When I got home last night, DPD had delivered my Apple iPhone 7 Plus Black and Apple Watch Series 2 Space Grey Sport with Black strap. I also picked up an Apple black leather case and a white sport band for the watch. In terms of finish, I chose black as opposed to jet black. The matte black looks cool.
I have been using android for ages and picking up the iPhone 7 Plus initially felt alien. My first problem was setting up the iPhone. I have 2 factor authentication on everything, and for some reason my SMS code was not appearing. 40 mins later, a plate of salmon and veg consumed, and voila, my SMS code arrived.
As you will know I had the Note 7 previously, so picking the iPhone 7 Plus up was a shock. The iPhone 7 Plus feels huge in comparison to the Note 7. However, based on the extensive drop tests by people on YouTube who have nothing better to do with their time, the extra bezels protects the iPhone a lot from damage.
Next up was the process on installing my essential apps first, then syncing my photos and music from my mac. Out of all the iPhones I have setup, the 7 Plus has been the fastest to sync everything across. Out of the 256gb, I only have 129gb free and I haven’t yet installed all my apps.
Now on to iOS 10. This is all new to me and I am on a learning curve. I am sure there are some bugs, in particular the iPhone 7 Plus was having some issues holding on to the mobile signal and kept showing every few minutes “no service”. This is worrying as I have a Three signal booster in the house. It should be maximum reception at all times. I will wait until I use the phone outside of my signal booster to see if it registers properly/differently on the Three network. I think this is a wifi bug as the connection held perfectly when I turned wifi off on the iPhone.
While the phone was syncing and downloading apps, I set up the Apple Watch series 2. It is faster than the original watch but not night and day faster. The Apple Watch is such a geeky piece of tech but also fun to use. Apple Pay on the watch is damn cool. Watch OS3 is such an improvement over the previous versions too.
I had a play with the camera, trying out some test shots and using some third party photo apps too. The camera shows a lot of promise. Is it better than the S7 or Note 7? I will answer that soon. In terms of audio, the iPhone 7 Plus is better than the S7 or Note 7 in every aspect – loudspeaker, wired headphones and bluetooth. I connected my Oppo PM-3 using the dongle to the lightning port, and the sound was excellent. Listening to music via my B & O Beoplay H5 over bluetooth was really superb too.
One thing I noticed is just how many more apps I have on iOS than android. Also gaming on iOS is so much smoother. The iPhone 7 Plus is so fast to use in real world usage. I will be testing my iOS game controller at some point as well.
I need to sort out my homes screen layout and folders in terms of positioning and content.Everything is not perfectly organised yet.
So my first 4 hours have been a mix of enjoyment, frustration, and learning the iOS way and getting used to the new home button!
All in all its a positive experience so far and I hope one that continues passed the honeymoon period.
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 
Note 7 and sound quality. I may try out the UHQ Lwel U Pro headphones from Samsung as I think the quality will be much better as I don’t think the Note 7 supports aptx. I does not surprise me the iPhone has a better headamp.
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I thought the Note 7 had aptx.
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Gavin, aptx files are in the Note 7 system/lib folders but I can’t find an official version of the specification that mentions aptx. But quality of bass reproduction does suggest aptx is there.
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Pretty certain it has it.
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Hi Gavin. I’ve used iPhones as “main” phones for years. Had a 3 signal box for years too. Got an iPhone 7 and am getting exactly the same “no signal” thing. None of the other phones have done it.
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Glad it’s not just me. I have just rebooted the signal box and seems to be better ATM.
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Spoke too soon. Just got no service again. I got my wife’s 6S side by side and it was fine so definitely the issue is the iPhone 7 Plus
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Keith which network are you using. I’m on to a chat with Apple.
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Not sure on what you want to know here (and I’ve only just had a chance to reply) but the network is 3 and I’m on a BT HomeHub (not the newest one, the one before – HomeHub 5?). I suspect I’m a bit late for you with this info though!
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Same network as me. I have the home hub 5. Interestingly I did a phone call and the call didn’t drop
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Why the move from Android back to Apple? Recently bought the original Apple Watch. I never owned it when there was the slow problem. I find it superb and very fast. Using it in ways I could not have imagined. Calls and text too.
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Why not? 🙂 After my unpleasant Note 7 issues and my Samsung’s handling, I have now removed Samsung out of my life, forever. So I needed a decent phone, and the iPhone 7 Plus ticked the boxes. TBH I don’t mind which platform I use, they all have pros and cons. But I am really enjoying the iPhone again.
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Hi Gavin, I know you say that you’ve removed Samsung from your life (and I 100% understand where you’re coming from), but does this mean that you won’t be reviewing any more samsung stuff? And if so, would this not be to the detriment of your readers? (won’t somebody please think of the readers!)
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I can’t remove Samsung 100% because my employer provides us with a Samsung A5 2016 🙂
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Have you suffered from any of the ‘hissing/inteference’ sound reported? I had mine delivered yesterday and on setting up there was a notable sound coming from the back of the phone. Not sure if it’s something widespread or wether to have it exchanged. I also struggled to pair my android wear watch but I’ll try that again tonight.
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No hissing yet. Will try pushing it harder to see if it occurs.
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Thanks, I’tll be interesting to hear your results
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If you get the chance can you please try the 3D Mark Ice Storm app as this gives me some ‘hiss’ and I also seem to notice it more when downloading apps.
Thank you
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Have you got a link to the 3D app. I downloaded something but it wouldn’t run.
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https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/3dmark-ice-storm-benchmark/id642839144?mt=8
This is the one I used.
What I have noticed is that whenever I download a new app I get a ‘hiss’ then as well. I’m thinking I may need to return/exchange.
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I have managed to reproduce the hiss on mine without the above app, whilst putting the phone under epic strain. TBH whilst I can hear it only if I put my ear to the phone, I am not bothered about it. I would imagine a replacement will sound just the same ATM and as it is so quiet I am not fussed unless Apple say otherwise. I will raise it with support later tonight.
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I have spoken to Apple senior report and will update once I have more info.
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Thanks. I look forward to apples response.
Thinking about it I believe what I’m hearing may be the ‘hard drive’ being accessed/written to as it mainly happens on installing apps or launching apps and then they are accessing information on the drive.
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