Apple blew the Android user in me away with the iPhone 7

Let me start with explaining the title. I’ve been an Android user since the very first Galaxy S. I thought that phone was a really good alternative to the iPhone at that time without spending much, and Android allowed me to play games and apps like Angry Birds and Facebook. Ever since then, I never got an iPhone, because why would I lock myself up in an extremely closed ecosystem when I can get something similar for cheaper and sometimes, recently, better.

I bought the Galaxy S7 a few months back because, in my opinion, it’s one of the most polished Android experiences out there. The design, the software, the cameras, the screen — almost everything was gorgeous. I thought most of the competition didn’t offer the same polish by offering most of what you need (there’s either a flaw in design, the battery, the performance, the UI… I can go on), and as for the iPhone 6S, I loved it but not as much. I thought the design of the iPhone 6s was ugly with those antenna lines, and it wasn’t water-resistant, so I made the ultimate decision of going Galaxy.

Enter the iPhone 7.

The design manufacturing process is relatively new. It’s not the best designed smartphone as it merely evolve from the iPhone 6, but the antenna lines are more discrete and the matte black and jet black versions are nice. It’s water-resistant too, officially with IP67 certification, so that’s one thing ticked off my checklist.

I’m not complaining — the Galaxy S7 and Note7 share one of the best cameras in the market right now, but from Apple’s presentation, their new 12MP sensor looks promising with all the bells and whistles like Apple ISP that it’s kind of an enough reason to get an iPhone 7. I didn’t expect the big camera leap to happen this year as those usually happen in the S cycle, so I’m glad Apple went all out on this one.

Then there’s the Home Button. I loved the new Touchpads on the MacBooks, so I think I’ll like this one too. I always hated the wearing out mechanical home buttons, so this one is a nice addition to me. Props to Apple as well, because I don’t see other companies try to do stunts such as these.

Another thing not on most Android smartphones? Stereo speakers. This one, I didn’t really expect, but it’s here, and I love it. HTC has been doing this for a long time already, but once again, I bring up the issue of lack of polish. HTC smartphones always had a flaw, be it the cameras, or something was better for the price they were offering.

As expected, there are the obvious performance improvements. All of this they were able to cram in the package by removing the 3.5 mm audio jack.

But dare I say it, I like their move to wireless. The audio jack is an analog port and I think to move on, it really needed, what Apple said, courage. I won’t be getting those crazy AirPods, but I know that because of this, people will start to move to digital and wireless. This move to wireless to me showed that Apple had vision. They know the transition won’t be easy, so the adapters and the new earphones come in the box.

One last good thing – no more 16GB! Thank God.

That’s a lot for me to take in. I may have missed a couple more, some not applicable yet in the PHL like Apple Pay, but I think I’ve gotten my point across. Apple’s introductions already scream why they are able to price their iPhones at that price; they’re actually innovating for their vision.

Now for the negatives on my end, the jet black one is crazy. It’s only available on 128GB and 256GB variants, and it’s the one that attracts more scratches and fingerprints – so I think it’s absolutely nuts to want it (but people are going to get it because… it looks nice and it’s the hyped one). I understand why they had to differentiate the iPhone 7 Plus by adding the dual cameras, but what if I wanted a small phone? Oh well.

Here’s the final word. I would shift if I could afford the entire ecosystem all at once, but I just bought my phone, and I live with an Android Wear watch Urbane (that I think I can’t live without now) — so shifting to the iPhone 7 would definitely cost me a lot.

And by all means to me, I just personally want a good compact phone. I don’t see myself getting a 7 Plus, or even a Galaxy Note7 to be honest — but for a lot of people, the Note7 might still be one of the best phones around. It has that stylus that you can use underwater, a curved screen design that the iPhone cannot match, and things like an Always On Display. For big smartphones, I still think Samsung & Apple are on a tie depending on one’s priority.

But between the compact smartphones like the S7 and the iPhone 7… the Android boat is rocking.