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iPhone 7

Started by mobias, September 07, 2016, 10:24:46 PM

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mobias

Is anyone getting one? I'm totally underwhelmed by it. The better camera doesn't interest me in the slightest and I can't believe the annoying adapter you'll need for plugging in decent headphones won't be lossy. Those wireless earbuds will get lost within the first week of owning them and they won't do the battery life much good either.  The fact that its now waterproof incase you drop it in the toilet seems to be its chief selling point.

Smartphones really have plateaued in terms of functionality. Battery time is thing that most needs development.

Céadóg

The mental gymnastics Apple fanboys are performing to defend this new release are equally hilarious and depressing.

The jackless headphones are easily the least user-friendly development in recent phone history. $160 for a replacement set too. Fuck off.

MojoJojo

It's a fucking phone. The iPhone with 3G made a difference, android took about 5 years to catch up, but now it really is a case of comparing single digit mpg. Apple have got the press onside, and they've managed to keep it worthwhile for them, but unless they can do something soon the press are bound to mention the fact flagship phones haven't introduced anything worthwhile paying for 2 or 3 years now.

shiftwork2

Even two years ago people were just about talking about the Apple event.  Today, not a sausage.  There's simply nothing going on now.  If your phone does 4G then you can keep it for ten years.

Alberon

So unless you have wireless ones you can't now charge and use headphones at the same time. Apple can take their lightning connector headphones and shove them right up their arse. The wireless ones too.

As mentioned above smart phones have reached a plateau. 5G, if there ever is such a thing, is years off. They've also started to take a real beating in the press recently over their watch as journalists start to cotton on to the fact that they are absolutely fucking pointless.

As to them now being waterproof. A couple of years back I dropped an iPhone 4S in the toilet. I switched it off, stuck it in a box of desiccant for a few hours and the damn thing started working perfectly again.

Somewhere, deep in the bowels of Apple HQ, a satanic ritual is being desperately conducted to raise Steve Jobs from the dead.

Vodka Margarine

I only ever use my three year old iphone (a 4s) for the following - text, call, internet, Spotify app, weather app, camera (very occasionally). That's all I'm ever going to need. As a music lover, the ability to use Spotify and other audio features forms the basis of my owning a smartphone in the first place. The very fact they're now fucking with the simple pleasure of listening to music on cheap and widely available headphones means that this will probably be the last iphone I ever own (unless I can get hold of a cheap-ish 6 which will presumably still have the universal jack).

Twed

First new feature mentioned in the video is "comes in two new colors: black and another shade of black".

Still Not George

Are they still breathlessly introducing 4-year-old Android features as "groundbreaking Apple firsts"?

I will never get over their introduction of their version of Swype as long as I live.

Blumf

For all you Apple fanboys, what would you make of an "iPhone 7 Pro", a chunkier version of the 7 which holds a bigger (easily replaceable?) battery and a sodding headphone jack? Maybe a USB port and SD card slot. Push it in a computer replacement direction. Would that tempt you?

I get the feeling that's what most people would like, but the marketing dept. is too obsessed with tiny/shiny to see it.

Cloud

No thanks; I'm a recovering fanboy still shaking off the Reality Distortion Field.

Seriously I'm still interested in what they're up to, many years as a fan does that and I think they're capable of good things, but... right now they're just not doing them. 

The iPhone 6 was "hey look guys we've finally caught up with screen sizes 2 years later!" and I thought I'd try again.  Didn't keep it for all that long before switching back to Android (but a Nexus this time, because fuck waiting for Samsung and co to release updates).  The 6S was exactly the same thing but with a less laughable amount of RAM and a weird 3D touch thing (what's wrong with touch and hold?)

The 7?  Hey we've added a "2 low energy and 2 high performance cores" CPU, you know like Snapdragon have had for years, and we've removed the headphone jack for the following reasons: Courage, Vision (these were genuinely two reasons they gave in the keynote), and we just can't seem to fit it in any more (the third, with my spin on it).  Nothing at all to do with this lightning connector we charge a license fee for, no siree...

I used to accept it, because they pushed technology forward.  I was buying into being at the forefront, and saying "eh ok, I guess I can accept carrying an adapter".  But now they're just not doing anything new or interesting, they're saying "here are all the compromises as usual, but here's almost nothing to entice you to make them".  Nuts to that.

Twed

Quote from: Blumf on September 08, 2016, 01:09:21 AM
For all you Apple fanboys, what would you make of an "iPhone 7 Pro", a chunkier version of the 7 which holds a bigger (easily replaceable?) battery and a sodding headphone jack? Maybe a USB port and SD card slot. Push it in a computer replacement direction. Would that tempt you?
You would be fired from Apple within a week. It's all limited and proprietary for a reason, and that reason isn't form-factor. It's lock-in and giving an artificial upgrade path.

hewantstolurkatad

Quote from: Alberon on September 07, 2016, 10:52:40 PM
So unless you have wireless ones you can't now charge and use headphones at the same time. Apple can take their lightning connector headphones and shove them right up their arse. The wireless ones too.

The adaptor I saw still allows you to charge the phone while having headphones plugged in.


biggytitbo

I agree how absurdly unimpressive and minor their 'innovations' have become. Doesn't stop the crowd whooping like simpletons thouh.


Not sure he 'ohh you cat charge and use headphones at the same time' is a very valid critism though. Is that really much of a use case? I can't think of a single occasion I've ever done that.

Replies From View

I use a five year old 4S at present, so this will probably be a step up.


Quote from: MojoJojo on September 07, 2016, 10:35:52 PM
unless they can do something soon the press are bound to mention the fact flagship phones haven't introduced anything worthwhile paying for 2 or 3 years now.

The phones are specifically designed to slow down and becoming annoying after that span of time, so people will upgrade regardless of whether it features wing mirrors and a bog roll holder.

Replies From View

The great thing of course is that we can all look forward to more wankers playing videos and music on public transport through their speakers instead of headphones.

Apple for the Community.

biggytitbo

"This is the best bog-roll holder Apple have ever made"


Why do they always say that? You wouldn't expect them to be making stuff thats worse than they mad before, so I'm not sure why this is such a constant mantra.

Eight Taiwanese Teenagers

My first proper smartphone was an iPhone. I liked it but was seduced by the more pliable nature of the android system. But every android phone I got ended up breaking in some way. After several years I last year moved back to iPhone, buying an iPhone 6 with a lot of storage. My assumption was that it could last me several years, maybe as many as 5 years. I don't regret it yet.

The slowdown and planned obsolescence that people seem to be alluding to is a myth as far as I can tell. Until relatively recently I had my ancient iPhone and an iPad, both of which worked fine but ended up meeting a watery end. Also I use a Mac which is 10 years old.

My wife had a problem with her iPhone, we took it into an Apple Store and they swapped it for a brand new phone (same model) on the spot.

I'm not a fanboy - not trying to convince anyone else. Just explaining my decision to go back to iPhone after years using android.

Eight Taiwanese Teenagers

It seems I forgot what I came here to say, which is that the new iPhone doesn't seem to have anything new and vital and as people have said, it's hard to see what new and vital updates there could be before the advent of 5G.

Hence I am comfortable I made the right decision going for a long term iPhone 6.

Cloud

Quote from: biggytitbo on September 08, 2016, 07:15:41 AM
I agree how absurdly unimpressive and minor their 'innovations' have become. Doesn't stop the crowd whooping like simpletons thouh.


Not sure he 'ohh you cat charge and use headphones at the same time' is a very valid critism though. Is that really much of a use case? I can't think of a single occasion I've ever done that.

I've seen a lot of the fanboy types trying to rationalise that it's a good change.  The more batshit fans do seem to do a lot of gymnastics that way.

Charging and using headphones is something I do occasionally (on my Android phone).  Games like Ingress and Pokemon Go, while listening to music, really require a portable battery pack.
Having said that, I strongly suspect iPhones will see the likes of Mophie and Anker making battery cases that include audio pass-through with both connectors and solve the problem.  So maybe it won't be so much of an issue.


Quote from: biggytitbo on September 08, 2016, 07:42:51 AM
"This is the best bog-roll holder Apple have ever made"


Why do they always say that? You wouldn't expect them to be making stuff thats worse than they mad before, so I'm not sure why this is such a constant mantra.

Haha I tweeted the same thing.  "Introducing our second best iPhone.  Because last year's was the best we've ever made."

I love phrases like that.  Another completely related one is one of the quiz shows, I think it's Eggheads, sometimes the host says an open ended "so, are you up for taking on the quiz goliaths?"
I'd love to see:
"Eh.... nah".  *credits roll*


Quote from: Eight Taiwanese Teenagers on September 08, 2016, 08:47:41 AMThe slowdown and planned obsolescence that people seem to be alluding to is a myth as far as I can tell. Until relatively recently I had my ancient iPhone and an iPad, both of which worked fine but ended up meeting a watery end. Also I use a Mac which is 10 years old.

Yes and no.

They do support their products with updates far more reliably than most manufacturers.  With the exception of Google Nexus, Android is actually terrible for lack of updates (why I refuse to use Samsung et al).  But on about the third or fourth year, they do kind of 'kill' the device by updating it one time too many and making it so slow you can't stand it - they did it with my original iPad and with my iPhone 4.
I like to upgrade every 2 years, which is where most contracts are too, so don't really notice until I dust off the iPhone 4 I kept to one side, update it and go "wow".

On planned failure, I wish they'd explain why they chose not to underfill the touch IC on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.  It reflects badly on them, as it makes it look suspiciously like planned failure - repair people have talked about this and how after a couple of years of banging against your leg, being placed just that little bit too hard on a table etc, many will see cases where the solder balls fail and touch stops working.  The other ICs have it, this one does not, and no one knows why.

The iPhone 6 is quite a good phone though assuming touch still works, I used to have one.  I've come to prefer Android again though - there were lots of little things I couldn't do in iOS since they don't like you fiddling with it (which can be a good thing)

You lot get really into this shit don't you?

You must have more money than sense. :)

Ignatius_S

Prices for other products are going up (taken from a poster at MacRumors as I'm lazy):

Apple TV 4 - by £10
Trackpad 2 - by £10
Pencil - by £20
All iPhone cases - by £10
iPod Touches - At least £20
Base Watch straps - £10
iPad Pro 32GB 12.9 - by £50
iPad Silicone 'Case' - by £14
IPad Pro Keyboard - by £20
iPod Nano - by £30

Quote from: mobias on September 07, 2016, 10:24:46 PM
Is anyone getting one? I'm totally underwhelmed by it. The better camera doesn't interest me in the slightest and I can't believe the annoying adapter you'll need for plugging in decent headphones won't be lossy. Those wireless earbuds will get lost within the first week of owning them and they won't do the battery life much good either.  The fact that its now waterproof incase you drop it in the toilet seems to be its chief selling point.

Smartphones really have plateaued in terms of functionality. Battery time is thing that most needs development.

Possibly – sticking my neck out there, I know.

Although I don't have a burning need to get a new phone (am very happy with the 6), I'm intrigued by the camera on the 7 Plus and had been thinking that a larger screen would suit me better. With the latter, in particular, Scrivener has recently been ported to iOS, which is a boon for me and a bigger screen would make it more so.

Although I don't usually upgrade early, I could at the end of the year - I prefer to wait a little after launch so that would be fine timing. Two very dear and very old friends manage phone shops in different parts of the county and the discounts they can get me are always more generous after launch. Also, it never hurts to get feedback about new products (and again, my friends are very good for this – e.g. the return rates for various makes and models of phones; what customers have been saying).

Usually, it doesn't cost much for me to upgrade and for the last two non-monthly rolling contracts, the overall cost came down. However, as I say, I don't have a burning need to desire to upgrade and although I will be switching to a new contract, it might be sim-only.

Apple has put up prices, partly because of the exchange rate, so it will be interesting to see what happens there. My gut feeling is that the network subsidy will continue to cushion the upfront price but we'll see. In the past, I have bought a phone outright and that worked out nicely, but more recently, it's worked out cheaper to do it via a discounted contract and expect that to be the case more so now.

Quote from: Blumf on September 08, 2016, 01:09:21 AM
For all you Apple fanboys, what would you make of an "iPhone 7 Pro", a chunkier version of the 7 which holds a bigger (easily replaceable?) battery and a sodding headphone jack? Maybe a USB port and SD card slot. Push it in a computer replacement direction. Would that tempt you?

I get the feeling that's what most people would like, but the marketing dept. is too obsessed with tiny/shiny to see it.

Maybe the question is more apt for people that aren't liable to buy Apple. However, Apple isn't going to do those things and with things batteries, other manufacturers have moved to non-replaceable ones, and can't seeing it changing.

- Maybe a USB port
In addition to the Lightning port? Useful for charging batteries if you don't have a Lightning cable but think that's it. Attaching peripherals? Never had the occasion when this cropped up - sure there must be some useful ones, but can't think of any.

- and SD card slot.
Upgradable storage is great but non-upgradeable storage really boosts manufacturers profits, so it's not going to happen. Would I like it? Absolutely.

- a chunkier version of the 7
How chunky are we talking about? As I haven't had a chance to play with the 7 yet, it's obviously a bit hard to tell about the design. However, the 6's design is one that I like – if it was thicker, I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem.

- which holds a bigger (easily replaceable?) battery
Bigger batteries are always welcome. FWIW, my iPhone 6 usually goes a day without needing to charge it – where power has run out, it's been in the evening and happened less than once a month. The 7 is meant to be better and Apple's claims are usually accurate.

Removable batteries have their advantages but personally, if I'm going to be in an environment where it's difficult to access a power supply for a while (e.g. a festival), I would take a portable battery pack that I can also use for other devices with me, which has worked well. Often I will also have other devices (e.g. torch, camera(s)) that I will also need to take spare batteries for and I find it more convenient to have a smaller number of batteries to take, than lots. FWIW, I'm struggling to think of friends that carried spare batteries with them.

Would I say no to removable batteries on a phone? Absolutely not – having the option would be nice but it's not something that I've found an issue.

- and a sodding headphone jack?
Again, because I haven't had a chance to use the new model, it's a bit hard to tell. Personally, I wasn't wild about the rumours and not enthusiastic about the confirmation but will wait to see how it plays out.

When Apple just phased out with SCSI in favour of USB or the iMac didn't have a floppy, people went nuts that such established technology was being phased out. That's not to say ot's a totally like for like comparsion but this knd of comment (from MacRumors) is a bit stretch: "Still don't understand why people are comparing this to things like the removal of the floppy disk and cassette players. Each of those things were replaced by better technologies." A *lot* of people didn't see it as better technology and were up in arms – and that took a long time to die down.

Will something similar happen here? I have no idea, however, it takes a while for ideas to filter through. I'm a luddite in some ways and am doubtful, but will wait to see. It will be interesting to see how it pans out because that, I think, is the thing that is getting people to talk negatively – for instance, on the comments to a story on DPReview one person commented 'I know this is a photography site' but wanted to discuss the headphone issues and they were far from being alone.  In some ways it's surprising that the camera wasn't as discussed as much but a lot of posters there have a huge issue with mobile camera phones, so in others it's not.

In term of me being affected, I've gone back to using the Apple-supplied ones on a day to day basis. When travelling, I use a Sennheiser one, which I'm sticking is – the adapter will be fine but I would much rather not have to use this... not the most elegant solution and it's something to lose.

Personally, the not being able to listen and charge at the same time issue isn't something that I like, but realistically, it's not something that I do that much. 

- Push it in a computer replacement direction. Would that tempt you?
I believe that smart devices, like phones, are already in a 'computer replacement direction' and with the changes you suggested, couldn't see how that would affect how I use it. I mentioned Scrivener coming out for iOS and something like that is a much much bigger move towards computer replacement than SD cards, removable batteries etc.

- I get the feeling that's what most people would like, but the marketing dept. is too obsessed with tiny/shiny to see it.
Apple's products are driven by the design department and Ive essentially has total control over that – this isn't a marketing thing. However, I'm far more doubtful that those are the things that the majority of consumers would like to see – it's certainly not something that comes up on the shop floor. Longer battery life sure, but the others I can't really see it. Forums can be an echo chamber but even there, I don't see people crying out for those things.

momatt

Totally fucking Mexico


Cloud

Quote from: Ignatius_S on September 08, 2016, 01:45:19 PM
Prices for other products are going up (taken from a poster at MacRumors as I'm lazy):

Apple TV 4 - by £10
Trackpad 2 - by £10
Pencil - by £20
All iPhone cases - by £10
iPod Touches - At least £20
Base Watch straps - £10
iPad Pro 32GB 12.9 - by £50
iPad Silicone 'Case' - by £14
IPad Pro Keyboard - by £20
iPod Nano - by £30

That'll be because it's £1 =  $1.33 now instead of the many years of £1 - $1.60 we've been enjoying.  At least we've TAKEN BACK CONTROL.  Thanks Nigel!

Ignatius_S

Quote from: Cloud on September 08, 2016, 02:43:34 PM
That'll be because it's £1 =  $1.33 now instead of the many years of £1 - $1.60 we've been enjoying.  At least we've TAKEN BACK CONTROL.  Thanks Nigel!

Hee, beautifully put!

Yeah, it'll be partly that – although when Apple changes prices because of currency fluctuations, usually it realigns prices for other factors too. Some US prices have gone done, but the entry 7 Plus is $20 more.

European prices have also gone up (on MacRumors, someone said that Swiss prices should have gone down because of currency – Apple has done that in the past) but nothing like the UK.

I haven't double-checked with what happened elsewhere but the UK increase has fluctuated in percentage terms. The Apple Pencil was £79, whilst Apple TV was £129 (I think).

Twed

Has anybody, ever, anywhere bought an Apple Pencil?

Ignatius_S

Quote from: Twed on September 08, 2016, 03:21:55 PM
Has anybody, ever, anywhere bought an Apple Pencil?

The initial stock of the Pencil ran out pretty much as soon as they were released – there were a lot of complaints about not being able to get one. It was reported that there were production issues (and IIRC, there were some for the iPad Pros around the same time) so some of the complaints would reflect that, rather than demand to an extent.

imitationleather

Not related to the iPhone (sorry) but on the SD card tip, I'm upgrading my phone at the mo and the only reason I need a new one is because the on-board storage isn't enough and it's making my current phone slow as fuck. It's really become noticeable in the past couple of months when, funnily enough, I've been coming up to upgrade time. I can see why Android doesn't let you put apps on the SD card, because otherwise there really would be no reason at all to upgrade now. (Or maybe you can and I've just not worked out how to do it.) If I could put apps on my SD card I'd just keep using my HTC One mate, which I love, and put my upgrade phone (Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge - which seems a bit too flashy, gimmicky and fragile, I'm fearing I'm going to regret getting one) on eBay and go on a MAD LAD HOLIDAY with the cash.

Back on-topic: The lack of a headphone jack on this new iPhone is a total joke, but yes I can see most of the high end phones adopting this before too long. Bastards! I was considering getting an iPhone as I've become an Apple wanker since getting a MacBook last year, but the lack of a headphone jack and having to buy all my apps again put me off.

MojoJojo

If the app supports it you can put apps on the SD card.

Go into settings->apps, select an app and if it supports it (most should nowadays) and there should be an option there to move it. Might have to press a "Storage" button or something first.

imitationleather

Thanks. I'll have a look, but I'm pretty sure I checked when this slow-down became really noticeable and it wouldn't let me put any apps on the SD. It may be something HTC have done themselves.

doppelkorn

My Moto G is really shitty about letting me put apps on the SD card. None of the storage hungry ones (Spotify, OneNote(?!?!?), "Google Pay Services" (whatever the fuck that is)) allow it.