Page 4 – Miscellaneous Observations and Final Thoughts
8. Miscellaneous. Because the new Home button is not a real button that can be held down for a hard reboot, the procedure has changed. Instead simultaneously hold down the Sleep/Wake and the volume down buttons.
Color. I bought the standard black. I think it’s the most beautiful iPhone Apple has ever made. Next to the Space Gray, which looks awfully bland, the standard black is rich, classy, and awesomely technical. Just beautiful. I wouldn’t underestimate how important it is for people to have an iPhone whose color influences their psyche and technical appetite. I think Apple knew this going in.
It certainly doesn’t hurt that those unsightly antenna lines are finally gone.
For those people who insist on a case but want to make sure there’s a circular aperture on the back for the Apple logo, I suspect they won’t like the change from a silver logo. The black logo is really hard to see, and that will disappoint.
The stereo speakers are a welcome addition. Now there’s a speaker on each end. And the volume is better. All I can say is, why did it take so long for this to happen? But then, stereo audio via the physical speakers on an iPhone isn’t as important as on a much larger iPad, especially the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Still, the notable absence has been an embarrassment over the years.
I noticed that in the box, the iPhone no longer is the top-most item. That’s likely so that when you open the box, the brand new iPhone 7 doesn’t slide right out on to the floor with a crash. It’s a small but helpful change from before and prevents things like this.
Finally, I noted that you can still, thankfully, still use the controls (volume up or down) on the Lightning earbuds as a camera shutter release. It’s a little known trick, but really helps when the iPhone’s on a tripod and you don’t want to touch it to trip the shutter.
Final Thoughts
In my estimation, the iPhone 7 ( or 7 Plus) has enough new features that it’s a worthy upgrade. Both black colors seem to be incredibly popular, and one has to wonder whether Apple was holding this new color pair back for just the right occasion. Wicked smart.
If you want a drop-dead gorgeous, water resistant iPhone with a better camera, more speed and better battery life, I’d say you won’t be disappointed. As for that Home button? Think Darwinian. Evolution. Survival of the fittest.
It’s telling that Macworld (or what’s left of it) basically recommended “sitting out” this upgrade cycle, simply because of the missing audio socket.
That being said… I’m kind of impressed by how bright the screen is, and the lightning earphones seem significantly louder (and possibly better?) than regular earphones plugged into the adapter, which is a bit mysterious since the adapter seems to feature essentially the same DAC chip.
I do that because I have found that it keeps the cord from corkscrewing. It is harder in the pocket and can contribute to wearing out the fabric, no worse than a key fob though. I also keep ear buds coiled and wrapped inside of a change purse which isn’t so hard on pocket fabric.