Wesley's Tool-Box

Given that iPhone's predecessor is iPod the digital music player, the listening experience is still a big part of the device for many people. So the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack was bound to be controversial, despite the fact that Apple has provided many options to mitigate the inconvenience.


Primarily, the EarPod earphones bundled with iPhone 7 use Lightning connector, giving you at least one native solution. Along with that is a Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter that you can use with any other regular earphones and headphones. Because Lightning port is fully digital, the both the adapter and the earphones have DAC modules inside to provide analog audio output. Unless you must charge the phone at the same time, you're not worse off than before as long as the adapter works as intended.

On a side note, providing both a DAC-equipped earphone and an adapter resulted in sacrificing the plastic case for the earphones, likely because of costs. The case is now simply a throwaway paper packaging.

My iPhone collection is constantly growing. When you lay them down like this with their boxes, it provides me with a nice view of how the technology is evolving. As with all things, though, old devices simply ceases to be supported by the manufacturer. The three iPhones at the top no longer receive any major iOS version updates and are stuck in their time. The new member of this is the iPhone 4S, topping out at iOS 9.3.5. I expect iPhone 5 to join this group next year because, along with iPhone 5C, it is the last in the line of 32-bit iPhones and iOS 10 visually warns about an app that's not 64-bit.

iOS updates or not, all my devices are kept in good working condition. So I brought them out for another annual round of tests. For this year's tests, devices from iPhone 5 to 7 had iOS 10.0.1. 4S, 4, and 3GS had 9.3.5, 7.1.2, and 6.1.6, respectively. Last year, devices from iPhone 4S to 6S Plus had 9.1. Let's take a look at the boot times.


Unless it's an old device that's feeling the weight of a new OS, newer devices tend to have a quicker boot time. Strangely though, iPhone 7 does not boot up as fast as its predecessor, and this was repeatedly observed. Perhaps this is due to the tested device having a large, 256GB storage and the system taking its time to test its integrity.

As far as changes go, iPhone 7 is doing a big jump we've come to expect when the major number changes (e.g. iPhone 5S to iPhone 6). It just happens to be that Apple was happy to keep the general shape and size for the third generation. Personally, this seems like Apple is happy with these design decisions instead of being lazy. After all, Original iPhone style survived three generations as well until thinner design became feasible.

In any case, the packaging of the iPhone 7 is also largely the same as the previous 4.7" iPhones. Two major differences, other than the phone itself, are the photo of the iPhone on the box and the bundled EarPod earphones using the Lightning connector instead of the 3.5mm earphone jack. 3.5mm to Lightning adapter is included for those who need to use the existing earphones.


Speaking of the earphone jack, iPhone 7 indeed no longer has one as you can see here. This has been the source of much online drama, but I expect it to simmer down as time goes on, much like when Lightning connector itself was introduced with iPhone 5.

iPhones and iPads bought (or intended to be sold) in either Korea or Japan has the camera shutter sound forcibly turned on at maximum volume no matter what sound setting is used. I've noted this three years ago. This is due to local regulations, but even making a screenshot causes the same sound, which is inconvenient.

Recently, though, someone at Ruliweb has posted an interesting tip that can override this if you're using iOS 10.0.1. I would like to share this information here.

1. Run Settings app and go to General > Accessibility

2. Scroll to the bottom and enter "Accessibility Shortcut" option. Select "AssistiveTouch".

3. Back in the Accessibility menu, scroll up to the middle. Find and enter "AssistiveTouch" option.

4. Enter "Customize Top Level Menu" and remove icons until there's only one left. Select "Mute" for this icon. (If you leave two or more icons, this tip will not work.)

When you triple-click the home button, a small floating AssistiveTouch button will appear on the screen. When you press it, the system sound will be muted completely, including the camera shutter sound and alarm. Pressing the AssistiveTouch button again will re-enable the system sound, and triple-clicking the home button will hide the AssistiveTouch button.

In a nutshell, you can use AssistiveTouch to disable or enable camera shutter sound at will. User reports indicate that the tip works across all devices, including iPhone 7 that I personally confirmed. However, it doesn't seem to work on iOS 9. Therefore it isn't clear if this is a bug or an intended effect. Use at your discretion.

Visiting Japan to buy the new iPhone on the launch day seems like it's become a regular thing, but a lot of luck is needed to make it happen Thankfully, I was still fortunate enough to make a quick visit to Osaka for an in-store pick-up. As my family was visiting Ulsan for the Chuseok holidays, I rode on the plane that departed from the nearby Busan Gimhae International Airport.


A 75-minute flight later, I was at the Kansai International Airport. I moved quickly to ride on the Airport Express serviced by Nankai Railway because I had to make it to the Apple Store downtown before the reserved time was over.