We’re not in 2009 anymore. Your phone doesn’t have a floppy drive, and it most certainly shouldn’t have a headphone jack. When Apple made the iPhone 6 and 6S, the world simply wasn’t ready for the future… But now it is apparently and we have been given an abundance of new features to persuade us to forget about the loss of the humble jack.
[easy-tweet tweet=”Your phone doesn’t have a floppy drive, and it most certainly shouldn’t have a headphone jack.” hashtags=”iPhone7, tech, Apple”]
Apple has officially announced the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models this week at their annual keynote event held on 7th September 2016. Featuring a design very similar to last year’s 6S and the year before that’s iPhone 6 the new entry boasts a sleek rounded aluminium body but of course, that’s not all.
The new phone may look very similar to last year’s model, but instead of the matte metal finish we’ve become used to, it has a glossy mirrored design. The new colour is called ‘Jet Black’ and is a much darker and richer black to previous years.
So, besides a different shade of black what else is new? Here’s a quick rundown of the top new features headed to iPhone 7:
- Water Resistance
- 12MP Camera (Dual Camera on the Plus model)
- New Home Button
- A10 Fusion Chip makes the handset 2x faster than its predecessor
- Stereo Sound Speakers
- iOS 10
What? You still can’t charge it in a microwave? Nor wirelessly apparently despite removing the headphone jack meaning that charging while watching Netflix in bed is a thing of the past unless you invest in Apple’s AirPods (their bluetooth in-ear headphones). That all sounds well and good (ignoring the price tag), but with a 5-hour battery life on Apple’s AirPods what happens when they also need charging and you’re midway through your 8th episode of Narcos that evening?
On the subject of AirPods, just looking at the wireless contraptions feels like enough to begin a panic attack about losing them. The future may well get rid of tangled wires but I’d rather spend 20 minutes fiddling with a cord than losing the pieces altogether.
[easy-tweet tweet=”What? You still can’t charge it in a microwave? Nor wirelessly apparently…” hashtags=”iPhone7, Apple, Tech,”]
Water resistance has been added to the handset so when you get that urge to throw your phone into the sea after an argument with bae you actually can – and then dive to the ocean bed and retrieve it without the worry of water damage (presumably).
Stereo speakers also make their first appearance with iPhone 7, a feature that is seemingly rendered a little pointless as most people’s ears are further away from each other than the two ends of the phone are. Stereo speakers previously featured on HTC models to much acclaim, however, the technology has not been as well received on the Apple device.
A new pressure sensitive home ‘button’ debuts on the device using technology from recent ‘force sensitive’ MacBook ‘Trackpads’ – again, perhaps not the major innovation many were hoping for with the release of the new model but it’s what the consumer is getting.
The iOS release that looks to coincide with the iPhone 7 offers to soften the blow of lack of innovation with iMessage getting an overhaul as are many of the other built in apps to bring them in line with opposition third-party apps. The smart iOS aims to be ahead of the user with predictions throughout the built-in apps from guessing where you are looking to go through to evaluating which pictures you want to view in Photos.
Finally, Shigeru Miyamoto was present at Apple’s keynote to announce that Super Mario will be coming to the iPhone. This marks the first time a Nintendo game will run on a platform that is not one of their own (Pokemon Go, of course being a licensed product of Game Freak).
[easy-tweet tweet=”Apple know they do not need to beat, or even match what the competition is doing” hashtags=”Tech, Apple, iPhone7″]
Apple know they do not need to beat, or even match what the competition is doing at this moment in time. Why? Easy, because owning an Apple product is a status symbol. In the end it’s all about taste, which OS you prefer, which design takes your fancy and maybe even which phone makes better calls (ignore that last one). No matter what, the iPhone will continue to succeed as most users succumb to trend.