9 “New” Features on the iPhone 7 & 8 Features That Make the iPhone 8 What You Really Want

*Picture Credit to Apple

Have you been waiting for the past two or more years to upgrade your old, worn out phone to the iPhone 7 or the iPhone 7 Plus?

I mean, new iPhones coming out are one of the biggest events every fall!

Did you wait eagerly by the internet to watch Apple release the new and exciting features they included in this iPhone?

And after hearing about the iPhone 7, were you a little disappointed?

If so, you’re not alone. Millions of people think Apple could have done so much more with the iPhone 7 release.

If you live under a rock, don’t have access to the internet, or just have better things to do with your time and haven’t heard what’s the fuss about this new iPhone 7, read on. I’ll be sure to fill you in on everything that I know (and many of my opinions, as well). There’s 9 bullet points that are chalked full of information, so make sure to grab some snacks before you start reading.

For those of you who have heard about the iPhone 7 features, you can skip ahead. There you will find my list of 8 features that will make you want to wait for the iPhone 8.

I know, I know, “The iPhone 8 isn’t even out yet!” you say. Well, being someone who loves Apple products and someone who likes to believe in people, I’ll go ahead and tell you. No, I have no idea what Apple will change when they release the iPhone 8 next year. However, the list I’m about to give you are a collection of my (and many other internet people’s) hopes for what we know Apple can achieve if they put their mind to it for the next iPhone release date.

iPhone 7 & iPhone 7 Plus Release Information (Included are my lengthy, humble opinions)

For those of you who are in the need to know or don’t feel like watching 37+ minutes of a YouTube clip, here’s what is coming “new” to iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

1. Colors- Apple will be offering the iPhone 7’s in 2 new colors. Are you ready for your world to be rocked? These two new colors are…glossy jet black and matte black. *drops mic*

OK, maybe it’s not the most revolutionary colors in the world, but it’s “new” right?
However, you should know that the glossy jet black is only available to phones that are 128 GB or 256 GB. So, unless you have an extra 100 bucks to spend, then glossy jet black is not an option for you. The phones will come in the usual silver, gold, and rose gold as well.

2. Design- The design is almost identical to the iPhone 6S’s. Not much new in that area.

3. Home Button- They now have a solid state home button. If you don’t know what that means, no worries. All it means is you can’t click or tap the home button.  I have read it takes some getting used to. Then again, if you’ve been using an Android you will be accustomed to this feature, as many of their phones have had it for a while now.

Apple claims, it allows for new “feelings and experiences” when using your phone. New feelings? I guess so. New experiences? I’m not sure about that one. This isn’t a ride on a rollercoaster or a trip to Europe. To me, that seems like a more “humanizing” way to say that it gives haptic feedback. That is, specific buzzes and vibrations from the phone’s taptic engine.

For the average person, I don’t think this feature will blow many people away. It does take away the potential of the home button breaking or getting water inside it, though.

4. Stereo Speakers- This feature is new for Apple. They have designed the iPhone 7 to have stereo speakers at the top and at the bottom of the phone. Apple says the speakers have increased dynamic range and 2x the volume for better listening sound. This may be new for Apple’s phones, but not for phones like the HTC One M9.

5. Water and Dust Resistant- Also new for iPhones, but not new for Androids. The iPhone 7’s scored at IP67 in protection. Don’t understand that rating system? No problem! The new iPhone does have the highest rating for dust resistance, which is 6. So, it’s pretty safe to assume your iPhone is protected against things like lint, sand, etc. However, it is never guaranteed.

The water resistance score is 7. (The highest is 9.) While that is pretty good, there is definite room for improvement. Roughly, this means you can submerge your phone in 1 meter (around 3 feet) of fresh water for up to 30 minutes with no damage. Should you take it swimming with you or leave it exposed for that long? Probably not.

Apple did not mention if their warranty would cover water damage now. It’s a valid concern though. What if your phone drops in 1 foot of water for 5 minutes and stops working? Would they cover that?

6. Airpods- This might be long. If you don’t want to hear all the critiques I have about their newfound wireless dreams, then just know this. There is not a headphone jack on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Instead, they have gone to wireless listening devices. Or you can connect your headphones through the lightning port (This is the port where you plug your charger into the phone.)

The positive thing about this transition is they do provide, with each purchase of an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus, a lightning adaptor. (It sells for $9.00 and you can use it to plug in your old headphones.) They also provide a set of ear-pods with a lightning connector. (They sell for $29.00. They are just like old headphones, but have a lightning connector at the bottom.) So I guess gone are the days where you could listen to your music and charge your phone at the same time.

I suppose the move to wireless headphones is futuristic. But, it is also expensive. They have created wireless ear-pods that can connect to your devices called Apple Airpods. These bad boys sell for a whopping $159. Not exactly available to all the masses out there, huh?

This also adds to the list of items you have to remember to charge each night. Each Airpod can play up to 5 hours of music. (This could be annoying if you’re someone who likes to listen to a lot of music.) You can charge them in the little box it comes in, but you have to charge that box every 24 hours.

You can use both Airpods at the same time or you can use them one at a time. Maybe you’re someone like me, though, who headphones don’t fit my ears well to start with. AND they fall out quite often if I’m running or working out. Since these are not connected to anything there is no doubt I would lose or step on one of these son of a guns. I also heard a comment from a YouTuber who questioned the protection of these Airpods if someone steals one out of your ear. Would they be under some kind of warranty?

They do have some better options that will work with the new iPhones. These include: Beats Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones (You can get up to 40 hours of listening with these.), Powerbeats3 Wireless Earphones, and BeatsX Earphones. None of these options are “reasonably priced” though, as Apple mentioned. They cost $299.95, $199.95, and $149.95, respectively.

Yes, I think it’s awesome they have created their first W1 chip (wireless chip). But I also think they should make these products cheaper until they perfect the wireless listening devices. Or they should still give the option to use the old headphone jack. (Until they see how often people use/like the wireless aspect of the phone, that is.)

Alright ya’ll, I could say more, but we have to get to an entire other list! Let’s move on.

7. Camera- I think this is the feature Apple likes to focus on because it’s probably the most utilized feature that consumers use. So, it is what Apple spent the majority of their time talking about. But, I’ll shorten it up for you. They kept the 12-megapixel camera and added a f/1.8 aperture that lets in 50% more light. The camera has other cool features like a flicker sensor that reads flickering of artificial light and compensates for it. Or it now has optical image stabilization so you can still get clear photos even if your hands are shaking.

The iPhone 7 Plus is special and gets a second 56 mm telephoto lens for a pretty insane zoom option. There is a new front facing camera with 7 megapixels (the 6S has a 5-megapixel front-facing camera). It includes auto-image stabilization (but not optical image stabilization). (If you want to add even more cool features to your camera, you should check our blog post here about the Insta-360 Nano!)

So, yes, this camera is, without doubt, better than any camera an iPhone has had before and that’s cool. But, there are other phones out there with 16-megapixel cameras. There are phones that already have had 2 cameras on them. And there are phones that have optical image stabilization on both the front and the back cameras. So, while this camera phone may be the best one yet for Apple, there are other camera phones out there that are better or at least just as good.

This isn’t to say, however, it’s not a vast improvement for Apple. I was very excited to hear about the new features on the iPhone 7’s cameras and I think the camera aspect of the phone, alone, would make people want to buy an iPhone 7.

8. Performance- Apple says the iPhone 7 has the longest battery life of any iPhone so far. You can get 12 hours of LTE browsing; the iPhone 7 Plus adds up to 2 hours more. Yet, there are androids out there that can last 1-2 days without the need for charging them.

Apple has also added more storage. This iPhone comes in 32 GB, 128 GB, or 256 GB. Personally, I like that my phone is somewhere in between at 64 GB. Maybe this is just me but, I feel as if they didn’t offer 64 GB as the lowest option so that people will buy the more expensive (or as they see it, more bang for your buck) option instead. But hey, that’s just marketing strategies, right?

And this phone comes with the A10 fusion chip which is a 64 bit, quad-core processor. Apple says it runs 40% faster than the A9 and 2x as fast as the A8. I don’t think this means much to someone who isn’t a tech nerd.

9. Price & Availability- And finally, price and availability. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have been available for pre-order since September 9^th. They became available for purchase on September 16^th. So, you can go buy one today if you would like!

One of the biggest differences in this iPhone than the previous one is the price. The iPhone 7 sells at $649 for 32 GB, $749 for 128 GB, and $849 for 256 GB. The iPhone 7 Plus sells at $769 for 32 GB, $869 for 128 GB, and $969 for 256 GB.

$1,000 dollars? I didn’t realize we were putting a small mortgage down for this new phone. I guess whether you think it’s a bit extravagant of a price is up to you. Considering though, the price for the iPhone 6 was $199, $299, or $399 this seems a bit exorbitant to me.

*Phew* I told you guys there was quite a bit to cover, didn’t I? If you’ve made it this far, you’re all caught up and ready for part 2. Read on, soldiers.

8 Reasons why the iPhone 8 is What You Really Want

If you’ve made it this far, you might be thinking I hate Apple and their products. It’s quite the opposite actually. I’m an avid customer of theirs and prefer their products over others. They are user-friendly even to people who, like me, are not the most tech-savvy people in the world.

That said, I do think Apple dropped the bar a little bit on this new release by not adding anything that innovative. Most of what is “new” on the iPhone 7’s has already been on an Android phone.

This list you’re about to read (and some of what you’ve read already) should be read knowing two things. First, like I said, I’m not a tech person. The following list is just my opinion. They are things I think could make the iPhone better or more convenient. And convenient for people who are just basic consumers and are not “tech people”. Second, some of the things I’m going to list have already been applied to Android phones. So, they may not be actually be “innovative and new”. Not being great with technology, I think that someone much smarter than me would have to be the person to think of things that are actually considered “new” technology. Nonetheless, let’s get into it.

1. New Design- I think this is the easiest and most obvious one. The iPhone has looked pretty much the same the past couple of generations. How can they alter the design? Make it thinner? Make it skinnier? Make it foldable? Put legs on it? I’m not sure what the best route is when creating a whole new design but, with the iPhone 8, it’s time for a change.

2. Wireless Charging- This has been around on Androids for a bit now and I’d love to see this be an option in the iPhone 8. Who knows? Maybe I’m wrong and people will love the wireless/lightning port options for listening to music. If so, then this could allow you to listen to your music and charge your phone at the same time again!

It’d be great to see an option for fast charging too. You know, for those times when you forget to charge your phone and have only 15-30 minutes in the morning to get ready. But you still want to get a decent charge before you leave the house?

I think consumers would appreciate both of these functions in an iPhone. They would help make their lives easier and more convenient.

3. Waterproof- Is there a way to make a phone 100% waterproof? I don’t know, but if there is, I’d like to see Apple be the first to do it. Imagine! Not having to use a life proof case to take photos underwater! Being able to Snapchat in the shower without worry!

OK, so maybe you might not want to do that last one. But, there would be a lot less stress in having a completely waterproof phone than there is with one that is water “resistant”.

4. Shatterproof or Shatter Resistant- This kind of goes along with #3, but I lovethe look of my iPhone without a case. I’m also accident prone, so I have to have a case on my iPhone. I’d love to have the anxiety-free ability to drop my phone here or there and not worry about it shattering.

And if they do come out with a whole new design for the iPhone 8… Why cover that I-know-it-will-be beautiful design with a case just to protect it? #freetheiphones

5. Removable Storage- Again, this is a feature that is found on Androids. And I know, Apple has the cloud. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know how to work the cloud. I can’t figure out how to upload stuff to it or delete stuff off of it. Then I will get a message saying my cloud is full and I need to buy more storage (When, hello! I don’t remember putting anything on it to begin with?!)?

Maybe I’m old school, but I like storing my pictures and documents on something that is tangible. I think a lot of users want to see this as a feature on the iPhone 8.

6. Customization- Who doesn’t like to have pretty fonts, colors, and designs on their phones? It’d be great to see a way (or even an App) to add more personalization on the iPhones. So you can customize things like colors, fonts, backgrounds, Apps, or (and this might give away my age here) even ringtones!

And this adds to the design aspect, but maybe having the option to pick an actual color you want your iPhone (the body of it anyway) to be? I love the neutral tones for the phones myself, but I know loads of people who like brighter colors!

7. Siri- This goes along with customization and maybe this is just me, but I would appreciate having the option to change Siri’s voice. You know how you can change the voice of your GPS to a sexy British man? Yeah, give me the ability to change Siri’s voice to that instead.

8. Headphone Jack- And last but certainly not least, the headphone jack. Now, I like I said, I could be wildly wrong and the transition to wireless might end up being a huge success. Ormaybe in a few years, once the technology isn’t so new, the wireless listening devices won’t be so expensive, but I think a lot of customers are going to want this classic feature added back to their phones. (It’s like email, it’s timeless!)

And there you have it folks! 9 new features that the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus will have and 8 features that might make you want to wait till the iPhone 8 comes out to buy a new iPhone.

Would I buy this iPhone? You’d probably guess no. If I hadn’t just upgraded my current phone in the past couple of months and I had the extra cash laying around, I might buy it. I am very curious to test all these “new” features out for myself so I can give a more proper critique of them, but for now I’ll stick with my iPhone 6S.

So, when is the new iPhone 8 coming out? I assume it’ll be out in 2017, roughly around the same time as it did this year.

Can we be certain that Apple will drastically improve the iPhone 8? No, but I like to hope Apple will step back up and regain their place as the leader in technology next time around.

What can we know for certain? We know that with the next iPhone release date, Apple will have pretty high expectations coming their way.

What do you think about the iPhone 7’s? What do you like and what don’t you like? Do you agree with the critiques that are being said about this new phone? Let us know in the comments below!

Tags: Apple, critique, iPhone, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone release, new iPhone, phones, smart phones, technology

This entry was posted on September 20th, 2016 and is filed under General, Technology. Both comments and pings are currently closed.