Now that Apple has officially angered me ...

[poofyhairguy]

Woah, smaller bezels? Such innovation!

I would take it in a heartbeat. The only thing I don't like about my 6S Plus is the fat bezels and how top heavy it is.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I would take it in a heartbeat. The only thing I don't like about my 6S Plus is the fat bezels and how top heavy it is.

Yeah getting rid of the bezel is not innovation but would certainly be appreciated. The iPhone's are definitely massive relative to their counterparts of similar screen size.

 

[dainthomas]

The LCD screen replacement for the multimedia system on my 2004 Toyota Prius was $3000. $3000! They offered me a refurb for $1200 after I said "uh, no", to which I said "uh, no" again. Eventually I found some Prius wrecker in the US who offered repairs or replacements for $300, so I bought one of those, and installed it myself. It took me about 1.5 hours to disassemble my dash, and about the same to reassemble it, but definitely worth it.

Essentially NO aftermarket units were available for that model.

How much is a twelve year old prius? You could have probably gotten a whole car for not much more.

 

[Eug]

How much is a twelve year old prius? You could have probably gotten a whole car for not much more.

When it was demolished in a crash in 2015, I got CAD$8000 for it. (That was $7000 + tax. Priuses keep their value well.) The multimedia screen replacement was years earlier.

 

[quikah]

I would take it in a heartbeat. The only thing I don't like about my 6S Plus is the fat bezels and how top heavy it is.

Well yeah, I would take a phone with 1TB of storage too, but it is not innovative to add it. Just tweaks and minor improvements.

 

[Ichinisan]

[edit]

I don't know how I ended up in a different thread.

 

[Zaap]

What annoys me about auto audio is that most manufacturers do not offer upgrades, and given how intertwined things are, you cannot use an aftermarket unit without losing some serious features.

I've found car-tech to be amazingly primitive for this day and age. I've been happy with the built in systems in my last two cars (2013 Ford C-Max, and 2016 Chevy Volt) but all too often I still see car systems that are like something from 1998.

For example, on my Ford, features such as heated/cooled seats or the heated steering wheel can only be controlled through the infotainment system. Also, as you adjust the temperature (via the infotainment system or the hardware buttons), the temperature readout is only on the screen. This is exacerbated by the fact that MyFord Touch is still a buggy mess.

I notice some features like that are tied to the trim level and options packages of cars per model. For example, my C-Max had physical dials for the heated seats, only available as an option on the higher trim models. So I'd expect lower trim levels to not have those features, or only controlled via touchscreen.

If I put my car into reverse a few seconds after turning the car on, it goes to a black screen for about 10-20 seconds where nothing works. I don't know about you, but to me, when so much crap is tied into the infotainment system, having a huge, repeatable failure like that isn't acceptable.

Do you have a rear-camera back-up system?
Because in both my C-Max and Volt- the touchscreen isn't supposed to work when the car is in reverse- it's in backup-camera mode. If I didn't have this feature, I'm not sure what I'd expect to be there, but it wouldn't seem unusual to me that the touchscreen wouldn't work or even go black, as that's pretty much the last place I should be looking if the car is traveling in reverse without the backup camera.

I do sometimes get annoyed by the safety features in cars disabling things because the car is in motion- (could be a passenger wanting the feature, but screw it!) but in that case, honestly, it seems kind of logical to me the touchscreen infotainment controls shouldn't be active with the car moving in reverse and no backup camera system.

Now of course if you DO have a backup camera system and you get a black screen instead, that's a serious problem and I personally wouldn't put up with it until the manufacturer made it right, even if it meant giving me a whole new car. That system is IMO, mandatory. That's not just a 'glitch', but a serious safety feature failing.

But what really annoys me is that Ford offers no official Sync 3 upgrades, which is frustrating given that it is functionally possible... especially if you already have the large screen MyFord Touch variant (the smaller screen requires a custom cable). Right now, you have to pay $2000 to some third party just for the hardware. Although, if you do that, you'll finally have CarPlay.

The upgrade process with car systems is another of those "What year is it, 1998?" things. Even accepting that because it's so critical to the car's function an upgrade MUST be done by a dealer- the process still should be a bit more like 2016 and not 1998.

That is, timely, no hassle, and it shouldn't cost a freakin' fortune or require over-priced hardware.

That's exactly what I like about Android Auto and CarPlay. Since it's the mobile device that updates not the car, it's more logical. A simple update on the phone, and bam, the car has new features, new applications available etc. via the mobile device. Basically, the car screen should just become a dumb monitor for the mobile device. Exactly why I would think Apple would pursue that avenue of car integration in newer vehicles.

 

[Eug]

Yes. I'm told the interface for CarPlay isn't excellent, but the native interfaces for most cars is usually significantly worse and doesn't get updated. At least CarPlay will get updated with the phone. Same with Android Auto.

Oh and the map update for my nav system is around $200, compared to $0 on my phone.

 

[Aikouka]

Do you have a rear-camera back-up system?
Because in both my C-Max and Volt- the touchscreen isn't supposed to work when the car is in reverse- it's in backup-camera mode. If I didn't have this feature, I'm not sure what I'd expect to be there, but it wouldn't seem unusual to me that the touchscreen wouldn't work or even go black, as that's pretty much the last place I should be looking if the car is traveling in reverse without the backup camera.

Now of course if you DO have a backup camera system and you get a black screen instead, that's a serious problem and I personally wouldn't put up with it until the manufacturer made it right, even if it meant giving me a whole new car. That system is IMO, mandatory. That's not just a 'glitch', but a serious safety feature failing.

Yep, I have a rear camera from the factory. My assumption of what happens is that the system actually isn't fully loaded, so putting it into reverse causes it to pull up the camera when it isn't ready to do so.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Let me preface this by saying I'm still not a fan of having a dongle but may be a bit more receptive now...

I've been following this over at head-fi and it seems that the dongle does include a DAC and the output quality is actually quite nice. Not to downplay it but I'm guessing 99.99% of people will not notice a difference in the sound quality between the headphone jack and using the dongle. Definitely some good news on this front. I need to get my hands on one of those just to see how flexible it is and how firmly it attaches on both ends.

 

[Eug]

Let me preface this by saying I'm still not a fan of having a dongle but may be a bit more receptive now...

I've been following this over at head-fi and it seems that the dongle does include a DAC and the output quality is actually quite nice. Not to downplay it but I'm guessing 99.99% of people will not notice a difference in the sound quality between the headphone jack and using the dongle. Definitely some good news on this front. I need to get my hands on one of those just to see how flexible it is and how firmly it attaches on both ends.

I guess that explains why the dongle works perfectly on my iPhone 5S. I was wondering why that worked because the 5S wasn't created with the dongle in mind back in 2013 obviously. Cheapest outboard DAC ever, from Apple?!?

Could you link a review or relevant forum post about the dongle's sound quality?

 

[Fingolfin269]

I guess that explains why the dongle works perfectly on my iPhone 5S. I was wondering why that worked because the 5S wasn't created with the dongle in mind back in 2013 obviously. Cheapest outboard DAC ever, from Apple?!?

Could you link a review or relevant forum post about the dongle's sound quality?

Try this one.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/820241/iphone-7-7-compact-external-dac-amp-thread#post_12866718

 

[Oyeve]

I highly doubt there is a dac in that dongle.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I highly doubt there is a dac in that dongle.

Maybe go read the thread on a site dedicated to headphones?

 

[Zaap]

Teardown here: https://youtu.be/UpMQguv-zN0

Seems to be built in.

 

[zerocool84]

Yes. I'm told the interface for CarPlay isn't excellent, but the native interfaces for most cars is usually significantly worse and doesn't get updated. At least CarPlay will get updated with the phone. Same with Android Auto.

Oh and the map update for my nav system is around $200, compared to $0 on my phone.

My car has both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Android Auto is better mostly because of Google Maps which is far superior to Apple Maps. Also with Android Auto you can do other stuff on your phone and it doesn't change anything on your screen, on Apple Carplay if you do something on your phone it changes your screen which kind of matters to me because my girlfriend will be using the phone for something else while I'm driving with the Nav on.

 

[Eug]

Maybe go read the thread on a site dedicated to headphones?

It shows the same chip in he

Teardown here: https://youtu.be/UpMQguv-zN0

Seems to be built in.

Pix showing chips both in Lightning adapter and Lightning headphones

http://www.chongdiantou.com/wp/archives/5211.html

DAC is 338S00140 / A0MU1621 / TW but how does the volume control work, in terms of power usage?

 

[Oyeve]

Wonder if they just removed the dac from the phone and put it in the dongle and packaged buds. Probably means no cheap 3rd party unlicensed dongles.

 

[Eug]

They would still need a DAC for the speakers.

How many DACs are in the 6s? Does it need a separate one for the headphone jack?

iFixit claims there are three amps in the iPhone 7 Plus. The supposition is that the third amp is for Lightning headphones or the Lightning headphone adapter but like I said, my headphones work fine with the adapter on my iPhone 5S Lightning port, and that wouldn't have the extra amp. But then again I didn't try my Sennheiser HD598 which would require more more power than my other headphones.

BTW, even if other third party dongles show up I suspect they would be huge. This is already a problem with third party Lightning USB cables. A lot of them have a collar that is too thick for many cases. What about third party Lightning headphones? Could the DAC be moved to the ear cup instead, to make it easier to keep the plug collar small?

I currently have my Lightning earbuds with me, and I am impressed at just how small that collar is, given how much electronics are inside that color. The collar looks to be the same size as Apple Lightning USB cables.

 

[Commodus]

Let me preface this by saying I'm still not a fan of having a dongle but may be a bit more receptive now...

I've been following this over at head-fi and it seems that the dongle does include a DAC and the output quality is actually quite nice. Not to downplay it but I'm guessing 99.99% of people will not notice a difference in the sound quality between the headphone jack and using the dongle. Definitely some good news on this front. I need to get my hands on one of those just to see how flexible it is and how firmly it attaches on both ends.

The dongle attaches pretty firmly on both ends in my experience -- I've just left the adapter connected to my in-ears and have no fear of it coming loose.

Audio quality? I'm streaming Apple Music (256Kbps AAC at last check) and haven't noticed a difference versus my old iPhone 6 yet. If there's a difference at all, you might only hear it in high-bitrate audio.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Since I started this thread I thought I should provide an update.

I now own a Black iPhone 7 Plus 256gb. Here are some reasons why I decided to stick with Apple/iOS but upgrade instead of sticking with the 6. I've included some initial thoughts on the 7 as well.

Some reasons:
1) Other phone in the house is a 5S that now has a busted screen. That is being replaced with my 6.
2) I prefer iOS over Android. I actually prefer the simplicity and the stability. Security seems to be less of a concern as well.
3) Starkey Halo hearing aids. These may work with Android but are supposedly 'built for iPhone' and I know they worked closely with Apple when developing them. I wear these and obviously the connectivity is important to me.

Initial impressions:
1) Much better camera than the 6.
2) It only took a few minutes to get adjusted to the new button and I find I actually prefer it now.
3) The dongle is constructed much better than I was expecting but I do expect to lose this thing at least once.
4) Battery life is much better relative to the 6.
5) Not noticing a huge improvement with having a 2nd speaker but maybe I need to give another conference call a shot before deciding.
6) 3D Touch is neat but I'm missing the point. This isn't really a 7 feature but wasn't present on the 6 so it's new to me.
7) Ultimately this phone is really more of the same for me. I probably would have been disappointed or neutral on the purchase had I stuck with the regular 7 instead of the Plus.
8) I forget what 8 was for!
9) Looking forward to iPhone 8. (Maybe that is what 8 was for.)

 

[Commodus]

Initial impressions:
1) Much better camera than the 6.
2) It only took a few minutes to get adjusted to the new button and I find I actually prefer it now.
3) The dongle is constructed much better than I was expecting but I do expect to lose this thing at least once.
4) Battery life is much better relative to the 6.
5) Not noticing a huge improvement with having a 2nd speaker but maybe I need to give another conference call a shot before deciding.
6) 3D Touch is neat but I'm missing the point. This isn't really a 7 feature but wasn't present on the 6 so it's new to me.
7) Ultimately this phone is really more of the same for me. I probably would have been disappointed or neutral on the purchase had I stuck with the regular 7 instead of the Plus.
8) I forget what 8 was for!
9) Looking forward to iPhone 8. (Maybe that is what 8 was for.)

Congrats on the new phone -- a bit jealous since I "just" have the 7 (really just a matter of preference).

A couple of observations on points 2 and 6:

Everyone seems to have that experience with the new home button. At first it's strange, then you find it tolerable, then you prefer it. There's a visceral feel to it that you don't get just by clicking a button down.

To me, the expanded use of 3D Touch (you're feeling things that weren't present in the 6s line) is more about making the phone feel "alive." That is, it feels like it's reacting to what you're doing instead of just telling software to do something. It's not necessary, but I suspect Apple added it both to help newcomers and give the iPhone a distinct feel that you might miss if you switch devices.

 

[Kazukian]

Grab some heat shrink tubing and a couple of dongles, attach the dongle to your headphones with heat shrink tubing.

I'm liking my 7+ quite a bit, the camera is sweet.

The home button still feels strange, but I use an iPad quite a bit, so am always transitioning. I'm not unhappy, but it sure feels different.

Mine has the "whine" but I have to hold it against my ear to hear it.

3D Touch is still sort of odd, I don't use it much at all.

 

[Zaap]

Apple... we may anger you, but give it few...




"...You'll come around!"

 

[Fingolfin269]

Grab some heat shrink tubing and a couple of dongles, attach the dongle to your headphones with heat shrink tubing.

I have a few different sets of headphones that will be used on devices other than the iPhone so no go here. (yeah I know it's tongue in cheek!)

Apple... we may anger you, but give it few...

"...You'll come around!"

That's a good point. Honestly the main reasons I came around had nothing to do with the iLove. Primary is the hearing aid implication. Secondary is the security/OS. As I mentioned previously I wish the OS were portable but unfortunately it's not.