Yeah, the iPhone 7 is on par with my Samsung Galaxy 7. Apple is playing catch up, six months behind.
I guarantee it will outperform the galaxy s7. Apple's flagships always do (the 6s is on par with the s7. the 7 will smoke it). And everyone plays catch up at some point. Here's how I see the iPhone relative to other manufacturers and some thoughts on the 7:
1. Apple tends to innovate, then rest on their laurels for a while. Sometimes they lag behind others (infuriatingly so) but when they make their move as it were, it blows everyone else out of the water (think retina display, touch ID, etc.). Then other phones play catch up. Remember that Apple JUST moved to a quad core chip with the A10. Their dual cores have been outperforming 4,6, and 8 core chips that competitors have been using for years.
2. Apple refines whereas Android (this is how I will refer to all competitors from this point on) tends to throw everything at a wall and see what sticks. It took quite a while for Android the OS to become as refined, functional, and smooth as iOS. It wasn't that long ago that you had stutters, lock ups, lag, etc. Where Android is unnecessarily pushing octacores, 4gb of ram, 4K screens!!, etc. Apple has been achieving greatness with dual cores, 1gb of ram or less quite recently (though this has been one big issue I've had with them) etc. Apple releases polished features whereas some Android features are half baked.
3. Specifically with the 7, Apple is pandering to consumer desires/suggestions/complaints. 2gb of ram (FINALLY), stereo speakers, a bigger battery/more efficient processor, the features of iOS 10, an improved front facing camera, and dual cameras on the plus model. These are all things that I've complained about/wanted and I know plenty of others feel the same way. I still want an increase in resolution, but the screens are always great anyway.
4. An aside about the removal of the headphone jack. People will whine now but in a month or so people will wonder why it was ever there in the first place. They'll have wireless earbuds or just use the adapter and enjoy the benefits of digital audio. Then Android will follow suit and soon headphone jacks will be totally obsolete (its old tech anyway).
Like I said I'm waiting for the 8. Edge to edge OLED display and the biggest electrical innovation since the establishment of AC/DC current: room wide wireless charging. Walk into a room and your phone starts charging. They are optimizing the system currently but it has been demonstrated and is functional. Also the potential inclusion of Li-Fi (which has also been demonstrated and is functional).
Sorry for the exhaustive breakdown haha.