I Bought a Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus on Mercari

I bought a new phone for the first time in two years, replacing my iPhone 6. This time I tried using Mercari to buy a phone.

The Apple Store had a wait of over a month, electronics retailers and carrier shops were all out of stock, and apparently even people on the reservation list hadn’t received theirs.

I really wanted the SIM-free version this time — but thanks to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, you can now unlock the SIM on carrier-purchased iPhones (6s and later) after six months.

So the bigger reason was that I just wanted one immediately.

After all, my supposedly two-year-old iPhone 6 had degenerated to the point where it couldn’t survive without a power bank glued to it. The mute button was dead, and it had gotten ridiculously slow. Painful.

We live in an era where you can work from your phone — but mine was so degraded I couldn’t even use SNS properly, let alone work. I wanted to break out of that, and I wanted to have it by year-end.

I figured winter bonuses and Christmas would drive even more demand, so if I didn’t buy now, I’d be waiting until the new year.

Here are my thoughts on upgrading from the normal size to Plus and on the new Jet Black color.

Plus Is a Massive Productivity Boost

First impression: obviously, a bigger screen makes it easier to see and gets a lot more done!

It’s a bit heavy and felt weird at first, but after a few days, it started to feel just right.

When I picked up my old 6, I got the same feeling I had when I bought the 6 and looked at my old 5.

Wait, was this thing always this small? Habit is scary.

I haven’t felt the impact of water resistance or Apple Pay yet (PASMO, please come!) so I’ll skip those, but personally I like the new non-physical Home button.

I might actually prefer it to the old button. The simulated feedback feels nice.

The vibration is also more rhythmic and feels better than before.

And the fingerprint sensor is so fast it’s scary.

On the iPhone 6, there was a moment where you could feel it authenticating.

But on the 7, it’s so instant you almost wonder, “is it really authenticating?” It’s nearly as fast as bypassing auth altogether, so the stress is completely gone.

Portrait Mode Is Amazing

The kicker is the Camera app’s Portrait Mode, added in iOS 10.1.

The 7 Plus has a dual-lens camera and can blur the background like a DSLR.

The photos below make it obvious.

Normal mode on the left, Portrait mode on the right.

No editing apps used — just the default Camera app.

The edges still look a little off, but for SNS-style quick product shots, it’s more than good enough.

I usually carry an RX100m3 for daily shots, but the Plus is going to cut into its usage.

This feature alone is so powerful that I’d recommend the Plus for it.

My Kindle Device Got Lonelier

The Kindle app deserves a mention too.

I split my reading roughly 50/50 between paper books and Kindle, so I’m a pretty heavy Kindle user.

The battery life on the Kindle device is incredible, and being able to carry many books is, of course, convenient.

But after buying the Plus, I started reading Kindle on my phone way more often.

The phone has more storage, better battery life, and a bigger screen — it’s become more than enough.

Being able to highlight passages on Kindle is great, but that UX is far better on a phone than on a Kindle device.

My Thoughts on the New Jet Black

Now, my thoughts on the Jet Black model.

It’s seriously cool and beautiful. I love this color.

I’ll definitely sign up for AppleCare, but I’m the kind of person who doesn’t use screen protectors or cases.

Been using my phones bare since around the iPhone 5.

That hasn’t changed with Jet Black either.

Since I went out of my way to buy Jet Black, I want to enjoy this jet-black body — and I think putting a film on it and creating a step on the screen would be a real waste.

That’s how in love with the looks I am.

Black Is Cool Too, But I’d Recommend Jet Black

There were two reasons I went with Jet Black instead of Black (matte).

First, the new color looks cool and seemed popular.

I simply like that glossy black. There are rumors that production costs are a bit higher than other colors, and being a new color, it’s apparently been chronically short of stock.

Second, the surface isn’t smooth.

That’s another way of saying it picks up fingerprints easily.

Lots of people online complain about how badly it shows fingerprints. But luckily for me, I have dry skin lol.

The Black version has a smooth surface — and for my dry skin, holding the Plus one-handed would be downright dangerous.

It would just slip right out lol.

But Jet Black isn’t smooth — if anything, it feels slightly sticky

so the grip improves dramatically.

Since I’m still not used to the Plus, the Jet Black’s grip was a major deciding factor.

And there you have it — my commemorative post. The 7 Plus is great, I recommend Jet Black, and Mercari is amazing for letting me buy a brand-new unopened unit at roughly the Apple Store price.

P.S. I’m currently wrestling with picking a low-cost SIM. Once that settles, I might write about it too.