iPhone 7 Plus: The best upgrade I didn’t need.

It generally doesn’t make monetary sense to buy a new iPhone every year. And I haven’t really applied this vast knowledge of what makes monetary sense to my purchase of smartphones.

I had the 5, 5s, 6 & 6S and now, for some reason unbeknownst to me, I bought the iPhone 7 Plus.

It’s particularly shocking, not just because I was 100% sure I was going to skip the 7 series of iPhone — but because I bought a Plus.

I’ve been very actively against all large phones, or ew, “Phablets”. I’ve called them all sorts of names; portable beds, door replacements etc. Then one day, from nowhere, I decided I wanted a Plus iPhone.

I think I was tired of missing out on a clearly better camera and well, I just wanted to try it out.

The Size

I mean, it’s literally the elephant in the room and my word this phone is big. My hands are on the large side, I think — I can grab a pretty grippy basketball in one hand, sometimes.

Also, it’s heavy. The weight difference between the 6S and the 6 was very noticeable for me, so I mean, this is like, wow.

It’s not all bad. I can use it for a while with one hand without dying, but I guess I’m not most people. The bigger screen genuinely just makes stuff better and it has actually translated into me using my iPad significantly less.

I honestly just don’t think we need all that weight and size to get this amount of screen. This is the first time the “forehead” and “chin” of the iPhone is really bothering me. It seems like such a waste, especially because there’s this idea Apple is only preserving the chin for the round home button.

I think the perfect iPhone size for me isn’t this one, but it’s no longer the 4.7 inch either. I cannot help but always comment on how small the screen of the regular iPhone 7 is and this is surprising because that was my idea of a big phone once upon a time.

I need Apple to shave off those top and bottom bezels and give us a phone with a similarly big screen but a smaller footprint than the Plus.

The Sexiness

This phone is very good looking. I mean, It’s matte black. There’s not much to write about this, I can only show you.

The Camera

This is the best camera on any smartphone I’ve ever used (disclaimer: I haven’t used the Pixel but I doubt my mind will change). I don’t know much about saturation, exposure and all the technical terms professionals use when talking about pictures & cameras. All I know is that, 9.9 times out of 10, any picture I take with this bad boy comes out great.

It also does better in low light than I expected but it could be because I have a very low expectation when it comes to low light photos — they’re generally not that good.

The “Portrait mode” works well, once you’ve lined your shot up well and the Camera app helps with that actually. It tells you when you’re too far or too close to the subject or if you need more light. The resulting bokeh effect is quite nice and I love to use it when I can.

The secondary camera is really good too. I think this is every Snapchatter’s ideal phone.

The (new) Home Button

As you may already know, the home button on the new iPhone isn’t a physical button any more. This means, it doesn’t actually move when you press it. What it does is trick your finger into thinking it clicked using the iPhone’s Taptic Engine. This technology is already present in the Apple Watch, the Macbook’s trackpad and even the 6S had 3D Touch — It makes you feel like you’re actually clicking the screen when you push hard on it.

I really like the entire idea of “Taptic” feedback and I like the implementation even more. This is my favourite article on the topic.

In the iPhone’s Home button however, it seemed like it was gonna be a big deal. I’ve heard complaints that it doesn’t feel like an actual button to some people but eventually, they get used to it and it etches itself into their subconscious as what to expect when you press the Home button.

As for me, I had no such initial hang ups. I got used to it within 10 minutes. The cool thing is that you can actually determine how much “feedback” you want. You have to choose a number, from 1–3, where 3 is the option that gives the most feedback. Before getting the phone I thought 3 would be a no brainer, but it doesn’t feel natural enough — it feels like the entire phone is vibrating and it’s just eh.

So I’ve been on 2 for a couple of weeks now and the click I get is very satisfying. I’m seriously considering switching to 1 though.

The (lack of a headphone) Jack

I already wrote something about all the tears the flowed on the day Apple announced they’ll be taking the headphone jack away from the iPhone. I don’t miss the headphone jack ONE BIT. I’ve never plugged anything besides a charger into this iPhone and the EarPods are still in the box. Of course, the fact that I have AirPods makes living this life easier but they’re an expensive alternative. I already used strictly bluetooth cans for my 6S anyway, so it’s not exactly a new life for me.

The Rest

• Battery life is good. I mean, it has to be, the phone is large.
• Performance is stellar, my iPhone 6S was still zippy and this is even zippier so yay.
• The larger screen is actually really good. I know I said that earlier but I love me that extra glass.
• Matte Black is the best phone colour ever. The new (PRODUCT) RED iPhone is very sexy but the white front glass is holding it back.
• Finally, the iPhone is “officially” waterproof. The Nigerian in me actually hasn’t dropped it in water just to cop a feel. But apparently now you don’t have to worry about your phone falling into the toilet bowl or whatever.

Summary

As expected, this is the best iPhone Apple has ever made. It’s not just worth the money if you’re switching from a 6S and that’s bound to be extra annoying because it was the same situation with the 6S & the 6. It even makes less sense if you’re spending Naira like most Nigerians. This was meant to be the new form factor, new everything iPhone and it wasn’t. But if you can somehow look past that, or if you’re coming from the 5S, then this is a very solid daily driver to cop.

Though, the best thing to do would be to actually wait till September. Something tells me Apple is going to bring their A11 game.