First impressions of the iPhone 7 Plus

Text and photo by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

September 16 is finally here, which means some people who preordered the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus should be receiving their shiny new devices today. I had the opportunity to live with the iPhones 7, both the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models for roughly a day and here are my initial impressions.

• The Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus looks and feels really impressive. That aluminum finish seems almost lacquered and for fans of that true-black wet look, this finish will really do it for you. At first glance, one might recall the iPhone 3G or 3GS which was plastic (or Zirconia) but also had a shiny black finish. Apple went through a lot of trouble to buff and polish the Jet Black variants of the iPhone 7 and invented new processes while doing so and the result is really something extaordinary. It looks slick, but it isn't slippery. It is 7000 series aluminum, but feels like lacqured wood or resin. I initially wanted to order the matte black iPhone 7 but the Jet Black version is just visually stunning. 

• For the Jet Black variant of the iPhone 7 (as well as the Ceramic White Apple Watch), we're seeing Apple showcase their mastery of materials and manufacturing and take look and feel to the next level. It's a paradox in a way, how can something so mass produced feel so bespoke?

• The display of the iPhone 7 is definitely brighter but it also has a wider colour gamut which recognizes more nuance and range in colour, you notice this when looking at the same photo on the iPhone 7 and on older iPhones. 

• The speakers are definitely louder and since they are stereo now, you can now enjoy music and podcasts and get more definition and a pseudo-surround sound effect. 

• A lot of people are knocking the new home button which isn't a button but triggers a haptic response that vibrates the whole phone. This is really interesting, because it almost feels as if there's no button but the haptic feedback does a lot in terms of conveying information for other apps. Vibrations in games vary in range and intensity, not unlike a DualShock video game controller but more subtle.  The Taptic engine for me is one of the more transformative features of the iPhone 7 and the one with a lot of potential for developers. 

• The camera/cameras are a definite improvement. They're even faster and now, with the larger aperture of f/1.8 lets in more light for better low light photography and greater detail. It's great that the iPhone 7 now has front and rear optical image stabilization for both video and stills.

• The 1x and 2x zoom of the iPhone 7 Plus really adds another dimension to phone phogography and effectively increases the range of photos and video that the iPhone can make. 10x optical zoom is just okay, the results will likely be grainy or blown out unless you find a way to stabilize the iPhone.

• The Lightning EarPods work well, the jury is still out on the included Lightning to headphone jack dongle. I connected a pair of Monster headphones and there was some weird static (these headphones came with a Nokia Windows Phone). 

• I tried the AirPods, the pairing is seamless, the sound is actually quite good and triggering Siri using touch via the accelerometer is quick. I only had them on for a few minutes before I had to give them back but they worked better than I expected and without the usual headache of pairing and setting up.

• The cases for the iPhone 6/6S will not fit the iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus, not only are the camera cutouts dramatically larger, they are in different places so they just won't work. The good news is that there are third party options if you find Apple's choice of leather or rubber cases too limiting.

I expect to spend more time with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus as my daily driver devices for the next few weeks and will put together a more comprehensive review once I've had ample time to compare it to its predecessor.