Apple Crosstech
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When Apple released the iPhone 7, I had just left college and started my career. I was also saving for the down payment for my house (proud owner now). $ 1000 CAD is too much for me, so I carried my iPhone 6 for a few more years until the iPhone XR came along.
I always wanted the Jet Black version. Finally, in 2021, I bought a 128GB Jet Black iPhone for just over $ 100 CAD. And it is in perfect condition.
How is the iPhone 7 in 2021? Well, let’s find out.
Design
Some people say that the iPhone 7 is the iPhone 6sss. Apple continued with the same design language with the iPhone 7 (and with the iPhone SE 2). From a design point of view, there was nothing innovative.
But Apple surprised everyone with its Blacks and Jet Blacks. Apple was finally able to achieve what they wanted to do with the iPhone 5. Anyone remember the scuff door on the iPhone 5? The black iPhone 7 is pure black, pure beauty.
However, the Jet Black iPhone 7 really shines. From a distance, you would think the iPhone 7 Jet Black is made of glass. The glossy finish continues to the front window. It perfectly hides the antenna line. Apple really does the unibody design. It looks like a work of art, rather than a mainstream smartphone.
The headphone jack
The removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack was hotly debated at the time. To this day, I’m still not happy with removing the 3.5mm headphone jack. Fortunately, some of the newer Android phones like the Pixel 4A or Motorola One Ace 5G still include one and I’ve used these phones with my headset every now and then. Over time, I have learned to cope with the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack. I have a Flash EarPod at home, in my car, in my desk drawer. I also wear with AirPods. So while I’m still upset about removing the headphone jack, I’ve learned to live with it. Maybe one day in the future the headphone jack will be removed for good.
By 2021, most of us, especially iPhone users, have already learned to adopt. But if you really want to connect your wired headphones, you have a choice elsewhere.
Performance
The iPhone 7 is the first iPhone with a semi-quad core processor. The reason I say semi-quad core is that unlike most processors, the A10 processor can only activate two high performance cores or two efficient cores. So, essentially, A10 is Apple’s first entry into the Big.Little design.
Apple claimed more than 40% more performance on a high-performance core and consumes 20% less power for an efficiency core. However, most of the gains come from the high clock speed compared to Apple’s A9 processor. Overall, A10 isn’t a huge upgrade over the A9 processor.
For what the iPhone 7 is currently in use, A10 is perfectly capable. Most of us have moved beyond the 4.7-inch screen for gaming or consuming 4K videos as these tasks are better suited for phones with a larger screen. However, if you wear iPhone 7 as the primary device, you need to adjust your expectations when playing with iPhone 7. It is not such a fun experience.
iOS 15 works great on iPhone 7. Most apps open quickly and perform fine. For lighter apps, you can’t even tell the difference between iPhone 7 and iPhone 12. For your daily tasks, such as surfing the internet, instant massages, making phone calls, using the phone. banking applications, Apple Pay, etc. The iPhone 7 handles very well. You can’t really tell it’s a phone that’s almost 5 years old. I don’t think such an old Android phone would come close to the iPhone 7.
Battery life
Until the iPhone XR, the iPhone has a small battery inside. The iPhone 7 is no exception. The 1960mAh battery is tiny compared to some Android counterparts. The iPhone 7 never had a good battery life when new, with an aging battery the battery life suffers even more.
In fact, the matte black iPhone 7 I bought (along with the Jet Black iPhone 7, yes I was on a mission to collect each color) has 61% battery life and it will shut down in just 30 minutes. Fortunately, with a little skill and $ 20, I put in a new battery.
If you are a heavy user, you might look for a charger before noon. I was never able to use iPhone 7 (also iPhone SE 2) all day. One hour of Fortnite chewed up 20% of battery life and one hour of video recording chewed up 30% of others.
So if you’re a road warrior, you should really avoid the iPhone 7 (or iPhone SE 2 for that matter) and consider the iPhone XR or any Pro Max phone. But if you are light users, iPhone 7 may be enough for you, remember to take a battery with you when you go out for a day.
Camera
Believe it or not, the iPhone 7 can take really good photos in good lighting conditions. But he suffers badly in the dark. The photos are dark and flat. There is no hope for the darkroom. The lack of a night mode, like the iPhone 11 or Pixel 3A, really made the iPhone 7 unsuitable for nightlife.
If all you need is a camera to take family photos, take a short video, take photos of books, or scan a QR code, the iPhone 7’s camera is more than enough. If you need more, you’re better served with newer phones.
Conclusion
Overall, the iPhone 7 is a very good entry-level phone, especially in Canada. The iPhone SE 2 sells to over 600 Canadians after tax. So all of a sudden, $ 100 for the 128GB iPhone 7 sounds like a bargain. Even if you factor in the cost of a new battery in the Apple Store, you’re considering a phone under $ 200. You can’t find a better deal than this.
The iPhone 7 is perfectly capable of almost any day-to-day task except new game titles or heavy video editing. It’s the perfect entry-level phone for the Apple ecosystem.
IPhone 7 will be supported for at least 2 years. With iOS 15 still supporting the iPhone 6S, the iPhone 7 would definitely get iOS 16. If history tells us anything, the iPhone 7 might also get iOS 17. So if we’re lucky , you may be able to get 3 years of software support.
Someone says it’s expensive to get into Apple’s ecosystem. This is true if you buy brand new. But if you look at the second hand market, you can save tons of money. iPhone 7, Apple Watch 3, 8th generation iPad, Apple TV 4K, MacBook Air 2015.
