Part 2 of this review: Old iPhone 7 vs New Cheap Android
Not all of us can afford shinny new iPhone, especially new iPhone here in Canada cost tons of money. An entry level iPhone SE 2 cost you somewhere 600 dollars after tax. So buying used iPhone or some cheap Android phone are choices among many people. Of course, you can always go through carrier channel for 24 months contract, but you would really need some expensive plans for iPhone 12, especially iPhone 12 Max.
When I say cheap Android, I really means cheap. Two Android phones that I am using are: Moto G8 Power and LG K61. They are around 300 dollars.
Design:
When you are within 300CAD dollars, you generally are going for iPhone 7, iPhone 8 and plus variant. iPhone X, iPhone XR or any newer iPhone are all above 300CAD.
As design goes, new Android almost all includes Full HD edge to edge display with punch hole design (or water drop). It is significantly more modern than iPhone 7 or iPhone 8. Moto G8 Power has 6.4 inch display where LG K61 comes with 6.5 inch display. At this size, you are really able to enjoy content better than 4.7 inch or 5.5 inch found on old generation of iPhone.
But almost all cheap Android phones are made with plastic, they just not as premium as iPhone. So if you want a phone that feels premium, you go with old iPhone. But if you are looking more modern design, new Android phone wins hands down.
Display
Both iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 comes with excellent LCD display. Both support display P3 wide color. Especially with iPhone 8, true tone makes all the difference. But they have lower resolution display and no edge to edge design.
While most cheap Android offers larger display, most of them are just plain entry level LCD display. You won't find any entry level or even mid-tire Android phone with iPhone level color accuracy and color management. You certainly won't able to get true tone with these cheap Android phone.
So, when you are tight no budge, you need to decide what is more important for you. If you cares about accurate display and tone tune, iPhone is only option for you. But if you care more about display size and edge to edge display, then Android is way to go.
Performance
Most entry level Android devices comes with Snapdragon 665 or Snapdragon 765 or some MedidaTek Helo processors. They generally performance exceptionally well given its price point. Generally day to day tasks are pretty smooth, but lags and frame drops do show up from time to time. Most this mid-range chip will show visible delays or lags when multitasking or heavy applications.
But with iPhone 7, especially iPhone , you won't really find slowness. iOS is so well optimized, performance not an issue.
For example: even with native YouTube apps, when you go full screen mode, most entry level Android phone will lag and drop frames. It very visible and very annoying. Or you feel your phone pause for a sec after you tap app icon. Although general performance is very good, but these little annoyances will add up.
Camera
Camera department is where old iPhone, especially iPhone 7 shows its age. Most entry level Android phone comes with two or more cameras. With LG K61, you find 4 cameras. Take LG K61 as example: It has 48MP main camera, 8MP wide angle camera, 5MP depth camera and 2MP Macro camera. Each camera will do different jobs, so you get some short of portrait mode or you can shoot close up pictures with macro lens or you get night mode. Although picture quality are mediocre at best, but you do get these features.
In comparison, iPhone 7 or iPhone 8 gets none. No portrait mode, no night mode, no macro shots or no wide angle shots. Although plus variant makes up with portrait mode, but that is about it.
Conclusion:
It is all depends on needs. While new Android offers modern design although most of them are made with plastic; edge to edge display, even though display quality suffers with lower quality panels; better camera selection and wider choice of camera mode.
When iPhone 7 cost half as new Android, I feel the stable performance, timely software update and iOS ecosystem should be the choice, but more expensive iPhone 8 or plus variant is not clear cut.
