The Jet Black iPhone 7, up close

The iPhone 7 is here! Except for the Jet Black model, that is. Unless you ordered one right when pre-orders opened, you may not be getting that particular model — all shiny "nine-step process of anodization and polishing," and extremely difficult to photograph — until later in October or even November.

But we thought, this finish is so nice (and will only stay new and scratch-free for so long) we'd snap some photos with our delicious macro lens. You know, for science.

You can see the camera bump now extrudes from the chassis itself in one continuous piece. It's certainly not subtle, but Apple did add optical image stabilization and an extra element to the new f/1.8 lens, so that's a worthy tradeoff in my opinion.

The headphone jack-free bottom is now even more symmetrical (you're welcome, Rene), and Apple has integrated the antennas, especially on the darker Jet Black and black models, so seamlessly with the aluminum chassis that it's difficult to tell they're there.

iPhone 7

Finally, the solid-state home button may not look all that different, but it feels unbelievably strange at first, turning into something satisfying and finally lovely after a few hours. And that shiny Apple logo and iPhone insignia — they really jump off the black surface.

What do you think? Are you going to hold out for the Jet Black model, or have you gone with something else?

Daniel Bader

Daniel Bader is a Senior Editor at iMore, offering his Canadian analysis on Apple and its awesome products. In addition to writing and producing, Daniel regularly appears on Canadian networks CBC and CTV as a technology analyst.