Apple has officially announced the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus today. The new iPhone features a design that’s very similar to last year’s iPhone 6S (and the year prior’s iPhone 6), with a rounded aluminum body. But what’s entirely new is the phone’s water resistance, which means you can get the iPhone 7 or the larger iPhone 7 Plus wet without worry. Also new is the long-rumored dual camera system, stereo speakers, and a darker black color scheme. And, as expected, the iPhone 7 does not have a headphone jack, rendering countless 3.5mm headphones useless with the device (or requiring the use of an adapter).
The new phone may look very similar to last year’s models, but instead of the matte metal finish we’ve become used to it, it has a glossy, mirrored design. The new color is called Jet Black and is much darker and richer than the Space Black of years past. Apple is also releasing a standard black model, along with gold, silver, and rose gold.
Apple has redesigned the iconic home button for the iPhone 7, making it force sensitive, like the Force Touch trackpads used in recent MacBook laptops. The phone has also gained the Taptic Engine haptic feedback system from the Apple Watch, which provides different vibration feedback for various alerts.
Highlights
- Stereo speakers
- New camera has optical image stabilisation – 6 element lens with f/1.8 aperture. 60% faster than previous iPhones. The iPhone 7 has a single lens camera; the 7 Plus has a dual lens camera (wide angle and telephoto).
- iPhone 7 Plus: New ‘portrait’ effect on the camera to add depth of field to photos
- Water and dust resistant
- Longer battery life: Apple says the 7’s battery will last two hours longer than the 6, and the 7 Plus battery lasts one hour more than the 6 Plus.
- Comes in jet black, black, gold, silver, rose gold.
- Headphones will connect via the lightning port. A free set comes with with the phone, plus an adaptor for traditional 3.5mm jack headphones.
- And AirPods – wireless headphones (with a microphone) that have infrared sensors that detect when they’re in your ear and only play then. W1 chip connects the AirPods to your other Apple devices. The batteries last for 5 hours and the Airpods come with a charging case that holds 24 hours of charge.
- A10 Fusion chip with a 64-bit four core CPU
- Storage: 32GB, 128GB, 256GB
- Cost: $649 for the 7, $769 for the 7 Plus
- Key dates: ordering on Sept 9, shipping on Sept 16
