Jet Black

Speck’s Presidio Show reveals your iPhone’s finish through the back of the case

Speck unveiled the new Presidio Show case at CES 2017, introducing an effective way to protect your sleek new iPhone while still enabling you to get a good look at the incredible industrial design of your handset that would normally be hidden by the protective materials that make up most impact-resistant cases.

The Presidio Show's bezels are colored to match the iPhone finish of your choice, but the back plate of the case is fully transparent to act as a window to the other side. In this review, we’ll show you the version made to go with the Black or Jet Black finish of the iPhone 7/7 Plus.

This minimalist case turns your iPhone jet black (or jet white)

Besides a redesigned camera bump, one of the main differentiator between the iPhone 7 and its predecessor was the new jet black colorway. It’s beautiful and sexy, but as Apple was quick to point out, it’s also incredibly prone to micro abrasions.

The solution offered is to put it in a case, which clearly defeats the purpose of having a jet black iPhone to begin with. And that's where the folks at Totallee come in with the Scarf, their incredibly light and thin case, now available in jet black and jet white.

Why Apple shouldn’t pass on the rumored Jet White iPhone 7

On Tuesday, Apple afficionados were treated to a new wave of white shell iPhone 7 mock-ups and purported leaks hitting the internet, advancing the notion that the Cupertino-based company could plan to release a white counterpart to their Jet Black coating some time around March 2017.

From an aesthetic standpoint, everyone is going to have their two cents on the necessity of it in the grand scheme of things. Simply by moving the discussion from the fashion sphere to the finance department though, the ambivalence in regard to whether or not this iPhone release is genuinely necessary quickly crumbles and clearly comes down on one side of the fence.

As we will learn in late January, Apple’s first quarter of the fiscal year 2017 is going to look after itself nicely, but in view of the Q2 figures and a long summer following, Jet White definitely needs to happen. Two key reasons must be paid attention to in order to understand the imperative of a Jet White iPhone for a healthier bottom line in the fiscal year of 2017.

Samsung counters Jet Black iPhone 7 with glossy “Black Pearl” Galaxy S7 Edge colorway

Confirming recent rumor-mill talk of a glossy black edition of its Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone, Samsung today officially announced a new Black Pearl color option in an attempt to counter what's been reported as high demand for Apple's new Black and Jet Black iPhone 7 models. The new colorway, Samsung said, “radiates quality and luxury” and was designed to be “modern and striking”.

Samsung should release an all-new glossy black version of Galaxy S7 in time for Christmas

Samsung is said to copy Apple, again, by adding a new “glossy” color option to the Galaxy S7 lineup next month that sounds a lot like the iPhone 7's Jet Black finish. According to The Korea Herald newspaper yesterday, Samsung is readying to release its own Jet Black Galaxy S7 in December to make up for lost sales stemming from Note 7's discontinuation.

The Korean firm reportedly saw success in recently bringing the Note 7's Coral Blue colorway to the Galaxy S7 lineup, joining the S7's existing glossy Onyx Black color option.

Jet black and micro-abrasions: how iPhone 7 holds up a month later

Now that I've been using my jet black iPhone 7 for a little over a month, I figured it'd be depressing interesting to look at the state of that high-gloss finish and see how it's fared over that short period of time.

In previous years, this was not even a concern, but the fragility of the new jet black finish has been under scrutiny since day one, especially as Apple itself noted that jet black devices would be prone to micro-abrasions.

What’s jet black anyway?

Apple's new jet black iPhone 7 is what I believe to be the flagship finish for this year's iPhone. This is the one that Apple features in most of its promo materials, and I assume this is the one Jony Ive is carrying right now in his man purse, along with early prototypes of the iPhone 8.

Getting that gorgeous glossy finish isn't exactly an easy process. According to Apple, "the new jet black finish is accomplished through an innovative nine-step process of anodization and polish for a uniform, glossy finish, achieving its beautiful, high-gloss black finish even required a new process."

But what is jet black anyway?

Here’s a new “Meet the new Home Button” step in iOS 10 installer on iPhone 7

With less than 24 hours left until first iPhone 7 shipments start hitting customers' doorsteps, YouTuber Marques Brownlee has put together a nice unboxing video featuring both new black options for the device, a supper glossy variant called Jet Black and its matte counterpart, referred to by Apple as simply Black.

The video offers interesting observations regarding the RAM, CPU performance, non-moving Home button and a new “Choose Your Click” Home button option.

Apple recommends using a case with Jet Black iPhone 7

Apple's new Jet Black finish for the iPhone 7 looks breathtaking, but here comes the bad news: it could scratch all too easily though not on the #Scuffgate level. According to Apple itself, the highly glossy back of your iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus may show “fine micro-abrasions” with use.

In fact, the company is recommending that would-be shoppers buy a case to help keep their handset in pristine condition.

High-gloss Jet Black finish is exclusively available in 128GB and 256GB iPhone 7 models

It's easy to get lost in an avalanche of today's Apple event reporting so it bears repeating that those looking to upgrade their cell phone experience to that gorgeously designed high-gloss black-clad iPhone 7, which Apple refers to as “Jet Black”, will need to opt for a more capacious—and pricier—128GB model.

In other words, people looking to pick up an entry-level 32GB iPhone 7 in Jet Black, which costs $649 contract-free, will be out of luck.