Kennedy Jones
Staff Writer
After months of speculation, the much anticipated iPhone 7 and 7 Plus has finally been revealed.
Apple unveiled its newest edition to the iPhone family on Sept. 7 during a live keynote event. Sadly, the iPhone 7 looks almost exactly the same as the iPhone 6, but it has undergone several major improvements.
Tamarcus Lott, a senior speech communications major from Memphis, Tenn., believes that it is a waste of time.
“I planned on purchasing the iPhone7 until I saw what it looked like in person. It looks exactly like the iPhone 6. I won’t fall into the comrade of Apple. It is simply a failed attempt to be innovative,” said Lott.
The most notable change is that the iPhone 7 no longer has a headphone jack. The news of the major change leaked weeks before the official release of the phone and sparked major controversy. The removal of the headphone jack left everyone confused and wondering how they would listen to music.
Apple introduced AirPods, the all-new wireless iPhone headphones. The wireless headphones can last up to five hours and also come with a lightning connector for the AirPod’s to charge. If iPhone users still want to listen through their old headphones, they can plug them in using the headphone jack adapter that’s included.
Akilah Fuller, a junior mathematics major from Detroit, Mich., is staying with Android.
“I don’t plan on purchasing the iPhone7 because I’m team Android for life. I do think that the AirPods are pretty cool and I think that people are making a big deal out of the no headphone jack. At least Apple cared enough to provide them with an adapter,” said Fuller.
Other exciting changes include two new iPhone colors which are jet black and glossy black and a new home button which is now non-clickable, pressure sensitive, has precise tactile feedback and is customizable. The iPhone 7 is also water and dust resistant with longer battery life and according to Apple, three times faster LTE.
The phone also features a new 12-megapixel back camera and seven-megapixel front camera with optical image stabilization and LED trio tone flash. The iPhone 7 plus comes with an impressive two cameras that shoots as one. The phones HD retina display is now 25% brighter with 3D touch.
The new iOS 10 update already comes installed on the phone. The update features exciting new text message features, an emoji makeover, a new lock screen, and much more.
So far the iPhone 7 has received mostly good reviews. Popular tech website CNET.com gave the phone 4.5 out of 5 stars while Engadget.com gave it a score of 91 out of 100 saying “It takes foundational improvements made to the iPhone 7 and packs them into a body with crispier screen and beefier battery.”
According to BGR.com, iPhone 7 sales are much better than analysts expected, rising 20 percent more than the iPhone 6. Pre-order sales were through the roof with the iPhone 7 Plus and all jet black iPhone 7’s have already being sold out from in-store supplies.
The iPhone 7 comes in 32, 128, and 256 gigabytes and is set for a full retail price of $649 – $969. The phone went on sale Sept. 16 and can be
