Wesley's Tool-Box

With the official release of the iPhone 7 series in Korea set to be on October 21, just a week away as of this writing, I've been asked about how different the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are. This is because I own both. If we disregard the obvious differences that come due to the size (e.g. screen resolution, weight, and battery), the camera is still a key differentiator. It used to be that only the Plus got the Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). This year, the smaller model got that as well, so the perk for the Plus model is an additional camera module in telephoto mode that provides 2x optical zoom. Naturally, I wanted to see how good it was. I should note that the wide angle camera on both 7 and 7 Plus are identical. Keep reading if the extra camera is worth the trouble.



When there is sufficient light, the telephoto camera provides excellent results. You can basically zoom into stuff and see it closer in more detail. I've been using this a lot outside with satisfactory results. But after a while I began to see a lot of limitations as well.


For one thing, it won't work with an object that's too close to you. This isn't surprising at all if you've used zoom lenses on a camera. Longer focal length tends to come with longer minimum focusing distance. The wide angle camera can focus on an item as close as 8.5cm (3.3") away, but the telephoto camera can only do up to 28cm (11"). To get a macro shot, always stick to the wide angle.

While the iPhone 7 I got from Japan was busy getting reviewed, the iPhone 7 Plus and the Apple Watch Series 2 I asked my friend Andy in the United States to preorder for me was traveling around the world. The 7 Plus in particular was actually stuck in here South Korea for a while in transit from China to United States due to shipping issues. Once it landed in the States, Andy sent it back across the Pacific so I could have it in my hands. And that's why it took three weeks to arrive.


The box for the iPhone 7 Plus is the same size as the one for 6S Plus, but with the same new design as the 7. It seems the new Apple Watch Series 2 also come in the same-sized box as the previous version. I ordered a Stainless Steel one this time, unlike the Aluminum (Sport) version last year and was a bit surprised how heavy the box was. Shipping weight was 1.2kg for the watch and 0.5kg for the phone; even with the shipment box removed the boxes weighed 880g and 460g, respectively.