Apple iPhone 7 & Watch Series 2

T3 gets up close and personal with Apple’s latest kit. Are they worth the upgrade?

The Apple iPhone 7 is a smartphone that is not designed to innovate but rather to iterate - and boy does it iterate on last year’s iPhone 6s well. It’s faster than before, thinner than before and – return to a smart glossy black colour scheme aside – offers some seriously nice refinements throughout.

Indeed, refinement is definitely a word that springs to mind when dealing with the iPhone 7. It is clearly an iteration of an existing design, almost being an iPhone 6s-s type device. For example, the antenna bands that partially defined the look of the 6s are now almost invisible, granting the phone a cleaner and slicker aesthetic. However, overall the design remains similar. This is no iPhone 3Gs to iPhone 4 style jump.

And, if we’re being honest, that’s a good thing. If it isn’t broke then don’t try and fix it. Instead look to how you can make it better and – crucially – more appealing to an even wider range of people. Apple makes very good smartphones and by refining an already high-level and super-approachable device, as well as introducing some welcome new features, they’ve gone a long way to doing that with the iPhone 7.

3.5mm begone

One of the most notable changes with the iPhone 7 is the removal of the headphone jack, with headphones now connected to the device either by Bluetooth or via the phone’s Lightning port. Apple isn’t the first company to make this decision, with Motorola removing it on its Moto Z handset earlier in the year. However, it is arguably the first major player to do so. The reasoning behind the removal is its impediment to producing thinner devices, with the 3.5mm jack essentially now getting in the way of design. This is understandable and, if we’re being honest, a well-timed decision, as wireless headphones and wireless standards have now come of age.

To ease the transition to a jack-less device, Apple include a Lightning adapter for existing wired headphones with the iPhone 7. One issue with this is, however, is that it prevents you from charging the handset while you listen. A pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones are therefore not mandatory if you pick up an iPhone 7, but they’re certainly useful.

Apple, as usual, is one step ahead in this department and has designed what it calls the ‘W1 Chip’. This is a new chipset

that can sit in pairs of wireless headphones and, essentially, solves a lot of the existing problems with Bluetooth cans. With the W1 Chip headphones or earphones can now be totally independent (not even connected together), while pairing is instantaneous and the connection offered is ultrastable and requires little energy.

Apple’s also introduced its AirPods, wireless earphones that not only make use of the whizzy new W1 Chip but also cost a pretty penny (£159).

Proof in the pudding

The new iPhone is also IP67-rated, which means that it is resistant to both water and dust, now features stereo speakers and its Home button has also been redesigned too. The Home button is now solid state, force-sensitive and boasts a revamped taptic engine that can be accessed by third party apps for special effects. Each of the above is a small but welcome improvement.

A much bigger change is the iPhone 7’s new camera. The iPhone 6s had a 12MP, f/2.2 camera with phase detection autofocus but not optical image stabilisation, which was reserved for the 6s Plus. The iPhone 7 fixes this, introducing stabilisation, an improved f/1.8 aperture and better low-light performance. There’s a brand new lens, faster sensor and front-facing camera too, which is also now stabilised. And that’s not even mentioning the new dual-camera setup on the iPhone 7 Plus.

Would we have liked the dual-camera setup on the iPhone 7? Yes. Yes we would. However, the refinements Apple has made on the iPhone 7’s camera ensure that its easier than ever to take good quality photos.

In terms of raw hardware, things have got bigger, faster and better. The dual-core, 1.8GHz A9 processor with six-core PowerVR GT7600 graphics from the iPhone 6s is now out, replaced with the new Apple A10 Fusion. The A10 packs in a four-core processor with two high-performance cores and two high-efficiency cores, with the former delivering a 40 per cent performance boost over the A9 chip. The results are impressive, with the iPhone 7 incredibly sharp and responsive while in use.

Storage is also up in the iPhone 7, with 32, 128 and 256GB options now available. Unfortunately, the new glossy black

colour scheme is only available on the 128 and 256GB options though and, as we are now used to, these drive limits cannot be supplemented with a microSD card. Battery life has also been improved, with roughly two extra hours of usage time added per day.

Bright idea

The iPhone 7’s display is similar to the iPhone 6s’, with a 1,334 x 750 at 326ppi screen on offer. Once again it is an IPS LCD too, however, Apple has increased its brightness by 25 per cent and also given it a wider colour gamut. It looks good and is better than its predecessor, however it arguably still lags behind some of the high-end AMOLED Android displays on the market (think Samsung Galaxy S7).

All this hardware combines to power Apple’s new operating system for the iPhone 7, iOS 10, which comes preinstalled on the new phone. This new version of iOS delivers a bunch of new features, including the ability to delete pre-installed apps (hurrah!), an upgraded Siri, more useful lock screen, better photo and music organisation and an improved Maps app among others. Oh, and there’s expanded 3D Touch functionality too. Again, none of the improvements are groundbreaking, but they all come together nicely to subtly improve the iPhone experience.

Price-wise the new iPhone 7 starts at £599 for the 32GB version, which isn’t crazy considering its rivals. However, as soon as you start moving up storage space-wise – or if you just want the Jet Black colour scheme – things suddenly start to get a little eye-watering. The 128GB model retails for £ 699, while the 256GB model rings in at a princely £799. Once again then you will be paying top dollar to land the new iPhone, however the quality and the desirability of the product once more goes along way to justifying this.