It’s that time of the year again. Apple has unveiled its newest iPhone and iOS updates, and the thrill of the newest software has become nearly as exciting as the phone itself.
The iPhone 7, which can be pre-ordered and will be available in stores Sep. 16, includes a 12 megapixel camera, a new stereo speaker system and claims to have the best battery life of any Apple phone in history.
According to CNN Money, the pre-sales have already outsold the iPhone 6 and 6s.
The iOS 10 update is now available for iPhone 5 and all later generations. It included several changes to the iMessage app. Users can now send messages with invisible ink, swiping their fingers to reveal the message, and personalized doodles and display animations on the background of the messaging screen.
Brook Bailey, a sophomore majoring in public relations, said she was really excited for the update and has enjoyed it so far.
“It was interesting because it was a lot of little changes,” Bailey said. “I’ve been texting all my friends with the gifs and new emojis. I like the added diversity in the emojis like the single parents and more women in occupations.”
During the first hour of the update being available, many ran into an issue that caused their phones to show a black screen, asking them to connect their phones to their computer. For those who may have been at work, school or away from their personal computer, they had to wait.
As iOS 10 has only been available for a couple of days, many users haven’t gotten the chance to see all the new changes yet. Bailey said some of the new features will take some getting used to.
“I love how the new control panel slides, but dragging the brightness seems a bit harder to use,” Bailey said.
Outside of the messaging changes, iPhones now have new animations for notifications, more 3-D touch features and raise to wake, which displays your screen when the phone is picked up.
Apple Music also has a new look and added features like song lyrics and more music personalized to each individual user.
Kelly Lewis, a senior majoring in nursing, said the changes are all very useful.
“I can see that apps are opening up a bit faster and the new look of the notifications are nice,” Lewis said. “The updates are always something to look forward to.”
