I have a 7+ on order, hope to have it next week. I'm curious to see how I deal with the lack of headphone jack. I will probably pick up an extra lightning to 3.5mm adapter to start with. In my car I connect my phone to my stereo via a 3.5mm cable, so I'll need one there full time. I also have a couple wired headphones that I use most of the time, so I'll need my other adapter for those. After time I'll get an idea of how much I miss having the jack.
However, I pretty much embraced this change even if I don't know I'm ready yet because I'm an Apple fan, and I'm 100% committed to their ecosystem. Unless I want to 1) stop at the iPhone 6S+ and never upgrade my phone again or 2) switch to Android, then I have to make the switch now or sometime in the future. I'm sure as hell not switching to Android, and with 2 MacBooks, an iPad, 2 Apple TVs and an Apple watch, I don't think I'm leaving Apple anytime soon! So next week I'll see how it goes! I am looking forward to the upgraded camera system on the new phone for sure!
I tested the new 3D Touch, I found myself really bad! Having precendeza tested the new MacBook and its trackpad with "fake" clicks I expected somthing similar, not the same knowing that the Mac is a stable and firm product and does not absorb the vibrations like a hand, but I was expecting something higher by our Apple! How about ?
3D Touch described as a new iPhone 7 feature? Spinning drives "eliminated" by Apple? Not all of them, and why not? 300+ words focused solely on Android screen resolution in an in-depth iPhone review?
DED, you are talented, and your assessment of industry bias is often dead on, but you need an editor. 6 paragraphs attacking Android screen resolution increases in an iPhone review is akin to Android users trolling this site to justify their purchases. It comes off as insecurity.
And next year when Apple gets OLED screens from Samsung, he will say they are the best thing. I saw a review of either Galaxy S7 or Note 7 where the user can right a message on the screen (with their finger) and it will stay there on the lock screen with drawing much power. Thats a cool feature that I would love.
On the issue of increased resolution in a year or two when Apple finally ups he resolution to 1K and quadHD, they will then say its the best thing. I'll say finally. Im also waiting for the iPhone to get fast charging. Most premium Android phones will switch to USB Type C and will have that. (Yes Samsung blew a great opportunity with the Note by Rushing it out the door ).
Why do all ppl pretend to listen to music AND charge their devices now? It is just the only little "flaw" ppl can find to bash the removal of the headphone jack. You attach the adapter to your headphones and forget about it. But yes of course you have 15 different headphones for 15 different use cases and thats why it's soooo horrible to use an adapter. Sure. /s
I am sure not everyone charges and listens to music. But some do. My 8 year old son has a iphone 6s and sits on the sofa and watches Youtube videos (DanDDM) with headphones. He uses headphones so he doesn't disturb the rest of the family. When his battery gets low he plugs it into an external battery. So there are some real world use cases of using the headphone jack and charging. I know the easy solution is to just by bluetooth heads for him. But we already have a ton of wired headphones and would need to buy adapters or BT headphones. It is just an inconvenience right now. But eventually everyone will move to BT stuff anyway.
I've got my jet black 256 plus. Love the finish. By far the best looking color option. Went straight into a clear case, which I always use anyway. My sister has the matte black in a clear case. Mine still shows a deeper black through the case, which I prefer.
Yes, I definitely miss the headphone jack. I am getting tired of people saying nobody charges and listens at the same time. Myself, and many of my friends do. I don't have Bluetooth in my car so I used both ports everyday during my commute. By the end of my workday, my phone is dying and I charge it while listening to music on the way home. I also use a battery pack and headphones while playing Pokemon as it devours battery, as do many other Pogo and Ingress players. Lastly, I keep it connected to the charger and aux port in my car when using GPS for directions. Now I can't do any of that without a $40 bulky adapter from Belkin. Also, while wireless is the future, the tech just isn't there yet. An awesome set of Bluetooth headphones still does not compare to an awesome set of wired ones. Battery life on Bluetooth headphones also leaves a lot to be desired at the moment. Furthermore, if the headphone port is being taken, that space should've been filled with battery instead of the taptic engine.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a self-proclaimed Apple fanboy and this is still a great phone, but dropping that jack is a bummer. I understand that compromises were made, but there should be no argument that removing the headphone port is an improvement or an act of courage. Apple removed it to add other stuff and charge licensing fees for the tech, plain and simple. There could have been compromises elsewhere to keep the port, add the taptic engine, kill the camera bump, and increase the battery size like idk....maybe making the phone a slightly thicker??? Who at this point would mind an increase in thickness as a compromise for better battery life and the headphone port? What's even the point of having such a thin phone when you have a camera that sticks out of it anyway?
(This whole headphone jack brouhaha is a frigging non-issue though. Everybody sleeps one or two hours, totally possible to charge the phone without listening to music at the same time.)
I'm going to buy a 6S (having passed on it last year) instead of a 7 because of the lack of a jack. I often struggle for battery life especially when travelling - there's no way I want to choose between music and charging when I'm on the move.
While there are battery, processor and camera improvements in the 7, none of them are enough to pursuade me to use bluetooth or dongles for music. The fact the new lightning headphones are having problems, the home key might not work with my touchscreen gloves in winter and the reports of weird buzzing means the only disappointment I have is that I can't get the 6S in black.
You are only delaying the inevitable.
The analog headphone jack is going away. PERIOD. Deal with it.
Sure you can buy the 6s this year but eventually you will need to switch over.
You are almost certainly correct - I'm hoping in 2 years time bluetooth headphones have improved, the lightning port is dead, digitally USB-C connected headphones are mainstream, battery life has improved (or apple added a second port) or at the least there are other improvements that are enough to make the inconvenience for me worthwhile.
"What I wanted to see more in this Review was an opinion on black vs jet black."
Though the Jet Black looks beautiful, we all know it won't stay that way, accumulating fine scratches along the way. If you care about resale like I do because I get a new phone every year, then get the matte black like I did....I always use a Apple silicone case and sell my phones as "Flawless Condition" to get the highest value.
No headphone jack means you can't charge using wired headphone
Are you freakin kidding me? Just go buy a $40 adapter and that problem is solved. A problem 99% of the people don't have.
What next? Negative points for the iPhone not having an SD slot or removable battery? Apple has proven time and time again that these old technologies only hinder progress ( CD drive, floppy drive, SD cards, removable battery, physical keyboards for smartphones).
The iPhone 7 deserves a 5 out of 5. It is by far the absolute best smartphone you can buy on the planet and its not even close. What the point of having a 5 out of 5 scale when the absolute best phone on the planet can't get a 5? What gets a 5? A phone that can time travel and cure cancer?
While I agree that not everyone will be affected with the loss of the ability to charge the phone and listen to headphones at the same time (due to the removal of the headphone jack) I feel that it is something that should be listed as a con because it is something many people will have to get used to.
I keep seeing people state that "99% of the people who use iPhones don't charge and listen to headphones at the same time."
I have to think that this is a grossly inaccurate percentage.
I for one am happy that he headphone jack is removed and felt it should have been removed years ago. Yet, I also have a Bluetooth car, and even though, I often times use or prefer to use the Air Pods in car while driving and charging my phone.
There's and intimacy and seclusion with your conversations and media consumption (especially on long drives) that I often times prefer over Bluetooth.
People also hear you better with a headset vs a car Bluetooth system.
Not to mention, night time viewing while in your bed near a loved one can be something we all have done at some point.
Also, What about those who have old cars or no Bluetooth systems? I have plenty of friends who are irritated by this and it is more than 1% of the people I know. Of course that doesn't mean I know the worlds population.
I feel It's not a deal breaker and people will learn to get along without it, but within the course of this review I don't feel it was wrong for the reviewer to mention this.
I plan to purchase the air Pods and my only gripe with those are the color and q-tip look to them.
Again, I am looking forward to a future with out the legacy 3.5 mm jack, but it is a issue for quite a lot of people.
I also find it the number 1 reason I am identified as an "Apple Fan Boy" when I defend the removal of it. Lol
It's true we need to be dragged kicking and screaming into the future. People hate change until it's proven to be better for them, and even then they hate to be proven wrong.
What I wanted to see more in this Review was an opinion on black vs jet black.
I own the jet black model and have both a Speck Presidio clear case and a RhinoShield black bumper. Both protect the phone but the bumper also allows the phone's intrinsic beauty to be revealed.
Wonderful review but this particular "Pro", "Great battery life even when using LTE 4G" defies reality. Battery life is better in the 7 but it's not great. Save that thought until a future iPhone can last 24 hours on a single charge.
No headphone jack means you can't charge using wired headphone
Are you freakin kidding me? Just go buy a $40 adapter and that problem is solved. A problem 99% of the people don't have.
What next? Negative points for the iPhone not having an SD slot or removable battery? Apple has proven time and time again that these old technologies only hinder progress ( CD drive, floppy drive, SD cards, removable battery, physical keyboards for smartphones).
The iPhone 7 deserves a 5 out of 5. It is by far the absolute best smartphone you can buy on the planet and its not even close. What the point of having a 5 out of 5 scale when the absolute best phone on the planet can't get a 5? What gets a 5? A phone that can time travel and cure cancer?
While I agree that not everyone will be affected with the loss of the ability to charge the phone and listen to headphones at the same time (due to the removal of the headphone jack) I feel that it is something that should be listed as a con because it is something many people will have to get used to.
I keep seeing people state that "99% of the people who use iPhones don't charge and listen to headphones at the same time."
I have to think that this is a grossly inaccurate percentage.
I for one am happy that he headphone jack is removed and felt it should have been removed years ago. Yet, I also have a Bluetooth car, and even though, I often times use or prefer to use the Air Pods in car while driving and charging my phone.
There's and intimacy and seclusion with your conversations and media consumption (especially on long drives) that I often times prefer over Bluetooth.
People also hear you better with a headset vs a car Bluetooth system.
Not to mention, night time viewing while in your bed near a loved one can be something we all have done at some point.
Also, What about those who have old cars or no Bluetooth systems? I have plenty of friends who are irritated by this and it is more than 1% of the people I know. Of course that doesn't mean I know the worlds population.
I feel It's not a deal breaker and people will learn to get along without it, but within the course of this review I don't feel it was wrong for the reviewer to mention this.
I plan to purchase the air Pods and my only gripe with those are the color and q-tip look to them.
Again, I am looking forward to a future with out the legacy 3.5 mm jack, but it is a issue for quite a lot of people.
I also find it the number 1 reason I am identified as an "Apple Fan Boy" when I defend the removal of it. Lol
It's true we need to be dragged kicking and screaming into the future. People hate change until it's proven to be better for them, and even then they hate to be proven wrong.
What I wanted to see more in this Review was an opinion on black vs jet black.
Using headphones "air pods" while driving is illegal in most states and countries.
Not really, some States have that law but if you use headset on both ears, one ear is okay. For those residing in these states, take one off while you're driving..
(This whole headphone jack brouhaha is a frigging non-issue though. Everybody sleeps one or two hours, totally possible to charge the phone without listening to music at the same time.)
I'm going to buy a 6S (having passed on it last year) instead of a 7 because of the lack of a jack. I often struggle for battery life especially when travelling - there's no way I want to choose between music and charging when I'm on the move.
While there are battery, processor and camera improvements in the 7, none of them are enough to pursuade me to use bluetooth or dongles for music. The fact the new lightning headphones are having problems, the home key might not work with my touchscreen gloves in winter and the reports of weird buzzing means the only disappointment I have is that I can't get the 6S in black.
You are only delaying the inevitable.
The analog headphone jack is going away. PERIOD. Deal with it.
Sure you can buy the 6s this year but eventually you will need to switch over.
He will when Samsung release the Galaxy S8 without a 3.5mm but USB-C or even proprietary port. Believe me, Samsung can get away the critic for getting rid the traditional port, not Apple. Why? Because many people hate Apple for it being so successful...just like everyone will hate the Warriors next season except their fans.
So, just to get things straight, Apple remove the standard headphone socket to make extra space in the phone, supposedly for a bigger battery, and then remove the Home button mechanism and bung in a Taptic engine unit. Can we not just have a headphone socket and a 'normal' Home button?
I have two primary concerns with the removal of the headphone jack. 1. Current bluetooth standards are woefully inadequate to transmit high quality audio. If you listen to only top 40 with heavily compressed files, you are unlikely to notice. For those of us using lossless or high bit rate mp3s, the drop in quality is substantial. Also, I like my wired headphones because i would prefer not to charge a second device. 2. While the lightning port adapter sort of solves this problem it is one more thing to haul. Not to mention that I view the lightning port as an inferior connector. Why? Because over the last few years I have been tracking the failure rate of my cables. USB mini - 1 failure in 3 years Mini jack on high quality wired headphone - 1 failure in 5 years Lightning cable - one failure every 6 months or more.
This is clearly just a cash grab by Apple. Its a consumer hostile move which forces people to adapt to their technology and for accessory makers to pay licensing fees to work with their products and is probably the thing which will push me to android for my next phone.
The iphone 6 (6s, 6 plus, 6s plus) has a really good camera performance. But there is a Chinese mobile that isn't well known named "vkworld" make a camera comparison video for its T1 Plus and iphone 6s, it prove that the camera of T1 Plus is not bad.
What about viewing photos taken on iPhone 7 on the 4th gen AppleTV connected to a 2016 TV which has HDR, such as an LG OLED TV? Will we be able to view the wide color or is a hardware or software upgrade needed? Wondering if this works with the HDR10 TV standard?
Comments
However, I pretty much embraced this change even if I don't know I'm ready yet because I'm an Apple fan, and I'm 100% committed to their ecosystem. Unless I want to 1) stop at the iPhone 6S+ and never upgrade my phone again or 2) switch to Android, then I have to make the switch now or sometime in the future. I'm sure as hell not switching to Android, and with 2 MacBooks, an iPad, 2 Apple TVs and an Apple watch, I don't think I'm leaving Apple anytime soon! So next week I'll see how it goes! I am looking forward to the upgraded camera system on the new phone for sure!
I saw a review of either Galaxy S7 or Note 7 where the user can right a message on the screen (with their finger) and it will stay there on the lock screen
with drawing much power. Thats a cool feature that I would love.
On the issue of increased resolution in a year or two when Apple finally ups he resolution to 1K and quadHD, they will then say its the best thing.
I'll say finally. Im also waiting for the iPhone to get fast charging. Most premium Android phones will switch to USB Type C and will have that.
(Yes Samsung blew a great opportunity with the Note by Rushing it out the door ).
But eventually everyone will move to BT stuff anyway.
Yes, I definitely miss the headphone jack. I am getting tired of people saying nobody charges and listens at the same time. Myself, and many of my friends do. I don't have Bluetooth in my car so I used both ports everyday during my commute. By the end of my workday, my phone is dying and I charge it while listening to music on the way home. I also use a battery pack and headphones while playing Pokemon as it devours battery, as do many other Pogo and Ingress players. Lastly, I keep it connected to the charger and aux port in my car when using GPS for directions. Now I can't do any of that without a $40 bulky adapter from Belkin. Also, while wireless is the future, the tech just isn't there yet. An awesome set of Bluetooth headphones still does not compare to an awesome set of wired ones. Battery life on Bluetooth headphones also leaves a lot to be desired at the moment. Furthermore, if the headphone port is being taken, that space should've been filled with battery instead of the taptic engine.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a self-proclaimed Apple fanboy and this is still a great phone, but dropping that jack is a bummer. I understand that compromises were made, but there should be no argument that removing the headphone port is an improvement or an act of courage. Apple removed it to add other stuff and charge licensing fees for the tech, plain and simple. There could have been compromises elsewhere to keep the port, add the taptic engine, kill the camera bump, and increase the battery size like idk....maybe making the phone a slightly thicker??? Who at this point would mind an increase in thickness as a compromise for better battery life and the headphone port? What's even the point of having such a thin phone when you have a camera that sticks out of it anyway?
Just my 2 cents...
He will when Samsung release the Galaxy S8 without a 3.5mm but USB-C or even proprietary port. Believe me, Samsung can get away the critic for getting rid the traditional port, not Apple. Why? Because many people hate Apple for it being so successful...just like everyone will hate the Warriors next season except their fans.
1. Current bluetooth standards are woefully inadequate to transmit high quality audio. If you listen to only top 40 with heavily compressed files, you are unlikely to notice. For those of us using lossless or high bit rate mp3s, the drop in quality is substantial. Also, I like my wired headphones because i would prefer not to charge a second device.
2. While the lightning port adapter sort of solves this problem it is one more thing to haul. Not to mention that I view the lightning port as an inferior connector. Why? Because over the last few years I have been tracking the failure rate of my cables.
USB mini - 1 failure in 3 years
Mini jack on high quality wired headphone - 1 failure in 5 years
Lightning cable - one failure every 6 months or more.
This is clearly just a cash grab by Apple. Its a consumer hostile move which forces people to adapt to their technology and for accessory makers to pay licensing fees to work with their products and is probably the thing which will push me to android for my next phone.