iPhone 6S vs iPhone 7: What's the difference and should I upgrade?

Now Apple has finally let the iPhone 7 out into the wild, it is time to weigh it up against its predecessor, the iPhone 6S, to see what the differences are and work out whether you should upgrade now or hold out for another year.

For the iPhone 7 the most important changes are on the inside, meaning it shares a very similar design to last year's 6S and the iPhone 6 from 2014. The 7's antenna lines have been tidied up a little and, as had been rumoured for months, the headphone jack has been removed. The new handset also features a fixed Home button which no longer clicks, a new camera, more powerful processor and more storage.

One of the biggest new features of the iPhone 7 (and 7 Plus) is waterproofing. The handset is rated to IP67, which means it can survive being dropped into a metre of clean water for several minutes.

iPhone 6S vs iPhone 7: The specifications

iPhone 6S vs iPhone 7: Display

For the second year running, Apple has left the iPhone's display alone. It is the same size and resolution as the previous two generations, and has the same 3D Touch technology as the 6S, where some aspects of the phone can be controlled based on how hard you press the screen.

iPhone 6S vs iPhone 7: Cameras

But, despite the iPhone 7 getting a better rear camera, it is outperformed by that of the iPhone 7 Plus. For that handset, Apple has installed two rear lenses to bring optical-style zooming and a greater depth of field to images. It's a trick other phones like the HTC One M8 and LG G5 have done before, so we can't wait to see if Apple's efforts are the best. Naturally, it's a shame that the better camera isn't included on the smaller phone, but the 7's rear shooter is still a good upgrade over last year's.

There is a new six-element lens which lets in 50% more light, a sensor which is 60% fast and 30% more energy efficient, and a new quad-LED flash which detects the flicker of artificial lights and works with them to take the perfect shot.

iPhone 6S vs iPhone 7: Processor, storage and colour options

As we mentioned above, Apple has finally increased the minimum storage option from 16 to 32GB. It has also doubled the midrange to 128GB and doubled the high-end model to a massive 256GB.

On paper, the iPhone 7 has a few notable upgrades. Apple claims the new quad-core A10 Fusion processor is 40% faster than before, while all storage options have been doubled and there are two new colour options in the form of black and Jet Black; however the latter is not available on the 32GB model.

iPhone 6S vs iPhone 7: Price

Apple still sells the 32GB and 128GB versions of the iPhone 6S, but for a much reduced price, as shown below. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus can be pre-ordered from 9 September and go on sale in the UK and elsewhere from 16 September.