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One thing I really like here (and not meaning it as a joke) is that when you look at the original iPhone and the iPhone 7 side by side they look very similar. A
by yoz-y 10y ago
One thing I really like here (and not meaning it as a joke) is that when you look at the original iPhone and the iPhone 7 side by side they look very similar. Apple has stuck to their guns and kept on iterating, rather than chasing a new cool design for every release.
- simonh 10y agoI think the double-glass sided 'jewel case' design introduced with the iPhone 4 is still the best aesthetic design for any consumer product ever. I know it's just not practical for the bigger phones though, hence they went back to a more conventional design. However yes, from the front not much has changed. The sheer iron-willed discipline it took to reduce the front face design down to one physical button from the start is still impressive.
- Steko 10y agoMy first month with the 4S was painful due to the sharp edges digging into my palm (insert relevant Tufte quote). I dislike the machined holes on the bottom of my 6 for similar reasons, good riddance headphone jack.
- yoz-y 10y agoiPhone 4 was my first iPhone and indeed it is the best looking. However, from the fear of breaking it it was also my only iPhone that I have kept in the case all of the time.
- throwanem 10y agoThey were surprisingly sturdy. I dropped my 4S plenty of times over almost a half decade, and the only thing that ever even chipped the glass was a bounce off the plastic faceplate of my 30-year-old Technics amplifier.
- seunosewa 10y agoI had the same experience you had. Some reasons for this: the glass was thicker, more shatter-proof but less scratch resistant, and smaller in area (large sheets of glass at the same thickness break more easily) compared to the latest phones.
- throwanem 10y agoWhat really annoys me is the switch from steel to aluminum, because the latter metal's sole palpable virtue in this context is its lightness. I've already had to take a file to my SE to smooth out a lip created by a drop from waist height onto bathroom tile, and I've only had the bloody thing for ten months! My 4S would've laughed off a drop like that - and did, two or three times. The greater scratch resistance of the new glass is nice, but I'd be willing to pay the cost in added weight for a more resilient body and frame. Alas, Apple does what Apple does, and has unaccountably failed to consult me.
- arethuza 10y agoAfter a few iPhones my iPhone 7 is actually the first one i got a case for - I found it more difficult to hold and it always felt like I was at more risk of dropping it.
- LeifCarrotson 10y ago> The sheer iron-willed discipline it took to reduce the front face design down to one physical button from the start is still impressive. Impressive, sure, but not ideal. As a result of this commitment, you can, variously, click, double click, double tap (not actually click, just touch like on a capacitive screen), long press the button. Furthermore, many of these actions have context-sensitive responses, like opening the camera from the lock screen or bringing up music controls if that's playing. And other common functions, like "back" are relegated to various icons and locations on the touchscreen depending on the app. On other phones, the common "back", "home", and "switch app" functions are on separate buttons rather than being different interactions with a single button. The Apple single-button phone, like the single-button mouse, is less discoverable and less easy to use, while being better looking and easier for some common use cases. Unlike the single-button mouse, though, I think it's likely to stick around for a long time.
- yoz-y 10y agoI am curious about the context you mention. The button itself, as far as I know has only one case when the context is specific. That is if you are on the homescreen, but not on the first page, a single click will bring you to the home page. Otherwise it will bring you to the last page you have been on. The camera/music controls are linked with the control center but that is operated differently. Double tapping is definitely a weird choice for accessibility. Also, you can also triple click the home button as an accessibility shortcut. But it has to be enabled.
- makecheck 10y agoYes but software on other phones is inconsistent about the meaning of the extra buttons. The Back button for instance can be infuriatingly unpredictable to the point where you just revert to the touch screen. It just isn’t productive to have to wonder how many screens back you will go, or if you will end up in another application, or if the button will be ignored completely.
- kevincox 10y agoWhat apps do you see this with? There are arguments against the android button model but your point seems like an odd one. In all of the apps I use the back button (the only button they get control over) acts very predictably.
- titanix2 10y agoThat's also true of the software. As a former hobbyist Windows Phone developer I saw two major reboots or overhauls of the platform in a few years (if we count the previous Windows Mobile system it is then 4 different OS in a small slice of time). This lead to functional regressions and Microsoft not able to came up with functional parity of concurrent platforms. On the other hand I'm amazed at how long Apple is keeping and evolving iOS and its API.
- charlesism 10y agoSimilar? I still have my original iPhone. I'm staring at it now, and it's beautiful. The Leica-inspired iPhone 4 was different, but it was also beautiful. The iPhone 6 and 7, on the other hand: there's something weird about the proportions (eg: the Touch id ridge, button isnt flush, weird two-tone plastic ridge on the back). The thinness of the phone makes the curved aluminum seem cheap and fragile. That Camera lens bump isn't attractive. They look no better than your average Android phone to me.