Apple’s finally released its iOS 14 update and the new operating system could have a tremendous impact on your iPhone 7’s performance.

After a year on iOS 13, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have made the move to Apple’s new iOS 14 software.

As expected, iOS 14 is a huge upgrade for both models as it’s chock full of new features, upgrades, and under-the-hood improvements. It also has important security patches on board.

Many iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus users have made the jump up to iOS 14 and we’ve seen a lot of positive feedback in the early going.

We’ve also heard about a number of problems with the software with some users encountering an early batch of bugs and performance issues.

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If you make the decision to download iOS 14, note that it requires a lot of free space on your internal storage. It’s a 2GB+ download.

If you’re running an older version of iOS, your iOS 14 upgrade could be larger because the features and fixes from iOS updates you skipped are baked in.

With that in mind, we want to take you through the most important things to know, right now, about the iPhone 7’s iOS 14 update.

Our walkthrough will guide you through the software’s initial problems, the downgrade status, the iOS 14 jailbreak, and the iPhone 7 iOS 14 update’s performance.

We’ll start with the operating system’s early performance. We’ve been testing the iPhone 7’s iOS 14 update for a short time and here’s what we’ve learned thus far.

iPhone 7 iOS 14 Impressions & Performance

We’ve been testing the official version of iOS 14 on an iPhone 7 for a very short time and we’ve come away pretty impressed with the software’s performance.

While some iPhone 7 users have noticed bugs and performance issues, iOS 14 is performing at a high level on the device in our possession.

The software feels extremely snappy. It’s noticeably faster than iOS 13. Apps open faster and the software’s animations and transitions are crisp.

We haven’t noticed any slowdown in problem areas like Notification Center, Control Center, or the keyboard. There are areas where we’ve seen sluggish performance in the past.

Battery life is very strong at the moment and we haven’t noticed any issues with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. All of these connections are strong.

Our core apps, a list that includes apps like Netflix, Chrome, Gmail, Dark Sky, Asana, and Slack, are all stable. We haven’t noticed any hiccups.

App developers are currently rolling out iOS 14 support updates so if you’re having issues with your apps, make sure you’re running the latest version.

Overall, iOS 14 is treating our iPhone 7 well. We haven’t stumbled upon any massive bugs nor have we run into any catastrophic performance issues. It’s early, but this is a good sign.

As of right now we’re recommending iOS 14 to most users. That said, if you’re having a good experience on iOS 13, you might want to wait for more longterm feedback.

If you need more help making a decision, have a look at our reasons to, and not to, install iOS 14 right now.

How to Prepare for iOS 14

If you’re planning to make a move to iOS 14, make sure you prepare for the upgrade.

While some of you might see a performance boost after upgrading, many others will run into trouble. This is why it’s important to prepare yourself, and your device, for the transition.

To assist you we’ve released a pre-installation guide that will take you step-by-step through the process we typically use before we install new iOS software on our phones.

If you’re new to iOS or you just want to play it safe, it could help. If you don’t have a ton of time to devote to the pre-installation process you’ll at the very least want to make sure your files are backed up before you tap download.

iPhone 7 iOS 14 Problems & Fixes

We’re having a very good experience on iOS 14, some iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus users are running into problems.

The current list includes abnormal battery drain, connectivity issues, UI lag, issues with first and third-party apps, issues with Touch ID, Exchange issues, and many more. Note that this is extremely common after a major iOS release.

If these problems have you feeling leery about an upgrade to iOS 14, you might want to hang back and wait for Apple’s first batch of bug fixes.

If you’re already running iOS 14, and you’re dealing with issues, have a look at our fixes for the most common iOS 14 problems. It’s a great place to start.

We’ve also released tips to improve iOS 14 battery life and a guide to fixing bad iOS performance.

iOS 13 Downgrade Open

If you move your iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus to iOS 14, and you hate the performance, you might try moving your phone back to iOS 13.

Apple is currently signing on iOS 13.7 which means you can drop your iPhone’s software back to the final version of iOS 13. If you were having a good experience on iOS 13.7, it could help.

The company won’t sign on iOS 13 forever so if you really want to get your iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus off of iOS 14, you’ll need to move soon. Once Apple stops signing on iOS 13.7, there won’t be a way back to the operating system.

If you’re unfamiliar with the downgrade process, take a look at our guide.

iPhone 7 iOS 14 Update: What’s New

The iPhone 7’s version of iOS 14 is robust. The devices miss out on a few features, but all of iOS 14’s key components are on board.

The list includes Widgets on the home screen, improvements to Messages and Maps, the new Translate app, and a laundry list of changes to Siri.

We’ve put together a guide that will take you through some of iOS 14’s best features and it’s worth a look if you haven’t been following along.

If you’re moving to iOS 14 from an older version of iOS 13 you’ll, again, get the features and fixes from any updates you skipped. We also have a guide that goes over the latest iOS 13 features and you should check it out if you’re playing catchup.

What’s Next for the iPhone 7 & iPhone 7 Plus

We probably won’t have to wait long for the next version of iOS 14.

Apple recently told CNET that it is “aware of an issue that can impact default email and browser settings in iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 and that a “fix will be available to users in a software update.” It didn’t call the version out by name.

The company recently confirmed iOS 14.2 and there’s also been chatter about an iOS 14.1 release alongside the iPhone 12 series in October. We could also see a fast iOS 14.0.1 release.

One way or another, we should see a new version of iOS 14 roll out soon and that should be music to the ears of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus users dealing with issues on the current version.

iPhone 7 iOS 14 Jailbreak

Developers have released an iOS 13 jailbreak tool that’s compatible with iOS 13.5 and older versions of iOS 13. However, we haven’t seen anything on the iOS 14 front just yet.

Earlier this year the developers behind the “unc0ver” jailbreaking tool released version 5.0.0. It’s compatible with iOS 13.5 and most versions of iOS that fall between iOS 13.5 and iOS 11.0.

It doesn’t work with iOS 12.3-12.3.2, iOS 12.4.2-12.4.5, or iOS 13.7-iOS 13.5.1. It doesn’t work with the current version of iOS 14 either.

For more on the iOS 13 jailbreak, head here.

4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 14 & 11 Reasons You Should

Last update on 2020-09-18. This post may contain affiliate links. Click here to read our disclosure policy for more details. Images via Amazon API