Phones

[Ash Bridge]

I bought my iPhone 4s new back in 2012 and it still looks and works like it's just out of the box, I purchased an iPhone 6s 64gb last month which Iam very happy with, the only downside with the 4s is that its only 16gb, that's the only reason I got the 6s.

 

[Midland Mole]

I still have a 13 year old flip-up Motorola and that is good enough for me.

 

[Puffing Devil]

Oops, must have missed that!

No worries!

My daughter has been using the OP3 for a week now is it's very good - Dash charging is excellent, camera has taken some really good shots.

Compare the spec with the iPhone 6+ and it's £329 vs. £619 (Both 64Gb versions) and it's a no brainer if you want a high spec phone at a bargain price.

My own OP1 is still running well and coming up to 2 years of use - certainly no need to replace yet.

 

[Esker-pades]

I have a Vodafone branded smartphone with the same specs as and iPhone 6.
Only £115 on PAYG compared to £600/700.

I have won capitalism :P.

 

[Domh245]

So then, the iPhone 7 (and airbuds). What do you all make of it?

 

[Lrd]

So then, the iPhone 7 (and airbuds). What do you all make of it?

iPhone 7 actually looks alright (style wise) but iOS 10 is still lacking in a lot of features that other phones have been doing for a very long time.

The AirPods are a good idea but feel a bit rushed. 5 hours of battery life really isn't that much and can only be charged by that case. But the whole pairing/connecting thing is very nice.

The EarPods (cabled headphones) are a bad idea. Why are they still pushing with that Lightning connector? If they had at least made it USB-C then it may have gotten a bit more support. But the fact you can't charge your phone whilst listening to music will put a lot of people off, especially as the iPhone has an abysmal battery life that doesn't last all day.

The whole thing about removing the headphone jack is a good idea to get the industry moving forward with newer technologies. But they should have at least provided a decent wireless solution in the box (not as an optional extra). The fact that they are providing an Lighting to 3.5mm jack in the box (not intentional) shows that they have no confidence in their current offerings.

 

[cactustwirly]

I've got a OnePlus 2, which is really good phone for the price.

I hate iPhones, not because they're bad phones, but because they are so expensive and you can get (better) android phones for the same price.

 

[SS4]

So then, the iPhone 7 (and airbuds). What do you all make of it?

It doesn't matter, Apple could polish a turd and the fanboys would still pay upwards of £500 for it.

For my part I don't care for it. Removing the 3.5mm jack makes sense when you consider that Apple own Beats (a similarly overpriced product). Sorry, did you think it made sense for consumers? Don't be silly
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The whole thing about removing the headphone jack is a good idea to get the industry moving forward with newer technologies. But they should have at least provided a decent wireless solution in the box (not as an optional extra). The fact that they are providing an Lighting to 3.5mm jack in the box (not intentional) shows that they have no confidence in their current offerings.

What is never technology? Bluetooth audio happily coexists with wireless

Providing a Lightning to 3.5mm jack is a sop to users to get the devices out there and when they lose it they'll have to pay over the odds for a replacement. The tax dodgers aren't interested in standards as proven by said lightning connector.

 

[miami]

The EarPods (cabled headphones) are a bad idea. Why are they still pushing with that Lightning connector? If they had at least made it USB-C then it may have gotten a bit more support. But the fact you can't charge your phone whilst listening to music will put a lot of people off, especially as the iPhone has an abysmal battery life that doesn't last all day.

Wireless headphones are abysmal idea, as are.

Right now my phone is on 6%, I'm on a train from London to Victoria, listening to some music on noise cancelling earphones who's battery has run out, while my laptop recharges the phone. Can't do that on an iphone 7.

I'm hoping that someone like mophie will come out with a case that will allow charging/sync (via lightning or usb3 - perhaps both), a 3.5mm socket, and an extended battery.

But they should have at least provided a decent wireless solution in the box (not as an optional extra).

There are no decent wireless solutions, and won't be until
1) Wireless power works
2) the bandwidth is high
3) There's no interference

The fact that they are providing an Lighting to 3.5mm jack in the box (not intentional) shows that they have no confidence in their current offerings.

I remember the first lot of phones that played music. They all had propretary audio connections, and they all failed. Of the 4 people on our set of 8 with headphones on, two are bose qc25s, one is senheiser, and one are some horrendous in-ear things, all connected to phones (I think iphones), via a cable.

 

[J-2739]

It's a bit frustrating that they have removed the headphone jack, but since Apple likes to 'innovate', I'm not surprised.

 

[ryan125hst]

So then, the iPhone 7 (and airbuds). What do you all make of it?

It's not a bad phone, but I don't get excited about iPhone launches like I used to. My parents bought me a 3GS on PAYG a few months after it came out, and I got a 5S on contract before starting uni a couple of years ago. A couple of weeks ago, I got a Samsung Galaxy S7 and it really is a fantastic phone. There's the odd feature missing in apps compared to iOS, but this is the fault of the app developers and not the phone.

My thoughts on the new features:

-Camera- The whole 12MP and bigger pixel thing is Samsung's idea, and the two lense idea has already been implemented this year on the LG G5. The portrait thing is nice, but it's the only original idea.

-Water/dust proofing- my S7 has this and the S5 had this a couple of years ago. Why has it taken Apple two years to sort this.

-Processor/GPU- Impressive stuff to have four cores, two powerful and two efficient to save battery on lighter tasks such as checking email. I'm also impressed with the improvements since the original iPhone (CPU 120x more powerful, GPU 240x more powerful)

-Stereo front facing speakers- Great idea and the lack of them on the S7 was criticized in reviews.

-Storage- At last, a 32 GB base model! My 5S was 16 GB and once you took away the storage used by the OS, apps and a small amount of music, I had about a GB left for photos. With the newer iPhones having a higher megapixel camera and 4K video recording, more storage is definitely needed. The 256 GB option is good to see, although very pricey (£919 for a 7 Plus of that size!)

-Screen- Disappointing. My S7 has a Quad HD (2K in other words) OLED screen that looks gorgeous. Why does the standard iPhone still only have a 720p screen and the 7 Plus a Full HD screen? At these price points, I would expect a 2k screen on the iPhone 7 and a 4K screen on the iPhone 7 Plus.

-Lack of headphone flawed- I can see what they are trying to achieve, but not being able to listen to music and charge the phone is a big oversight (I often did it while sat at my desk at uni and it may be needed even with the better battery life of the iPhone 7)

Overall, it's far from a bad phone but it hasn't blown me away like the new iPhone's used to.

In other news, I'm now on EE and I was very impressed yesterday as I did four speed tests, all of which I got over 65 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up. Of the four locations I tested, three of them don't have 4G on Three and two of them don't even have 3G on O2 and Vodafone, needless to say I am very pleased with EE's network. They aren't perfect everywhere as no network is and I know of a few places where EE has a weak signal and O2 and Vodafone have a good 4G signal, but overall, they sure are the best!

Finally, I have just applied a tech21 Impact Shield screen protector to my Samsung Galaxy S7 and I am very disappointed. It came off the screen as I removed tab 2 (find the application video on YouTube to understand what I'm on about here) and now it's on, there are loads of marks on it and the screen looks nowhere near as clear as it used to and there's a strange RGB dot effect (if that makes any sense!) as well. I'll leave it on for a day or two but I think I'll be taking it off after that. What a waste of £20!

 

[GB]

Lack of headphone jack doesn't just affect those that play and charge. It also affects those that use it for line out/aux.

 

[trainmania100]

I own a Microsoft lumia 640.
It has a good browser, and doesn't slow down and "lag" like most other phones such as android after half a year.
Has good control for data so can switch off and limit data ussage. Battery is good too, lasts a day on the station .

 

[Kite159]

Will apple be using the chance to update some of their advertising of "photos taken on iPhone X" at LU stations, maybe without the very faded "image optimized for large format" written in the corner

As for a lack of a 3.5mm Aux socket, considering when I travel about and you hear music leaking, majority of the time it is from apple products with those useless standard earphones which don't sit properly within the ear. Unless Apple have redesigned the standard (freebie) earphones so that they actually sit properly within the ear without leaking sound, there will be a lot more leaking of sound.

(Or idiots playing music via the speakers as the phone needs charging)

 

[Lrd]

Will apple be using the chance to update some of their advertising of "photos taken on iPhone X" at LU stations, maybe without the very faded "image optimized for large format" written in the corner

As for a lack of a 3.5mm Aux socket, considering when I travel about and you hear music leaking, majority of the time it is from apple products with those useless standard earphones which don't sit properly within the ear. Unless Apple have redesigned the standard (freebie) earphones so that they actually sit properly within the ear without leaking sound, there will be a lot more leaking of sound.

(Or idiots playing music via the speakers as the phone needs charging)

The headphones are the same style. It's just the plug on the end that has changed/been chopped off.

 

[Kite159]

The headphones are the same style. It's just the plug on the end that has changed/been chopped off.

I shall prepare myself for more music leakage from those rubbish earphones (I've tried using the pair produced with my iPod Touch and felt a temporary pair from Poundland was better)

I can see the dollar signs in Apple's eyes as they license out use of the Lighting socket for other ear/head-phone manufactures

 

[Puffing Devil]

I loved my iPhone 3GS - truly a groundbreaking phone for price/performance. (Same when I had early iMacs that were an order of magnitude better then Windows PCs).

Time marches on and Apple no longer have the technical lead and are losing market share. I fear they are becoming the Saab of the tech world.

Much better phones and computers are now available and crazy tech decisions will continue to alienate the power users, and not so power users who want to use their Bose corded headphones and charge their phones at the same time.

OnePlus 3 is now a Which Best Buy - 64Gb of memory for a high spec phone at £329. Can't see the attaction in Apple anymore.

 

[E_Reeves]

I really like Samung, apart from their Note 7 which includes the new self destruct feature!

 

[jon0844]

I really like Samung, apart from their Note 7 which includes the new self destruct feature!

I think it's too expensive (Samsung trying to copy Apple, ever since the S6) but having used one at the launch, it's fantastic. I'd not use the S Pen at all, but it's a lovely phone and I have to say I respect the way Samsung took quick and decisive action to recall them.

They do refurbished phone sales now, so I'd say wait and see if the Note 7 appears there for a better price, with a new battery of course!

 

[miami]

Someone on my facebook feed is complaining that apple didn't replace the 3.5mm jack with an XLR. I suspect viewpoints like this are rare.

Time will tell, however apple's days of being able to make the impossible happen are long over -- look how poorly the iwatch was received. It's very much a case of a lack of good competition thats keeping apple going, rather than any actual superiority.

 

[jon0844]

Someone on my facebook feed is complaining that apple didn't replace the 3.5mm jack with an XLR. I suspect viewpoints like this are rare.

Time will tell, however apple's days of being able to make the impossible happen are long over -- look how poorly the iwatch was received. It's very much a case of a lack of good competition thats keeping apple going, rather than any actual superiority.

Forget new ports. Existing owners can upgrade on the cheap by buying these:
http://appleplugs.com/

Out of interest, did anyone pre-order a new iPhone this morning? £919 for the top iPhone 7. Bargain! (Actually it is compared to what you'd pay if you financed it!).

 

[DarloRich]

i don't give a stuff. I buy whatever i can get cheap off a bloke in the pub. I have a pay and go tarrif and buy my own second hand handset. I currently have a Google Nexus 5 i think,

 

[Kite159]

Forget new ports. Existing owners can upgrade on the cheap by buying these:
http://appleplugs.com/

Out of interest, did anyone pre-order a new iPhone this morning? £919 for the top iPhone 7. Bargain! (Actually it is compared to what you'd pay if you financed it!).

Sadly there will be some consumers with that sort of money spare to purchase the top of the range model for the sake of showing off their wealth (unless there is another reason why you can buy a case which has a little cut-out in the middle designed to show-off the little logo)

 

[Geezertronic]

Out of interest, did anyone pre-order a new iPhone this morning? £919 for the top iPhone 7. Bargain! (Actually it is compared to what you'd pay if you financed it!).

Yes I pre-ordered the iPhone 7 Plus 128Gb version (EE) on a 25Gb contract. Nothing wrong with my iPhone 6 Plus but my 2 years was up so I fancied the new version and I get more data which is useful when I have to use my phone as a wireless hotspot for connecting the laptop to work. I don't use headphones so the lack of a jack won't affect me although the lightning converter may be of use if I connect it to the AUX in the car.

Didn't have to pay a handset fee either Tax deductible and although I pay for the phone via my company (self employed), I don't actually pay for it if that makes sense.

 

[TheKnightWho]

Yes I pre-ordered the iPhone 7 Plus 128Gb version (EE) on a 25Gb contract. Nothing wrong with my iPhone 6 Plus but my 2 years was up so I fancied the new version and I get more data which is useful when I have to use my phone as a wireless hotspot for connecting the laptop to work. I don't use headphones so the lack of a jack won't affect me although the lightning converter may be of use if I connect it to the AUX in the car.

Didn't have to pay a handset fee either Tax deductible and although I pay for the phone via my company (self employed), I don't actually pay for it if that makes sense.

Thinking of doing exactly the same thing with the 30GB contract on Three - 128GB is more than enough for me. My 6 Plus has been having battery issues for months, too, so it'll be nice not to have to deal with that anymore.

 

[Geezertronic]

Thinking of doing exactly the same thing with the 30GB contract on Three - 128GB is more than enough for me. My 6 Plus has been having battery issues for months, too, so it'll be nice not to have to deal with that anymore.

Funny you should say that as I have noticed just in the last few months that the battery life has become slightly worse - not massively but it does spend more time on charge these days.

For a device that is normally on 24/7, it has lasted better than a work Toshiba laptop I had

 

[SS4]

Time will tell, however apple's days of being able to make the impossible happen are long over -- look how poorly the iwatch was received. It's very much a case of a lack of good competition thats keeping apple going, rather than any actual superiority.

From a technical point of view the top end Android phones are better than the iPhone when you look at stats as well as a more customisable (google make it a piece of cake to root their own devices). IMO Apple are winning in marketing and are benefitting from the fragmentation of Android which can range from sub £50 to around £600 with the varying performance therein

My Nexus 6p cost £600 for the 64GB model and I though that was expensive

 

[radamfi]

Yes I pre-ordered the iPhone 7 Plus 128Gb version (EE) on a 25Gb contract. Nothing wrong with my iPhone 6 Plus but my 2 years was up so I fancied the new version and I get more data which is useful when I have to use my phone as a wireless hotspot for connecting the laptop to work. I don't use headphones so the lack of a jack won't affect me although the lightning converter may be of use if I connect it to the AUX in the car.

Didn't have to pay a handset fee either Tax deductible and although I pay for the phone via my company (self employed), I don't actually pay for it if that makes sense.

On the EE site that is priced at £65.99 per month, plus £149.99 upfront cost. Even including the upfront cost that is only £1,733.75. A small price to pay to be at the cutting edge of technology.

 

[TheKnightWho]

Funny you should say that as I have noticed just in the last few months that the battery life has become slightly worse - not massively but it does spend more time on charge these days.

For a device that is normally on 24/7, it has lasted better than a work Toshiba laptop I had

Mine keeps thinking it's out of battery at anything up to 30% remaining - it's extremely annoying.

 

[Geezertronic]

On the EE site that is priced at £65.99 per month, plus £149.99 upfront cost. Even including the upfront cost that is only £1,733.75. A small price to pay to be at the cutting edge of technology.

I have always found it better to ring up and speak to the specialised iPhone upgrade department rather than go via the website, normal upgrades or via an EE shop. I always seem to get a better deal via them especially since I have four phones on my contract (for family members). Might seem a lot over two years but for me, the mobile hotspot function and extra data is worth its weight in gold from a business perspective