Our innovation masters over at Apple Inc have once again blessed us with the annual announcement of two spanking new iPhones for us to embrace into our hearts. No need for any more speculation about the upcoming product, we finally have the official word on specifications and features of these well sought after devices.
Now let us breakdown the top three (3) things you need to know about the new iPhone 7 and 7 plus, from the good, to the downright bizarre:
Design Innovation
From the naked eye you cannot tell the difference between this model and the previous year’s release. Not that Apple needed to in the first place, the current iPhone has a slick design that at least to my eyes is quite beautiful. “The high-gloss finish of the jet black iPhone 7 is achieved through a precision nine-step anodization and polishing process,” as stated by Apple is all for naught because the phone apparently is easily scratched. So much so that Apple has strongly advised in investing in a protective case for the phone. Yes, after spending at least 700 USD for a phone, you need to go buy a case for the same beautiful body the manufacturer wanted to brag about…
No Headphone jack
Yes folks, all of the rumors were true. Apple has done the unbelievable and removed the headphone jack from their flagship phones. According to the Senior Vice President of worldwide marketing at Apple Inc., Phil Schiller, it was out of “Courage” that they decided to move on from a universal and reliable standard, to a proprietary one. Only Apple devices use this lightning port, which means users will have to make use of adapters in order to use other earphones with the device. This makes it more cumbersome than it needs to be in order to listen to your own
music. Speaking of cumbersome, let us take a moment to talk about the new wireless solution Apple has created for its customers, the Airpods. Ignoring how easily they can be lost, ignoring how they look, some may be forgiven for thinking these Airpods were not designed for practical daily use; as $159 can easily get you products with higher quality and a better value for money.
Price with Performance
The iPhone 7 family brings with it the new A10 processor, the most powerful microchip to be found in any current smartphone, atleast according to Apple. The two high-performance cores are said to be 40% faster than ones found in the previous generation of phones. For an added bonus, the new processor is said to be more frugal with battery use; this should address a common complaint end users tend to have with the non-plus variant. The good news continues as the prices for the models practically remain the same as last year. The iPhone 7 starts at $649 and for the first time there is no longer a 16GB storage option. Instead, you can choose from 32GB, 128GB, and 256GB. The jet black color only has a 128GB and 256GB internal storage option. The iPhone 7 Plus starts at $769 and also has the same storage options. This is a good move by Apple, and in theory it should influence potential buyers into purchasing these phones early in their release cycle.
Analysts are predicting a noticeable decrease in iPhone sales this year, the result from the sales of these new iPhones will determine whether these statistics will prove to be true.
