iPhone 7 Reviews: Finding Something to Complain About in a Sea of Improvements
The iPhone 7 is out, if you didn’t know. But of course you know. What you don’t know is whether or not it’s worth buying.
Yes, it is.
Dozens of reviews of Apple’s latest device came out today, and they all seem to echo the same sentiments: the upgrades are real, and the downsides, if we are being honest, are negligible. The phones are faster, the batteries last longer, and the cameras take better pictures. They resist water and dust while looking as beautiful as any iPhone ever has.
“The most compelling improvement on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus is the sharp speed increase. Spurred by faster chips, everything—switching between apps, opening the camera—feels snappier,” writes Brian Chen in his New York Times review. “The iPhone 7 battery also gets about two hours more juice than the 6S.”
No headphone jack? Deal with it, people. We’re just looking for something to whine about, because everyone loves complaining about Apple products—while owning several of them.
“If you want to stay in the iPhone ecosystem (and there are still many, many reasons to stay), start making peace with the idea of one day giving up your headphone jack, because you’ll almost certainly have to,” notes Andrew Cunningham in his Ars Technica review.
The iPhone 7 is, as per Apple standard, a marvel of three things: technology, design, and the seamless marriage of the two. That last piece to the puzzle is what Apple’s competitors so often miss. Any flagship smartphone seems to have one or the other—technology or design—but they never feel as masterfully intertwined as on an iPhone. Even when the update is “minor” by media standards.
“Each year’s unprecedented combination of incredible technology feels ordinary, even expected,” points out David Pierce in his Wired review. “That doesn’t mean the magic’s gone. It’s just harder to see when it’s everywhere.”
People love to take something small—like the removal of an unnecessary headphone jack—and use it, somehow, to diminish everything positive about the device. With or without a jack, Apple’s latest smartphones are incredibly impressive, inside and out.
Want one? Go buy one.
Still convinced the lack of port is a deal-breaker? Then hit the road, jack.
