Apple Loop: New iPhone 8 Leaks, iPhone 7 Plus Camera Defeated, Fixing The Broken iPhone 7.

Taking a look back at seven days of news across the world of Apple, this week’s Apple Loop includes a comparison of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus cameras against the competition, a review of the iPhone 7 Plus, a look at the stock shortages, the latest information on the iPhone 8, asking if we have passed ‘peak iPhone’, how to fix your broken iPhone 7, Apple’s solution to beating Moore’s Law, and how not to lose the new headphone adaptor.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the very many discussions that have happened around Apple over the last seven days (and you can read the weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes).
The New iPhone Cameras Are Good, But Not The Best
Apple has put a lot of faith in the camera of the iPhone 7 and especially the iPhone 7 Plus. The smaller handset picks up optical image stabilisation while the dual-lens of the larger smartphone is one of the key selling points of Apple’s third phablet. How do the cameras compare to the opposition? Well, they put up a good fight, but not enough to claim victory. Starting with the iPhone Forbes’ Paul Monckton opens up this week’s Apple Loop by looking at DxOMark’s investigation of the iPhone 7:

Despite these high scores, the iPhone 7 has been unable to leap to the very top of the DxOMark Mobile charts, where the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Sony Xperia X Perf. sit alongside the HTC 10 on 88 points.
DxO Labs notes that all of these phones use larger image sensors than the iPhone 7. Bigger sensors have the advantage of being able to capture more light, but also require physically larger camera modules which can compromise the design of the phone, especially given Apple’s constant desire for thinness.
Of course, the dual camera design of the iPhone 7 Plus neatly gets around this issue, so it’s not unlikely that we would see such technologies move down into future 4.7-inch handsets, much as OIS has this time around.

As for the iPhone 7 Plus, it may be an improvement over last year’s iPhone models but there are better smartphone cameras out there on Android devices, as Ben Sin discovers:

So there we have it. I took a bunch of photos, all under the exact same conditions, and the iPhone 7 Plus, the camera that mainstream publications automatically declare the best camera phone year in and year out (along with Samsung), doesn’t clearly win in any category. Now I’m not saying the iPhone 7 Plus camera sucks — both LG V20 and Huawei P9 Plus have very, very strong cameras. But I really roll my eyes every time I read or hear someone say “Apple and Samsung’s cameras are the best in class, blah blah blah.”

iphone 8

Sometimes An iPhone Is Just An iPhone
Looking at the rest of the iPhone 7 Plus, the ergonomics of the device and a lack of focus in the design of the software and hardware mean that the handset feels tired. Ben Sin has been taking a look at the dual-lens equipped smartphone to find out if it all comes together in the mix or if the sum of the parts don’t add up:

But as someone who uses many phones a year, there are just too many things with the iPhone 7 Plus I find hard to accept. As mentioned before, the bezels up top and bottom are ridiculously huge. Literally every 2016 Android flagship phone has a display of equal or larger size, but comes in a smaller body. And unlike the Note 7, which was clearly designed to be a “big” phone, the iPhone 7 Plus still feels like a “blown up” version of the iPhone 7. Little things, like the placement of the iOS’ back buttons (upper left hand corner) and power button (on the right side of the phone, pretty far up), are out of reach when holding the phone with a normal grip.

More of Sin’s thoughts on the iPhone 7 Plus can be read in his review here on Forbes.
Where Have All The iPhones Gone?
Specifically, where are the jet black and scratchy black versions of the latest Apple handsets? Ben Sin has also been looking at the reseller market in Hong Kong and China to come up with a simple answer… the scalpers have them all:

What gives? Is the iPhone 7/7 Plus really that popular with smartphone users? Well, yes and no. It is popular, because every available stock is snapped up right away. But many people who buy it are not using the phones. They’re selling them back at jacked up prices.
These resellers can be found anywhere in the world, as a quick search on Craigslist or eBay will show. But it’s extra problematic in Hong Kong, where there’s no retail tax and the city’s close proximity to mainland China makes it easy to smuggle phones across the border. Even in Hong Kong, a 256GB jet black iPhone 7 Plus can fetch HK$13,000 ($1,675) on the resell market, which is nearly twice the official retail price. In China, the phone can go for more.

More on the black market for black handsets here on Forbes.

iPhone 8 concept (image: uSwitch.com)

The iPhone 7′s Impact On The iPhone 8
Next year’s iPhone is expected to have a number of technological advances, not least in a bright and vivid OLED screen. More information about the tenth anniversary iPhone model came out this week from KGI Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo, as he highlights how the lust for the jet black iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus is validating Apple’s choice of an all-glass iPhone in 2017:

[Kuo believes that] Apple is ready to switch to using curved glass on the front and back of the presumptively titled iPhone 8, but also believes that the demand for the jet black iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models has made the case that consumers want glossy and shiny finishes on their smartphone.
On top of using glass on the front and back sides of the iPhone 8, Apple is expected to throw in a switch to a curved OLED display under so-called 2.5D glass, sculpt the glass create a smooth and unblemished exterior, promote the use of stainless steel to create a ‘premium’ chassis at the top end of the portfolio and remove much of the dead bezel space from the front of the smartphone.

More thoughts on the iPhone 8 design, and the impact on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, can be found here.

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