- [Narrator] We live in an age of iPhones.
Everyone has them, our families, our friends,
our colleagues, our classmates.
So for iPhone 7, instead of doing just another tech review,
we decided to take it out into the real world
and use it the way we'd really use it,
on a trip to New York City.
(upbeat music)
iPhone 7 looks a lot like the last couple of iPhones.
That's fine, it's an iconic design,
and one Apple's been refining
since before the original shipped.
It's their Porsche 911, their Rolex Submariner,
don't stress about it.
Enjoy the polish, namely the high-gloss polish
on the new, very hot, Jet Black,
or the new Matte Black, which is much darker
than the old Slate or Space Greys.
If you're into the wear and tear, Millennium Falcon look,
the way I am, then go for it!
Otherwise, you'll feel better sticking to matte.
Second, the headphone jack is gone.
And yes, that's a bummer for everyone
with 3.5 millimeter headphones they love,
but Apple needed more space inside the iPhone
for cameras, Haptics, battery.
So they deleted the oldest, most redundant component
they could, and drove on into the future.
Meanwhile, Apple is easing the transition
with stereo speakers.
The first one is on the bottom, right where you left it.
The second is on the earpiece up top.
And just like the iPads Pro, when you rotate your iPhone,
the left and right channels rotate with you.
There are also lighting headphones right in the box,
and a 3.5 millimeter headphone adapter.
If you really love your current headset,
slap the adapter on it and keep right on using it.
Otherwise, consider Bluetooth.
It's wireless, and the latest generation sounds really good.
Apple's even launching their own set this October,
and they're super clever.
You snap open the case, and they pair auto-magically.
Put one in your ear and the music switches
from your iPhone to the AirPod.
It's like you're on the Enterprise,
but we'll have a dedicated AirPods review for you soon.
We good now? Okay.
Let's talk about the camera system.
Both iPhones now boast optically image stabilized,
rear-mounted, 12 megapixel, f/1.8 wide-angle lenses.
Those are a lot of numbers, that mean basically,
it can stay open longer in low light,
and produce better, brighter photos and videos.
To prevent any aberration from the increased aperture,
Apple added a sixth curved element to the lens assembly.
That way it isn't just the center of the image
that looks great, it's the whole image.
For when you need an extra boost,
there's also a quad-LED flash now,
to really light up the dark.
I would still avoid it, but it's there if you need it.
Both also have new seven megapixel front-facing cameras.
Selfies, like iPhones, are beyond mainstream.
And it's great to see Apple paying as much attention
to the front optics as they are the back.
iPhone 7 Plus continues to get the most love.
This year that translates into a second lens,
it's also 12 megapixels, but it doesn't have
optical image stabilization, and it's a telephoto lens.
Apple doesn't just drop two lenses on you
and leave you to figure it out on your own though.
They fuse them together to provide seamless 2x optical zoom
and up to 10 times digital zoom.
You need more light, thanks to the f/2.8 aperture,
but when you have it, the quality is stellar.
If you want full manual control,
App Store apps can access each camera separately,
and even pull raw data from the sensors.
There'll also be a portrait mode coming later this year.
Those types of ongoing updates,
provided for free to every customer in every region,
on every carrier, all at the same time,
is an important part of iPhones value.
There is a bit of a downside here too though.
It does make the dual camera system seem unfinished,
almost like Apple was trying to go further
than they were able to go this time.
Hopefully that just means there's more to come though.
There's something else you don't have to worry about
with the iPhone 7, getting it accidentally wet.
Now, Apple still won't cover liquid damage
under the warranty,
so you don't wanna take this shark diving.
But if you get caught in the rain, splashed,
tumble in the tub or the pool, or get wet at the beach,
your iPhone should be just fine.
Mine took multiple dunks and didn't break a sweat,
not that sweat would have mattered.
I panicked and dove after it every time anyway.
Lucky my new watch is swim proof.
That brings me to another big improvement, the home button.
It's been virtualized thanks to force touch.
In other words, if you've ever worried
about wearing out the mechanical switch
on your old iPhone home button,
you can relax about it now, there are no more moving parts.
Instead, when you click the button,
the Taptic Engine inside vibrates
and just tricks your finger into feeling the click.
Yes, Physics is still alive.
For me, after a few hours, I almost forgot
how to unlock iPad with its old mechanical button.
Thanks to that new Taptic Engine,
3D Touch feels better and more accurate as well.
Apps are using it to hint actions,
and as you swipe, spin, tap, and even game,
you can almost feel the controls on the screen.
Speaking of screens, Apple's Retina HD Display is now P3.
That's a cinemagraphic standard for wide color gamut.
Thanks to Apple's color management system,
that means you can shoot and show in deep, rich color,
with bright, beautiful reds, magentas, and oranges.
Once you see it, all other screens look drab and dull,
I just want it everywhere.
A lot of these advances are made possible
by Apple's A10 Fusion Chip set.
It's quad core, not that you'd ever know it.
Apple's pushed the main performance core so far, so fast,
they've been able to slide two high-efficiency cores
right in underneath.
Apple's controller works invisibly, behind the scenes,
to pick the right cores for the right job.
Combined with slightly bigger batteries,
it means iPhone 7 gets an average
of two extra hours of life every day,
and the iPhone 7 Plus, one extra hour.
That comes in handy for when you're on Facebook,
or Snapchat, or, you know, Pokemon catching late at night.
What?
The iPhone 7's are the best iPhone Apple's ever made,
but we knew that going in.
The question is, how much better?
The new chip set is a monster and will enable apps
to do things they've never been able to do before.
We previewed some movie shooting magic
and our minds were blown.
The new cameras though, are a revelation.
They've been able to capture more natural-looking
photos and videos in a wider range of color
and situations than ever before.
If you've got a recent iPhone,
you're probably fine holding on to it.
Unless you want the new performance, protection, power,
and mind-blowing photography,
then you'll absolutely wanna consider upgrading.
If you've never had an iPhone before,
iPhone 7 and iOS 10 are a great jumping-on point.
Combining the ease of use and accessibility
with unmatched customer service and software updates,
it's just compelling.
iPhone 7 didn't just get us through our trip to New York,
it delighted us, and that's exactly what we want
from the latest iPhone.