Design
Let’s start with the obvious: Looking at it on my desk, next to a 6s, there is literally no discernible difference. Turn it over, and you’ll see some slight changes - the antenna bands are in different places and the camera is noticeably bigger. But apart from that, little’s new: It comes in the same 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen sizes, has the same button layout, and the same curves.
If you’re the type that upgrades their iPhone when there’s a big redesign – as there has been every two years since the first phone almost a decade ago – you’ll be disappointed.The only really significant change in how the iPhone looks is in two new colours – “jet black”, a glossy finish that has proven extremely popular to the point of selling out, and a more muted matt “black”. While my review unit is in the familiar silver, I’ve experienced both the new designs.
The black finish feels fairly similar to other colours, but the “jet black” undergoes a new finishing process to the phone’s aluminium body. This gives it a new feel that makes it feel more grippy and look more polished. It’s really nice, and Apple is clearly proud of it given how much it features in its marketing materials, but touch it a few times in the real world and you’ll find it covered with fingerprints. Apple also says the jet black is liable to scratching, and recommends using a case if you’re concerned about this. The camera
Unless you’re crazy about jet black, the most exciting thing about the iPhone 7 is almost certainly the camera. It’s also the biggest differentiator between the 7 and 7 Plus, the latter featuring a new dual camera design(more on that below).
First, the technicals: The iPhone 7 has a 12MP sensor(the same as last year), but with a wider aperture, a new lens, a new image processor and optical image stabilisation. What this means to you and me is that the lens lets 50 per cent more light in, allows better colours, and photos will be less blurry. In good conditions, you’re unlikely to notice too much of a difference between the photos on the iPhone 7 and the 6s. However, where the new camera really shines is in low light. Even photos taken as the sun was setting appeared vibrant and well-lit – a significant difference from recent iPhones. A new flash with four LEDs also makes photos taken with it much warmer.
The real game-changer, though, is on the 7 Plus and its two lenses. Lens one is the same as that on the iPhone 7, but lens two is telephoto – which has a longer focal length, magnifying the image. What this means it that the two cameras work together to produce optical zoom – something that has not been possible on an iPhone before.When you open the camera app on the 7 Plus, you can switch between 1x and 2x zoom, and can zoom in up to 10x digitally, using a new one handed wheel rather than the pinch to zoom users will be used to(other models allow only 5x zoom).
The results are really impressive: see this very unscientific comparison between the maximum(10x) zoom on the 7 Plus, compared to a cropped 5x zoom on the 7.The main problem with smartphone cameras to date has been that digital zoom is just no substitute for optical, and Apple has taken a big step forward here. For longer-range photos, it’s the best phone camera you can get and, for me, makes the 7 Plus a better phone than the 7.
Both devices have an upgraded 7MP front camera for selfies, up from 5MP in the last model. The headphone jack
By far the most controversial change on the iPhone 7, and one that will be argued about for months, is that there isn’t a headphone jack. The 3.5mm analogue port has been a fixture in consumer electronics for decades. Unlike chargers or other wires, your headphones will work in pretty much anything.
When the iPhone 7 was unveiled, Apple’s Phil Schiller said the headphone jack was outdated, and that removing it was about “courage”. Apple also has a host of solutions. The iPhone 7’s bundled headphones connect to the Lightning port, and the phone also comes with an adapter for your old headphones. Apple is also soon releasing its wireless AirPods, which I didn’t try for this review but have briefly sampled. They’re very clever, sound good and fall out of your ear less than you’d expect, but are expensive – at £159, they aren’t a solution that most people are going to invest in. Of course, you can also buy Bluetooth headphones, which have come a long way in recent years, and are now outselling wired ones in some places.
But make no mistake about it: Removing the headphone jack is annoying. Say you want to charge your phone and listen to music at the same time, as you might on a train journey or using a handsfree kit or auxiliary cable in the car. You have to buy a £35 adapter. If you’re using the analogue dongle and lose it, you’ll have to get a new one. If you switch to Lightning headphones or Bluetooth, they might not work with your other gadgets.