iPhone 7 Review: The Age of Fusion

 We live in the age of iPhones. Apple has sold over a billion of them now, and they're used every day by our families, our friends, our colleagues, our classmates. Not too long ago, the idea of so many of us having incredibly accessible, always connected, supercomputers in our pockets would be the stuff of science fiction. Now, it's so commonplace we take it for granted.

Blame it on the steady pace of iteration. The technology is so mature now that sometimes we don't even notice the year-over-year improvements. It's only when we look back over a few years that we realize how much has really changed. Typically for the better, but not always.
Enter iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Apple calls them the best and most advanced iPhones ever. In many ways, they're exactly that. They've got significantly improved cameras, including a new fusion camera on iPhone 7 Plus. They've got better cellular radios, and processors, including a new A10 Fusion. Also, for the first time, they're officially water resistant. But Apple has also deleted the 3.5mm headphone jack and virtualized the home button. And some would argue one or both of those things makes iPhone 7 just as significantly worse.

That's what's so interesting this year. Apple has taken one of the most successful and profitable products in the history of products, and gambled its present for what they strongly believe is a brighter future. Done right, and it propels technology forward, kicking and screaming though it might be. Done wrong, and it risks alienating the very customers that made the product so successful and profitable.