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iPhone 7 | OT | Pre-order Sept 9, Available Sept 16

Quick question: If I order the 7+ "Sim Free" version, could I just pop the Tmobile sim out of my 5S and use it? Or would I need to do something else to get it going, like take it to Tmobile?

Also, a friend is telling me I should wait to upgrade since next years iPhone will have OLED and it will be the last 'yearly' iPhone update - is there any truth in this? My 5S is starting to show its age and I'm antsy to upgrade to something, even if it's just a holdover for a year. I have to charge my phone 3x a day, siri doesn't work half the time, and the top-left of the touchscree only registers about half the time (which is where the back button is on pretty much every app).

It just sucks the waits for every phone are so long. I've even been looking into some android phones.

Yes, you can just pop in your old SIM (provided it is a Nano-SIM) into the new phone. The 5S uses the Nano-SIM so you should be fine.

Apple will continue to update the iPhone yearly, but some people believe that Apple will be having two "S" years instead of one going forward. Now is exactly the time to get a new phone since you have a whole year before they release whatever new concept they have next, but there's no concrete evidence as to whether that device will be some sort of fancy OLED. Heck, it could just be a 7S. Stay tuned for 6 months while we wait on Chinese manufacturing leaks and rampant rumor-milling.
 

Aiii

So not worth it
After six weeks of playing the long game with my provider my iPhone 7 Plus finally came in today.

It's weird how the force touch home button only feels like a button when your phone is laying down, and not when you're holding it, I'm sure there's some physics reason for this that I'm too stupid to understand, but that's so weird.
 
just got my 7+

whats the best and fastest way to start using it switching from my iPhone 5S?

can I just "copy" the old phone environment onto the new one?
 

Deku Tree

Member
I swear by the PowerBeats (3 being the new one). Same reverse neck layout but ear hooks good enough for exercise and an even bigger battery. Only downside is MicroUSB - only the X charged with Lightning.

Does it say that the PB3 have the w1 chip? I didn't see it on the product page.
 

Red

Member
Finally got a matte black 256GB 7 Plus. Good so far. A little light bleeding through the edges of the LCD, but no dead pixels, which were a chronic problem for me on the 6s plus.

I was hoping for a 128GB 7 Plus to save a little cash, but i saw this one in stock and didn't want to wait any longer.

The size of this thing still frustrates me. I wish there was parity between both models. On the plus side, I get 3D Touch again. I missed it.

Other than that it's been good. Set up as new so I'm going through the process of downloading apps and getting everything up and running.

I've been using Downcast for years but I think I'm going to use the stock podcast app from now on. Downcast has failed to save my subs through iCloud for like two phones now. I assume the stock podcast app will perform more reliably. I'm less used to the interface but I will adjust over time. I hope I won't need the volume amplifier... the improved speakers on the 7 should help with that.
 

saelz8

Member
Checked iStocknow, for shits and giggles. No Plus in stock, anywhere around here.

Hopped on Apple.com, just to see what the delivery range was at this stage. I started going through the process of selecting, color, carrier, etc. Oh, they have the SIM FREE (Truly Unlocked) models now? Cool. I go to check Store Availability, with nothing but the purest doubt, after all I had just checked iStocknow with null results. It's available for Pickup, downtown.

I go back, select the ATT GSM model, and repeat the process, it's not in stock. If you're on the prowl, look into the SIM FREE version, because it may be in stock at your location. You have to pay upfront, sure, but if you want it now, look into it.

Gonna pick it up in about 2 hours. I got lucky, this wasn't 3AM or some other ungodly hour. This was 9-10AM.
 
So as mentioned I just picked up the PB3 at the Apple Store last night. They're in stock but not exactly on display.

- Bluetooth pairing is about as easy as it can get. No settings bullshit. Just turn them on somewhat close to your phone, a pop up appears with the name and even a picture of the headphones, press connect: Done.

(I can't say this is a buying point for me. Bluetooth has always been really damn reliable once you get things paired. But it certainly makes it easy enough that any member of your family could pair them without any instructions at all.)

- There is a new icon of headphones on the top status bar, replacing the old Bluetooth icon when W1 headphones are connected.

- On the notifications menu for iOS (swipe left) the headphones show their name (as PB2 did as well) but actually a small icon of the PB headphones instead of a generic Beats logo.

- Fast charge is legit. 5 minutes gave me enough charge to head out and get through a full podcast no problem. I'm inclined to believe that battery life really is doubled (12 hours) but the proof will be in if I need to charge it all next week.

- Still MicroUSB. :-( Annoying but something I can probably live with; if the battery life is legit charging once a week is alright. (Only the PBX uses Lightning and I don't think any part of the Beats line uses USBC)

Audio quality seems great and the bass is definitely there, but hard to say how improved that is over my old earphones or if it's the factor of just being brand new and not worn down by use.
 
I've been using Downcast for years but I think I'm going to use the stock podcast app from now on. Downcast has failed to save my subs through iCloud for like two phones now. I assume the stock podcast app will perform more reliably.

The stock Podcasts app uses iCloud for syncing, so it should be fine. Mine have come through to new phones with no problem.

I'm partial to Overcast myself, haven't tried Downcast. Either would be superior to the stock IMO

Eh, the stock app is fine with me, though admittedly I'm not a podcast power user. For casual listening now and again it's totally fine.
 

Red

Member
I'm partial to Overcast myself, haven't tried Downcast. Either would be superior to the stock IMO

The stock Podcasts app uses iCloud for syncing, so it should be fine. Mine have come through to new phones with no problem.



Eh, the stock app is fine with me, though admittedly I'm not a podcast power user. For casual listening now and again it's totally fine.
I tried out Overcast and did not like it. $9.99 for a yearly sub is crazy. Its features do not justify that price. I ended up buying Pocket Casts and like in thirty seconds of using it I am already in love. Beautiful app, great interface, easy to navigate, and quick to use. Couldn't ask for more.
 
I tried out Overcast and did not like it. $9.99 for a yearly sub is crazy. Its features do not justify that price. I ended up buying Pocket Casts and like in thirty seconds of using it I am already in love. Beautiful app, great interface, easy to navigate, and quick to use. Couldn't ask for more.

I was a Pocket Casts user way back in the day. Then I switched to Overcast with I liked, but I dumped it when Marco went to the $10 a year sub. That happened to coincide with the Pocket Cast 6.0 update so I went back there and haven't looked back since. Only thing I wish is that Apple allowed other podcast app to use the Siri API, but other than that I feel like Pocket Casts is currently the best podcast app out there.
 

Deku Tree

Member
So as mentioned I just picked up the PB3 at the Apple Store last night. They're in stock but not exactly on display.

- Bluetooth pairing is about as easy as it can get. No settings bullshit. Just turn them on somewhat close to your phone, a pop up appears with the name and even a picture of the headphones, press connect: Done.

(I can't say this is a buying point for me. Bluetooth has always been really damn reliable once you get things paired. But it certainly makes it easy enough that any member of your family could pair them without any instructions at all.)

- There is a new icon of headphones on the top status bar, replacing the old Bluetooth icon when W1 headphones are connected.

- On the notifications menu for iOS (swipe left) the headphones show their name (as PB2 did as well) but actually a small icon of the PB headphones instead of a generic Beats logo.

- Fast charge is legit. 5 minutes gave me enough charge to head out and get through a full podcast no problem. I'm inclined to believe that battery life really is doubled (12 hours) but the proof will be in if I need to charge it all next week.

- Still MicroUSB. :-( Annoying but something I can probably live with; if the battery life is legit charging once a week is alright. (Only the PBX uses Lightning and I don't think any part of the Beats line uses USBC)

Audio quality seems great and the bass is definitely there, but hard to say how improved that is over my old earphones or if it's the factor of just being brand new and not worn down by use.

Thanks! i bet the Bluetooth pairing mainly shines when you want to switch from your home computer to your phone to your office computer to your iPad or something like that... but yeah if your just using the headphones with one device then the easy pairing is not a big deal.
 

Aiii

So not worth it
If only Apple could just support NFC bluetooth pairing like every other device maker in the world does, but alas, have to sell them Beats. Crying shame, that.
 

Red

Member
I was a Pocket Casts user way back in the day. Then I switched to Overcast with I liked, but I dumped it when Marco went to the $10 a year sub. That happened to coincide with the Pocket Cast 6.0 update so I went back there and haven't looked back since. Only thing I wish is that Apple allowed other podcast app to use the Siri API, but other than that I feel like Pocket Casts is currently the best podcast app out there.
I have never used Siri for podcasts so that's not a feature I'd miss. I didn't even know that was possible. I feel kind of bad I didn't move to Pocket Casts sooner. It's a really thoughtfully designed app. I appreciate the little details like the animation switching between light and dark modes. It'a enjoyable to use in a way that no other podcast app has been.
 
Thanks! i bet the Bluetooth pairing mainly shines when you want to switch from your home computer to your phone to your office computer to your iPad or something like that... but yeah if your just using the headphones with one device then the easy pairing is not a big deal.

Yeah I need to try the iCloud Bluetooth sync next. Not exactly sure on the details of how it works or if my MBA will work with it though.

Oh, one other thing I noticed: the PowerBeats 3 no longer has a rubber cap on the MicroUSB port. This obviously makes charging less fiddly, but I wonder if they just did tests and there wasn't enough sweat getting in the port to be a problem? It's on the underside of the left earphone so that would suggest sweat is not a problem, but worth noting.
 

Owari

Member
For those of you on the fence/pissed about the AirPods delay, I highly highly reccomend the Beats Solo3 earphones. They have incredible battery life (I got 20 hours.), recharge in minutes, instant pairing between all your Apple gear.

G9jqAEz.jpg


And on top of everything else they sound incredible!

Comparable to my studios and other $500 headphones I have only much more portable.
 

Owari

Member
I got the solo3s too. I was expecting them to be crappy sounding and they really weren't. happy with them, especially with the education discount.
Agreed. I was expecting the sound quality to be at least considerably worse than the Studios, but they're actually pretty close.
 

Aiii

So not worth it
I will stick to my Sony MDR-1000X, sure I had to manually pair them the first time, but no headset will beat that ANC and sound quality. Lovely headphones.
 

jts

...hate me...
I'm waiting on AirPods.

Would love that Apple give us a new tentative date at least. Does anyone have a clue or a hint?
 
I'm waiting on AirPods.

Would love that Apple give us a new tentative date at least. Does anyone have a clue or a hint?

My guess is Nov 15 based on some old info of W1 product availability. But Apple products slipping like this is pretty rare so who knows.
 
I was a Pocket Casts user way back in the day. Then I switched to Overcast with I liked, but I dumped it when Marco went to the $10 a year sub. That happened to coincide with the Pocket Cast 6.0 update so I went back there and haven't looked back since. Only thing I wish is that Apple allowed other podcast app to use the Siri API, but other than that I feel like Pocket Casts is currently the best podcast app out there.

The main reason I'm sticking with Overcast is that it syncs playback position between iOS and the web app for free, which is great for me. Pocketcasts does so as well, but you have to pay an additional license even if you bought it on iOS/Android prior.
 
The main reason I'm sticking with Overcast is that it syncs playback position between iOS and the web app for free, which is great for me. Pocketcasts does so as well, but you have to pay an additional license even if you bought it on iOS/Android prior.

Yeah. I bought into the Pocket Casts web player for $9 before Overcast was a thing so I've been good to go on that front and figure I might as well use what I already paid for.
 
Anyone have issues with photos on iPhone 7 Plus? It's like they are grainy / bad compression. Visibly worse than photos I took on my prior phone (6S Plus). Happens in all light conditions, but strangely more pronounced with more light. Kind of expected it to be the opposite.
A quick google search seems like I'm not the only one...
 

Red

Member
Anyone have issues with photos on iPhone 7 Plus? It's like they are grainy / bad compression. Visibly worse than photos I took on my prior phone (6S Plus). Happens in all light conditions, but strangely more pronounced with more light. Kind of expected it to be the opposite.
A quick google search seems like I'm not the only one...
Portrait mode adds more grain. I've noticed aggressive sharpening in a few shots but nothing significantly more pronounced than my 6s plus. Can you provide an example of the problem?
 
Portrait mode adds more grain. I've noticed aggressive sharpening in a few shots but nothing significantly more pronounced than my 6s plus. Can you provide an example of the problem?
Yeah I will do when not on mobile. This is just when using the camera normally though, not specifically portrait mode. Got a Genius Bar booking for next week just in case.

Edit: actually, this link is an example from someone on the support community. It's representative of the issue I'm having and is the level of quality my camera is taking at the moment. http://abload.de/img/img_01482duth.jpg
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
I was wondering why so many of the 2x zoom photos I was taking on my 7 Plus looked like complete garbage.

http://www.macworld.com/article/312...d-of-optical-more-often-than-youd-expect.html

Apparently, the camera decides to use the standard 28mm lens whenever it determines there isn't enough light or stability to use the 56mm lens, which apparently doesn't have the same optical image stabilization. It then snaps a photo with the 28mm lens with digital 2x zoom, all without notifying the user. This happens extremely frequently to me.

I usually dislike the image processing that Apple does for lower light images, making them all muddy and "painterly" in an attempt to reduce noise (?). I've noticed this since probably the first 6 series? I honestly prefer the old style of processing they used with the 5S, which definitely had more noise, but I felt it didn't muddy up the details.

So far, I'm really disappointed in the images this thing produces outside of the most optimal lighting conditions. The depth of field feature (albeit still beta) doesn't seem like a big step up in terms of accuracy compared to manually adding the effect via a 3rd party app.
 
Thinking about it, the link in Zefah's post makes a lot of sense. Maybe my 1x photos are doing some form of digital zoom which is causing the blurry photos?
 

Ianan

Member
Well I recently tried making it over to Android after using iPhones for 8+ years now. Bought the Pixel XL 32GB which was amazing, but I just missed iOS and other things.

Anyway, just returned my Pixel XL and put in an order for a 7 Plus 128GB and ordered myself a new Series 2 Apple watch to go along with it. Won't be getting them until the end of November but I'm sooo excited!
 

Red

Member
Thinking about it, the link in Zefah's post makes a lot of sense. Maybe my 1x photos are doing some form of digital zoom which is causing the blurry photos?
The photo you posted looks like it was taken in poor light, which would result in an ugly picture. Maybe the 7 plus is more aggressive with noise reduction than previous iPhones, which would result in a loss of detail. The mushiness of the fur on that rabbit looks like what I would expect from a Samsung phone in low light, which are among the most post-processing aggressive I've seen.

Man I just did a 3D Touch link peek and I love the new haptic feedback. It feels like the animation looks. That's so cool.
 

tariniel

Member
Well I recently tried making it over to Android after using iPhones for 8+ years now. Bought the Pixel XL 32GB which was amazing, but I just missed iOS and other things.

Anyway, just returned my Pixel XL and put in an order for a 7 Plus 128GB and ordered myself a new Series 2 Apple watch to go along with it. Won't be getting them until the end of November but I'm sooo excited!

What stuff did you miss about iOS while you were using the Pixel?

I'm asking because I currently have a 5S and I'm considering going Android this time for various reasons, one of them being the availability of the 7+ in Black (although the Pixel is no better in this regard). If I really wanted a 7+, my area has them available in Gold and Rose Gold, but I really dislike the white bezel on the front. If they had variants where the front was black, and the back was gold/rose, I'd be fine with that I think. The regular sized 7 is available in all colors and sizes but I really want to try a + phone this time.

My 5S is really starting to show its age right now. Saturday I picked it up off the desk and the battery read 50%, I loaded Snapchat, took a snap with a filter and sent it to people, in the time it took to do that it dropped to 10% and I got a low battery warning. By the time I pressed the home button to exit Snapchat the battery indicator said 1%. It's been fine since then but that's a really bad sign to me, and the device is so old that it's probably not worth having the battery replaced. So if this thing dies it may force me to get a 6S+, a 7+ in a color I don't want, or whatever Android I can get my hands on (S7 Edge probably).
 
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