The iPhone 7 discussion popped up around campus and around the nation, and with good reason. The new device has countless features that distinguish it from the previous versions of the iPhone and other high-end brands of smartphones.
Olivia Commer, a sophomore in the College of Education, almost always gets new technology as soon as it’s released, and the iPhone 7 is no exception.
Commer considers herself a loyal Apple customer.
“I’ve had an iPhone for a pretty long time,” Commer said.
As an avid Apple consumer, Commer immediately picked up on the differences and similarities between her new iPhone and her old one.
“The iPhone 7 comes in the same size as the iPhone 6, (but) it’s more simple to learn,” Commer said.
Some highlights of the phone include the brand new home button concept. The button is now an indent at the bottom of the phone and when you hold your finger on the censor and apply pressure, it sends you to different screens.
“If you press down lightly it will send you to the home screen, and if you press down pretty hard then it’s like a double click,” Commer said.
This can be used for multitasking and to see recently used apps, and can also be set to vibrate. The Messages app also has some surprising new features.
“I like all the new iMessage features where you can create your own GIFs and draw messages,” Commer said.
A recent and risky decision by Apple is to sell their new wireless headphones, dubbed AirPods, separate from the iPhone 7. On top of the $649–$769 for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, users also have to pay $159 for the advertised AirPods.
“The only thing that has really changed is that there’s no headphone jack,” Commer said. “If I want to listen to music when my phone’s at 10% I can’t really do that. The phone comes with a free pair of regular headphones, but they aren’t up to par with the new AirPods.”
When comparing her phones, Commer said there are also significant differences in camera quality. She took some pictures with her new phone and compared them to pictures taken on the iPhone 6 and the results were quite noticeable.
“The pictures were much clearer (on the iPhone 7) and the color in the pictures is much more defined and you can see different variations of the same colors,” Commer said.
Along with improved saturation and sharpness, the lens also allows for better zoom, one that is up to 2x stronger than the iPhone 6.
The iPhone 7 Plus features an additional lens, so there is a wide-angle and a telephoto lens. The lenses work cohesively to take the best possible picture.
Aside from the lens, other additional features include AirPods, double battery life, extra speaker and water resistance.
Commer is ecstatic about her new phone, and other Marquette students have strong opinions on their smartphones as well.
“Apple is my preference and I would choose the extra speaker because I like to listen to music unplugged,” Aditi Narayan, a junior in the College of Education, said.
However, not all students are pro-apple.
“Samsung all the way,” Sophia Pizzo, a junior in the College of Communication, said. “I like the better speakers on the iPhone.”
The majority of Marquette students liked the extra speaker the most, and look forward to the enhanced clarity and louder volume implications promised by the iPhone 7.
