iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus

iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the tenth generation of the iPhone. They were announced on September 7, 2016, at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco by Apple CEO Tim Cook, and were released on September 16, 2016, succeeding the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus as the flagship devices in the iPhone series. Apple also released the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in numerous countries worldwide throughout September and October 2016. They were succeeded as flagship devices by the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus on September 22, 2017, and the iPhone X on November 3, 2017. The iPhone X was discontinued almost a year later on September 12, 2018.[15]

The iPhone 7's overall design is similar to the iPhone 6S, but introduces new colour options (matte black and jet black), water and dust resistance, a new capacitive, static home button, and removes the 3.5 mm headphone jack. The device's internal hardware also received upgrades, including a heterogeneous quad-core system-on-chip with improved system and graphics performance, and upgraded 12-megapixel rear-facing cameras with optical image stabilization on all models and an additional telephoto lens on the iPhone 7 Plus model to provide enhanced zoom capabilities.

Reception of the iPhone 7 was mixed. Although reviewers noted the improvements to the camera, especially the dual rear camera on the Plus model, they also stated that the iPhone 7 did not make significant changes to the display or build quality, where competing for flagship smartphones surpassed the quality of the iPhone 7.

Many reviews highlighted the controversial removal of the 3.5 mm headphone jack; some critics argued that the change was meant to bolster licensing of the proprietary Lightning connector and the sales of Apple's own wireless headphone products, and questioned the effects of the change on audio quality. Apple was also mocked by critics for Phil Schiller's statement that such a drastic change required "courage".

The iPhone 7 has been the subject of several reported issues, most notably a hissing noise during heavy usage of the phones and significant differences in performance between device variants. Apple has not released sales numbers for iPhone 7, but multiple U.S. carriers reported that it was in high demand on launch. Subsequent reports at the end of 2016 stated that Apple had reduced production of the models due to "sluggish" sales and decreasing demand, though sales research after the first quarter of 2017 placed the devices as the best-selling smartphones in the world.

Specifications
Hardware
The iPhone 7's exterior is similar in shape and volume to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S. Alongside the existing silver, gold, and rose gold colours, the device is offered in new colours of matte black, glossy "jet black",[25] and, for a limited time, red.[37][38] The "jet black" colour is a dark shade, high-gloss black finish. It is created through a multi-step process, beginning with an anodization phase to make the surface of the casing a porous aluminium oxide, and then using a machine to sweep the casing through a powdered compound, absorbed by aluminium oxide. The process is concluded with an "ultrafine particle bath" for additional finishing; the entire process takes less than an hour.[43]

iPhone 7 is rated IP67 water and dust resistant,[44] although tests have resulted in malfunctions, specifically distorted speakers, after water exposure.[45] The warranty does not cover any water damage to the phone.[46]

iPhone 7's home button uses a capacitive mechanism for input rather than a physical push-button, as on previous models, meaning direct skin contact (or a capacitive glove) is required to operate the device.[47][48] Physical feedback is provided via a Taptic Engine vibrator, and the button is also pressure-sensitive.[49] iPhone 7 retains the "3D Touch" display system introduced on the iPhone 6S, providing pressure-sensitive touchscreen input.[25]


Comparison of ports on iPhone 6/6S (top) and iPhone 7 (bottom)
The iPhone 7 does not feature a 3.5 mm headphone jack; it was replaced by a second speaker grille that serves as a vent for the internal barometer.[50] A Lightning-to-3.5-mm-connector adapter, as well as in-ear headphones that use the Lightning connector, were bundled with the device,[25] and the adapter is also sold separately as an accessory.[51] The adapter is also compatible with other iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch devices running iOS 10 and newer.[52]

iPhone 7 uses the Apple A10 Fusion 64-bit system-on-chip, which consists of two low-power cores and two high-power cores (only two cores are used at any point in time[53]). The A10 chip also features a hexa-core graphics chip capable of "console-level gaming".[54] As with prior models, iPhone 7 is available in two sizes: one with a 4.7-inch screen, and a "Plus" variant with a 5.5-inch screen.[55] The displays have identical sizes and resolutions to iPhone 6S, but with a wider colour gamut[25] and increased brightness.[56] The screen-to-body ratio is about ~66% and ~68% for the 7 and 7 Plus, respectively.[57][58]

Both device variants also contain a new iteration of Apple's motion coprocessor, the M10.[59] Unlike previous iPhone models, internal storage options for iPhone 7 begin at 32 GB instead of 16 GB and max out at 256 GB.[60] iPhone 7 Plus offers 3 GB of RAM, more than any other previous iPhone; the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 has 2 GB.[61]


iPhone 7 Plus with the dual-lens camera

Capturing timelapse photos using an iPhone 7
The iPhone 7 includes a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera with a quad-LED "True Tone" flash; its aperture was widened to f/1.8, and the standard-size phone model adds optical image stabilization – a feature that was previously exclusive to Plus models. The iPhone 7 Plus includes a second 12-megapixel telephoto lens, which can be used to achieve 2× optical zoom, and up to 10× digital zoom. The front-facing camera was upgraded to a 7-megapixel sensor with automatic image stabilization.

Software
See also: iOS version history, iOS 10, iOS 11, and iOS 12
The iPhone 7 originally shipped with iOS 10 pre-installed.[64] The iPhone 7 Plus received an exclusive portrait camera mode in the iOS 10.1 software update.[65] This camera mode is capable of producing a bokeh effect using depth of field analysis of the second camera of dual-lens in the back of iPhone 7 Plus.[66][67]

Accessories

Headphone jack adapter with an iPhone 7 Plus beside it

iPhone 7 unboxed set in Silver
Each iPhone 7 originally came with a Lightning-to-3.5-mm adapter,[25] although this was omitted to start on September 12, 2018.[68] Apple sells the adapter independently as well.[51] Apple also unveiled several Bluetooth wireless headphones ostensibly intended for use with the iPhone 7, including AirPods, wireless in-ear headphones, and three new Beats headphone products. All four products utilize an in-house wireless chip known as the Apple W1, which is designed to provide low-power Bluetooth operation and integration with iOS and macOS devices (though they are still compatible with other Bluetooth-supported devices).[69][70]

Reception

Back and side detail from a standard iPhone 7 in Rose Gold finish

Dual cameras on the back of the iPhone 7 Plus
Reception to the iPhone 7 was mixed. Gordon Kelly of Forbes noted that rival smartphones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S7, had increased battery life and added water resistance over its predecessor while retaining the headphone jack, and that the iPhone 7's camera photo quality was improved but still lagging behind some phones already on the market, including the Galaxy S7 and Nexus 6P. Kelly praised how Apple was able to extract improved brightness and accurate colour reproduction from its LCD display panel while noting that it was old technology which was also well behind rivals who had already moved to sharper 1080p or even 2K screens. The iPhone 7's exterior, which reuses the ageing design of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S, was criticized, especially the size of the device and thick top/bottom bezels, with Kelly writing that "the iPhone 7 Plus is simply far too big for a smartphone with a 5.5-inch display".

Nilay Patel of The Verge described the devices as being "full of aggressive breaks from convention" despite their design continuity with previous models (going as far as dubbing them "a prototype of next year's rumoured drastic iPhone redesign disguised as an iPhone 6"), citing the headphone jack removal (which he felt was an attempt to encourage the use of wireless headphones), heterogeneous CPU, and home button redesign. The display quality was considered an improvement over previous models, albeit "not as insane" as the quad HD displays on competing phones. The Taptic Engine was considered the "first really valuable new UI concept I've seen on phones in years" (as opposed to the "gimmick" of 3D Touch), Patel felt that the cameras of the devices were a "step" above the 6S in terms of performance, and praised the dual-lens camera on the 7 Plus for enhancing the phone's camera functionality. However, he panned the lack of editing features that made use of them. In regards to the enhanced Bluetooth audio support provided by devices containing the W1 chip, he argued that Apple "took away an established open standard in favour of new technologies, but instead of making the experience of using those new technologies better across the board, it made every third-party wireless audio product a second-class citizen of the Apple ecosystem." Giving the iPhone 7 a 9 out of 10, he concluded that the devices were "legitimately among the most interesting, opinionated, powerful phones Apple has ever shipped, and the most confident expressions of the company's vision in a long time. iOS 10 is excellent, the cameras are better, and the performance is phenomenal. And the batteries last longer.

John McCann of TechRadar wrote that for the first time, the phablet-sized iPhone 7 Plus was "markedly better" than the smaller model. He highlighted improved battery life and praised the camera, calling the Plus' dual cameras "excellent" for point-and-shoot, and "much improved" for low-light performance. McCann wrote that the lack of a headphone jack was "initially frustrating", but noted that it was a "positive step forward for the mobile industry", despite the "short-term effects ... making the most noise for now

Removal of the headphone jack
Criticism of the iPhone 7 centred around the removal of the headphone jack, including the inability to use wired headphones with the included adapter and charge the device simultaneously.

In a particularly scathing article, Nilay Patel of The Verge wrote that removing the headphone jack - "ditching a deeply established standard" - would be "user-hostile and stupid". He goes on to list reasons why removing the port is negative, concluding with "No one is asking for this" and "Vote with your dollars

Gordon Kelly of Forbes noted that wireless audio technology was immature at the moment, with Bluetooth audio quality being inferior while Lightning audio reliability was still in question. The removal of the headphone jack meant "you’re being pushed into an era where you will have to pay more for decent headphones due to their need for an integrated DAC and/or Lightning licensing", and pointed out that "the only company to profit from this situation is Apple, who will now be charging licensing fees to millions of headphone companies

In particular, Apple's vice president Phil Schiller, who announced the change, was mocked extensively online for stating that removing the headphone jack took 'courage'. An online petition created by the consumer group SumOfUs, that accuses Apple of planned obsolescence and causing substantial electronic waste by removing the headphone jack, reached over 300,000 signatures.

source : wikipedia