iPhone 7 hands on review

THE big news with the iPhone 7 was supposed to be that Apple was dropping the headphone jack. Yes, that happened. But the really big news is what you’ll be able to do with the new iPhone 7 Plus camera.

All smiles. Apple CEO Tim Cook at the unveiling of the new iPhone products at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California.

THE big news with the iPhone 7 was supposed to be that Apple was dropping the headphone jack. Yes, that happened but it turns out the really big news is what you’ll be able to do with the new iPhone 7 Plus camera.

Apple has never worried about winning the megapixel race but has focused on making sure the camera takes really good pictures. That’s why you see those “Shot on iPhone” posters when you drive around town that highlight some amazing photos that non-photographers have shot with their phone.

And again the biggest thing about the iPhone launch today is the camera. Sure, the camera in the iPhone 7 has been improved, with a better sensor, wider f1.8 aperture and better processing. It’s still a 12 megapixel camera although the front facing camera has been given an upgrade to 7 megapixels.

But it’s impossible not to breeze over that and head straight to the iPhone 7 Plus, which has dual cameras with two lenses protruding from the back panel. One camera is the standard wide photo, the other is a telephoto.

Really big news. The iPhone 7 Plus has a dual camera.

To switch between the two, when you open up the camera mode you see “1x” at the bottom of the frame. Touch that and it instantly switches to the other lens, which is the 2x zoom.

Apple is further tapping into people’s desire to get closer to their subject in their photograph with a dial that lets you increase the zoom to 10x, although the range between 2x and 10x is done with software rather than a lens.

The rule with digital zoom on any smartphone is never use it — it’s not worth it. Whether Apple has produced something that breaks that rule is hard to say in just a few minutes of playing with the phone.

I shot a few 10x frames in a dark room with shaky hands and the zoomed images were OK but not great. However a fairer test will be when we get to take one in the real world.

If you commit to the dual lens iPhone 7 Plus, you also get a new mode in the camera called Portraits. In that mode, the camera automatically detects faces and keeps them sharply in focus while blurring the background.

There are plenty of apps that have tried to do this but an initial look at results shot with the iPhone 7 Plus is that Apple has got it right. Although it has also got it right a bit too late — the Portrait mode with the shallow depth of field effect won’t be on the iPhone 7 Plus at release date but will come out as a software by the end of the year.

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus have the same form factor as the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus although, aside from the dual lens, there’s a few subtle differences so that eagle-eyed folk will notice you have a shiny new phone.

The antenna band no longer goes across the back of the phone but is now on the edge. And the audio jack is gone.

Finally, waterproof. If you drop this iPhone in the loo or jump in the pool with it in your pocket, you’re safe.

Apple spent a lot of time today talking about wireless earphones, from a new range of Beats to the AirPods that protrude out of your ears like little sticks. Maybe dropping the headphone jack will be the catalyst needed to drive people into wireless headphones.

Certainly Apple has a history of dropping “essential” items from devices and, after initial grumbling, people soon learn to live without.

There is a new chip, that will make this faster — but there is always a new chip to make every new iPhone faster. Perhaps the only surprise with the chip is that it is called the A10 Fusion, which is an update on last year’s A9.

Apple has promised this will have the best battery life of any iPhone, which suggests that maybe some of the space saved with the headphone jack has been used by a bigger battery.

The home button looks the same but doesn’t act the same. It’s no longer a physical button but a solid piece of glass that gives the sense of movement through Taptic feedback.

That sense of movement through specific vibration is not just on the home button and will add to the game play on iOS games.

The screen is brighter with a wider colour gamut and there is now stereo sound on the iPhone, although it is very hard to properly test that in a crowded room of over enthusiastic technology reporters.

Is this the best smartphone on the market? The lightning port of an iPhone 7.

Something to file under the “At Long Last” heading is the waterproof feature. If you drop this iPhone in the loo or jump in the pool with it in your pocket, you’re safe.

I’ve reviewed the last five iPhone models and in every one of those reviews I wrote: “should be waterproof”. It’s great that this is waterproof and better late than never.

Joining waterproofing in that same category is the removal of the 16GB model of the iPhone, which was woefully too small. Now the iPhone models start at 32GB, although if you want the fancy Jet Black model you’ll need to get either the 128GB or 256GB version.

So, do I love this iPhone 7? Yes, but I love the iPhone 7 Plus more.

I’ve long been dismissive of phablet phones. Size is a preference when it comes to smartphones and I’ve always preferred the smaller 4.7-inch phone.

But the advantages of the dual cameras in the iPhone 7 Plus has me challenging my own long-held views.

This could be the time to go big and get into the picture — both in the wide angle and with the zoom.

What is the best smartphone on the market? With the recall of Samsung’s Note7 following reports of phones bursting into flames, there is only one answer.

It’s not the iPhone 7. It is the iPhone 7 Plus.

Local pricing and availability in Australia

iPhone 7 starts at RRP A$1079 inc. GST.

iPhone 7 Plus starts at RRP A$1269 inc. GST.

Pre order from Friday, September 9.

Availability from Friday, September 16.

* Rod Chester travelled to San Francisco as a guest of Apple.