So, it would be very helpful to see 1) signal improvement, 2) download speed improvement, 3) improvement in voice quality when listening, 4) improvement on voice quality when speaking including background cancellation.
For example, something I rarely saw in iPhone 6s(+) reviews was the addition of a 4th microphone for noise cancellation. I also rarely saw any talk of the H.265 compression (2 x H.264) for FaceTime Video over cell networks in the 6s.
Last Sat, I was in a Starbucks speaking with a friend who was in a different Starbucks. I was on the 7+ he on the 5S. I could hear annoying background noise, he could hear no background noise. These things are critically important, but it seems as if the reviewers are not using these units in real world situations.
I think this is because the people doing the reviews don't really have technical backgrounds. Otherwise, they'd be testing this issues.
EDIT: The modem specs (for Verizon/Sprint). AT&T, T-mobile use a lesser Intel Modem. https://www.qualcomm.com/products/snapdragon/modems/x12
Apparently iPhone 7(+) does not have the antennas for 4x4 MIMO / 256 QAM which the Samsung S7 does provide for. http://cellularinsights.com/samsung-galaxy-s7-the-first-4x4-...
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12678124
LG V20 which should be shipping by end of Oct does support AWS-3 (Band 66) http://cellularinsights.com/lg-v20-the-first-aws-3-capable-s...
These issues are important to extend signal and to make better use of spectrum in areas with large buildings and high population density.
Where is Microsoft's 1ms latency touch screen from 2012? https://www.engadget.com/2012/03/10/microsoft-cuts-touchscre...
He said the review is a review of the phone. That includes voice and signal quality. His hardware table doesn't even mention the LTE modem and radio while mentioning the WiFi standards.
Really a phenomenal showing by Apple's CPU and compiler teams, especially considering that everyone uses the same fabs.
Qualcomm is trying to do what apple does here, but they are spread across many more phones, OS versions and the like. They are trying to be more general purpose, which makes them not as great in most cases.
I would love to hear more about the disillusioning part. As an Android user I want to stay with them but after playing around with the 7 and reading this review I'm actually much more impressed with this phone than when it initially came out. Especially after the release of the Google Pixel which was very underwhelming to me. I can't believe I'd say this but the iPhone 7 seems to provide a better value than the Pixel.
To me, the difference between a $1000 phone and a $400 is less than $1 per day (I keep my phones for 24 months). A buck a day is something I can afford and am willing to pay it for even a modestly better phone. I would guess a lot of HN readers are in a similar position.
I wish Google would have come out with something much better even if it would have been more expensive than an iPhone.
Pixel pretty much offers very similar hardware without having to buy into the Apple ecosystem. There's value in that.
I do wonder if he is _still_ at Apple after whatever was happening was made public (and possibly known to Apple as well)
I quit Apple precisely when the iPhone 1 was released due to ideological reasons, as I realised the whole ecosystem would become a walled garden. But I concede they have good products.
I was looking forward to the new Pixel and Pixel XL. Google devices are the only ones that have a sane code/update policy within Android, and thus allow me to run Copperhead OS (which is the only free mobile OS I find realistic to run). However, they are insanely expensive, which IMHO risks making Copperhead a really niche option.
Samsung makes decent hardware, Note fiasco aside, but their Android mods are a joke. Same for most Androids. Jolla is stuck. And fringe options like Pyra are cool but inconvenient on a daily basis...
After a steady upgrade cadence since iPhone 1, this is the first time I've postponed my decision, still deciding how to proceed.
Google is making the right moves but I'm not sure how much it can help them. Pixel is an excellent product, but you need a crowbar to pry people out of a well worn and comfortable habits.
I thought everyone went mad when they said this as I never encountered this issue, but I see it everywhere... The app that drains my Android is always Skype. That is also the app the drains my laptop and the reason I started using the web version but when that is on, Chrome drains my laptop. Wechat seriously does not come close and I use it a lot more...
I don't remember ever not using Google maps on an iPhone. When was this impossible? I got the 3GS in 2009 and moved to the 4S in early 2012
"In June 2012, Apple announced that they would replace Google Maps with their own maps service from iOS 6. However, on December 13, 2012, Google announced the availability of Google Maps in the Apple App Store, starting with the iPhone version. Just hours after the Google Maps iOS app was released, it became the top free app in the App Store."
A 64GB 6S+ is a much better proposition to me and will be my daily driver until I find something better. I've not noticed any difference since swapping.
What are the 'friction points' of traditional 3.5mm headphones? The fact that they're wired?
You guys know that the MacBook trackpads don't actually depress either, right?
Quite a disappointement from anandtech.
And thank god, since I only got my 6S Plus a few months ago. :)
I hope they are planning some fireworks (you'll recover Samsung ;) for the iPhone's 10th year anniversary next year.
Steve Jobs definitely didn't play down that part, to the point of being as important as any other part.
Just so I understand, since the iPhone was the first phone Apple made, are you saying you stopped using their PCs (and music players?) because they'd made a phone? If you were happy with their other products up to that point, how does the phone change the grand scheme of things? I'd want to hear what your ideology is.
I thought Macs would become less open and less important for Apple in the future, with their marked shift to mobile.
I think it was the right decision. Almost a decade later, Macs still lack components I think are key for a developer. For example, they don't ship with a package manager.
I understand Apple's focus on mobile, since that's what brings most earnings, but as a developer freedom is very important to me. Not just from an ideological point of view. Also for convenience reasons. E.g., I cannot imagine going back to floating window managers. Getting a tiling one running on Mac is a bit of a hack. I prefer Arch, Nix and friends.
And yet the Mac really hasn't. So why quit Apple?
I realize this is unrelated to the main topic, but it illustrates human foresight.
Why is this so hard to do? Can't a desktop OS compile the right rom and install it via USB?
Edit: I understand this is a driver issue, but it seems there isn't that much difference in hardware in the mobile world.
There are huge differences in the hardware. Go to XDA and try to build a rom for an android device. Bluetooth, wifi, GPS, HAL sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, display drivers, audio hardware, NFC sensor can all have significant differences that need to be sussed out. Most significant of all- the camera.
That would be the antithesis of what makes the iPhone good though -- the hardware/software limited fragmentation + lock-step iterations.
They have 2 years update policy, the same as any other Android device. They sign it by contract.
What do you mean? There are many Android devices that never receive an update at all.
I think if Apple kept the headphone jack and added wireless charging, they'd have a lot of very happy customers.
1). .mp3 or .aac throws away data
2). Transmitting over bluetooth recompesses and throws away more data
I think in principle Apple could avoid one of these with AirPods if the the iPhone7 streamed .aac/.mp3 as a custom Bluetooth codec, but I haven't heard if they wen that route.
Not me. I already use wireless headphones at the gym and while running. The only loss is I cannot charge and listen at the same time which is something I rarely did anyway.
Given how Google abruptly leaves projects behind, the Pixel needs a few releases before I would trust it staying around. Flagship priced Android phones are also a tough market because you can get decent ones at very low prices.
Genuinely honest: Android's been out there for a long while. Even if the Pixel was the last Pixel ever, why would that be a problem from me as a user? When it's time to replace, I'm going to look at the other Android phones too anyway.
Also, if people valued having wireless phones they'd had bluetooth headset already, Apple isn't exactly breaking new grounds here, just removing the options of having passive battery-less sets.
Since I'm locked to the system, I'm stuck with the 5S, for now. The SE was bad value (in Europe) when it came out and it's just getting worse and worse.
And even driving my old beater won't cause me any hassles because the FM radio transmitter I bought for the car uses USB for both power and audio. Lots of inexpensive car stereos offer USB and Bluetooth in.
After trying some cheaper phones and two Android flagships (support was terrible), I realized that a great phone, with good warranty, and quick updates is worth more to me than the price hump.
Same for laptops. Why would I cut on a device that I use every day?
(Apropos laptops: we usually sell our MacBooks after ~3 years, I usually recoup 2/3rd of the cost and have a high-end laptop for 300-400 per three years.)
It does absolutely everything I can think of a cell phone can do, even has dual sims. I'm tethering to it off 3G right now.
It's running Android 5.1, and to be honest I have not even tried to upgrade it because it just doesn't matter. It does everything as it is.
It's this http://www.naijainformation.com/2016/06/itel-it1355-price-fu...
I buy Apple phones for one reason, and that's the fact that my business lives and dies through communication. With my $800 phone, I can walk into any Apple store in the world and get support, a repair, or replacement. When I had a Nexus phone, all I got was runaround and BS from whoever support was contracted out to.
Apple marketing simply has succeeded in convincing you and others that there is no viable alternative which in turn keeps you from accepting such a possibility
https://www.engadget.com/2016/07/21/kickasstorrents-apple-fa...
Android is open source. You can get rid of all the google bits if you really want to.
* Security and privacy
* The best range of high quality apps
* Pythonista
* The camera(s)
* Calibration - I don't trust Android devices to be correctly quality controlled in this regard
* Continuity and the universal clipboard
* System performance
* Product support / Apple Stores
* Device longevity. My daughter just upgraded from my old 3GS, which still even works with the app store!
This was very nearly called part 1 of the iPhone 7 review.
Strictly speaking they are. Of course, it doesn't help that they put most of the system in one package :) (com.apple.pkg.Essentials).
At any rate, Homebrew and MacPorts are only five minutes away. Even after 22 years of experience with various Linux distributions, I still prefer Homebrew as my package manager. (Mostly because adding your own custom formulae is so easy and new packages are in more quickly than in e.g. Debian.)
Which is something else entirely.
Apple in Norway offers IT departments (which manage over 1000 iOS devices) boxes of replacement iPhones so they can swap devices immediately themselves. I would be extremely surprised if this wasn't also available to AASPs http://www.apple.com/no/support/programs/ssa/
http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/23/13036012/a-note-from-the-e...
Apparently there was about a month where he actively worked for both, too.
A lot of people install Ubuntu on Macbooks for that reason. But right now it's very hard to install a different OS on your phone.
For some people being heard when there is background noise is not so important. For most, it is critically important for critically important calls which happen from time to time.
Therefore it makes sense to talk about design and not downplay its importance with a comment like "Yet some think that's the most important part..."; because one of those "some" was Steve Jobs and I don't think Apple has changed its policy much in that regard.
I'm not judging if he would have released this iPhone 7 or not, I'm just saying what I've said.
You're totally right with your comment but I think that the context of the other posts made it seem like you were suggesting something you weren't.
Thank you for your comment :-)
Yeah, my phone is a business tool, and I'm on the phone frequently. Its useless if I can't be on it on wired headphones while it recharges from long phone calls.
I dunno.
Yes, in the sense that the results are doubly compressed.
No, in any meaningful sense that I would have an issue with. The headphones have the appropriate BT codecs for high definition audio (the 3 even more so, aptX et al), and the end results have been on par with my wired AT-50x.
You can try double and triple compressing a 320mbps mp3 file and you'd hardly notice any change. Of course such compression algorithms are not omni-potent, but it's close enough.
At a good enough bit rate (256 and especially 320), mp3s are indistinguishable from "CD quality" (which also throws away data in the sense that it quantizes the analog signal, but it doesn't matter there either), and all blind A/B/A tests have shown that.
In headphones that cost less than $1000, and for everyone over 40 that's even more so.
Audiophiles excepted of course, because they have magical unicorn audio senses -- even when they can't use them on a blind test.
1) Your headphones have good codecs, but they are only used if they match an iPhone supported BT codec. For example AptX will not work with iPhone.
2). Yes double compressing .mp3s is not as bad as it sounds, but double compression can be worse with two different codecs. For example I believe iPhone uses SBC codec for Bluetooth, which is pretty different from .mp3/.aac.
I would be interested in knowing if AirPods solve this by doing .mp3 or .aac pass through.
The headphones do support AAC BT streaming though, which IIRC is Apple's slant on AptX.
Yes, Didn't say it throws away data "that our ears can hear" but that it "throws away data", period (which is true). And not just frequencies but also dynamic range.
That said, a high quality mp3 also doesn't throw away data that "our ears can hear", not with absolute physical certainty (as in Nyquist et al), but with psycho-acoustic research level certainty. (I say high quality because lower quality mp3s trade more usable signal for space savings).
Speaking of FUD. Marketing only gets you so far, and at some point you have to have a product. I have tried to switch to Android. First with an HTC One and another time with the Nexus 5 (I also have a Nexus 7). Android definitely wins on open and customization, but on overall system it continually failed. My Nexus 5 would randomly get system processes spinning out of control and if I didn't notice, I would have a dead battery in ~10 minutes. I don't remember which, but there was an Android update that made my Nexus 7 completely unusable.
I went back to the iPhone, and only then fully realized Apple's advantage of controlling the hardware AND software. I think Google is finally recognizing this, and attempting to replicate it with the Pixel.
They are still not there with Pixel. As long as they don't have their own SoC, there won't be proper long time support for their phones.
If a Moto G is good enough for you, then great! You have sixty five cents per day that you can spend on other things.
Hell, $600 can feed a family of four for several weeks.
All I'm saying is if you have a little disposable income ($1 / day) then for many people a better phone is worth the price difference. I think it's especially true when you think about how many hours every day people use their phones. I can get by just fine with a 4-year old PC, but having to use a 4-year old phone would suck.
Also add in the fact that unlike on the Apple side, most of the Android customer base can simply wait a few months or even weeks and get a much better price (see: most LG phones based on my research), or the same specs from a different manufacturer.
Your Android comment is spot on. I'm wary though of comparing specs because that can be misleading. A couple of phones ago I had a OnePlus One which looked marvelous on paper and it ended up being a terrible phone.
And if Apple ever goes back to making new laptops, those will probably be head and shoulders better than the competition at the same price, too. We don't know for certain, of course, since it's been two years since Apple has made new MacBook Pros with more than cosmetic adjustments and they may never make new ones ever again. None have been announced, anyway. The price of the two year old version, of course, is the same as it was on original release.
But there's no matching quality and features of the retina iMac for creative work, including software development, even at double or triple the price.
1. For the same price as an iMac, you can buy a 4k display and way, way more powerful CPU, graphics and storage.
2. The superiority of the MacBook Pro is a myth, now more than ever. There are plenty of laptops today with much higher resolution and better color reproduction, and of course, Skylakes and recent GPUs. Dell XPS, Precisions, Surface Books, high-end Thinkpads, ASUS models etc etc.
HP and Dell have all that.
> you can't get developer grade desktop hardware anywhere outside Apple at a reasonable price.
is just false.
There's no reason to worry that Apple will resume charging for OS X updates after so many years of giving them away and after shifting to more frequent but less substantial releases.
None of the predictions of doom have come to pass. Users have come to accept new mobile computing platforms that are less open than the PC platform, but there is no "whole ecosystem" that has transitioned to being a walled garden.
In fact, I think that somewhat proves my point, it's no coincidence the hardware Google has the most influence over has the best experience.
And it's no coincidence they gave up on just influencing the phones and went as far as manufacturing a phone with the Pixel, all in chase of the perfect experience
What about power consumption issues? If you load up Windows on a Mac laptop the battery drain rate is doubled. That's a pretty big user experience issue IMHO.
Google can't do this with their current development model. They are not in charge of the Linux kernel interfaces. Let's say it's 2019, Android Quaker Oats is here and Google would like to bring it to the Pixel. Quaker Oats is based on Linux 5.0. Qualcomm develops their drivers out of tree and the latest kernel that gets support for the Snapdragon 821 is Linux 4.69. Well, tough luck, Google and Pixel owners, Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich is all you get.
You can still enable the option through console, but the UI option is gone.
What matters (and I think this has always been true) are the applications. When friends ask for my opinion on what they should get, I almost always recommend buying from Apple (gamers probably want Windows). The two big reasons are (1) they can (legally) run more software than anything else and (2) you can walk into a store for support that's actually pretty good.
Edit: but agreed, if you need a trackpad, the mb(p) beats all. The x220 trackpad is a piece of garbage and I disabled it right away.