Packaging

The iPhone 7 came in a very Apple bright white box. The box stands out compared to most other smartphones in that it actually has a photo of the phone right on the outside of the box where most phones don’t have anything but their name on the top. On the back, the storage capacity is up top  and then from there they list off everything included in the box and a few specifications like the networks supported. Then, of course, all of the bottom is covered in stickers with serial number barcodes, UPCs, and mac addresses.

When you get inside, the phone is right up on top. They also have a welcome to iPhone guide, the warranty and safety information, and a pair of apple stickers.

Up under the phone, everything is split into two compartments. One side has the USB to thunderbolt charging/data cable and the other has an AC to USB charging adapter. Tucked in above that is a tray with the included headphones. The tray is folded up and has a pull tab to help make it easy to get the headphones out of the box. The other side had a similar pullout tray but it had a headphone to thunderbolt adapter.

So the first big change for me as a new user is the Thunderbolt charging cable. I’ve seen them and used them in the past, but all of my phones recently have had USB  variations like the micro USB, the new USB Type-C, and at one point a wider USB 3.0 Micro connection for a few of the Galaxy phones. This does mean for my testing period I have to keep a close eye on the charging cable because unlike the Micro USB and Type C connections that our current devices have and that I have extra cables around the house and in my car, the iPhone charger is the only charging cable I have. Of course, for previous iPhone users, it would be the other way around. I love the solid design that puts the pins inside of the phone and its universal shape that can be plugged in either way!

So the drama at the iPhone launch due to them dropping the standard 3.5mm headphone jack had/has a lot of people up in arms. I get it, I have also invested in high-end earbuds for mobile use as well as headphones. A lot of people use the plug with their cars as well. I will say though that Apple isn’t the only company dropping the connection, the Moto Z I reviewed prior to this was also lacking the connection. I don’t want to see it go any more than anyone else but it will be interesting to see it all play out. All that said Apple does include a pair of their cabled headphones with a thunderbolt connection with the phone and an adapter as well so they did try to at least give options. That said I don’t see myself using the adapter day-to-day with my nice earbuds, I would be constantly worried I would lose it.