iPhone 7 – Review in progress
The iPhone 7 is out and it’s already gathering some infamy, whether that’s due to the missing headphone jack, the price hike (in the UK) or the lack of design evolution.
It’s got plenty going for it too, though. The iPhone 7 is the first water resistant iPhone, the first with a starting capacity of 32GB and the first non-Plus model with Optical Image Stabilisation on the rear camera. Good, good and better.
Popping screen and loud speakers
One thing that is immediately apparent on the iPhone 7 is that the screen is warmer. Whites aren’t quite as dazzling as on the 6S and I actually prefer the old screen when reading an ebook or websites that have a white background.
That all changes when I want to watch a movie or scroll through my photo album.
The iPhone 7’s screen is richer than ever before, without looking oversaturated. Apple claims the range of colours it uses are wider. It has the DCI-P3 gamut that 9.7-inch iPad Pro and iMac uses, and that’s a very good thing. It means more colours and that means tones can be more realistic.
It’s perfect for a Netflix binge. Skin tones still look natural, but more life-like than before, and dark scenes look good too. Colours are punchier without losing the refinement I’ve always liked about iPhone screens. It’s definitely an improvement, but still not on par with the best AMOLED screens out there to my eyes.
The 4.7-inch screen is plenty sharp too, even though the resolution hasn’t changed. Apple is resolutely sticking to its Retina guns, and that’s fine – if you don’t want to use the iPhone 7 with a VR headset that is. Plonk it into Google Cardboard or similar and the resolution becomes an issue. If you don’t care about that then it’s no problem at all.
Sound is one of the areas that Samsung hasn’t really cracked with its Galaxy S range. HTC does a much better job thanks to the stereo Boomsound speakers and the iPhone 7 emulates these to some degree. It’s not quite as successful, though.
Let’s start with the good. The iPhone 7 is loud – very loud. In fact it’s almost twice as loud as the iPhone 6S and that’s a good thing if you’ve forgotten your Bluetooth speaker at home. You can happily use the iPhone 7 to listen to a few tunes around the campfire without it being drowned out by the lightest breeze or a crackling fire.
There are two speakers now, one at the bottom and one pumping straight out of the earphone slot. This means you get a little stereo separation, but they’re still too close to make it that noticeable.
Apple has done a great job cramming solid speakers into the iPhone 7, but it’s not performed miracles. There’s still a distinct lack of low-end thrills to be had. If you like your bassy music on the go then you’ll want to invest in some decent headphones or a good-quality Bluetooth speaker.
At its highest volume sound gets a bit harsh and tizzy too. Dialogue in a movie has a whiny edge to it. Notching the volume down a few levels helps cure this.
I am being overly picky here, though. The iPhone 7’s speakers are some of the best on any phone. There’s a whole lot more depth and detail than you can get on its predecessors and the move away from dull, mono, sound is a welcome one.
Read on for day one of my review diary where I cover the design and cameras and come back soon for another update to my iPhone 7 review in progress.
DESIGN AND (LACK OF SOME) FEATURES
Let’s start with the headline-grabber, the lack of jack.
Rumours of the trusty 3.5mm headphone jack’s demise on the iPhone 7 have been circling for almost a year now and it turns out they were true. The latest iPhone no longer supports the standard we’ve been used to for the last 50 years. Maybe it’s time for it to put on the slippers and retire along with Scart, VGA and SCSI, maybe not.
I didn’t get caught up in the furore over its omission. I’ve been using wireless headphones for years, and while my best-sounding headphones are wired, I find I use them less and less – a sacrifice for convenience. So far I haven’t experienced any withdrawal symptoms.
The iPhone 7 comes with a Lightning to 3.5mm headphone adapter in the box so you can still use wired headphones with it, however this is exactly the sort of niknak I typically end up losing within a week. Time will tell. Of course using this adapter means you’re taking up the Lightning port. I rarely use wired headphones while charging my phones anyway, so it’s an issue that bothers me less than the lack of connections on, say, the Macbook does.
There’s also a pair of Earpods with a Lightning connector in the box. I’ve never been a fan of Apple’s bundled white earphones and these haven’t made me change my mind one bit. If you decide to get the iPhone 7 then do yourself a favour, invest in pair of good wireless headphones, there are dozens to choose from even before Apple’s own Airpods go on sale.
So with that out of the way it’s time to cover the second big sticking point – the design.
The iPhone 7 looks a lot like the iPhone 6S and 6 before it. If you go for one of the standard colours then it’s almost identical.
There have been a few nips and tucks, though. The antenna band now curves to the top of the phone rather than strapping its back and the camera’s lines are curvier.
The limitations of the design are all still present. The iPhone 7 is larger than it should be. The bezel is thicker than we see on Android competitors and that means less screen to body. The Samsung Galaxy S7 is almost the same size but comes with a bigger screen. A few years ago I never thought I’d say that Samsung would be out-designing Apple, but that’s exactly what’s happened.
Still the iPhone 7 is slim, classy and dead easy to use in one hand. The bigger iPhone 7 Plus is another story.
Rather than go for an all new design what Apple has done is launch the iPhone 7 in two new colours – Jet Black and one simply called Black. The latter replaces Space Grey, but it’s the shiny former that took all the limelight during launch – and with good reason.
The Jet Black iPhone 7 looks like no other phone. It’s not like the plastic iPhone 5C – this is a phone made out of metal. It’s smooth to touch without being slippery. Yes it attracts fingerprints, but who cares when it looks this good? If you want to stand out then Jet Black is the iPhone 7 of choice.
Now while the aesthetics may not have changed much, plenty of the design has. For a start the iPhone 7 is officially water and dust-resistant with an IP67 rating. That means it can withstand a little of the wet stuff. It’s meant as a precautionary feature rather than an excuse to play Candy Crush while synchronised swimming, though.
The Home button is another element that’s different. I thought the lack of a physical button would feel weird, but eight hours in and I’m already used to it. At first I swore it had some give, I was sure I could feel it moving down. It's only when I turned the phone off that I realised I'd been duped. That’s how good the new haptic engine is. The feedback it gives you tricks your brain into thinking the button actually moves down. This isn’t smoke and mirrors, it feels real. I thought I’d miss the old iconic iPhone Home button, but I don’t.
IPHONE 7 CAMERAS
The feature I’ve been most anticipating is the camera. Like many things Apple, the results of the photos taken by the iPhone 6S and its predecessors belied the specs. A whole lot of software trickery goes into the pics yet they remain looking natural. It’s something I’ve always appreciated, even though the likes of top-end Samsung and LG smartphones are better in some scenarios.
Now the iPhone 7 comes with a new six-optic lens, Optical Image Stabilisation, a wider f/1.8 aperture and bigger pixels. All this leads to improved low-light performance that I noticed off the bat while taking photos at dusk.
Colours are more vivid and accurate on the iPhone 7
These are the improvements I was hoping for and on first impressions they deliver, as does the new 7-megapixel front facing camera.
So far though, I find it doesn't quite live up to the exacting standards of the Galaxy S7.
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