Every year Apple sells millions of of new iPhones. They could make no more than minor changes to their future models, and would still sell devices like hot cakes. What makes this year’s new iPhone stand out?

I woke up at three o’clock in the morning for the iPhone 7 pre-order to find a slow Apple site, as millions of others were trying to order at the same time. As seconds went by, shipping dates kept being pushed back. I was going for the iPhone 7 Plus in the jet black color option with 128 gigabytes of storage, one of the most popular models of the new device. I was disappointed to hear that my iPhone would not arrive for approximately two and a half weeks following the official release date. But let me tell you, the wait was definitely worth it.

The iPhone 7 comes fully loaded with an all new design, dual camera system, a new touch sensitive home button, waterproof design, and a lot more. One of my favorite features of my iPhone is the new portrait mode found within the camera application. Portrait mode takes advantage of the new second camera, available exclusively on the iPhone 7 plus. Essentially, this setting blurs the background of focal points, creating higher quality photos. When showing my friends and family photos taken on my new device, they were shocked they weren’t taken on my Canon DSLR camera.

Although I love the new features on my iPhone, there is one downside I didn’t think would hit me as hard as it did. The iPhone 7 has no headphone jack. We heard this rumors months before the official announcement, but personally I wasn’t too worried about this until I got the device in my hands. Not being able to charge and listen to music at the same time is a huge problem I seem to run into daily. Although Apple includes the new Lightning EarPods in the box that plug in via the charging port of the iPhone, you can no longer charge and listen to music simultaneously. Fortunately, Apple is set to release their wireless headphone under the name AirPods later this month. I will definitely be picking these up, as they will solve my charging and listening to music dilemma.

The iPhone 7 brings a glimpse into the future of the iPhone product line. I hope to see Apple’s next generation iPhone build upon the foundation set by the iPhone 7. I love my iPhone 7 Plus and I come across new uses for it within my daily life frequently.