iPhone 7 Plus vs iPhone 8 Plus: Is the newer one really worth the extra money?

If you compare the iPhone 7 Plus vs iPhone 8 Plus side-by-side, you will notice that they are virtually identical. The only noticeable external difference on these two phones is that the 7 Plus has a metal back panel, while the 8 Plus goes with a glass back to accommodate wireless charging. But if you look at the internal hardware on the 8 Plus vs 7 Plus, you’ll realize that these phones are, in fact, quite different.

iPhone 7 Plus vs iPhone 8 Plus: Let’s take a look inside

If you look inside the iPhone 8 Plus or iPhone 7 Plus, you’ll quickly spot the biggest differentiating factor between these phones. The 8 Plus has an A11 Bionic chip, while the 7 Plus is powered by an A10 Fusion. So in other words, the processor inside the 8 Plus is 1 year newer than the processor inside the 7 Plus. And 1 year may not seem like much time, but you can expect the A11 Bionic to give you 70% faster multitasking and 30% faster graphics for mobile gaming. But even if you don’t see yourself as a huge mobile gamer or multitasker, the speed difference between the 8 Plus vs 7 Plus will probably be easily noticeable. Plus, not only will the newer chip give you a slightly faster device, it will also ensure that you receive updates for a longer amount of time (until Apple classifies the chip as too slow to handle its latest and greatest iOS updates).

iPhone 7 Plus vs iPhone 8 Plus: Camera differences

If you flip both of these phones over, you’ll notice they both have double camera arrays. And those cameras happen to be exactly the same in terms of hardware. But since the A11 Bionic sensor has upgraded computational photography, you can also expect photos to look better on the 8 Plus. You can expect more detail and better color reproduction in the images taken by the 8 Plus.

iPhone 7 Plus vs iPhone 8 Plus: Our overall summary and recommendation

Still haven’t made up your mind if you should buy the iPhone 7 Plus or iPhone 8 Plus? If you want to save more money and really just want a “beater” phone to last you for a year or two, then a refurbished iPhone 7 Plus may still be a good choice for you. But if you’re willing to spend a little more, we think the refurbished iPhone 8 Plus is worth the extra cash, despite looking almost identical on the outside. It’s what’s under the hood that counts.