A speedy evolution of the iphone
The iphone 7 appears boring but it’s a serious update on a winning formula, writes Henry Cooke.
Apple’s iphone 7, which comes out on Friday in New Zealand, looks almost exactly like an iphone 6 or 6S.
It can’t really do anything that those older phones can’t. In fact, those older phones can do something the news ones can’t: connect to regular headphones without an adaptor.
Yet after almost a week with both the 7 and the 7 Plus I’d happily recommend them over the 6S for people who like iphones.
These are both outstanding devices that improve on and underline what many people love about other iphones - the ease of use, the simplicity, the quality of the apps, the excellent camera and they are worth the difference in price when compared to older models.
Look and feel
The iphone 7 is not identical to the 6, but they aren’t hard to confuse. You basically get a very thin and very rounded aluminium pebble, with a screen taking up most of one side.
Things do look a little different: the camera bump is softer, the plastic antenna bands are gone from the back (they are tiny and on the side now), and there are two new colour options: black and jet black.
The main change to the feel of the phone comes in the home button - which isn’t actually a button any more. It’s a solid state contraption that doesn’t actually move when you press it, instead giving a short vibration that feels like you’ve pressed it. That said, don’t be scared off in the store: you do get used to it.
Also, the iphone 7 isn’t waterproof, technically, but it
should survive a quick dip (the specification says it should survive 30 minutes in water up to 1m deep.)
The camera
I take photos on my phone like other people breathe. The new iphones haven’t suddenly made all my photos perfect. But they are a lot better - particularly on the iphone 7 Plus, where a new second camera allows you to zoom in on things with no loss of quality.
This optical 2x zoom (as opposed to digital zoom, where you are artificially attempting to enhance a photo) is a dream to use. You tap a small button and the view suddenly jumps to a telephoto view - the equivalent of a 56mm lens on an old 35mm camera if you’re a photography nerd. This makes for a much more tight composition, allowing you to control what is and isn’t in your photo to a much greater degree, eliminating extraneous detail or the head of the person in front of you. The camera on both phones is also notably improved in terms of sharpness (that new f1.8 lens helps) and low-light performance.
Performance
This thing goes. Apps and folders of apps appear to open immediately, while I was used to a teensy lag on my 6S. None of the apps I’ve tried have done that annoying autoclose thing iphones do instead of freezing.
Seriously: performance wise this feels like a more notable bump than any other iphone upgrade. Apple has said both phones are 40 per cent faster than the 6S Plus and twice as fast as the 6.
Battery
Apple says their new fusion core processor should deliver 12 hours of internet use for the regular 7 (two more than last time) and 13 for the 7 Plus (one more). This is a pretty good improvement but it is clearly not game changing. You’re still going to need to charge it every day, and you’re still going to get a bit worried if you want to go out after work and keep using your phone heavily.
A note on headphones
I understand why Apple opted to get rid of the headphone port, as I’m sure you’ve read about. But it’s pretty annoying, and the wireless headphones that are coming out in October are some of my least favourite products Apple has put out.
To recap: Apple still ship wired headphones in the box of the iphone, ones that look and sound like the old ones, but they plug into your lightning (charging) port instead. I have used these out and about and they are absolutely fine. The ‘‘Airpods’’, which are wireless, ship in October and will cost $269. At this point they are definitely not something I would recommend.
Not a boring phone
So should you buy one? If you’re sitting pretty on an iphone 5S or below, or thinking about switching over from Android, I would heartily recommend the 7 probably the 7 Plus, for that camera.
If you’re on a 6 or 6S and don’t find yourself actively frustrated with your phone’s speed or camera, you’re probably okay. If you do quite like using your phone as a camera, that second lens really is something of a gamechanger. And as ever - if you’re into Android, this phone probably won’t change your mind, although that performance is something to behold.
This is not as boring of an update as it may have looked last week. The speed and camera improvements are intense and exciting, even if the headphone thing is frustrating to many of us. This is, in my eyes, the best phone for most people, one that can gives you essentially superhuman powers of recollection and organisation that were impossible just a decade ago.
It’s just that we don’t find that interesting any more.