 2x optical zoom and up to 10x software zoom, as well as simulate Bokeh depth-of-field effects, a function often use by photographers in portraits and fashion shots.

Performance & Battery life

Apple has upgraded the processor for the latest iPhone series, making the jump from its A9 processors to the newer A10 fusion series. These bring swignificant benefits, with double the number of cores and a noticeable uptick in performance.

As expected, the newest iPhones thoroughly trounced their predecessors in our benchmark tests. Both the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus bettered their counterparts' Geekbench 4 scores by over 1,000 point in single-core tests, and over 1,500 in multi-core tests. Battery life was similary improved, with the newer phones lasting around two hours longer on average than the previous version.

Storage, price and colour options

Apple has now killed the 16GB storage tier on all of its iPhones, meaning that both the iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 start at 32GB. The iPhone 7 will also be available in 128GB and 256GB sizes, while the 6s will only come with a maximum allocation of 128GB.

In the UK, the iPhone 7 starts from 599 for the cheapest 32GB option. The 128GB version is 699, and the 256GB version will set you back a whopping 799. The larger iPhone 7 Plus is even more of a wallet-buster than it's smaller sibling; the cheapest (32GB) iPhone 7 Plus costs 719, followed by a 128GB model at 819, and then a 256GB variant costing an astonishing 919.

In addition to the usual Silver, Gold, Rose Gold and Space Grey colour options, Apple is offering the iPhone 7 in a number of new colours. There's Black and Jet Black variants (which have matte and glossy finishes, respectively), as well as a special edition produced in association with (RED).

Verdict

There's a lot to like about Apple's latest iPhone. The new camera is absolutely stonking, performance is a significant step up over its predecessor and the design is as attractive as you'd expect. It's one of the most capable smartphone on the market.

On the other hand, if you've already got an iPhone 6s sitting in your pocket, there's not really much here that will tempt you to upgrade. The performance boost - while noticeable - isn't really going to be necessary for the majority of users, and the other updates are mostly minor iterations, rather than innovative leaps forward.

If you're considering making the jump to a new phone, our advice is to wait until Apple reveals whatever's coming after the iPhone 7. Chances are, it's going to be an awful lot more impressive than its latest crop.

Despite the titanic struggle between Apple and Samsung for control of the high-end smartphone market, they're probably only fighting over a handful of undecided buyers. Most people have by now, in all likelihood, already picked their mobile platform of choice and are sticking with it for the long term.

That means that the majority of Samsung Galaxy S7 buyers will be owners of older Samsung Android phones, rather than first-time buyers and iPhone switchers. Even so, it's worth looking at how the new Galaxy S7 stacks up against the iPhone 6s Samsung certainly will have done in its constant race to one-up the iOS competition.

Casing

While Apple has long since moved away from the glass back and metal rim casing first pioneered by the iPhone 4 in favour of a HTC-style metal-backing on the iPhone 6s, Samsung has gone in the other direction.

The S7 retains the same overall look of the S6 with glass overlaid on top of a coloured backing with a metal trim around the edges. The rear of the S7 casing, unlike the S6 before it, is now curved on the left and right hand sides. This makes it feel surprisingly comfortable in the hand for a phone of its size.

The S7 brings back a feature not seen on a Samsung flagship phone since the S5 water and dust resistance. The S7 is IP67-rated, so it should be able to survive immersion in shallow depths for up to 30 minutes. This gives it an immediate advantage over the 6s.

Although Apple has allegedly improved the water resistance of the iPhone 6s too, it has done so silently and not made any public claims about the extent of its durability leaving it to customers to discover this supposed enhanced water resistance on their own.

We wouldn't deliberately expose any smartphone to water unless absolutely necessary, but it's good to know that the S7 will be more durable than most.

Another plus is that the S7 has a Micro SD slot so you can easily add more storage as you need it, or just transfer files without relying on slow, congested or non-existent WiFi or 4G connections. No iPhone has never had micro SD, so the iPhone 6s is reliant on slower and fussier wireless storage devices if you need more non-cloud based storage.

Winner: Galaxy S7. Although we have concerns about the long-term durability of the S7's potentially shatter-prone glass back, its water resistance and expandable storage give it the edge here.

Display

The S7's 5.1in screen has a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels. On paper, this dwarfs the iPhone 6s' 4.7in 1334x750 pixels, but in practice the difference in sharpness is actually quite modest at typical viewing distances. It's only readily apparent if you're looking at both phones very closely side-by-side.

The AMOLED technology behind Samsung's screen means deeper blacks compared to the IPS LCD used in the iPhone 6s. Although AMOLED is allegedly also more power efficient, battery life is dependent on so many other factors that an AMOLED screen isn't an automatic guarantee of longer overall battery life. In theory, AMOLED screens have a shorter useful life span than an LCD, but this isn't a critical failing given that most people replace their phones every couple of years.

The 6s' screen is much brighter than the S7's, but the latter has a slightly wider colour gamut for improved colour accuracy. The modest difference isn't as dramatic as Samsung would have you believe though.

Winner: Tie. It's swings and roundabouts in this category.

Camera

Samsung has recently caught up with Apple when it comes to high quality cameras in flagship smartphones. Like the 6s, the S7 now has phase detection autofocus but neither was noticeably faster than the other at auto focussing. We found we did have to manually readjust the focus a little more often with the S7 than we did with the 6s, but this wasn't often enough to be a bugbear.

Samsung has recently caught up with Apple when it comes to high quality cameras in flagship smartphones. Like the 6s, the S7 now has phase detection autofocus but neither was noticeably faster than the other at auto focussing. We found we did have to manually readjust the focus a little more often with the S7 than we did with the 6s, but this wasn't often enough to be a bugbear.

Both the S7 and the 6s have 12 megapixel cameras, but the S7 has a much wider f1.7 aperture compared to the iPhone's increasingly antiquated f2.2. It therefore edged ahead at low light photography with better lit, better exposed scenes. The 6s wasn't far behind and both did well at keeping noise, which often mars low light shots on lesser phone cameras, to a minimum.

Winner: Galaxy S7. The 6s has an excellent camera, but the S7's shooter is just that little bit better.

Processor and battery

Both flagship phones use custom-made ARM processors made by Apple and Samsung themselves, rather than using off-the-shelf chips from manufacturers such as Qualcomm.

The iPhone 6s uses Apple's own in-house 1.8GHz A9 dual core processor, while the S7 uses a Samsung Exyno 8890 chip. It's an eight-core processor, but only one set of four cores ever run at any given time. Four cores running at 2.6GHz take on the most strenuous tasks, while four slower cores running at 1.6GHz take over for less demanding work and thus save battery life too.

Given all that, it's easy to expect that the 8890 would outperform the A9, but our benchmarks revealed a more nuanced picture. The 8890's extra cores unsurprisingly gave it an edge in heavily optimised multicore scenarios, but the A9 sped ahead in single-core and 3D graphics tasks. The A9 also fared better in our JavaScript benchmark.

The S7 has a huge battery rated at 3000mAh, while the iPhone 6s has a much smaller 1715mAh battery. Once again though, sheer numbers aren't the end of the story. The S7's large battery and dual quad-core design helped it last just under 18 hours in our video playback test compared to the iPhone 6s' score of 11 hours and 18 minutes.

The situation was reversed in our less-controlled but more representative moderate usage everyday test though. Both phones were connected to O2's 3G network in central London and used for a mix of photography, calls, web browsing and GPS. The S7 managed just over 23 hours, while the 6s lasted just under 30 hours.

Winner: iPhone 6s. Both phones are very fast, with neither having a clear, overall advantage. The S7's longer-lasting battery when it comes to media playback will please movie fans, but the 6s' otherwise better showing means it just wins this category.

Connections

Samsung once tried to push the state of the art forwards when it came to smartphone ports. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was the first phone to have micro USB 3, but ended up being one of the last. Samsung has been more conservative with the S7 which sticks with the ubiquitous micro USB 2 instead of the more advanced but less widespread USB Type-C.

The iPhone 6s doesn't have USB-C either, but instead uses Apple's proprietary Lightning connector. This has many of the same benefits as USB-C, mainly its reversible design so it doesn't matter which way up you plug it in, but isn't quite as easily found in the wild as micro USB.

Lightning doesn't have the fast charge capabilities of USB-C though. Samsung has built its own fast-charging technology into the S7's micro USB port, although the technical details of how it differs from the Qualcomm-based fast charging in other Android phones is hard to come by. Fast charging typically shortens the useful life span of a battery, but this isn't a critical flaw if you replace your phone every couple of years.

It's worth remembering that fast charging doesn't work if you charge the S7 using its built-in inductive wireless' charging features. Although not truly wireless and it doesn't reduce the number of cables you need, inductive wireless charging can still be useful if you have poor eyesight and reduced dexterity in your fingers due to, for example, arthritis. Plopping a phone down onto a charging pad is easier than fiddling about with a small cable tip and port.

Both smartphones have Bluetooth 4.2, 802.11ac and NFC. In the case of NFC, it's worth remembering that iOS currently only supports it for Apple Pay whereas the S7's NFC can be used for other things such as quickly connecting to Bluetooth speakers. Mobile tap payments by Samsung Pay aren't yet supported in the UK, but Google Pay is now rolling out.

Winner: Galaxy S7. The Samsung phone's fast-charging and more flexible NFC capabilities give it a modest but useful edge ahead here.

Conclusions: the overall winner

It's no surprise that this head-to-head was a tight race, closely fought Apple and Samsung are bitter global rivals with fans on both sides that are even more committed. If you're willing to switch or you're the rare, uncommitted first-time buyer then you can't go wrong with either phone.

While the differences between the two are increasingly razor-thin, these are still just enough to tip the scales if you're willing to switch. The 6s is very fast, with a great camera and arguably better overall battery life, but the S7 has water-resistance, a more comfortable shape, more flexible connections and storage as well as an excellent camera of its own.

This might all change with the iPhone 7 (or it might not), but for now the Galaxy S7 is king.

This article was originally published on 19/2/2016 and has since been updated, most recently on 25/5/2016

The HTC One A9 was the most blatant aesthetic clone of an Apple iPhone (specifically the 6/6s) that's been released by a big-name smartphone manufacturer in years. HTC has taken a more original route with its oddly-named flagship phone, the HTC 10. It looks like an evolution of the M9 and the other One M-series phones that came before it.

Comparing the HTC 10 on paper against Apple's flagship iPhone 6s reveals plenty of similarities and differences.

Casing and charging

Both phones are made out of unibody metal casings with front-facing fingerprint readers that double as a home buttons, but nonetheless look quite different. The HTC has a gently curved back and noticeable sloping edges, whereas the 6s has a completely flat back with rounded edges. We'll only be able to say for certain which feels more comfortable after extended use with HTC's phone.

If you're fussy about colours, then note that the 10 is only available in grey or silver. The 6s is available in similar shades, as well as pink and gold. While the HTC 10 uses the increasingly common USB-C for charging, the 6s uses Apple's proprietary Lightning port. Both look quite similar with reversible plugs that can be plugged in either way up.

Apple's Touch ID fingerprint reader can be used for tap-to-pay contactless' payments in shops that support Apple Pay as well as for in-app purchases and unlocking the 6s. For now, the HTC 10's fingerprint scanner is limited to just' unlocking your phone - Android Pay isn't yet available in the UK, either in-store or in-app.

Screen

It remains to be seen how the image quality and brightness of the HTC 10's 5.2in screen will compare against the iPhone 6s' 4.7in display - both companies claim their flagship phone has class-leading colour accuracy. On paper, the HTC 10's higher 2560x1440 resolution and pixel density of 564ppi easily trumps the 1334x750 resolution and 326ppi of the 6s. We doubt any but the most eagle eyed of us will notice the difference in sharpness though.

Interestingly, HTC claims the 10's touchscreen is much more responsive than its predecessors. This has always been one of the iPhone's strengths, with competing Android phones needing brute force in the form of quad core processors and 3 or 4GB of RAM to do what Apple can do with dual core chips, half as much memory and better touch subsystem engineering. We're keen to see how the HTC 10 stacks up in the flesh (or the glass).

The iPhone 6s screen is equipped with Apple's 3D Touch pressure sensitive technology. Although it's not quite as essential as Apple would have you believe, it's still a very convenient way to access shortcuts, among other features, that we suspect we will miss greatly on the HTC 10.

Camera

Apple has doggedly stuck with f2.2 rear-facing camera lenses on its iPhones for a while now, opting to optimise the sensor in other ways to improve image quality. We suspect the f2.2 12 megapixel rear camera of the 6s will get some stiff competition from HTC. The Taiwanese company has fitted the 10 with a f1.8 12 megapixel shooter that also has slightly larger pixels than those of the 6s. All this should theoretically add up to better low light photography than Apple's already excellent camera.

HTC has also applied the same wide aperture, as well as a wide angle lens, to the front-facing five megapixel camera which, again, theoretically trumps Apple's video conferencing and selfie-taking front-facing f2.2 five megapixel camera.

Performance and Storage

The HTC 10 will come with a quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor and 4GB of memory. That doesn't necessarily mean it will leave the iPhone 6s in the dust though. Its 2GB of memory and dual core A9 processors punch well above their weight, holding their own or topping the charts in almost all our benchmarks. We suspect the two will be even matched in all but our most heavily multithreaded tests where the Snapdragon's extra cores will finally prove their worth.

The iPhone 6s is available in 16, 64 and 128GB capacities with no option to expand that later, as has always been the case with iPhones. The HTC 10 is more flexible, allowing you to cheaply boost its 32 or 64GB of storage using micro SD cards. These are also handy for transferring files if your internet access is slow or unreliable.

OS

The iPhone 6s uses, of course, iOS so you'll get the latest updates as soon as they're available (pending congested servers and your own broadband connection, of course). Updates won't be as prompt with Android on the HTC 10, but, if history is any guide, the lag will only be a few weeks, possibly a couple of months behind the Google Nexus range.

HTC has revamped its Sense interface skin so it's more in keeping with the Material Design look of Android Marshmallow. Blinkfeed is still present in Google Now's usual place to the left of the first home screen. You can turn Blinkfeed off, but you can only restore Google Now to its rightful place using a custom launcher, such as Google's own Now Launcher. Otherwise, Sense should be less cluttered with fewer duplicate Google and HTC apps than before. That's a problem iOS thankfully doesn't have to deal with, but HTC's final efforts remain to be seen.

Speakers and extras

The iPhone 6s has surprisingly loud speakers for a phone, but they paled into comparison next to the voluminous and surprisingly well-balanced front-facing speakers of the HTC One M9. Unfortunately, HTC has done away with those BoomSound speakers on the 10. HTC does claim the 10 supports high-resolution audio using compatible headphones, but we're not convinced that most people will notice the alleged benefits of that format.

Apple produces its own range of silicone and leather cases for the iPhone 6s. HTC has a more elaborate case with a frosted-glass-style screen cover that's just transparent enough to let you see basic, at-a-glance information, such as the date and time, on-screen without fully waking the phone. It also supports basic shortcuts, such as swiping down from the top of the screen to rapidly launch the camera.

Apple has unveiled the iPhone SE - a 4in alternative to its flagship iPhone 6s and 6s Plus phablets.

Fans have been requesting a return to handsets like the iPhone 4s and 5s over since Apple launched its larger iPhone 6 range, with the new iPhone SE stacking up against its bigger stablemates surprisingly well.

Display and body

The biggest difference between Apple's flagship iPhones and the new iPhone SE is obviously the size. The new model marks the company's first return to the older 4in size since the iPhone 5s, two generations ago.

For many, the 4.7in display of the iPhone 6 and 6s is just too large, hence why a return to form was so highly requested. However, while the screen has shrunk in size, Apple has ensured that it doesn't also drop in quality, and both devices have high pixel densities of 326ppi.

The SE is virtually identical to the 5s in terms of appearance. It's still got flat, chamfered edges, rather than the iPhone 6's rounded curves, and it's even got the exact same weight and dimensions.

Which one you prefer is ultimately a matter of personal taste, but in our experience, the iPhone 6's larger size makes it that touch more slippery to hold than the 5s and thus the SE, especially for those with smaller hands.

Price

The iPhone SE is touted as being Apple's most affordable new iPhone yet, clocking in at just 359 inc VAT for the 16GB option. While that's still not cheap compared to some Android competitors, it's a remarkable steal considering that the SE supposedly has the same performance as the 6s.

The 16GB 6s model, by contrast will set you back 539 inc VAT - a clear 200 more expensive. You can save some money by opting for the 459 iPhone 6, but you'll still be paying over 100 more than you would for the SE, and you'll almost certainly be getting slower performance too.

If the iPhone SE's performance is as good as Apple claims - and there's no reason to suspect otherwise - it really is a rather phenomenal deal.

Processor and storage

Given the iPhone SE's size and price-point, many manufacturers may have been tempted to skimp on the device's internal components. In this case, however, Apple has outdone itself, squeezing the iPhone 6s' A9 and M9 processors into the SE.

The company is claiming the iPhone SE delivers equal performance to its flagship stablemate the iPhone 6s, and double that of the iPhone 5s. Given this, we'd imagine it has the same 2GB RAM allocation as the 6s, although we won't know for sure until we can fully test it.

Given the more powerful processor, the SE is almost certain to outperform the iPhone 6, if only because it has a smaller, lower resolution screen to drive. While the iPhone 6 is still a very capable smartphone, it'll likely be outsped by the new arrival.

Apple consistently produces some of the best-performing devices on the market, and we'd be surprised if this changed significantly with the iPhone SE, but we won't be able to form a truly accurate comparison until we can run our own benchmarks.

Annoyingly Apple has not retained the 5s' 32GB storage option. Instead, it's followed the iPhone 6's lead in jumping straight from 16GB to 64GB. It's a shame one of the richest and most powerful technology companies, so adept at wringing every last drop of value out of its component suppliers, can't drive economics of scale down low enough to raise the base level of storage.

Camera, wireless and battery

As the iPhone SE is essentially a diminutive iPhone 6s, it carries all the key connectivity features you'd expect from its big brother. It's got NFC with built-in Apple Pay support and 802.11ac Wi-Fi.

It's also got the iPhone 6s' superlative rear camera, which will be a relief for any photographers. The snapper on the 6s is one of the best we've tested, and includes a 12MP sensor, high quality slow motion video, a reasonably flattering True Tone flash and 4K video recording.

Apple claims the SE has roughly the same battery life as the iPhone 6s too, but we can't verify this without testing. The screen is smaller, and therefore less power-hungry, but there's also less room to fit a battery into, so we'll have to wait and see.

Preliminary conclusions

The iPhone SE is what iPhone 5s fans have been wanting for years -- all the upgrades and innovations of the 6 and 6s, fitted into a more comfortable 4in package. If you like the look of the more recent iPhones on paper, but find them tricky to actually use, you should be very excited indeed.

iPhone sales have experienced their slowest ever growth this quarter, Apple is expected to report today.

During its latest earnings call, Apple will reportedly announce a sales increase of just over one per cent for its iPhone range, according to Reuters.

If true, this is the slowest growth rate the iPhone has experienced since its launch, leading to speculation that the bubble may have finally burst.

Many factors are behind the slowdown, according to industry observers, who cite the economic downturn in China as a major cause, the country being one of the iPhone's major markets.

The iPhone may also be approaching a point of diminishing returns, thanks to plateaus in technological advancements.

Sales of previous iPhone generations continue to be strong, indicating that consumers do not feel that Apple's yearly device refreshes provide enough improvements to justify an upgrade.

Many are sticking with older models, or staying one model behind the current cycle.

Some are going with biennial upgrades, and are planning to move straight from the iPhone 6 to the forthcoming iPhone 7, skipping the 6s altogether.

The company also faces stiff competition from Asian rivals like Samsung, which has now become a serious competitor in the premium handset bracket.

Profit forecasts could be further dented by the news that the main iPhone manufacturing centre, a Foxconn plant in China, fell victim to fire this week.

There were no casualties, however, and a spokesperson insisted that production would not be adversely affected.

The predicted downturn comes just a year after Apple recorded record profit and revenue thanks to demand for the iPhone 6.

Apple faces an $862 million bill for violating a university's patent on chips used in its iPhone and iPad devices, according to Reuters.

The tech giant was found to have infringed the University of Wisconsin's patent, awarded in 1998, that relates to parallel processing systems' ability to improve energy efficiency and performance in modern computer chips.

Specifically, the university invented a "predictor circuit" that can execute new instructions in advance, based on previously issued chip instructions.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), which filed the patent, sued Apple in January 2014 for using the innovation in its A7, A8 and A8X chips, which are present in the iPhone 5s, 6 and 6 Plus, as well as a number of iPads.

A US jury yesterday decided Apple was guilty of infringement, leaving Apple with the likelihood of footing a massive damages bill.

To add to Apple's legal woes, last month WARF launched a second lawsuit against the Cupertino-based company, alleging that its patent was infringed by the A9 and A9X chips used in the firm's latest set of devices the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus and iPad Pro.

Apple revealed these devices in early September at a San Francisco event, with the phones featuring 64-bit A9 processors.

CEO Tim Cook said the new chip is 70 per cent faster at CPU tasks than its predecessor, the A8, and 90 per cent faster at graphics tasks.

The iPad Pro is being positioned as a business device competing with Microsoft's Surface, whose A9X processor makes it nearly twice as powerful as its effective predecessor, the iPad Air 2.

IT Procontacted Apple for comment but had received no reply at the time of publication.