Hard to justify the upgrade

[ericgtr12]

Most all the hardware upgrades these days are incremental. And with all the upgrade contracts now prevalent in carrier-land, Apple is kinda locked into one year cycles of upgrades. If you don't like it, skip a year. No biggie. Those of us now paying full price in installment plans will flip our phones though; sorta no reason not to.

If you're a photographer this 7 is kinda big. A wide gamut screen means you can now proof some stuff on an iOS device (notice how all the presenters talked about how the projectors couldn't show the colors? that's true of most monitors as well). So even if you're not tempted to use the cameras the phone is gonna be valuable for that alone. Not to mention the RAW support.

I am on the full price installment plan and even then just questioning whether or not it's worth it. I am a photographer and for serious photography still use a DSLR, as I understand the new system and lenses will allow it to stop down to 2.8, but requires a software update. Not sure if anyone's seen a real lens with this capability but they are much bigger and purpose built. While the iPhone camera is getting better, it's still worlds away from a real SLR but just fine for a consumer level point and shoot.

 

[douglasf13]

I don't own a single set of wireless headphones, and I have no desire at the moment to go buy them. 1) they're very expensive for decent ones, and 2) I have to remember to charge my headphones. I'm more talking about the wired kind, as wireless is an option if you want it, and it has no impact on the jack. I use bluetooth in my car and for a bluetooth speaker at home, but if I'm traveling, I want wired headphones, and I don't want to have to keep track of an adapter or bring two different pairs so I can use one for my phone and one for my laptop.

This times a million, again. I use bluetooth in the same scenarios, too. My car and a little home speaker. I did buy a good set of bluetooth headphones, but, between the charging necessity and the lower sound quality, I rarely use them anymore. Mixed usage between wired and wireless still makes the most sense to me.

 

[jimbo1mcm]

4.7 inch same low resolution screen from 3 years ago.

 

[Math889]

Wow! Usually Apple upgrade screen resolution in non S models, however, this year the resolution is the same as 6.Iphone 7 screen is the same as Ip6 launched 2 years ago?? Ridiculous. Hopefully they will include a headphone jack in future iPhone and iPad models. If not , I will stick with my iPhone and iPad even after they stop getting software updates

 

[caligurl]

I'm ok with the 7+...

Could they do more? Sure... Not sure what I'd want other than more battery life... I don't want or need thinner.... Maybe no bezzle?

But I'm fine and I'm preordering!

 

[jr866gooner]

So it's not waterproof? Only water resistant?

 

[mildocjr]

My wife's car

I'm talking practical locations where you'd use a 3.5 mm jack to listen to music with headphones, the last person I saw wearing headphones while driving had a 20 year old car and the bumper was hanging off of it. If this is your wife, then you need to get her a new car, not a new phone.

Maybe if it's a van and the 3.5 mm jack is in back for your kids to watch their movie, but that's because younger kids get throw away 3.5 mm headphones, not the more expensive Bluetooth headsets.

and my instrument input that goes into my lightening connecter (and allows my to monitor via the 3.5mm jack)

This is a special use, I'm sure that someone will come out with an update to the app you are using to be compatible with a lightning adapter with a 3.5 mm splitter jack attached, or perhaps they will provide a new jack that does this for you and connects via lightning. However, you can still monitor the sound using Bluetooth headphones so this negates the need for the 3.5 mm jack even in this special case.

As a guitar player myself, monitoring what I'm playing is a lot easier when I'm not fighting a headphone cable slipping over my shoulder or sitting between my inner arm and the instrument. It's also much easier when I use my Saffire Pro 24 DSP in conjunction with Logic, monitor in realtime with Bluetooth headphones, then listen to the playback when I'm done through my Sennheisers.

I'm having a hard time keeping with your argument because there really isn't a need for wired headphones.

The only argument someone could have is "I'm too cheap to go out and buy Bluetooth headphones so I'll just complain" and I don't think this is you.

 

[Deeds500]

Some people really have no common sense. I bet you are one the people who think the note 7 was a major jump from the note 5? Lets take a look...

iphone 7-

Better battery
Better camera
Better screen
Better home button
waterproof
better processor
better GPU
Retooled design

Note 7

better camera
better battery
waterproof
blah blah blah

Whats the difference???

Except the Note 7 starts from a much higher feature base and is far more feature packed than any version of iphone. The Note 7 is a productive and a media consumption device. Save for new camera technology which you can be sure the Note 8 will have next year (you can also be sure the iphone 9 (nine) will come with iris scanning technology), the iphone 7 is a media consumption device only. Has Apple done anything with 3D touch to make you go wow or is it still just a windows right-click-of the-mouse-for-menu type function.

Before the keynote of i7 I was looking forward to the 2017 release. Now that i7 has been revealed, I'm looking forward to the 2017 release even moreso.And it starts today, today is day 1. Happy to hold onto my iphone 6 Plus for another year (last year didn't blow wind up my skirt either).

 

[mildocjr]

I don't own a single set of wireless headphones, and I have no desire at the moment to go buy them. 1) they're very expensive for decent ones, and 2) I have to remember to charge my headphones. I'm more talking about the wired kind, as wireless is an option if you want it, and it has no impact on the jack. I use bluetooth in my car and for a bluetooth speaker at home, but if I'm traveling, I want wired headphones, and I don't want to have to keep track of an adapter or bring two different pairs so I can use one for my phone and one for my laptop.

Good thing they come with the iPhone 7 then. Also in case you might have missed it Apple is including a lightning to 3.5mm adapter in the iPhone 7 box.

 

[douglasf13]

I'm talking practical locations where you'd use a 3.5 mm jack to listen to music with headphones, the last person I saw wearing headphones while driving had a 20 year old car and the bumper was hanging off of it. If this is your wife, then you need to get her a new car, not a new phone.

Maybe if it's a van and the 3.5 mm jack is in back for your kids to watch their movie, but that's because younger kids get throw away 3.5 mm headphones, not the more expensive Bluetooth headsets.


This is a special use, I'm sure that someone will come out with an update to the app you are using to be compatible with a lightning adapter with a 3.5 mm splitter jack attached, or perhaps they will provide a new jack that does this for you and connects via lightning. However, you can still monitor the sound using Bluetooth headphones so this negates the need for the 3.5 mm jack even in this special case.

As a guitar player myself, monitoring what I'm playing is a lot easier when I'm not fighting a headphone cable slipping over my shoulder or sitting between my inner arm and the instrument. It's also much easier when I use my Saffire Pro 24 DSP in conjunction with Logic, monitor in realtime with Bluetooth headphones, then listen to the playback when I'm done through my Sennheisers.

I'm having a hard time keeping with your argument because there really isn't a need for wired headphones.

The only argument someone could have is "I'm too cheap to go out and buy Bluetooth headphones so I'll just complain" and I don't think this is you.

Uh, lots of cars from the last 5 years come with only a 3.5mm AUX jack. So, again, I'll need an adapter.

I already have Bluetooth headphones that I rarely use. I don't like to keep track of charging, and they don't sound nearly as good as my Sony, Audio Technica and Grado headphones for the same cost.

How exactly do you deal with Bluetooth latency when monitoring guitar recording? Even the VERY best Bluetooth options have 35ms latency, and most have 100ms or more. If that was an option, I'd already be doing it, unless I'm missing something.

 

[omeryounos]

Watched the live iPhone 7 presentation...Apple please stop fooling people around...zero Innovation...same old design carried forward from iPhone 6s and 6s Plus...features are copy of 6 months old Galaxy S7 and S7 edge...like waterproofing optical image stabisation etc...and What Anodising is a new process...its been there for decades...And sub HD display...wake up the competition is at QHD and moving to 4K very soon. And stop telling the 5 year old retina display story...there is very visible difference in display resolution between my iPhone 6s Plus and Galaxy S7edge....the apple display seems pixellelated...and same carries over to iPhone 7...Shameful deception of consumers..

 

[Deeds500]

This

I have to admit an upgrade from the 6 is hard to stomach. I so wanted to love the iPhone 7. I envisioned setting an alarm and preordering through the Apple Store App. But after watching the entire event, I feel like the 7 is great tech that doesn't do anything I can't already do. Its like a car that goes 290mph when I can only drive 80mph if lucky. I had hoped for something new to excite me. But they gave us the same but better, with a little less. I can save a lot of money and do everything, however much slower, with my old iPhone 6. This is the first iPhone release event where I lost interest.

And those AirPods look awful to me. I have no interest in having hard plastic in my ear and anything but discrete white stems sticking out. Again, great tech with meh interest.

Hopefully I am an outlier in my viewpoints. I remain an Apple fan. But my initial reactions aren't exciting.

This, this, this, this and this. Agree 100%

 

[QCassidy352]

It's very minor if you have a 6s, but then again, most (not all) iphone generations have been pretty incremental from one to the next. The prior year's model is always quite compelling, even when the new one comes out. What's disappointing people, I think, is that this is the second consecutive very modest update.

For my part, I went from a 6 to a SE a few months ago and will keep the SE until fall 2017. Kinda an 18 month upgrade cycle due to the SE coming in the spring. If I still had a 6, I'd probably upgrade but not feel great about it.

Huge upgrades imo

Amazing new colors
waterproof finally
insane camera technology
new home button

To each his own, but I cannot fathom how these updates could be seen as "huge." The new colors are black... and black. I'm glad we have black iPhones again, but honestly, we're getting excited about a black phone now?

Waterproof may be important to some, but I've never once gotten an iphone wet. Not sure why this one matters more than a tiny bit for accident protection.

A camera upgrade is great, but the camera has been upgraded literally every year except iphone --> iphone 3G. That and a processor bump is the absolute bare minimum we can expect.

New home button that is getting absolutely shredded in the early reviews. Even if it turns out to be an upgrade, how much does that really matter to your experience? Was the old home button holding us back?

 

[brianric]

I am on the full price installment plan and even then just questioning whether or not it's worth it. I am a photographer and for serious photography still use a DSLR, as I understand the new system and lenses will allow it to stop down to 2.8, but requires a software update. Not sure if anyone's seen a real lens with this capability but they are much bigger and purpose built. While the iPhone camera is getting better, it's still worlds away from a real SLR but just fine for a consumer level point and shoot.

From what I heard on the plus mode it's f/1.8. I too am a photographer, and the camera I happe to have with me in my pocket beats the hell out of my DSLRs I left at home.

 

[fanta88]

I don't know, I think Phil was very careful to NOT say the photos would be DSLR quality. In fact, he even discouraged people from getting rid of their DSLRs. Because, at least from what I could tell with the examples in the presentation, the 7 Plus photos were not DSLR quality.

 

[macduke]

I mentioned in another post, that when my wife and I went on vacation, we didn't mind swapping out the D3300 for the 6S Plus cameras when we were in a pinch, the DLSR does give a clearer image but it also has twice the photo resolution. The cameras are already good enough for every day pictures and are better than the old disposables, for distant shots or shots requiring a great deal of detail or artistic touches we'd use the DSLR.

Yeah I bring my dSLR (soon to be transitioning to mirrorless) on trips and when I'm specifically going out to shoot, such as for an assignment at work (it's a small part of my job). But there are a lot of candid moments—especially when I'm out with my toddler—that I'd love to have a better camera on me for without lugging around my kit. The mirrorless will help with that, so maybe I don't need the 7 Plus and should just get the 7, but it's just really tempting because when I'm running around downtown working or whatever I won't often have my mirrorless on me. But the 7 camera is pretty good anyway. IDK what to do!

 

[dumastudetto]

I have to admit an upgrade from the 6 is hard to stomach. I so wanted to love the iPhone 7. I envisioned setting an alarm and preordering through the Apple Store App. But after watching the entire event, I feel like the 7 is great tech that doesn't do anything I can't already do. Its like a car that goes 290mph when I can only drive 80mph if lucky. I had hoped for something new to excite me. But they gave us the same but better, with a little less. I can save a lot of money and do everything, however much slower, with my old iPhone 6. This is the first iPhone release event where I lost interest.

And those AirPods look awful to me. I have no interest in having hard plastic in my ear and anything but discrete white stems sticking out. Again, great tech with meh interest.

Hopefully I am an outlier in my viewpoints. I remain an Apple fan. But my initial reactions aren't exciting.

If you can't get excited about this iPhone, I worry you never will again. They have literally changed and improved everything. It is an incredible upgrade for even the iPhone 6s generation. Everyone should be looking to get on board with this upgrade. The cameras alone are worth it.

 

[Deeds500]

Not sure what people really expect at this point in time. Phones have come very far but there's only so much more that can be done. Once Apple incorporates better screens and wireless charging what's left really? Their chip and camera teams will continue to bump up performance year after year and iOS will get more features, but realistically we're approaching the end of "mind blowing" new features and getting into the era of incremental improvements. Even the most creative and innovative people will hit a wall eventually.

A bloke said in about 1900, whatever can be invented has been invented. Who would have thought in 2001 that in 2012 you could ask your phone for directions on how to get from A to B. So when you say "what's left?", you can bet your bottom dollar there's plenty left. For a starters, let us customise our iphones a bit more, how's about split screen multi tasking. These basic functions that every Samsung Android user has taken for granted for 4 years has't even made it to the os.

 

[malibuboats91]

I have to agree with OP. I've had every iPhone since the 3G and this is the first time I'm not going to upgrade. I originally thought AirPods were included with the phone, but now that I know they're not I'm holding onto my 6s+.

 

[Davelfc]

Apple saved all their good stuff for next year. This is a placeholder year. Next year I expect them to really blow up the industry with the iPhone X.

You can fool a lot of people with 'jam tomorrow'

 

[I7guy]

Watched the live iPhone 7 presentation...Apple please stop fooling people around...zero Innovation...same old design carried forward from iPhone 6s and 6s Plus...features are copy of 6 months old Galaxy S7 and S7 edge...like waterproofing optical image stabisation etc...and What Anodising is a new process...its been there for decades...And sub HD display...wake up the competition is at QHD and moving to 4K very soon. And stop telling the 5 year old retina display story...there is very visible difference in display resolution between my iPhone 6s Plus and Galaxy S7edge....the apple display seems pixellelated...and same carries over to iPhone 7...Shameful deception of consumers..

So you're not upgrading then? The screen is more than good and doesn't give me a headache like those oversaturated oled screens.

 

[spooky23]

If a better camera and a few minor enhancements are that important then it may be a good deal for some. However, I would rather see Apple take a couple of years to really come up with some significant changes rather than small incremental enhancements annually, it feels like they're just doing it because they set a precedent for a yearly cycle.

I've got a 128Gb 6s+. Love the phone, it's a beast. I don't like upgrading every year mainly because I never feel like I've got the most out of the phone in the first 12 months. Also, I like the 2 year gap because it really feels like I'm making a jump. The iphone 7 is basically what I expected it to be in terms of incremental updates. The tech will always be better with each phone. The look will always change a little. The loss of the jack is something I need to wrap my head around (I wont be using the wireless Apple buds) and the waterproof thing is great to have - but seriously, I've never had to worry about dropping it into water. Other than that, I'm jealous of 256Gb. Nothing else impacts my day to day usage and I'm more hyped for iOS 10 than anything else.

As for next year and this alleged reset of number conventions / 10th Anniversary phone - do people really believe they'll get rid of the 's' ? I hope they do, although they'll be breaking their cycle. I'm really holding out for them to refresh the whole phone - especially the screen. A proper game-changing update.

I can't entertain the idea of upgrading this year. Happy to see the evolution of the camera though and looking ahead to a years time...and something just a little more special.
[doublepost=1473336088][/doublepost]

calling this a poor upgrade makes no sense. Virtually every aspect of the phone changed.

-better screen
-better camera
-improved design
-better GPU/CPU


The problem is not with the upgrade. The problem is phones have hit a peak, and it is really hard to justify upgrading every single year with the price of cell phones.

100% this.

I love people that hate on Apple saying this is the first year that they're presenting a new phone on a downturn of sales. Er..the reason people are buying less iphones is because everyone that wants one, has one. And because they're such brilliant products - many don't look to upgrade because they're more than happy.

Apple have to keep upgrading every year to capture potential new customers. All the upgrades they've done this year, are essential to bridge the gap to next. Whether they can bridge that gap now is the bigger question. But we all know how it works (in terms of marketing etc).
[doublepost=1473336208][/doublepost]

New home button that is getting absolutely shredded in the early reviews. Even if it turns out to be an upgrade, how much does that really matter to your experience? Was the old home button holding us back?

Everyone buying the phone will beta test it and next year I'll enjoy the much improved version of the home button

 

[mattopotamus]

New home button that is getting absolutely shredded in the early reviews. Even if it turns out to be an upgrade, how much does that really matter to your experience? Was the old home button holding us back?

That is probably the most shocking think about the phone IMO. I was just letting someone use my macbook, with force touch, and explaining how it is not actually clicking but is haptic feedback. It really is mind blowing how real it feels. I expected the home button to be the exact same.

 

[nordique]

It's very minor if you have a 6s, but then again, most (not all) iphone generations have been pretty incremental from one to the next. The prior year's model is always quite compelling, even when the new one comes out. What's disappointing people, I think, is that this is the second consecutive very modest update.

For my part, I went from a 6 to a SE a few months ago and will keep the SE until fall 2017. Kinda an 18 month upgrade cycle due to the SE coming in the spring. If I still had a 6, I'd probably upgrade but not feel great about it.



To each his own, but I cannot fathom how these updates could be seen as "huge." The new colors are black... and black. I'm glad we have black iPhones again, but honestly, we're getting excited about a black phone now?

Waterproof may be important to some, but I've never once gotten an iphone wet. Not sure why this one matters more than a tiny bit for accident protection.

A camera upgrade is great, but the camera has been upgraded literally every year except iphone --> iphone 3G. That and a processor bump is the absolute bare minimum we can expect.

New home button that is getting absolutely shredded in the early reviews. Even if it turns out to be an upgrade, how much does that really matter to your experience? Was the old home button holding us back?

Well said

I'm actually concerned about the new home button ... Galaxy s7 is rated higher water resistance yet the physical home button hasn't caused me any issues.

iPhone 6s might be the sweet spot phone given that it's still super powerful, has the traditional button and has the headphone jack which will matter to some people right now

 

[DSTOFEL]

As for next year and this alleged reset of number conventions / 10th Anniversary phone - do people really believe they'll get rid of the 's' ? I hope they do, although they'll be breaking their cycle. I'm really holding out for them to refresh the whole phone - especially the screen. A proper game-changing update.

They just broke the cycle by releasing what is essentially the 6ss (i.e. A phone with virtually the same exterior design but with spec bumps). I don't think they'll do it again by releasing the 6sss (i.e. 7s) in 2017. I think the stage is set for a major design overhaul for 2017.