iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus


The new iPhones may not really grab people because they look like the now two-year-old iPhone 6. To address that, Apple is introducing two new black colors. So for those who want to rock something new can still show off a new gadget with new colors.

For me, I like the new camera system, dual speakers, and dust/waterproofing.

The processing power being applied to photos sounds interesting with new machine learning capabilities to help identify objects for better images. The iPhone 7 Plus dual cameras is also interesting, although, we'll have to wait until both cameras can be used at once to provide interesting photos that typically requires a DLSR with a nice lens. For now, it's a macro or telephoto lens for your shots. For me the camera is usually the #1 feature on iPhone upgrades since I use it so much. It looks like this round offers some compelling new features.

The dual speakers is also a nice touch. The earphone will also act as a speaker. This should improve both audio quality and volume. I try to use my iPhone as a mini speaker for listening to stuff and it usually isn't great, so I'm interested to see how this works.

The waterproofing is to IP67 specs, which means it can be under 1 meter of water for 30 minutes. I don't intend to use the phone that way, but not being paranoid about getting the phone wet or more importantly dusty is a big plus. It's worth noting that the fine print says that water/dust resistance can decrease over time and also despite the marketing claims, liquid damage is not covered under warranty. So, probably don't want to push it, but it gives peace of mind for rain, splashes, and the occasional oops.