New iPhone model is the Apple of our eye
Latest model is not quite perfect – but it’s not far off
Apple iPhone 7 €779, apple.com/ie ★★★★★
Ithought the smartphone market would settle into its usual big-name battle in the run-up to Christmas, but things have gotten a little frantic sooner than we expected. Samsung’s woes with Note 7 Edge have gone from bad to worse, last week Google released two new phones that are very real contenders for top-end smartphone buyers, and Apple caused global gasps as it dropped the headphone socket on its new iPhone 7, creating a flurry of new Twitter hashtags.
Apple’s new iPhones come in two sizes, the 4.7-inch 7 and the 5.5-inch 7 Plus. Apple has bumped up the entry-level memory, with models of 32, 128 and 256GB. I like the bigger screen of the 7 Plus, but Apple hasn’t made the body of this big-screen phone easy enough to handle yet, so the smaller iPhone 7 remains the best size for me.
Unpacking the iPhone 7 reveals what looks much like an iPhone 6s, but Apple has made subtle changes to the camera housing and antenna bumps on the phone. The first big change you’ll notice is the Home button. It no longer moves and works using touch, and the built-in Taptic Engine provides feedback to give the impression of a click when you use the phone. It’s a little disconcerting at first, but it soon begins to feel natural.
Setting up an iPhone remains easy. Powering it up, and entering your iTunes store and email details, takes only minutes.
The new iPhones have Apple’s A10 Fusion chip inside and this phone is wonderfully fast. Opening apps, scrolling quickly through photos, and even gaming all happen smoothly and noticeably quicker than on an iPhone 6.
Apple made a major upgrade to cameras with last year’s update, and it has improved them again on this model. The larger iPhone 7 Plus has a sophisticated new dual-lens camera system, but even my 7 has noticeably better performance. Its video mode can shoot in 4K at 30 frames per second and the brilliant slo-mo feature works on HD video. The iPhone 7 has also improved battery life by up to a couple of hours a day.
Then there’s the scandalous omission of a headphone jack. There’s an adapter for your old 3.5mm headphones in the box, and case makers will probably create one with an adapter built in. I can live with the change.
Apple’s EarPods come with the phone and plug in to the Lightning port, but they are as bad as Apple headphones usually are. The optional, wireless AirPods are an expensive add-on, but don’t improve the audio much.
The iPhone 7 is not perfect, but its dozens of subtle and more noticeable hardware improvements make for something that’s greater than the sum of its parts. This may not be the iPhone I wanted, but for now, 7 could be the most impressive number on the street.