“After nearly a week of using the iPhone 7 Plus, what stands out to me is its excellent camera and the fact that we finally have an iPhone that can get wet,” Edward C. Baig writes for USA Today. “The funky-looking optional wireless AirPods aren’t bad either.”
“Is the controversial removal of the standard headphone jack a big deal?” Baig writes. “Less so than I thought, though its absence is a minor nuisance. Apple includes EarPods that connect through the Lightning port on the phone, as well as a dongle that lets you use your own standard 3.5mm headphones… I left the dongle connected to the Bose headphones I often use. If you’re prone to losing things like this, it’s $9 to replace. By using the Lightning connector you’re tying up a port that you also use for charging the phone, meaning you’ll need a dock or separate adapter to do both simultaneously. Belkin for one has announced a $40 dongle to solve this problem.”
“The $769 iPhone 7 Plus is a solid, albeit incremental, upgrade to the company’s seminal smartphone,” Baig writes. “I’d buy it and can recommend it to those of you in the market for an upgrade, though it’s not leaps and bounds ahead of the rival Galaxy Note 7, which before its exploding batteries necessitated a recall, posed a formidable challenge to the iPhone.”
MacDailyNews Take: Oh, really? Based on the hardware alone (which – oh, by the way, explodes and causes fires, burning garages, vehicles, legs, hands, etc.), we assume, since the Apple ecosystem is unmatched and the South Korean dishwasher-maker’s so-called “ecosystem” (a cobbled-toghter mishmash of stores and services) pales in comparison. No, that’s too gentle. Samsung’s so-called “ecosystem” is TOTAL JOKE compared to Apple’s and anybody who ignores or glosses over that very salient fact is doing readers of their reviews a tremendous disservice.
As far as hardware goes, no Android peddler has an answer for Apple’s A10. Not even close.
“Whether a water-resistant phone coupled with an excellent camera will drive you to the store remains to be seen,” Baig writes. “This is a strong handset for sure. But if you can hold out, there’s already talk that the truly dramatic leap forward for iPhone comes next year when this seminal smartphone celebrates its tenth anniversary.”
Read more in the full review here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote earlier today:
If you always “wait for next year,” you’ll never get anything. We plan to fully enjoy this year with our 256GB Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus units. On that you can safely bet.
SEE ALSO:
WSJ reviews Apple’s iPhone 7/Plus: ‘Get over the headphone thing and upgrade’ – September 13, 2016
Mossberg reviews Apple’s iPhone 7/Plus: It’s a great phone, but where’s my headphone jack? – September 13, 2016
The Verge reviews Apple’s iPhone 7/Plus: ‘The future in disguise’ – September 13, 2016
Customers begin queueing for Apple’s iPhone 7 five days ahead of release; pro line-sitters charging thousands to save a spot – September 13, 2016
No headphone jack? No problem: How to listen to music while you sync and charge your new iPhone 7/Plus – September 8, 2016