USA TODAY International Edition
Apple’s faithful likely will be pleased
iPhone 7 doesn’t break any new ground, but camera upgrade helps make up for loss of headphone jack
Rarely have there been such modest expectations leading into an iPhone launch. All we’ve heard lately is how Apple has misplaced its mojo and how the entire smartphone industry has been languishing in an innovation glut.
Apple found that mojo. No, the company didn’t go gaga with a ton of new features on the $ 649 ( on up) iPhone 7 and $ 769 iPhone 7 Plus that Tim Cook unveiled at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Wednesday and that will hit stores Sept. 16.
What Apple has done is provide a lot of stuff sure to please the faithful. Start with the fact Apple, at long last, has made iPhones that are water- and dust- resistant. Yes, Samsung ( and others) got there first. But better late than never still translates into “better.”
We’ll all appreciate the longer battery life that Apple promises: If true, iPhone 7 gets two extra hours of juice compared to the iPhone 6S. Same goes for double the storage capacities ( 32GB is the new entry point), though Apple still doesn’t provide a memory card slot for expanding that capacity as some competitors do. The phones are likely to be snappier, what with a new A10 Fusion chip company executive Phil Schiller has likened to a “rocket ship.” The graphics have been bolstered. The home button is more versatile.
Most of the Apple love, though, went to the cameras on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the latter of which gets two rear cameras that will let you easily switch from a wide- angle shot to a telephoto. Both phones get a larger f/ 1.8 aperture that should improve low light photography. The 12- megapixel camera on the phones gain optical image stabilization, a wider color gamut and other features that have me excited to start shooting some pictures with the latest handsets.
Now let me get to the biggest bummer of the event. As had been rumored, Apple indeed removed the standard headphone jack from the iPhone 7 that has been on every iPhone to date and virtually every other modern cellphone out there. Apple has done this sort of thing before, acting, before others do, on getting rid of stuff we’ve seemingly been using forever. Remember, for example, when Apple removed optical drives from Mac computers? Few of us miss them now.
Still, the removal of the standard headphone jack is one of those things sure to annoy users.
Apple is supplying free new wired AirPods that connect to the phone’s Lightning connector, which, for Apple anyway, becomes the new standard for headphones. An adapter will be included at no charge that will let you plug in older headphones. Most importantly, if Apple is to be believed, they sound swell, too.
I didn’t listen long enough in a loud and crowded demo room to come to any meaningful conclusion. You charge them in their case ( which in turn connects to the Lightning port). Battery life for the wireless AirPods are 5 hours, which doesn’t strike me as great. Nor is the price at $ 159. If you’re listening without head- phones or AirPods, the phones now have stereo speakers that promise improved audio.
The new iPhones will run iOS 10, the next version of the mobile operating system that adds Siri improvements, fancy tricks to the Messages app and voicemail transcription, among other new features. Those of you not inclined to buy either new iPhone can upgrade your existing devices to iOS 10 starting Sept. 13.
Whenever Apple introduces a new iPhone it makes the identical claim: that this latest device ( or devices) is better than the one( s) that preceded it. That’s what we all have come to expect.
The biggest bummer of the event? As had been rumored, Apple indeed removed the standard headphone jack from the iPhone 7 that has been on every iPhone to date.