It doesn't help that there are a handful of actions that occur by pressing the home button. By the time I was done writing this review, I had mostly assimilated to the new button, but there's a big "but". It definitely still feels more like a vibration than a button-press, and it took several days for me to get used to it. I found the first option offered too little feedback while the third option offered too much. You can dial in the amount of feedback you receive. The capacitive button works together with a new Taptic Engine inside the phone to provide physical feedback every time you press the button. This forces some behavioral changes upon iPhone owners. The iPhone 7 trades a physical button for a capacitive one. On every iPhone since 2007, the home button has been a physical key that requires people to press it down. Looking at the competition, it's clear that you should be getting more screen (or a smaller phone) for your buck. There are thick lines along the side edges and thick bezels above and below. I'm not pleased with the amount of bezel surrounding the display. The home button / fingerprint sensor is all but invisible on the black models, while it's called out with a shiny metallic rim on the silver, gold, and rose gold models. The earpiece, user-facing camera, and a small sensor are plainly visible above the display. The first two options have black glass on front, while the other three have white glass. Samsung and HTC are easily on par with Apple, and others, such as Huawei, OnePlus, and ZTE, are breathing down Apple's neck.Īpple is selling the 7 in jet black (glossy), regular black (matte), silver, gold, and rose gold. These phones come across as expensive (and they are!) But Apple now has plenty of company when it comes to quality. I was pleased with the feel of the metal and glass, which are fitted together perfectly. The materials and build quality are top notch, and I expected nothing less. Even with a case on, this phone will fit into most pockets with no problem.
The curved side edges are smooth against your skin and it's easy to wrap your hand all the way around the 7 and grip it tightly. I had no trouble reaching the entire screen with my thumb, and found the device incredibly comfortable to hold and use. The 4.7-inch screen makes the iPhone 7 a smaller flagship than most others. The iPhone 7 is the smaller of the two iPhones and is a great one-handed device. There's no doubt the iPhone 7 is a finely-crafted phone, but the appearance is no longer fresh and new. The rounded corners and smoothed-over shape give the phone a somewhat generic look The iPhone 5/5s and 4/4s had more personality as far as I am concerned. Apple was able to eliminate the two antenna lines that ran across the back of the older 6 and 6s, so the back surface of the 7 is uninterrupted metal. The glass front surface has a slight curve along the edges to help smooth out the joint between two materials. The metal shell forms the entire rear panel and wraps around to form the side edges. The phone is made from aluminum and glass. Even so, those fancy cases for your iPhone 6/6s won't fit the new iPhones - they'll cover the flash, which is a bit more to the right. In fact, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 6s have the exact same measurements (length, width, depth), but the 7 does weigh a bit less. Otherwise, the phones share nearly identical footprints, shapes, and appearance. The primary physical differences between the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 6/6s are the larger camera module, the dropped 3.5mm headphone jack, the waterproof casing, and the altered colors.