Earlier this week, Apple officially announced the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Thanks to the Rumor Mill and analysts out there in the wild, there wasn’t much of a surprise left for the final product. At least for those who keep their eyes on the rumors and analyst memos. Still, the event was pretty much on par with many before it, and the iPhone 7 lineup is certainly another worthwhile upgrade for those who might be looking to get their hands on a new iPhone this year.
Yes, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus feature some worthwhile additions and improvements. And yes, Apple left out the 3.5mm headphone jack.
I’m not going to harp on the loss of the headphone jack, though. I can understand wholeheartedly why people are upset about it, though, and why folks might not want to upgrade this year (or in the foreseeable future, considering) because of the decision. But Apple wasn’t the first one to do it, and they won’t be the last.
In any event, I spoke to several friends and acquaintances since Wednesday, all of which have an iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus, because I wanted to know what they thought of the new devices coming down the pike. A few of them didn’t even know Apple had an event, so I had to catch them up (with links and video) to get them brought up to speed, which was a shock until I remembered not everyone pays attention to that stuff.
The one thing that stood out to me was that the iPhone 6s owners basically echoed my own sentiments: The iPhone 7 Plus is the way to go without a doubt this year. While Apple hasn’t been shy about putting a better display and camera (with OIS, at least) in the larger device, this year feels a bit bolder than previous launches.
So I asked them a pretty simple question: Are they pre-ordering the new iPhone? And for the iPhone 6s owners I asked a follow-up: Are you switching to the iPhone 7 Plus, if you’re upgrading at all?
The overwhelming majority of them said yes, that they’d be switching to the newer iPhone later this month (or whenever they could). And for the iPhone 6s owners, only one of the six said they wouldn’t be going to the larger model. For the holdout, they said they care more about having the smaller display, even if it’s “worse” and they don’t get the dual-camera setup.
“I’ll live,” they said.
I tried to like the iPhone 6, and the iPhone 6 Plus, but I just couldn’t do it. It was amazing to me how awful it felt, to me, to hold the Plus model when compared to holding the other variant. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s are comfortable, but both Plus models felt unwieldy to me.
I’m going to try and force myself to ignore that feeling with the iPhone 7 Plus, because I do want that camera system and that bigger display this time around. I don’t know if it’s going to work, and I might have to go back down to the iPhone 7 (if stock permits), but I’m going to give it the ol’ college try and see if I can make it work.
I’m curious, though, iPhone owners: Are you upgrading to the iPhone 7 or the iPhone 7 Plus? And if you’re an iPhone 6/6s owner, are you switching to the larger model this year? Let me know!