OMG No headphone jack! iPhone 7

Kurrelgyre wrote:
merphle wrote:

I'm in the exact same boat as PaladinTom. I upgraded from a 6 to an 8 last week. It seems like basically the same thing, only faster and much more responsive. The camera and buttons are in slightly different places, so my old case of course didn't fit.

I did try a couple of AR games, which feel like total gimmicky nonsense, but are otherwise not supported on the 6 (or 7, I believe), so it's got that going for it?

You're also getting the wide color gamut support they introduced last year, from camera to screen, the former also getting OIS and the latter True Tone, so it's about as good as an LCD is going to get. It's also waterproof and uses the bottom speaker and earpiece for stereo separation, so stuff's going to sound better. Plus, some Qi chargers cost less than first party Lightning cables, and using one means you can dongle your wired headphones while still topping off the battery.

The screen is indeed way nicer on the 8. I also have an iPad Pro and really like having Tru Tone on both devices. I actually forgot about being waterproof. I’m afraid to test it.

Wireless charging will be nice if I ever get a charger. Knowing me though I’d want one everywhere once I got the first. With a brand new device, I don’t yet have battery paranoia... yet.

DSGamer wrote:

Has anyone upgraded to the 8? I'm curious if it's any better than the 7.

Like PaladinTom and others, I skipped the 7. I went from a 6S to an 8 Just last week (like Merphle!), and it’s a lot faster, a lot sleeker. I’m very happy with it, although my bank account isn’t.
I didn’t test the waterproof part, as I won’t. I do have a case coming in for it and I already have a glass to protect the screen, because I’m paranoid about this stuff.
I do miss the jack though because I’m constantly listening to music (and I got the 256gig so I have ALL my music on it).
I keep wondering if I can use my Apple Watch’s wireless charger with my iPhone but I’m afraid to try it. XD

Like others, I upgraded to the 8 Plus all the way from the 6 Plus. A 3-generation jump is great because all the new features in the 6S and 7 are like new to me, on top of new features of the 8 (3D touch is neat! This feels like a regular button but it isn't! Wait, where'd the headphone jack go?)

The dual cameras are really super nice, but I wouldn't call the Portrait mode a "gotta have it" feature. However I have definitely found utility in the 2x optical zoom, and I use it more often than I thought I would.

Wireless charging is also great. I actually pulled out an old Nokia Qi charger I had with my Lumia 920 Windows Phone (!!) and it works as advertised. I don't know about charging times, but as I'm sitting at my home office desk 8 hours per day it's fantastic. It's a small first-world convenience to just grab my phone and then set it back down to charge without having to plug it in.

I haven't seen or touched the iPhone X yet, but reading the first impressions of it from reviewers and coworkers, it might be best to wait on picking it up. More than anything, despite that OLED screen and an edge-to-edge display, the thought of having to learn new gestures to make up for the lack of a physical home button is a huge turn off. I know it would probably only take a day or two to adapt, but I feel like we shouldn't have to adapt to some new UX paradigm (get off my lawn, etc.)

Edit: spelling

I've had the X for a week, upgraded from a 6, so the speed boost is just awesome, and the camera is spectacular! Here are some photos I took on a hike last weekend.

The new gestures took less than a day to get comfortable with, so not a big deal there.

Prior to getting the phone the biggest thing I heard was that FaceID took longer than TouchID to unlock. The thinking was to unlock you had to raise the phone, wait for FaceID to recognize you, then swipe up to get to the home screen. I'm happy to report that's not the case at all. You just need to raise the phone and swipe upwards when the screen activates. FaceID will authenticate in less than the time it takes to swipe. In my experience, it's a bit faster to unlock than with TouchID.

Further to that, FaceID has been working great for me. After the initial setup, FaceID was able to recognize me 100% of the time with my face exposed. The first time I unlocked my phone with a ball cap and sunglasses on it asked me for my PIN, and then learned what I looked like with headwear. From that point it recognized my face just fine. I've had some friends 'test' it by wearing my sunglasses and hat, but it wouldn't budge for them. So far it's working extremely well.

The biggest complaint I have so far really has nothing to do with the phone itself, it's apps that haven't been updated for the new screen. They end up letterboxed on the new screen, and they look pretty cheesy.

T-Prime wrote:

The dual cameras are really super nice, but I wouldn't call the Portrait mode a "gotta have it" feature. However I have definitely found utility in the 2x optical zoom, and I use it more often than I thought I would.

Setting aside portrait mode is the camera a big enough jump to make it worth it? That’s my main interest in upgrading.

Serengeti wrote:

I've had the X for a week, upgraded from a 6, so the speed boost is just awesome, and the camera is spectacular! Here are some photos I took on a hike last weekend.

Those pictures are incredible. Is the camera on the 8 equivalent to the X?

Another one here who upgraded from a 6S to an 8, because I've got into the habit of upgrading every second year. There are a few nice quality-of-life improvements, the battery life is noticeably better (though that may just be because my old phone's battery was starting to show its age), and I like the convenience of wireless charging. But I don't do much on the phone that puts any great demands on the CPU, and I've never been much into photography, so to me it doesn't really feel like a huge quantum leap. To be honest, if I'd had a chance to try the 8 out for a few days and realise how little difference I personally felt, I'd probably have kept the 6S for another year.

Thanks, CaptainCrowbar. I think the only way I upgrade is if I get an 8 Plus. I’m really into the idea of using the portrait functionality.

I'm still rocking the 5S. I am looking at getting a 6S because I still want a phone that'll work with all of my earbuds, even though I know that long term that's a losing battle on the iOS ecosystem at this point.

WolverineJon wrote:

I'm still rocking the 5S. I am looking at getting a 6S because I still want a phone that'll work with all of my earbuds, even though I know that long term that's a losing battle on the iOS ecosystem at this point.

I have a 6S, and will for the next 1.5 years at least. The gains made by each new iPhone these days are getting smaller and smaller so a 6S will do you fine for some time to come. And who knows, maybe the 3.5mm port will be back when you and I ready to upgrade from the 6S.

There's hope for an SE style model, perhaps with a more modern form factor. I wonder how the SE is doing but Apple doesn't release those numbers I believe. In one of my classes of 5 ladies, 4 of them have the SE, the other is Android. They say the other phones are too big.

I have an SE for a work phone and it’s great. Runs iOS11 like a champ too.

I saw the X in person at the T-Mobile store the other day and now it's very clear that that's the phone I'll upgrade to. For my money the 6S to 8 jump isn't enough. The camera seems much better, but not so clearly as to make that upgrade worth it. The X, on the other hand, is gorgeous. I love the design. The screen is beautiful. And the camera is a slightly upgraded version of what you get on the 8 Plus. It's a no-brainer, minus the price.

My X came on Monday. I’m enjoying it a lot. I want a Plus sized phone that’s all screen.

I upgraded from the 7 plus to the X and I love it. It fits in my miniscule girl jeans pockets again without giving up screen size.

I got my X as well. It’s nice but I wish there was a Plus version. It feels small to me. It would be perfect for my wife as it’s barely bigger than her 7 and has a much better camera.

Mr GT Chris wrote:

There's hope for an SE style model, perhaps with a more modern form factor. I wonder how the SE is doing but Apple doesn't release those numbers I believe. In one of my classes of 5 ladies, 4 of them have the SE, the other is Android. They say the other phones are too big.

When my 5S developed hardware problems, I went to an AT&T store with the intention of upgrading to an SE... but came home with a 7 instead. The screen was what swayed me -- colors are more vivid -- and the camera reviewed better. But overall, I'm not quite convinced it's been worth the extra money. The larger size has been a drawback as often as an advantage, and the features the 7 has that the SE doesn't haven't struck me as very useful.

I was also sold on the 400 yen per month (~$4) for the phone for 2 years. The iPhone 8 seems to be between 2000 - 3000 yen for example, depending on the carrier / deal. Not sure about the X.

I've got an X coming in at some point when they're available, I'm currently on a 6 and it's getting quite painful, it's gone noticeably slower with each iteration of OS.

I'm ok with losing the headphone jack, already got the BeatsX which are pretty good. The W1 really does wonders for Bluetooth. My only (and pretty big for me) peeve is that they won't work with Skype for Business on High Sierra, no matter what I do that pile of sh*t just doesn't recognise them as an audio device.

Oh and the fact that I still have to carry the wired headphones as well because of Nintendo being an ass with the Switch and not supporting Bluetooth audio.

The Vita Bluetooth support was poorly implemented. I hope Nintendo does a better job when they get around to it.

Blah. I hate the current state of the iPhone. I'm still thinking of upgrading and I'm no closer to making a decision. Things I want.

- 1080p or better display for movies
- Best camera

Those both point at either the 8 Plus or the X. The problem is I don't like the size of the Plus and I don't like the OLED display on the X.

I'm debating getting a cheap(er) 8 Plus and just treating it like an iPad Mini-Mini and then taking it on vacation as my phone when I want the nicer camera. Is that crazy?

My perfect phone, I think, would be a normal-sized iPhone with a 1080p display and the dual cameras from the Plus, but retaining the LCD display.

One of the biggest selling points of the iPhone X's OLED display is that it's tuned to basically respond to, and depict colors, like the LCD version, but still give you the true blacks and contrast that OLED can provide.

I eventually ended up getting the X, but I don't really like it. It's too bulky and heavy to be a small phone like the regular 6S. The screen hasn't really won me over compared to the regular 6S. No zoom mode means fonts are actually smaller and harder to read. I'm probably going to return it and get a regular 8. Blah.

So I'll get a slight camera bump and battery bump for just short of $1000 still. Gross.

Sorry, that sucks that it didn't work out. I always hate that feeling of regret.

It's not that bad. I still have time to return it. I'm just frustrated because I'm locked into this ecosystem and I don't like any of the products they're producing right now. I hate the thought of making an $850 purchase (the price of the 256GB iPhone 8) on a phone I don't particularly like.

I guess the right way to look at it is that if I were to stick with the X I'd feel compelled to return it and get the 256GB model there as well ($1150), plus Applecare as this feels really fragile ($200). So it's a difference between $850 and $1350, really.

My "gross" comment above was more about where prices have gotten with the iPhone.

Right with you. I reckon I can push my SE for at least another 1-2 years but then I might go Android.

For some perspective when the iPhone 4S released (still my favorite iPhone ever in terms of ergonomics) the costliest model, 64GB, was $399.

So the largest, current, baseline model has gone from $400 to $850!

I’d you do the iPhone loan deal, you get Apple Care for free, and it’s a 0 percent APR loan.

The Apple care isn’t free. It’s just rolled into the price. If you trade up annually, it’s probably a good deal. If you pay it off, you’re not saving or losing money. Or at least that’s how it was when we were looking about 8 months ago.

DSGamer wrote:

For some perspective when the iPhone 4S released (still my favorite iPhone ever in terms of ergonomics) the costliest model, 64GB, was $399.

So the largest, current, baseline model has gone from $400 to $850!

For what it's worth, the current Samsungs aren't that much cheaper. Part of that is inflation, but part of it could just be price gouging. I tend to get only the phones I can get for really cheap, and that's currently the Samsung 7 edge. I could've gone Huawei, but I don't like Chinese companies at the moment.

The Samsung Feel is on par with my iPhone SE price wise here and it feels like a lot more phone for your money.